Creative Convergence: A Gathering of Words with Patrice Gopo

Many writers carve out time and space to create amid the constraints of ordinary life. They rise early in the morning before their day truly needs to begin. Or they remain awake, crafting sentences long after others have gone to sleep. For some, they reach for the pockets of time available on bus commutes, over lunch hours, or as they sit in the carpool line. So often, the writer entwines their creative energy with the patterns of a typical day.

What might happen, though, if, for a handful of days, a writer could find rest from all that vies for their attention and turn themselves fully toward their writing? What might happen if a writer had space and time to feed their creative lives in whatever way might serve them best? What might happen if that writer could gather in community with other writers, each engaged in their own work, but everyone’s presence bolstering, buoying, and encouraging others? In such a gathering of words, creative convergence is inevitable.

Creative Convergence’s loosely structured schedule includes optional co-writing sessions, writing-prompt gatherings, and opportunities to meet with a writing coach. The days will be open for participants to use how they choose. In the evenings, the group will gather together and converse about writing, publishing, and building a creative life. This program is open to emerging and established spiritual writers who long for focused time and space to create in community. Participants with a general intention for how they will use the time—whether engaging with new or existing projects—will be given priority.

This workshop will be held at the Saint Francis Springs Prayer Center in Stoneville, North Carolina. It is fully funded for accepted applicants, but transportation to and from the Saint Francis Springs Prayer Center is the responsibility of participants. However, participants may be eligible to receive financial assistance to offset those travel expenses by completing a Financial Need Statement on the application form.

Patrice Gopo is an award-winning writer who crafts stories steeped in themes of place, belonging, and home. Her essay collections include Autumn Song, recipient of the inaugural Pattis Family Foundation Creative Arts Book Award, and All the Colors We Will See, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. Her picture books include Ripening Time, recipient of a North Carolina Book Award and finalist for a Southern Book Prize, All the Places We Call Home, and the forthcoming Beyond Alaska’s Window. Patrice is also the editor of the essay anthology We Deserve to Heal, a project deeply connected to the Collegeville Institute. Patrice lives with her family in North Carolina, where she enjoys walks just after dawn and thinks a perfect day ends with ice cream. Please visit PatriceGopo.com to learn more.

Application Process

Applications due by Sunday, August 9, 2026. Apply here.