Hewnoaks Artist Residency >
Finding Voice: A Food & Memoir Writing Workshop with Kathy Gunst
Dates: July 26 - August 1, 2026 • Registration: $2,000 - $2,300 • Where: Hewnoaks (Lovell, ME)
This retreat is built for anyone interested in food writing, whether you’re crafting essays, collecting family recipes, developing a newsletter, or working on a memoir. Each day begins with a focused morning session offering prompts, discussion, and shared work time. Afternoons are open for writing, swimming, hiking, or simply resting. Hewnoaks provides the calm, supportive environment needed for new ideas to take shape.
Each morning session centers on a different aspect of food and memoir writing. Prompts are designed to spark ideas, help you refine your voice, and support meaningful progress in your work. Afternoons are left open for writing, reflection, and enjoying the landscape.
We will be providing three meals a day – DIY breakfast, lunch, and a sit-down shared dinner as a group each night. The week combines group sessions while still providing plenty of time to work on and further your own writing.
Workshop Highlights:
- Daily two-hour morning sessions
- Writing prompts + generative exercises
- Time for independent writing, rest, and reflection
- Swimming, hiking, quiet natural landscape
- Shared dinners + community time
- Cozy rustic cabins
- All meals (breakfast, lunch, shared dinner)
Meet Your Workshop Leader:
Kathy Gunst
Kathy Gunst is a James Beard award-winning food journalist. She is the Resident Chef for NPR’s Here and Now, heard on over 550 public radio stations.
She is the author of 16 cookbooks; her most recent books are Rage Baking– the Transformative Power of Flour, Fury and Women’s Voices; and Soup Swap. She writes for the Washington Post, Eating Well, Cognescenti, Yankee, Newsweek, and other publications. www.kathygunst.com
Daily Focus (click tabs to expand):
Finding Voice: What does this mean? What role does voice play in good writing? We will explore some writing prompts to get out of our “editing writer’s head” and start a free flow of words that reflect our voice.
In food writing, and in all writing, the more you can tune into your sense and use specific original language, the sharper your writing will be.
We will focus on techniques for getting the best interview–whether it’s from a family member, chef, home cook, fisherman, cheesemonger, etc. How do you make someone feel comfortable enough to tell you their story in a way they haven’t told others over and over? We will pair off and focus on an interview question and take the time to write up our interviews.
Why accuracy and specificity of language matter so much. We will talk through the steps for writing a clear, concise, and workable recipe.
How do we get inside a story so that we develop depth and truth? We will explore how emotions work their way into our writing life and focus on an exercise that delves into this topic.
We will leave this morning open to make space for topics we haven’t had time to cover, ask questions about publishing, cookbooks, newsletters, and more. We will all share a final writing exercise.
Price, Cabin & Bed Options:
Hewnoaks offers three accommodation and pricing options for this workshop:
- Private cabin with a queen or full-sized bedroom - $2300
- Private room in shared cabin with a queen-sized bed - $2100
- Private room in a shared cabin with a full or twin-sized bed - $2000
Fees include:
- Retreat leadership with Kathy as described above
- Accommodations in Hewnoaks rustic cabins
- On-site Hewnoaks staff support
- Prepared, communal dinners made by Hewnoaks Residency Manager
- DIY breakfast + lunch, coffee, tea, snacks, wine, desserts, & smores
- Sunsets on the dock, morning dips, mosquitos, fireside couch conversation & starry nights
Fees do not include:
- Daily housekeeping
- Sheets & towels (quilts + pillows provided)
How to Register:
To apply to register, click the button below and complete the online application form. We will review and accept registrations on a rolling basis. Applicants can expect a response within 10 business days. Accepted applicants will confirm their registration with payment of the workshop fee, which includes a $200 non-refundable deposit.
The application deadline is May 15, 2026. If the retreat fills before the deadline, we will create a waitlist of up to 10 attendees.