Line Break Writers Retreat: The Power of Practicing Craft
Hosted by Indiana HumanitiesThis year’s theme is The Power of Practicing Craft with a focus on community and creating a writing routine together.
Event Details
The 2026 Line Break Writers Series, supported by Indiana Humanities, is a three-day writing retreat open to local writers. The series will take place Friday, Sept. 18 – Sunday, Sept. 20 at Indiana Humanities.
This year’s theme is The Power of Practicing Craft with a focus on community and creating a routine together. Writers who attend will grow together as artists, learning more about the creative and practical process of creating meaningful poems, sustaining oneself as a professional writer, and preparing for their work to be published in our online anthology, Iambic Pen. Participants will take part in workshops led by accomplished local poets and writers, develop new works, and conclude the retreat by sharing their works in a celebration open to family and friends.
SCHEDULE (All times Eastern.)
Friday, September 18 | Indiana Humanities
4:30-7 pm: Opening event featuring viewing and discussion of Come See Me in the Good Light
Saturday, September 19 | Indiana Humanities
10-10:30 am: Welcome & Introductions
10:30 am-12:00 pm: “Grant Writing 101 for Writers” with Maurice Broaddus
LUNCH BREAK
1-2:00 pm: “Begin Again: A Revision Workshop” with Lydia Davis
2:00-4 pm: Peer Editing Workshop
4-4:30 pm: Closing
Sunday, September 20 | Indiana Humanities
10-10:30 am: Wellness & Writing
10:30-11:30 am: “Where Has All the Whimsy Gone?” with Corey Ewing
LUNCH BREAK
1-4 pm: Peer Editing Workshop
4-4:30 pm: Closing
BREAK
6-8 pm: Open Mic at Loudmouth Books | 212 E. 16th St, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (Open to family & friends.)
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
Chantel Massey (she/her) is a storyteller, poet, author, teaching artist, editor, organizer, educator, practicing Afrofuturist, and avid anime lover from Indiana. Massey has received support from Brooklyn Poets, Hurston/Wright Foundation, and Tin House. She’s a Randolph College MFA graduate and 2023 Best of Net Award winner and 2020 Indiana Eugene and Marilyn Glick Author Awards Emerging Author finalist for her first collection of poetry, Bursting At The Seams (VK Press, 2018), a Midwest Black girl coming of age story. Massey founded the literary arts organization, UnLearn Arts, radically dedicated to amplifying and cultivating the craft and wellness of BIPOC writers in the Midwest and elsewhere.
Mitchell L. H. Douglas is the author of four poetry collections: Universal Corner, dying in the scarecrow’s arms, \blak\ \al-fə bet\, winner of the Persea Books Lexi Rudnitsky/Editor’s Choice Award, and Cooling Board: A Long-Playing Poem, an NAACP Image Award and Hurston/Wright Legacy Award nominee. His “Poem that Begins w/a Tweet About Gwendolyn Brooks” was featured in This is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets edited by New York Times best-selling author Kwame Alexander. A 2021 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellow, his visual art has been published in The Adroit Journal, The Offing, and Callaloo.
ABOUT BOOKMARK INDY
Bookmark Indy is a one-of-a-kind literary exploration of Indianapolis through the eyes of the writers who’ve called it home. Explore the city while encountering points of inspiration for Hoosier authors like Kurt Vonnegut, John Green, Mari Evans, Booth Tarkington and more. With BookmarkIndy.com as your guide, learn about Indy’s rich literary culture, experience local art inspired by Indy’s writers, and find creative prompts to make your own mark. Who knows – maybe you’ll be bookmarked next!
ABOUT INDIANA HUMANITIES
Indiana Humanities sparks curiosity, connects people, and explores the human experience through programs, grants, and storytelling. www.IndianaHumanities.org