2026 SESSION: requests for spots now open
Fiction Kitchen is an intensive hybrid workshop for writers with busy lives who want to further, fine-tune, and finish their work. It starts with an in-person weekend, then moves online for monthly meetings. It’s a unique program, designed to provide inspiration, ongoing support, feedback, and camaraderie. It’s a writing retreat that follows you home.
Why Fiction Kitchen?
For years, while wandering along my own literary path and leading writing courses, I struggled to answer this question: what do writers need to keep going?
I finally concluded that writers need a restless curiosity and a steady community. They need the desire to continue risking and growing, and a trusted circle to fortify their courage and their faith in the endeavor.
After all the thinking, I designed Fiction Kitchen, which begins as an in-person retreat and then morphs into a monthly writing group. Because I enjoy good food and fun, I included some of that, too. The first session launched in 2022 and each year the workshop has been sold out, with many returning as well as new writers. The participants have developed strong writing practices and strong bonds. They’ve produced tons of pages and continue to support each other as peers and friends. They’re an incredible, inspiring group.
So…it seems right to keep going. We’d love you to join us for Fiction Kitchen 4.0.
Fiction Kitchen is about generative writing, craft talk, community building, and intensive reflection on your own work. It is not a critique workshop. It offers focused reflection, problem-solving, and group support. For feedback, you’ll have the option of working with one or two writing partners for in-depth, ongoing conversation.
This unique format allows for more focus and attention on one’s own projects and more steady progress and practice. I will be closely following your project, will brainstorm and problem-solve with you along the way, and will meet with you twice during the session for individual consultation on your goals and challenges.
When?
In-person weekend: Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 7, 2026
Five monthly follow-up sessions on Zoom: Second Sundays, 3 to 6 pm ET. July 12, August 9, September 13, October 11, and November 15, 2026
Plus ongoing writing partnerships for accountability and feedback (as desired)
Who?
YOU—determined and curious, interested in working alongside like-minded people to grow as a writer of short stories, novels, and/or memoir.
ME—the same. Also, author of novels and shorter works and a devoted writing instructor who has led courses for years at Brooklyn’s Center for Fiction, Iowa Summer Writing Festival, MFA programs, prisons, and elsewhere. Learn more about me here.
What’s Included?
The In-Person Intensive Weekend, June 5-7, 2026
We will gather in western Massachusetts, in the Connecticut River Valley, a paradise of college towns, dairy farms, idiosyncratic bookshops, and cannabis dispensaries.
Meetings will take place at Woolman Hill, a retreat center on a bucolic property in the historic town of Deerfield, 3.5 hours from New York City, 1.5 hours from Boston.
We’ll have the run of the place, including simple but comfortable private bedrooms (most with shared baths), cozy writing spaces, and a 100-year-old meeting house where we’ll gather for a read-aloud. I’ll send more details and travel suggestions upon registration.
Our time together will include…
- In-depth discussions. During the weekend, we will spend time focused on each writer’s project, exploring its inspirations and challenges and considering the writer’s questions and ideas. I’ll offer targeted strategies for refining structure, sense, and style. You’ll leave the retreat filled with momentum and new insights.
- Deep-focus writing sessions. Optional prompts/portals provided. You’ll generate new pages and find new perspectives.
- Bookish barbecue. A Saturday evening of writerly socializing, featuring Texas-style slow-smoked barbecue, vegetarian/vegan dishes, and southern sides. (This where the “Kitchen” part really comes into play!)
- Additional delectable meals. Dinner on Friday evening, breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, working lunch on Saturday, snacks/coffee, tea and cold drinks throughout. We will eat well.
- Trail walks and bonfires. Weather permitting.
- Saturday night salon. Read a bit of your work or just listen, in a historic Quaker meeting house.
- Schedule:
- Friday evening warm up, 7 to 9 pm
- Saturday work session, 9 am to 3:30 pm plus dinner and salon
- Sunday work session, 9 am to 12:30 pm
+ Monthly Group Workshops via Zoom
After our weekend, we will move forward as a committed writing group from July to November 2026. We will meet the first Sunday of the month from 3 to 6 pm ET. Meetings will include generative writing time with a prompt/portal from me and “brain trust” time, when we check in with each group member. You can choose to use this time for a read aloud of your pages and/or to brainstorm with the group about challenges or issues with your project.
+ Writing Partners
We will use a “believing mirror” format for feedback. Writers who want margin notes/discussion of their pages, will be paired with a writing partner who wants that too. Partners will share up to 6000 words once a month in a shared folder, and meet to discuss their feedback at a mutually convenient time.
+ Keep-Going Forum for Posting Weekly Work
For accountability and support, we’ll have an online folder where you can share your week’s work. Other group members may do the same. For many writers, this forum becomes a compelling motivational tool; others choose not to post. You’ll use it whenever and however it works for you. Posting and reading there is always optional.
+ Two Private Conferences
Each student will have two private Zoom chats with me. Before our first weekend, we’ll meet to discuss your goals and how to best support your writing practice. After our final group meeting, we’ll meet for a substantive one-on-one discussion of your work. I will address your questions or concerns about the project and suggest next steps toward completion and/or publication. You’ll get a written transcript of our conferences.
What does it cost?
Fee: $2250. Maximum 8 participants, minimum 7 participants. Deposit payment is refundable up to March 1. Payment plans are available.
Publications and degrees are lovely but not as important as a steadfast devotion to the craft and a desire to expand your creative community. Memoir writers welcome too!
I know…you’re asking yourself….
Is it worth it? What can I expect from a workshop with Debra?
Thoughts from Fiction Kitchen participants:
Debra is not only a gifted writer, but she is a gifted teacher of writing. She meets writers where they are and gently takes them to the next level, with insightful feedback, warmth, and good humor. And her husband John makes a damn fine brisket! — Jeanie S.
Fiction Kitchen is truly a unique learning and workshop experience. Debra has a magical way of fostering rigor, curiosity, and generosity, and my work has grown immensely since the start of the workshop. — Nicole K.
Debra’s laserlike comments and brilliant suggestions have kept me going this fall and winter. Fiction Kitchen was the first in-person workshop I had taken since lockdown, and what a pleasure it was to be in a real live and really lively group, sharing work and urging each other on. I love that the it keeps on going and keeps on giving, with virtual meetings as we read and comment on each other’s writing all through the winter. I really can’t recommend this experience enough. — Anne M.
I had a wonderful time in Debra’s workshop at the Center for Fiction, so when she announced her inaugural “Fiction Kitchen” program, I jumped at the opportunity. A few things stand out: Debra’s warm, welcoming manner and her care in assembling a group of bright, engaged writers. She helped me develop a non-punitive plan — “a roadmap, not a train schedule” — toward completing the first draft of my novel, which has resulted in fruitful writing months. I like the monthly workshops and the weekly posting of jottings. I get generous amounts of feedback from the other writers and Debra herself. Writers need nourishment, and Fiction Kitchen provides. — Kasia N.
Former workshopper Serwah Rose Afriyie offers a few more details on my approach…
Make it work for you: Have questions? Let’s talk! Email me at dimmergut at gmail.com.
REQUEST YOUR SPOT :
Please note: This is not an application process. I collect requests, then work hard to assemble a group with good balance and chemistry. The 2026 session is now open for requests.
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Artwork: Franklin White, Burners, c. 1968
DEBRA JO IMMERGUT 