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Background: This case study describes the South Central Chapter of the Medical Library Association (SCC/MLA) initiative to develop an academic writing retreat for members who sought the necessary time and support to advance their research projects toward publication.
Case Presentation: SCC/MLA staged a dedicated writing retreat to coincide with the organization's 2012, 2013, and 2014 annual meetings. Each cohort met over two days to write and to workshop their peers' manuscripts. Organizers distributed an online survey one month after each retreat to evaluate attendees' perceptions.
Conclusions: Three years' worth of writing retreats yielded fourteen peer-reviewed articles and one book chapter. Participants indicated that the retreat helped them meet or exceed their writing goals by offering protected time and a setting conducive to productivity. The format of the retreat is cost effective and easily adaptable for fellow professionals who wish to organize a formal event as a conference offering or simply support a writing group at their home institutions. In SCC/MLA, the retreat revitalized interest in writing and demystified the scholarly publication process.
BACKGROUND
Writing for publication can be intimidating and frustrating, and the need for time and support to write is common across a wide variety of academic disciplines [1, 2]. Many scholars have championed the concept of an academic writing retreat as an opportunity to write in a distraction-free environment and receive feedback from peers. In their recent integrative review, Kornhaber et al. identified five main benefits of a writing retreat: protected time and space, development of academic writing competence, creation of a community of practice, organizational investment in the form of experienced mentors and follow-up opportunities, and intrapersonal benefits, such as increased motivation and reduced writing-related anxiety [3].
Retreat facilitators have developed many variations on the model. Tysick and Babb's 2006 study, the only appearance of the concept in the library literature, described an academic writing group at the University of Buffalo that offered graduate library students expert feedback from experienced facilitators, support from colleagues, and ample time to write [4]. While the library students in the Tysick and Babb study convened on campus, participants in residential retreats such as those described by Grant enjoyed "marvellous food...and proximity to hot pools for evening soaking" in a pastoral setting meant to spur productivity...