HISTORY THROUGH FICTION PRESENTS
Novel Whisperer Writing Adventure: Santa Fe 2027
Not a crowded conference. Not a sightseeing-first vacation. A calm, writing-centered retreat for authors who want progress, clarity, and meaningful support.
WHEN
June 6-12, 2027
WHERE
Santa Fe, New Mexico
CAPACITY
7 Writers
There are seasons in a writer’s life when what you need most is not another webinar, another craft book, or another promise to finally make time. What you need is time itself—protected, intentional, and held within the right kind of environment.
Novel Whisperer Writing Adventure with HTF is a weeklong writer’s retreat in Santa Fe, New Mexico, created for writers who want to step away from distraction and return to the page with depth, clarity, and momentum. Over six nights, you’ll have space to write, revise, reflect, and talk through your work with guidance that is personal rather than generic.
This retreat is designed to balance solitude and community. You’ll have meaningful stretches of time to work on your manuscript, opportunities for private coaching, and carefully chosen moments of conversation, instruction, and shared experience.
STRATEGIC TIMING
Why This Retreat, Why Now
The timing of this retreat matters. It takes place just ahead of the Historical Novel Society North American Conference in Pittsburgh on June 17–19, 2027. This positioning gives the retreat a clear and practical value. It is not only a beautiful week away. It is also strategically placed within the larger 2027 historical fiction calendar.
An Alternative
For some writers, that makes Santa Fe an appealing alternative: a smaller, quieter, more intimate historical-fiction-centered experience for those who cannot make the trip to Pittsburgh.
A Primer
For others, it makes this retreat an ideal primer: a focused week to strengthen pages, clarify your project, refine how you talk about your manuscript, and arrive at the conference with more confidence.
FIT & FOCUS
Who is this Retreat for?
Admission is application-based and limited to seven writers, which means the fit matters. This retreat is especially well-suited to writers who are dedicated to craft, committed to responsible historical research, and ready to use the week seriously.
This retreat may be a strong fit if you:
are actively working on a historical novel
want focused time to draft, revise, or rethink a manuscript
are serious about finishing and publishing your book
value strong craft, thoughtful research, and honest guidance
want a retreat environment that respects quiet, boundaries, and individual working rhythms
THE WEEK
What You’ll Experience
The intention is not to fill every hour, but to create a week in which your project can finally breathe. By the end, writers should feel not only that they accomplished meaningful work, but that they better understand their manuscript and what it needs next.
Private Coaching
Three one-on-one sessions focused entirely on your project, your questions, and your next steps.
Craft Discussions
Group sessions on topics central to historical fiction: research, voice, structure, pacing.
Protected Writing Time
Scheduled blocks of quiet, uninterrupted time to do the work you came here to do.
Pre-Retreat Zoom
A meeting before arrival so you can set intentions and arrive ready to begin immediately.
Group Tour
One curated experience in Santa Fe that feeds the imagination without consuming the week.
Community
Seven like-minded writers in an setting designed for genuine connection and mutual respect.
YOUR GUIDES
Meet Your Hosts
The people guiding this week are not generic workshop leaders. They bring deep knowledge of historical fiction, publishing, and the specific challenges of writing responsibly about the past.
Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach, Editor, & Literary Expert
Robin Henry is an Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach, librarian, adjunct professor of Humanities, independent scholar, and managing editor at History Through Fiction. She holds an MLS in Library Science and an MA in Humanities and has completed professional development in developmental editing through the University of Washington. As a book coach, she specializes in historical fiction, upmarket fiction, and literary fiction.
Robin brings a thoughtful, encouraging approach to helping writers develop their stories and strengthen their manuscripts. Her background in humanities, research, editing, and coaching gives her a unique perspective on both the creative and analytical sides of writing. At the retreat, she will help writers explore story structure, character, revision, and the deeper questions that can transform a promising manuscript into a compelling book. She is also a definite fan of the Oxford comma.
Author, Historian, Editor, & Publisher
Colin Mustful is an author, historian, editor, and publisher and the founder of History Through Fiction, a publishing company and literary community dedicated to historical fiction and the stories that connect us to the past. He is the author of Reclaiming Mni Sota, winner of a Midwest Book Award, and holds an MA in History from Minnesota State University, Mankato and an MFA in Creative Writing from Augsburg University.
As an editor, book coach, and publisher, Colin works with writers at every stage of the creative process, from developing an initial idea to revising a manuscript and navigating publication. His approach combines a love of storytelling with a practical understanding of research, craft, revision, and the publishing industry. At the retreat, he will help writers strengthen their stories, deepen their craft, and think more intentionally about their paths as writers.