In the heart and humidity of St. Augustine, Florida, stands a stylish architectural lady named Casa Monica built at the end of the Florida East Coast Railroad and opened as a winter resort in 1888. The historic landmark, in the style of a Spanish castle and restored in 1999 to its ear-lier splendor, is the only AAA Four Diamond Hotel in St. Augustine. Across a brick courtyard, from June 1-8, twenty writing women gathered in two private rooms with Connie May Fowler and Dorothy Allison for Writing Below Sea Level’s St. Augustine Project. For $1500, the workshop promised “vigorous, focused instruction on all aspects of the creative process in a nurturing but honest environment with individualized instruction and attention to detail.” The conference surpassed its promise. Heralded as a “full immersion workshop for serious writers,” the St. Augustine Project was more than a workshop. Though writers had various educations, ages, and writing experience, each brought a high level of skill, making the experience as valuable to the writer with an MFA as to the writer attending her first workshop. With small numbers, participants quickly became acquainted with ladies in both groups. Scheduled lunches followed most morning workshop sessions, during which special guests addressed attendees and answered questions in a casual and friendly environment. Readings in the evenings provided additional insight into the writers; all were required to read and spots were assigned the first two nights so that everyone had a turn. On subsequent evenings, women read in no particular sequence but as the “spirit moved them.” The “spirit” often sought readers through persistent stares from Connie May or Dorothy, which was probably a good thing; some readers were too heavy for the spirit to move without assistance from the “eye.”

At least once a day, usually after the readings, Connie May and Dorothy led discussions about the writing life, performing one’s work, building confidence, ways to proceed in writerly fashion while coping with real life. The floor was always open for questions and the exchanges between faculty and participants were enlightening and applicable to everyone.

Joy Harris, president of the New York based Joy Harris Literary Agency talked about the publishing business during her lunch session and stayed for readings the following night. Kate Sullivan, Editor and Founder of WordSmitten Quarterly Journal, discussed the vast possibilities of change with technology and resources available to writers who become techno-savvy. Special guest Laura van den Berg is a former student of Connie May’s at Rollins College, a graduate of Emerson College’s MFA program, and an Assistant Editor of Ploughshares (www.pshares.org) as well as the Editor-in-Chief of Redivider: a journal of new literature. She is the winner of the first annual Dzanc Prize, sponsored by Dzanc Books, a non-profit company “dedicated to literary excellence, community involvement and edu-cation” (www.dzancbooks.org).

Afternoons were free and some participants visited the Serenata Beach Club (www.serenataclub.com) available to guests of Casa Monica with free self-parking. Good food, shopping, nightlife and tourist-y establishments offered diversion and entertainment for the women at different stages in their lives, but connected at the core by shared experiences as women and a shared passion for wordsmithing. On the final evening, Connie May, Dorothy, and Laura van den Berg treated the audience with dramatic readings from their own works, which proved to be an unforgettable finale to the week-long class and was followed by a reception that included a champagne toast to one and all.

The week was bookended by a special dinner on opening night (another on closing night) and a poolside buffet breakfast on Sunday morning where friendships were sealed by hugs and promises to share work with each other and to maintain an e-mail community of like-minded women until they have a chance to meet again or to read one another’s published works. Each participant left with direction, encouragement, gratitude, improved skills, and renewed affirmation and determination to grow and evolve as writers. For further information about the author\leaders, see www.dorothyallison.net www.conniemayfowler.com