This reading group guide for The Writing Retreat includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with author Julia Bartz. With the clock running out, she must discover the truth-or suffer the same fate.Ī claustrophobic and propulsive thriller exploring the dark side of female relationships and fame, The Writing Retreat is the unputdownable debut novel from a compelling new talent. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate, including Roza’s erratic behavior, Wren’s cruel mind games, and the alleged haunting of the mansion itself. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement.īut when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell-they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal.

The Plot meets Please Join Us in this psychological suspense debut about a young author at an exclusive writer’s retreat that descends into a nightmare.Īlex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. “Darkly satirical and action-packed.An absolutely splendid debut!” -Wendy Walker, nationally bestselling author of Don’t Look for Me (Feb.“Sex, suspense, and the supernatural fuel this propulsive debut.” - People Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM Partners. Excerpts from Alex’s work-in-progress pepper her increasingly paranoid narration, underscoring her shifting mindset. Boldly drawn characters complement Bartz’s gleefully twisted plot. The story flows as though channeled, but when unsettling events start happening and one of the participants disappears during a blizzard, Alex wonders if perhaps she should focus less on potential fame and more on survival. With Roza’s encouragement, Alex begins a fictionalized account of the bizarre, unsolved deaths of Blackbriar’s builder and his occultist wife.

Roza will eject anyone who doesn’t make their daily word count, but her editor will publish the best finished manuscript and pay its author a $1 million advance. Upon arriving, Alex and the other four invitees learn they must each conceive of and complete an entirely new book in the next 28 days. the narrator of Bartz’s audacious psychological thriller debut-idolizes button-pushing feminist horror writer Roza Vallo, so she’s elated when Roza selects her to attend an exclusive, all-female writing retreat at Blackbriar, Roza’s remote Adirondacks estate.

The writing retreat julia bartz