Everything you need
to know to have a magical week

Laura’s Level I workshop is for writers of any level who are just thinking about or just starting a memoir or personal essay. This includes absolute beginners and also writers of other genres who are trying memoir or writing personal essays for the first time. It will be mainly a generative workshop that helps you produce pages and work on different aspects of craft such as scene, structure, theme, dialogue, and writing from the senses. If you will arrive in San Miguel with less than two chapters or essays already written, this is the workshop for you.

Hope’s Level II workshop is for writers who have a clear idea of the theme and arc of their projects and are already two chapters or more into their memoirs or essay collections or have completed a first draft. These writers will each have the opportunity to share up to 10 pages of completed work during the week and bring their writing to the next level. This week will be a time to receive feedback on existing work, revise pages, and generate new material. 

Hope and Laura will give craft talks to both groups on topics of relevance and interest to memoir writers. Signing up for one workshop means you’ll have plenty of time with both instructors.

The Centro district, where our workshop is held, is very safe, though as in any urban environment in Mexico or the U.S., you need to keep your wits about you. Ubers and official green taxis are plentiful, and just be sure to walk with a friend at night.

The closest airports to San Miguel are Leon (BJX) or Queretaro (QRO), both about a 1.5-hour drive away. Take Bajiogo shuttles to get from the airport right to the door of your hotel. You can also fly to Mexico City and take a bus ride for approximately  4-5 hours. Reserve in advance on ETN from Terminal Norte in Mexico City to the bus station in San Miguel, and then take an Uber or taxi to your hotel.

You can make your own arrangements for one of the rooms at Casa de la Cuesta, where the workshop is held. Once that’s full, you can rent one of two rooms at Laura’s Bird House directly from her or scroll down for a list of nearby hotels. You can search for your own AirBnB. There are many in the town. We are in the Centro right near the Ignacio Ramirez Mercado at San Jose #32, Centro.

We regret that we are unable to book individual rooms for workshop participants or take responsibility for the bookings. And because there are so many nearby options, we want you to choose the one that’s best for you! If you are staying at Casa de la Cuesta, Bill Levasseur, the owner, can help you with airport transfers. So can most hotels. If you are staying at an Air BnB, it’s very easy to book your own transfers with our preferred shuttle company, Bajiogo.

Casa de la Cuesta serves a hearty breakfast for those staying there, as do most nearby hotels. Otherwise, there are plenty of cafes nearby, as well as multiple restaurants within walking distance. We’ll give you a list of recommended restaurants when you arrive. We will be hosting a reception the first night and dinner the last night, so let us know of any special dietary needs you may have.

Not at all. San Miguel is an international destination for tourism, and most of the service industry will be conversant in English. But even a small amount of Spanish will go a long way with locals. We’ll give you a quick primer on greetings and basic phrases when we meet on the first night.

We recommend purchasing traveler’s health insurance, since your existing coverage may not extend to Mexico. For a medical emergency in Mexico, dial 911 just like in the U.S. 

For non-emergency medical attention in San Miguel, the following local clinics and hospitals are available:

The Clinic San Miguel

Website: theclinicsma.com/en

Email: recepcion@smahealthservices.com

Phone: +52 (415) 152-2255

Hospital Joya San Miguel

Website: hospitaljoya.com/en/san_miguel_de_allende/

Phone: +52 (415) 152-5900

Yes! Your afternoons are yours. We have a couple of optional events planned (such as a cooking class, an art walk, a museum tour, and a photo safari), some for an additional fee, but we’ve made sure you have time to explore AND write. We’ll also make recommendations for places to visit—the central jardin, the botanical gardens, galleries, and shops around town.

San Miguel de Allende is paved in cobblestones, so be sure to bring comfortable, flat walking shoes with a grip. You will not need or want heels. We’re are at high altitude so bring a sun hat and sunscreen (you can easily buy both here). Weather will likely be in the 70s during the day and cooling off at night to the 50s or 60s so be sure to bring a sweater or light jacket. Bring your laptop or a notebook and pen to write. If you want to go salsa dancing, bring your dancing shoes!

No. Drink only filtered water, available in most hotels, including at Casa de la Cuesta, or bottled water, available everywhere. Most produce is disinfected in restaurants and ice is made from filtered water in most places.

Mexican outlets use the same plugs as the U.S. and Canada. If you are coming from those countries you will not need adapters. If you come from the UK, EU, or elsewhere please bring adapters with you as they may be difficult to find here.

We can accommodate your schedule, but please be aware that we cannot offer discounts for partial stays. Your registration will be billed in full and there will not be an opportunity to make up a missed workshop.

Laura’s Level I workshop is for writers of any level who are starting a memoir or personal essay. Hope’s Level II workshop is for writers who are already two chapters or more into their memoirs or essay collections, or have completed a first draft. If you are still uncertain about which workshop to choose, contact us and we’ll help you decide!

We will not have easy access to printers while at the workshop. Pages will be read out loud from your computer screen or from printed pages you bring from home.

About 2 weeks before the workshop, we will create a WhatsApp group for each workshop and also for the group as a whole. Please be sure to download the WhatsApp app on your phone and familiarize yourself with it before that 2-week window.

Credit cards are widely accepted throughout San Miguel, and pesos are the local currency. U.S. and Canadian dollars are rarely accepted, so you’ll want to keep some Mexican pesos on hand for taxis, tips, and smaller purchases. Taxis within Centro generally cost around 80–100 pesos per ride. For cash, we recommend withdrawing pesos directly from an ATM rather than exchanging currency, as ATMs typically offer a more favorable exchange rate.