The Writing Retreat

By Julia Bartz

The dark, atmospheric, feminist offspring of Squid Game, The Hunting Party and Misery


A book deal to die for.


Five attendees are selected for a month-long writing retreat at the remote estate of Roza Vallo, the controversial high priestess of feminist horror. Alex, a struggling writer, is thrilled.


Upon arrival, they discover they must complete an entire novel from scratch, and the best one will receive a seven-figure publishing deal. Alex’s long-extinguished dream now seems within reach.


But then the women begin to die.


Trapped, terrified yet still desperately writing, it clear there is more than a publishing deal at stake at Briar estate. As Alex must confront her own demons – and finish her novel – to save herself.


This unhinged, propulsive, claustrophobic closed-door thriller will pull you in and spit you out…

About the author:

Julia Bartz is a Brooklyn-based writer and practicing therapist. Her fiction writing has appeared in The South Dakota Review, InDigest Magazine, and more. The Writing Retreat is her first novel. Follow her on Twitter @JuliaBartz and Instagram at @JuliaBartz.

ISBN: 9780861546435

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Credit: https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/writing-retreat-9780861546435/