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• RAGDALE WRITERS' RETREAT

  • Start
    December 09, 2024
  •  
    9:00 AM
  • End
    December 11, 2024
  •  
    12:00 PM
  • Location
    Ragdale - 1260 N. Green Bay Road, Lake Forest, IL

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  Join your OCWW colleagues at our first-ever writers retreat in partnership with Ragdale, a nonprofit artist community located on a 50-acre country estate in Lake Forest, Illinois. Our kickoff retreat is themed SPACE TO WRITE, mentored by longtime workshop instructor Christina Clancy.  

  This new and exciting Ragdale partnership comes with two different options. Choose from a 3-day (2-night) all-inclusive stay priced at $600 or select the 1-day retreat experience.  

  All days feature a continental breakfast followed by the instructor-led morning sessions on the themed topic. After lunch we'll devote the early afternoon to individual writing, casual, collegial interaction or socializing in the historic home and magnificent grounds, then reconvene  for a moderated reading roundtable session before enjoying beverages and a sit-down family style dinner both evenings. Meals are prepared by Ragdale's own Chef Linda using  the produce grown in Ragdale's vast and scrumptious garden for her recipes. *Dietary restrictions will be adhered to when the menu is created.

  Participants in the Ragdale Writers Retreat must be OCWW members in good standing.  

  The application period for tuition assistance has expired; funding will be applied towards future retreats.

  Note: Please direct all questions and communication regarding registrations, overnight accommodations, special dietary restrictions or other concerns to  Tara Maher.

  • Learn more about Ragdale:
  • Learn more about author and Retreat Mentor Christina Clancy:  

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• PUMP UP THE VOLUME FOR A VIENNESE WALTZ

  • When
    December 19, 2024
  •  
    3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
  • Location
    Secret World Books, 1774 Second Street, Highland Park
  • Spaces left
    5

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  The book we're pumping is…

  A Viennese Waltz

  Join Pump Up The Volume for an in-depth craft discussion with author Tom Sundell on bringing his romantic, eerie and suspenseful novel, A Viennese Waltz to the page.

  Protagonist Zoltan Vajda, the quiet cafe waiter with a hidden past will be our tour guide through a series of secrets, fears and  longing in  1912 Vienna, at a place and time of thrilling and yet frightening change. Forced to confront the darkness he's kept at bay for so long, he'll have to decide whether to risk everything to protect those he's come to care for.  Deftly handled in Tom’s economical yet heartfelt prose, it all adds up to a compelling read that will no doubt give you pause to consider the links between the world of A Viennese Waltz and our own.

  Our host for the event, Secret World Books, is an absolutely delightful new indie bookstore offering everything from novels to books of poetry to zines and comics. The store will have a limited number of copies on hand for pick up, or you can order via the links below. 

  • Order from Secret World Books @ BOOKSHOP.ORG
  • Order from Amazon
  • Order from Barnes & Noble
    
    

  

  BIO:  Thomas Sundell is the author of A Viennese Waltz and A Bloodline of Kings (published by Crow Woods Publishing and, in Greek, as Philip of Macedon by Minoas SA), along with twenty-six other novels and novellas, including Massachusetts in Rebellion
  and The Consultant.

  He has also published two anthologies of short stories and flash fiction, titled Views of Imagined Lives. 

  Tom is a joy to converse with on all topics literary. If you haven't the pleasure yet, you can get psyched for our chat by visiting his website of elegant storytelling at sundellwritings.wordpress.com. 
  
  Questions, comments? Please contact Book Club Chair Liz Fox.

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