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Mesa Refuge

@mesarefuge

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A residency for writers and activists who are changing conversations about climate, economic equity, and social justice.

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Back by popular demand! Visit our link in bio to register for the Art of the Nonfiction Book Proposal!
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Bringing a book into the world requires both vision and a plan. The proposal is where those meet—a living document that serves as the book’s blueprint, strategy, and invitation to publishers. While many writers find them challenging, they are actually a gift to help you refine and articulate the essence and urgency of your work.

This three-part virtual workshop with with literary agent, Wave Literary Agency founder, and bestselling author Rachel Neumann is designed to support nonfiction writers in transforming their ideas and their work into compelling, publishable proposals, with expert support and in a community of values-aligned writers.

Workshop Overview:
Across three 2-hour sessions, participants will gain a deep understanding of what makes a powerful nonfiction book proposal and how to position their work in today’s publishing landscape. Each session will focus on a part of the proposal and blends teaching, discussion, and hands-on workshopping, with opportunities for feedback.

Participants will leave with a strong first draft of their proposal and a clearer sense of how to move forward toward agents, publishers, or continued development.

Sessions will take place on 3 Tuesdays in October (13th, 20th, 27th) from 4-6pm PST.

Sliding scale: $300 for Mesa Refuge alums, $325-350 for general public. Limited to 25 participants. Please reach out to nkansky@mesarefuge.org if the cost of the workshop is prohibitive to your participation.

Cancellation Policy: In order to receive a partial refund (a $15 admin fee is deducted from your payment), we require 7 days notice. by @mesarefuge

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Join Helen Toribio Kapwa Fellows and Mesa Refuge at Lit Crawl – a massive, one-night literary pub crawl through San Francisco’s Mission District.
This reading includes Isa Borgeson, Rona Fernandez, Jassmin Poyaoan, Aileen Suzara, Aimee Suzara, and Angel Trazo, who were brought together through the Helen Toribio Kapwa Fellowship at Mesa Refuge. Kapwa is a Tagalog word that does not have an exact English translation, but describes “the universal truth of interconnectedness and solidarity with all living beings.” In the spirit of kapwa, these writers bring into conversation distinct explorations of intergenerational relationships and trauma, mothering, queerness, climate change and the role of colonialism, and mythology.

When: October 24th, 6:30pm
Where: Medicine for Nightmares, SF

#litcrawl2026 taken in Medicine for Nightmares by @mesarefuge

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Congratulations to Mesa Refuge, a recipient of a 2026 Marin Cultural Association Arts Grant!

Mesa Refuge brings transformative stories, ideas, and knowledge to the world by supporting a diverse community of writers and activists through residencies at its coastal California retreat. Since 1997, more than 1,000 writers and activists have stayed and worked at Mesa Refuge.

“I see that telling stories is a way to share and to realize we are not always alone.”

MCA is proud to support organizations that create space for storytelling, connection, and creative expression. Learn more about the MCA Arts Grants program at our link in bio!

#MCAArtsGrants #MarinArts #SupportTheArts #MesaRefuge @mesarefuge by @mesarefuge

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Woke at 4:30 am wrote until 8, ate wonderful food, talked to a wasp that had flown in and offered him a bite of my sandwich (yes I sit on the floor). He said bye and gallantly left. Back to work. Typical day @mesarefuge - taken in San Andreas Fault by @mesarefuge

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Last Friday, the board of Mesa Refuge had their biannual retreat at Headlands Center for the Arts! It was such an inspiring space and wonderful experience to be at another retreat center. Thank you so much to @headlandsarts for hosting us! by @mesarefuge

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We were so lucky to have Frank Abe, Claire L. Evans, and Saiba Varma during our fourth session of the year. Thank you for sharing your important work on timely topics!

Frank has long pursued the development of an authentic Japanese American history. He did street theater for the very first Day of Remembrance in 1978, reenacting wartime removal and incarceration, campaigned for government redress and reparations, and later made a PBS film about camp resistance called “Conscience and the Constitution.” Frank wrote the first biography of novelist John Okada, the graphic novel WE HEREBY REFUSE, and edited an anthology of camp literature. At Mesa, he worked on adapting John Okada’s 1957 novel NO-NO BOY for the theater.

