Writer's Mafungo 2026
The Writer’s Mafungo is a unique opportunity for MSU scholars whose scholarly endeavors emphasize a broad spectrum of communities to experience a welcoming, interdisciplinary and intense writing space. Mafungo is a Swahili word meaning “retreat”. The 3-day experience is meant to provide a mutually supportive and challenging context away from campus and daily life, enabling unfettered but dense writing time. Writers must have a project in mind and a set of achievable writing goals for each day of the experience. Additional experiences that enhance writing outcomes will be provided on-site.
The participants are held accountable by one another in daily roundtables. The roundtables offer both supportive and challenging mentoring and peer mentoring sessions. Each day, participants revisit goals and revise them as necessary. The retreat also includes writing perspective and practice sessions, as well as access to expert national consultants. In addition, participants will attend a follow-up session occurring in early fall to determine the completion and outcome of the project, and to reconnect with the group.
Event Details
Dates: Sunday–Wednesday, May 31 – June 3, 2026
Venue: Crystal Mountain Resort
Application Opens: Monday, February 2, 2026 (12:00 AM – 11:59 PM) – Qualtrics Application
Application Closes: Friday, April 3, 2026 (by 11:59 PM) – Qualtrics Application
Arrangements
Accommodations are provided. Participants are responsible for some meals and transportation to the retreat site.
Application Process
Applicants will submit a 2-page description of their project and a detailed set of goals for the three-day experience. Applications should include:
- A short letter of interest
- A 500-word project explanation
- A description of writing goals for the retreat
- A short bio (100–150 words)
- A current CV
The experience is limited to 10 participants. Selection criteria will include the interdisciplinary nature of the group, quality of the project, clarity of goals, and representation across career stages. Priority will be given to DRN members.
The conversations with others build community and the support helps with the writing process. Also, the advice from consultants is extremely helpful.
I realized I really need to work alongside others even if we are working on different things! So much of the academia is being told to "work alone," but this retreat has helped me realize that I don't have to follow that because it's a recommendation to work alone, not a requirement.