Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp & Writing Retreat

05/29/2026

Cynthia Pelayo's new novella reworks Frankenstein

Award-winning author Cynthia Pelayo is joining our Speculative Fiction instructional staff for the upcoming 2026 Novel Bookcamp in three weeks, June 21-27. In her Friday, May 29, email newsletter, she introduces her latest book, the novella Everina:

"Frankenstein changed the shape of literature. First published in 1818, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often placed in the framework of the tension between science and God. And yes, there is a lot to say in terms of the Gothic, and technology, and life and death. Trust me, I’ve written many papers on Frankenstein and Shelley during my PhD in English studies, and I’m sure I’ll discuss some of those learnings here throughout the next few months.

"However, we often fail to discuss the novel from its true narrative beginning, the grief of a mother who lost her child.

"I’m very honored to have this opportunity to write through this story from a female perspective, a mother’s perspective. Mary Shelley wrote a novel as a way to process the death of a child she so loved, and she ensured that very love would be remembered by all of humanity.

"This is my way to honor Mary Shelley and a mother’s love. Thank you to my wonderful agent and editor for helping me bring this project to life."

Novel to be released in June

Pelayo's novel, It Came From Neverland, is currently a top new release on Amazon in both hardcover and paperback under Vampire Horror. "While this is not a vampire horror novel, it does deal with some themes of psychic vampirism through the undercurrent of the story," she writes.

It Came From Neverland is available June 9th. "Preorders help substantially," Pelayo noted in her newsletter. "Every single preorder helps. So thank you to everyone who has preordered It Came From Neverland and reviewed it."

We're pleased Cynthia Pelayo is joining us for the 2026 Novel Bookcamp week, starting Sunday, June 21, at the Siena Retreat Center in Racine, Wisconsin. It's going to be an exciting week of writing expertise and advice.

05/29/2026

$1,000 for the Best Villain in North America.

A friend of the Novel Bookcamp, Bell Cow Productions, is running a new contest for authors offering a $1,000 prize. Here's details:

Good news from the Bell Cow pasture: because of the overwhelming interest in The Moriarty Award, we've increased the winning prize from $500 to $1,000.

If you've already heard about The Moriarty Award, thank you for helping us spread the word. If this is the first time it's crossed your desk, here's the short version:

The Moriarty Award is a national literary prize celebrating one of fiction's most essential elements: the antagonist.

We're looking for memorable, compelling, sharply drawn antagonists in published works of fiction. Villains, rivals, masterminds, charming troublemakers, institutional forces, morally complicated opponents, shadowy organizations, and beautifully written bad influences are all welcome.

The winning author will now receive a $1,000 cash prize. Full eligibility, submission details, deadlines, and award information are available here: https://www.bellcowproductions.com/moriarty-award

And if you're wondering, "Wait, who's Bell Cow?"

Bell Cow Productions is a Minnesota-based literary organization created to help connect authors with readers, bookstores, libraries, podcasts, book clubs, and the wider literary ecosystem. We launched our interactive author Cattle-log on January 1, 2026, with a focus on Minnesota authors, and we're continuing to expand across Wisconsin, the Midwest, and beyond through podcasts, author resources, literary awards, and community outreach.

The Moriarty Award is open to authors in the United States and Canada. So, if your book features an antagonist readers remember long after the final page, we hope you'll consider submitting. And if you know another author with a villain, rival, mastermind, or morally complicated troublemaker worth celebrating, please send them our way.

Spread the word. Ring the bell. Name the nemesis. We can't wait to read your submissions.

Best,
Rob Jung and Michael MacBride
🐮 Bell Cow Productions
https://www.bellcowproductions.com

05/04/2026

Bell Cow Productions is a regional literary platform that helps authors become more connected to readers, libraries, bookstores, book event organizers, and one another. Created by Minnesota authors Rob Jung and Michael David MacBride, Bell Cow is now expanding its services into Wisconsin. "We started in Minnesota with a simple idea: too many excellent writers are doing terrific work without enough regional support or visibility. So, we decided to build something useful," MacBride said.

Novel Bookcamp Director Dave Rank has started a conversation with Jung and MacBride to explore ways Bell Cow and Novel Bookcamp can assist each other in the future. For now, we suggest checking out Bell Cow Productions at their website, Home. If you decide to try them out and sign up for their Cattle-Log, a regional listing of authors, use the code Moo27 to let Rob and Michael know you heard about Bell Cow from Novel Bookcamp. It's a test to see if Bell Cow can be a promotional tool for us.

04/07/2026

Bruce Landay Author, a Novel in Progress Bookcamp graduate, released his debut today. Congrats! I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy. My five-star review is posted on the Wisconsin Writers Association site, Amazon, and Goodreads. It's a great accomplishment for Bruce and another feather in Novel Bookcamp's cap. We love it when our authors realize their goals!

