WRITING MINI RESIDENCY

The ORDSS writing mini residency pairs two consecutive days of scheduled writing with two overnights at the Inn at Villanova. The unique overnight experience offers Villanova faculty immersive writing time within a supportive community plus the restorative space of private accommodations.

Why stay overnight?

Reading, writing, and revision benefit from long, unstructured stretches of time during which scholars can settle into a flow state of deep engagement. Within the contemporary academy, competing time pressures make these stretches increasingly difficult to find. The result is what Maggie Berg and Barbara Seeber, in The Slow Professor, term “time poverty,” a major constraint to the production of quality and significant knowledge.

Full day writing retreats, such as our Faculty Write-In Days, help increase productivity by providing several consecutive hours of writing time. However, that time is often punctuated by the regular business of teaching, emailing, and personal obligations. The experience of time poverty remains in participants’ periphery, limiting the potential for flow. 

By removing participants from their everyday responsibilities, multi-night writing retreats hold time poverty at bay and allow for stretches of time that are conducive to deep engagement. In turn, overnight writing retreats are associated with increased enjoyment and creative energy, enhanced well-being, and improved output quality.

Our writing mini residency aims to create the conditions in which Villanova faculty can enjoy these benefits.

Schedule Highlights

• Six hours of writing time per day
• Opportunities for goal sharing
• Regular breaks for meals, snacks, and conversation
• Opportunities to reflect and process alone or with others

Eligibility

All tenured, tenure-track, and continuing non-tenure track faculty who are working on a specific project that would benefit from deep, uninterrupted thought and writing time are welcome to apply. The cohort is limited to 10 participants. 

The 2026 mini residency will be held October 12 - 14, 2026.

ORDSS will cover the cost of hotel rooms, meals, and snacks. To learn more and express interest in participating, please retreat out to the Assistant Director for Faculty Writing Initiatives.