Fall colours blazed during our September retreat… each day a different shade
Last month I flew all the way to New York to join a creative retreat at Milkwood Farm Built in the 1850s and run as a working dairy farm until 2006, Milkwood is now a creative retreat for the children’s book community—artists and writers, librarians and educators, editors, art directors, agents, and booksellers—to come together to write and draw, dream, talk and eat and drink. Milkwood is run by Sophie Blackall, a Caldecott-winning Australian author and illustrator now based in the US, and Ed Schmidt, a playwright. Milkwood is named after Under Milk Wood, by Dylan Thomas. Sophie and Ed were generous and kind hosts and gave us all the tools we needed to make our retreat a success - but they largely left our group to discover each other’s work and to create our own community for the six days we were in residence at their beautiful property.
Post Milkwood, I’ve reflected on the Māori proverb: Māku e kii atu, he tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata. What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.
My group - made up of 10 wildly talented and passionate children’s book artists and writers from around the US and the globe brought the magic to Milkwood. Our retreat was self-catered and two people planned and cooked for the group each night - from tacos to Indian feasts, a cook out and more. Sitting around the long tables in the main farmhouse, in the old barn, alfresco and around a camp fire - we shared stories and histories, lots of laughter (maybe a few happy tears).
Group XI
Māku e kii atu, he tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata. What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.
Most days we worked in quiet, creative spaces thoughtfully curated by Sophie and Ed. I was drawn to the 5000+ book library, stuffed with picture books, middle grade and junior fiction. Some of the artists worked in a long cottage, filled with art supplies. People could be found in every nook and cranny - or dreaming in the (hard to get into!) hammock overlooking flower studded fields.
Each morning the group held an informal writing or illustration prompt, which kickstarted our brains for the day. I worked on two new PB stories, and also looked back to discover older stories with potential. I shared the “goat” room with my dear friend Carolyn Davis, an art director living in NYC. She’s illustrated our upcoming picture book The Inside Dog, and I cherished the rare opportunity to watch her create extraordinary, clever artwork in real time. We can’t wait for everyone to meet our character Cuddles in Feb 2025!
We made sure to explore the gorgeous Catskills region - visiting a farmers’ market in a nearby town of Delhi, grabbing coffee (Stamford Coffee’s Smoked Maple latte was a revelation!) and poking around cute bookstores like The Lost Bookshop. Wildlife highlights included seeing a small black bear running through an adjacent field at dusk, placid deer, Milkwood’s comedic duck troupe, and a lost turtle crossing the road. Truly the stuff of children’s books!
The famous Milkwood ducks.
Truthfully, it was a very long journey to get to Milkwood, especially as I have a fused spine - 26 hours of travel from Sydney Australia to NYC, plus a three hour car ride into the Catskills. I was pretty much jetlagged the entire time. It was expensive with the exchange rate, but I had a little help from family and I worked extra hard during Book Week to make up the shortfall in earnings while I was away. My employer was wonderful in giving me time off to tick off this bucket list, once in a lifetime opportunity. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Would I go again if I could? Without hesitation.
Thank you to group X1 for your friendship, community and encouragement, and for the small things that made the week special. Eggs with faces, duck place cards, fresh muffins, surprise boxes of bakery treats, beautifully prepared meals, star gazing, marshmallow roasting, and the most important, lasting gift: a sense of everyone being in the same boat … using our creative skills to make stories that matter. Stories that make children think, laugh and feel empathy.
Until Next Time, Milkwood.
