January 5–9, 2026

The Faculty Writing Hunker is a five-day interdisciplinary faculty/P&A writing retreat scheduled for January 5–9, 2026. We will offer in-person options on the Twin Cities campus and an online offering for participants from Crookston, Duluth, Morris and Rochester.

Writing Hunkers create a supportive and productive community of scholarly writers from various disciplinesand academic ranks (from postdoctoral researchers and P&A staff to Regent’s Professors and Endowed chairs). January hunkers can be a space for recovery and reorganization at the end of a hectic semester, as well as for preparation and planning for a spring term of focused writing work.

Registration is open until December 15, with priority registration closing on December 8. Space is limited, so mark your calendars and apply early! For more information, please contact Dan Emery or Jasmine Kar Tang.

Register by Dec. 15

About Hunkers

The Writing Across the Curriculum program offers interdisciplinary faculty and staff writing retreats called Writing Hunkers. These programs combine dedicated independent writing time with structured writing activities, writing and research consultations, and reflective lunchtime discussions about writing and teaching. Hunkers create a distraction-free, supportive, and productive community of writers from a wide variety of disciplines and academic ranks at the University of Minnesota.

Research from Robert Boice (1990),  McGrail, Rikard, and Jones (2006), and Paul J. Silva (2014) have demonstrated that opportunities to write in parallel, participate in writing groups, and receive coaching on academic writing increase faculty writing productivity. In addition to dedicated writing time, Hunkers create a community of writers who share their experiences, tips, and tricks for managing writing projects and encouraging regular writing practice.

Facilitators

Daniel Emery, Writing Across the Curriculum

Jasmine Kar Tang, Center for Writing

Interested? Questions?

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about writing hunkers (including developing your own departmental or area hunker), please contact Dan Emery ([email protected]). We encourage anyone interested to join our hunker listserv and Google group, even if this writing retreat doesn't fit your current plans. 

For additional support for your writing and research, please see our resources for scholarly writers page. If you are a graduate student writer interested in writing support (or a faculty member who advises graduate writers), please see the Dissertation Writing Retreat and Student Writing Support resources, especially for graduate writers.