All Inclusive* Program Prices Starting At:

$440/person - Double Occupancy

$590/person - Single Occupancy

* Includes lodging, meals, program activities and access to optional daily activities and recreational equipment. Learn More about the Great Camp Sagamore experience.

Program Overview

Join a group of like-minded women for a reading and writing retreat. Activities will include writing workshops, reflective paddling, arts-based activities, technical writing, experiential learning, and Adirondack-based readings to contemplate the role of sense of place in nature writing.

Great Camp Sagamore is pleased to offer this workshop in collaboration with the Adirondack Center for Writing of Saranac Lake, an organization dedicated to building a community of reading, writing and listening across the Adirondack region. This weekend is dedicated to the memory of Anne LaBastille, whose passion for the Adirondacks led to her writing the landmark series of "Woodswoman" books documenting her experiences and observations of the natural world. This program is made possible through the Anne LaBastille Estate.

Choose from a two-night or a three-night option. Formal instruction will begin on Friday evening after dinner. The 3-night program includes an optional guided paddle excursion on “Black Bear Lake” to the site of Anne’s Cabin where participants will share lunch and have time to explore, write, and reflect.

Program Activities

• Individual and group mentoring by award winning author Mary Sanders Shartle

• Reflective paddle and nature journaling

• Responsive sharing of writing among participants

• Ample free time to write and explore

• Presentation by Leslie Suprenant, “Anne LaBastille: Legacy of a Half Hermit”

• Optional paddle excursion to Anne’s property (3-night option)

Program Partner: Adirondack Center for Writing

Program Instructors

Mary Sanders Shartle - Author, Poet

Mary has been running writing workshops in Saratoga County or the Adirondacks since 2002. She has been a leader of the popular Anne LaBastille Women’s Writing Weekend at Great Camp Sagamore since 2019. Her novel,  The Truth and Legend of Lily Martindale (2014 SUNY Press) won Indie Fab, IPPY awards among others. She has been published in Hamilton-Stone Review and JMWW. She was selected for the competitive Anne LaBastille Residency. “The Three Poets,” (Shartle, with Marilyn McCabe and Elaine Handley), were three-time winners of the Adirondack Center for Writing Poetry Award. She lives in the foothills of the Adirondacks, where she has convinced Merlin that she is actually a Common Raven.

For more information: Mary Sanders Shartle

Angela Cannon-Crothers - Environmental Educator

Angela Cannon-Crothers is a naturalist and environmental educator. Her most recent book, Changing Seasons in The Finger Lakes, won the Cayuga Lake Books Award for Creative Prose in 2019. Her other books include The Wildcrafter (a novel), Our Voices, Our Wisdom; An Herb Haven Year, and Grape Pie Season (a children’s book illustrated by Darryl Abraham).

Her poetry, essays and articles have appeared in regional, national and literary publications. She works as the Forest Schools and Field Studies Coordinator at Cumming Nature Center in Naples, NY.

During the retreat, she will be facilitating the “Paddle and Reflections” portion with guided journal exercises, and a group poetry writing experience.

Leslie Surprenant - Environmental Biologist

Leslie Surprenant is a retired environmental biologist, a professional ski instructor, NYS Licensed Guide, and an instructor for New York’s Becoming an Outdoors Woman. She was a long-time friend of Anne LaBastille, enjoying many camping trips and adventures with her. Leslie was Anne’s estate executor.

All Program Sessions

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