My Week at the Highlights Foundation Retreat Center

From the time I saw pictures of the beautiful Highlights Foundation Retreat Center online I’ve dreamed of visiting the campus. A year prior I’d done a virtual Highlights summer camp, where I upleveled my writing craft and made invaluable connections, so I knew that the experience would be even more impactful on-site.  

The Amplify Black Stories inaugural cohort group I’m part of announced its reunion at Highlights, and I signed up immediately for the chance to meet authors I’ve interacted with online for the past year in-person and to stay at the retreat center. I was thrilled when Highlights invited me to come up a few days before my reunion to facilitate at a “Begin Your Chapter Book Series,” course. This allowed me to spend seven days there.

As soon as I was picked up from the airport by the Highlights shuttle driver, I felt pampered. During the drive he gave me a history of Honesdale, PA, where Highlights headquarters is located and the holiday tune, Walking in a Winter Wonderland, was written. After we pulled up to the Highlights Retreat Center sign, I thought about how much I looked forward to receiving Highlights magazine in the mail as a child and how it fostered my love of reading. Never would I imagine that I’d get a chance to work on my own writing in this magical place!

Nestled in the Pennsylvania, Poconos mountains, the Highlights Foundation Retreat Center is like Disney World for writers. There is the perfect balance of solitude, peer interactions, and space to create. I loved hiking on the trails, breathing the fresh, fragrant air, spotting deer, rabbits and other wildlife and eating mouthwatering meals in the idyllic setting.

Visitors stay in quaint cabins, a lodge, or the Myers family farmhouse. Some cabins are dedicated to specific writers and have their complete works inside the cabin. I was assigned a cabin in honor of Author Jim Giblin. The cozy house overlooked a beautiful field of wildflowers and a hiking trail. A couple of mornings I glanced out my window as I was writing to spot deer and rabbits scampering by. There were comfy rocking chairs on my porch to write or take in the view. At night, the sky was filled with stars.

I was also excited to tour a cabin dedicated to famed author/illustrator, Floyd Cooper, who wrote and illustrated some of my favorite picture books.

There are areas all around the campus to relax, write, and reflect. One nook overlooking a stream includes chairs under a canopy of trees. There is a neat Word Garden with rocks that have inspiring words carved on them. There is also a fun “Art Coop” building with craft supplies, where I spent time painting one afternoon.

Though I was brought on to work at the first camp I participated in, I also sat in on sessions and soaked up valuable information to help me improve my current work-in-progress. I learned even more at my reunion retreat later in the week, where we discussed business-related and mindset issues in addition to writing craft topics. It was great to share with other writers who “get” my struggles and challenges as a creative and to support each other. I also had a good time playing “fan-girl,” getting signed books and interacting with admired authors and mentors.

The food at Highlights is amazing. Chefs prepare three delicious meals a day, and there is a happy hour with tasty appetizers each evening, and after dinner, fireside, s’mores. All the food is farm fresh, and there were unique menus for all three meals the entire time I was there. Snacks, water and soft drinks, and ice cream are available all day. Before I left, I begged the Highlights chef and kitchen staff to consider selling a cookbook! The staffers are committed to making sure guests are comfortable and relaxed to get the most out of the experience.

I would highly recommend that any writer looking to improve their craft and network or needing a tranquil place to focus attend an on-site Highlights Foundation retreat if they get the chance. I’ll forever cherish my time there and look forward to returning.