Michael J. Chudzik emblemMichael J. Chudzik

Retreats and Readings

Places where the story is told out loud

Four gatherings this year, from a single evening in a bookshop to three days of silence in the hills. Rooms are kept small, and you book your own place directly below.

The gatherings

Every event is small on purpose. Read what each one is, then reserve your place below.

The Ashanaya Retreat: Three Days of Story and Silence

Retreat

The Ashanaya Retreat: Three Days of Story and Silence

  • April 17 – 19, 2026
  • Arrival 4:00 PM Friday
  • Ojai, California
  • 24 places

Three days in the hills above Ojai, shaped around the questions the novel asks: what we inherit, what we carry, and what we hand on.

Mornings are held in silence. We walk, we read a single passage aloud, and we write without discussion until noon. Afternoons open into long-form conversation with Michael about myth, memory, and the eleven years behind Ashanaya.

Evenings are candlelit readings in the stone hall, followed by a shared meal. No prior writing experience is required, and nothing you write is ever collected or critiqued unless you ask for it.

  • Two nights lodging
  • All meals
  • Signed hardcover
  • Morning walk and writing sessions
Evening Reading and Signing

Reading

Evening Reading and Signing

  • March 6, 2026
  • 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • 60 places

A reading from the second part of the novel, an hour of open questions, and signing afterward for anyone who stays.

Michael reads the crossing sequence in full — the twenty minutes of the book he has never read publicly before — and then takes questions for as long as there are questions.

Copies are available at the door, and he will sign anything you bring, including editions you have already worn out.

  • Reading and Q&A
  • Signing
  • Reserved seating
Myth-Making Workshop

Workshop

Myth-Making Workshop

  • May 9, 2026
  • 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
  • Asheville, North Carolina
  • 18 places

A single working day on building a mythology that holds: origin, threshold, transformation, and the return nobody expects.

We take apart three old stories down to their load-bearing structure, then spend the afternoon building one of your own. You leave with a finished skeleton and a page you did not have that morning.

The room is capped at eighteen so that every participant reads aloud at least twice and receives direct response from Michael.

  • Full-day workshop
  • Lunch
  • Workbook
  • Read-aloud response
Full Moon Fire Circle

Gathering

Full Moon Fire Circle

  • June 20, 2026
  • 8:00 PM – 11:00 PM
  • Sedona, Arizona
  • 30 places

One night, one fire, and the oldest arrangement there is: people sitting in a ring while somebody tells the story.

Michael tells the Ashanaya story the way it was told to him in fragments — from memory, out of order, without the book in his hands.

Bring a blanket and something warm. The circle sits low and the desert cools fast after dark.

  • Storytelling by firelight
  • Tea and bread
  • Open circle after

Self-booking

Reserve your place

Pick a gathering date on the calendar. Only dates with an event are selectable, and availability updates as places are taken.

Select a gathering date

Gathering dates, September 2026

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Highlighted dates are the four gatherings listed above.

Choose a date to begin

Select one of the highlighted dates on the calendar.