A retreat focused on preparing scholars to publish their community engaged work.
Pen to Paper is an academic writing retreat designed to provide time, space, and resources to guide faculty, professional staff, graduate students, and community partners working on manuscripts related to service-learning and community engagement.
We at Indiana Campus Compact are committed to supporting engaged scholars through every stage of the publishing process. During this disconnected time of the pandemic, we continue to work with our editorial partners to ensure that Pen to Paper participants, at all levels, receive a quality experience, regardless if that experience is in-person or virtual.
NEW for Fall 2020! Preparing for Pen to Paper (virtual experience)
NEW for Fall 2020! During Fall 2020, we are launching the newest opportunity in the Pen to Paper family—Preparing for Pen to Paper. This unique cohort-based experience allows those who are new to both academic writing and publishing, and more specifically publishing their engaged scholarship to work with others over an extended period while learning more about the variety of publishing outlets available.
This completely virtual experience will include:
- Facilitated half-day (4.5 hour) virtual workshop
- Facilitated monthly cohort-based writing meetings—organized based on the availability of participants
- Monthly webinars with editors of the leading community engagement publications
- Priority registration for Pen to Paper 2021
This opportunity is open to anyone, but Indiana Campus Compact encourages graduate students, faculty who are new to engaged publishing, community engagement professionals, and community members to attend. Registration for Preparing for Pen to Paper is limited in order to ensure a quality experience for all participants.
Pen to Paper 2021 (in-person)
Pen to Paper, our original Writing Retreat program, has been called “the best professional development opportunity of my career” by a past participant. We are currently working on plans for an in-person Retreat in May 2021 to be held in Michigan. We will announce the date and exact location later this fall, as well as our timeline and plan in case the Retreat should pivot to a virtual (or hybrid) experience.
Pen to Paper is a two and a half-day retreat providing participants with time to discuss ideas with and receive feedback from editors, receive mentoring from retreat facilitators, share ideas with peers, and write.
Each year attendance is intentionally kept to a minimum in order to foster personal connections between participants, editors, and senior faculty coaches. The small group also provides the space participants need to focus on engaged scholarship.
The Retreat is organized in such a way as to offer participants two tracks—the Ready to Publish track and Ready to Write track.
- The Ready to Publish track is for those who have a complete or nearly complete manuscript. These participants will receive feedback from journal editors and learn more about the various avenues available to publish their work.
- The Ready to Write track is for those whose research is complete or nearly complete and have a writing plan, but who have not yet begun the writing process. These participants will focus on developing their writing strategy and receive guidance as they begin the writing process.
This in-person experience includes:
- Facilitated 2.5 day Pen to Paper programming
- Feedback from editors from the top engagement journals.
- Complete access to the Retreat facility, which provides ample writing spaces
- Modest hotel-style overnight accommodations
- Meals during the Retreat
Indiana Campus Compact encourages faculty, community engagement professionals, graduate students, and community members who are interested in further developing their community engagement practices and research methodology to attend the Colloquium on High-Impact Community Engagement Practices before attending Pen to Paper.
New for 2021! Pen to Paper 2.0 (in person experience)
One of the things Pen to Paper participants have consistently asked for year after year is, “more writing time” even after the facilitated gathering is over. Well, we listened, and have developed Pen to Paper 2.0 with this specifically in mind.
Open to any Pen to Paper 2019 (and before) alums, Pen to Paper 2.0 is two-and-a-half days of uninterrupted writing time in a secluded space, but in the company of other engaged scholars. Those wishing to participate in Pen to Paper 2.0 will be asked to submit a draft of a writing project they will be working on during the Retreat, prior to registration. Each participant will receive anonymous peer feedback from another participant upon arrival. Participants have the opportunity to interact as much or as little with fellow Pen to Paper 2.0 participants as they feel necessary.
Pen to Paper 2.0 will immediately follow Pen to Paper 2021. We are currently working on plans for an in-person Retreat in May 2021 to be held in Michigan. We will announce the date and exact location later this fall, as well as our timeline and plan in case the Retreat should pivot to a virtual (or hybrid) experience.
This in-person experience includes:
- Peer feedback on your engaged writing
- Complete access to the Retreat facility, which provides ample writing spaces.
- Modest hotel-style overnight accommodations
- Meals during the Retreat
For more information, contact Laura Weaver, Director of Professional Development and Engaged Learning at laura {at} incampuscompact(.)org.