A WAY TO WRITE

Hi! I’m Shaleria!

A Black woman building her own writing retreat with the help of her community.

Writing is a communal journey often requiring the support of friends, family and generous benefactors. During the Harlem Renaissance, Black writers and artists often depended on the generosity of white benefactors and community organizations to fund their work, including lodging, travel and food.

Writing is a career that many poor and working class Black women have been excluded from because it takes an ungodly amount of time and emotional space to write a novel and most Black women have neither. I have been a writer for the last ten years, writing a community blog, publishing two books of poetry, newsletters, and generally serving a source of information and perspective in my community. I have been passively working on a novel for a few years, but I have reached the point where stealing time is no longer enough and that is why I am asking for your help in funding a writer’s retreat.

One Month Writing Retreat: $6,000

$3,000 for a 30 day stay at a locally owned hotel  in New Orleans

$2,400 for food, per Louisiana per diem rates for 2026

$600 for misc (this includes train ticket, a few clothing items, travel sized needs, water tumbler, etc)

What would your donations cover?

$80 covers one days worth of breakfast, lunch, dinner and a coffee/tea 

$100 covers one night at the hotel

$180 covers one night and food for the day

$560 covers one weeks worth of food

$700 covers one week at the hotel

$1,310 covers one week of hotel and food

Ways To Give:

Some questions you may have:

Why not apply for a grant or get a job and write on the side?

  • In Shreveport, there is not a huge, or even small, amount of funding for Black women who want to write novels. On the regional and state level, it is more about the promotion of arts rather than the curation of it. Where there are grants like this available, they are mostly in Northern states and only available to residents of that state. Additionally, I have written on the side for years and have reached a point where if I want to move on to the next step, it requires daily devotion. I am working to contribute to the writing retreat as well.

Why a writer’s retreat?

  • The other day I said to my wife, “I have lived enough life to finish three books right now, but life doesn’t stop enough for one.” All in all, I just need a minute. A minute with space and food to write. I have the characters, the foundation, and the story in my body, but there is no time to release it. 
  • So many of the Black women writers we love needed time away from society to write. In Black Women Writers at Work, the late Maya Angelou talked about how she booked a hotel room everyday just to write. I have written on the side for years and I constantly find myself having to retreat before I fully dive in.

Aren’t there already writing retreats available? 

  • Yes! There are lots of them. I initially planned to apply for some of them; however, I noticed some may not include all the necessities such as food, travel and lodging. That is where I got the idea to create my own. Writing is a fully immersive journey and having the basics covered is important for me.

Will there be a budget available?

  • While for tax purposes this will count as an act of generosity, I will make the receipts available at the end of the month. I will also share writing updates weekly.

Will I be in the acknowledgements section? 

  • Lol, YES! Since a little girl I have been in awe at the acknowledgements page and seeing how many people it takes to bring one book to life. The road to becoming a published author is often filled with roadblocks and detours so I will be beyond grateful to anyone who sees the importance in helping me bring this book to life. However, if you would like to remain anonymous, that is okay with me, too.

Is the food necessary?

  • Yes! I have been responsible for providing food for myself and others since I was 14. Making decisions around what to eat, when to eat, the meal prepping, the planning, grocery shopping at multiple stores to make it work is an exhaustive task. I have chosen a hotel with a full service restaurant attached, in a walkable neighborhood, with endless options to eat.

What will you be working on at the retreat? 

  • I will be working on my debut novel. It is a historical fiction novel that centers Black male youth. It includes but not limited to death and grief, gang violence, Black spirituality and deeply emotional character arcs.

What will you do after the retreat?

  • After the retreat, I will return to working and start the process of editing and looking for a literary agent to sell my book to a publisher.

We are in a dire time in our country and especially in regard to how we view/treat and talk about Black youth. Storytelling is a monumental tool that can aid in understanding and addressing serious issues which makes novels that center Black youth and their realities more necessary than ever.

In No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear, the late Toni Morrison stated after the re-election of George Bush,“This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.” Black Art is important. It is in Black Art I learned to fully see, understand and love myself. As the world changes, it is important that we prioritize uplifting and supporting Black artists, writers, creators, visionaries and free thinkers. For it is art that heals us all.

If you have any questions or require any additional payment methods, please do not hesitate to reach out. Please feel free to share with anyone with your friends and family members who love to support the arts!

With love,

Shaleria

we are each other’s harvest:
we are each other’s business:
we are each other’s magnitude and bond.

– Gwendolyn Brooks