Five years ago, Navy Special Ops pilot Jazmin Hassani lost her SEAL team in a burst of electromagnetic energy. A high-stakes rescue mission at a Chinese military base turned into a massacre—a live-fire test of a top-secret directed energy weapon. Horrifically injured, she was never meant to co...

03/29/2026

The Novel Bookcamp Newsletter is live!!

Novel-in-Progress Bookcamp & Writing Retreat, Inc. ~ Newsletter 21; March 2026

03/22/2026

Now's the time to take that next step -- the Novel Bookcamp registration is open and filling fast. Enrollment deadlines in May!

02/20/2026

OUR NEW WEBSITE IS LIVE!!
CHECK US OUT!!
https://novelbookcamp.org/

01/01/2026

Thank you 2025!

[Director’s Note: We pride ourselves that year to year we bring in the best writers, editors, and agents possible to fill our staff. A great example is Cynthia Palayo, award-winning Horror novelist, who will team up with Fantasy editor Nicole Whisler to lead our morning classes for our Speculative Fiction Bookcamp Workshop in June. Along with Literary Agent Kelly Van Sant, the trio will read and provide one-on-one consultations for each enrolled Workshop writer. Here’s how Cinna describes her past year and what she has planned for 2026 along with June’s Novel Bookcamp. Read it and you will see one exceptional reason why we’re so excited about our staff this year!]

Cynthia Palayo
December 29, 2025

I was busy the entirety of 2025. I traveled a lot. I met a lot of great people. I visited a lot of new to me bookstores, and I got to attend a lot of fantastic writing events and festivals.
I also released six projects this year, Vanishing Daughters, the Barnes & Noble special edition of Lotería, and the trade paperback editions of Lotería, Children of Chicago, The Shoemaker’s Magician and I got to work on a Marvel comic for White Tiger.
Thank you to every single literary festival who invited me to attend as a guest. Thank you to ever single bookstore who invited me to your store to sign books. Thank you to every single reader who purchased my books. Thank you also to every single editor and publisher I had the honor to work with this year.
This was a fantastic year. My most productive year to date as an author and I’m very proud of myself.
This year I published:
 5 books
 1 Marvel comic
 I lost count how many short stories
 Forgotten Sisters became a Locus Award Finalist
 The International Latino Book Awards gave Forgotten Sisters an honorable mention
Vanishing Daughters was nominated for a Chicago Review of Books Award in Fiction
 I was named a NewCity Chicago Lit50, among the 50 most influential literary figures in the city of Chicago
 I was nominated for Best Novelist for Best of Chicago, Chicago Reader
 Started a new PhD (because I ditched the last one)
 Started the Odyssey Writing Workshop
 And more…
In 2026, I’m releasing two books, It Came From Neverland in June, and something very special in Fall of 2026 that will be released in EIGHT countries.
When it comes to my goals for 2026, I’m aiming to stay local. I traveled too much in 2025, so much. In 2026, I want to focus on writing, teaching, my family and spending time in the present. I also want to spend more time on Substack and less time on Threads and Bluesky. So my main social media for 2026 will be Instagram and Substack.
I’m hoping to continue the Writers Write series here, start that podcast I promised you all, and write some book reviews, share author interviews, and write a few essays on some works of Gothic literature that I’m studying for my PhD and find fascinating.
Overall, I want to work more intentionally when it comes to sharing on social media. Social media is beyond overwhelming today. It’s so different from 2019, and even 2021, and 2023. It stresses me out and I’m beyond overstimulated by the constant feed of awful thing upon awful thing. I’m such a believer in ‘Where attention goes energy flows,’ and when I get on social media I just feel this sense of agitation, and that’s not good for me, or any of us really. I had so many projects to promote in 2025 I felt like I had to be on there all of the time, but really, I noticed that as long as I was sharing something that was thoughtful and with purpose, regardless of the frequency, that’s all that mattered.
The greatest value I personally find on social media are with accounts that are more intentional and thoughtful in terms of what they share and what they curate.
I think 2026 and onward we’re going to see less value in oversaturation—posting all of the time—and more value in creators who can provide us with something of meaning, something of beauty, whether that’s something educational, entertaining or inspiring.
…
Thank you all again so very much for making this such a wonderful year and supporting me on this life of an artist.

11/28/2025

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10/13/2025

3 immersive writing programs, 2 exciting genre tracks, 1 week with your manuscript! That awaits you at the 2026 Novel Bookcamp, June 21-27.

Save $90 with your Early Bird registration, valid through December 31st, on the Bookcamp Workshop, Writing Retreat, or Book Coach program.

Spend a week away from the "real world" with your WIP surrounded by fellow writers and able to consult with some of the top novelists, agents, editors and book coaches in publishing. An all-inclusive experience at a lovely retreat center on the shore of Lake Michigan between Milwaukee and Chicago. One fee includes the program of your choice, six nights private accommodations, and all meals during your stay.

For more information, go to www.novelbookcamp.org, or contact Director Dave Rank at [email protected]. Program enrollments are limited and require application acceptance.