Claire is a writer exploring biology, technology, and culture. She is co-founder of VICE’s imprint for speculative fiction TERRAFORM, co-editor of the anthology TERRAFORM: WATCH WORLDS BURN, and author of BROAD BAND. Her writing has appeared in MIT Technology Review, WIRED, The Guardian, and Aeon. She's a MacDowell Calderwood Fellow for Journalism. At Mesa, Claire worked on BRAINLESS, a book investigating the non-neural "minds" of creatures like slime molds, bacteria, unicellular organisms, and even human cells can teach us about intelligence.

Saiba is a writer and anthropologist based in San Diego. She is the author of the award winning book, THE OCCUPIED CLINIC and co-editor of DECOLONIZING BODIES: STORIES OF EMBODIED RESISTANCE, Healing and Liberation. Saiba has written for The Nation, Al Jazeera, Truthout, The Millions, and The Wire among others. She has given talks internationally and has been interviewed by Associated Press, KPFK Pacifica Radio, and San Diego Union Tribune. At Mesa, she worked on her book THIS INFORMATION WILL KILL YOU, which explores histories of psychological warfare in the U.S. and India. by @mesarefuge

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Join translator and performance artist Haleh Liza Gafori for a deep dive into the poetry of Rumi. In this interactive workshop, we’ll hear Haleh recite translations from her highly acclaimed books Gold and Water, revealing how urgently and tenderly Rumi speaks to us in these times. Haleh will share dashes of the original Persian text, unpack recurring words that have no one-to-one equivalent in English, and offer an array of poems which show the range of Rumi’s concerns, as he addresses both nightingales and war-mongers, the open heart and the imperious ego, exploring the alchemy of human consciousness as well as the power of silence. Through dazzling images and leaping progressions of thought, he points us toward an ethic of love, care, and reverence. His poems are aesthetic masterpieces that are meant to illuminate and liberate. Rumi above all is a friend to humanity. In this workshop we’ll commune with his words on the beautiful grounds of Mesa Refuge, and will be invited to write our own work in response to excerpts.

Click link in bio to register today!

Sliding scale $50-150 for registrants over 30-years-old.
$25 for registrants 30 years and younger.
Please reach out to nkansky@mesarefuge.org if the cost of the workshop is prohibitive to your participation.

Be sure to check out Haleh’s event with @pointreyesbooks on August 7th, 8-10pm at the Dance Palace! by @mesarefuge

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Spring brought with it Hareem Khan, Rachel Lang, and Prince Shakur. Hareem, Rachel, and Prince all utilized their time at Mesa to write deeply about projects, passions, and subjects that they had been engaged with for years. A big thanks to all three of them for sharing their important work with the world.

Hareem is a professor of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies at CSU San Bernardino. Her research has been published in several academic journals and an anthology on global raciality. She received the Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders Award for her service in co-founding the Dept. of Ethnic Studies at CSUSB where she is Director of the Center for the Study of Muslim and Arab Worlds. At Mesa, she worked on her first book, which draws on South Asian beauty and wellness industries to examine how diasporic populations are classed, racialized, and gendered.

Rachel is an author and public servant whose work bridges spirituality and social engagement. She is a city councilmember in Ojai, where she focuses on environmental policies, housing equity, and community resilience. The author of Modern Day Magic, Rachel is on the faculty of the Omega Institute and The Shift Network, offering courses on leadership, intuition, and astrology. She has a Master's in Theology from Loyola Marymount. At Mesa, she worked on her book that describes a paradigm of politics at the intersection of spirituality and civic engagement.

Prince is a multi-medium artist, educator, content creator, and organizer exploring queer Black histories and radical narratives. His memoir When They Tell You To Be Good, pays homage to James Baldwin’s legacy. He has been published in Teen Vogue and Commune Magazine. He co-hosts The Dugout, a podcast centering Black anarchist news and perspectives. At Mesa, Prince worked on Notes on Baldwin, a collection of essays that aims to expose how contemporary times erase the complexities of James Baldwin. by @mesarefuge

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Our second cohort this year included Max Cavitch, Leslie Nguyen-Okwu, and Sarah Sax. These three writers utilized personal experience to give detail and depth to our understanding of societal patterns. We were honored to hear excerpts from their work and wish them success in their journey towards completing their books!

Max is a professor of English and Psychoanalytic Studies at University of Pennsylvania, where he edits the award-winning blog, Psyche on Campus. He’s the author of American Elegy: The Poetry of Mourning from the Puritans to Whitman and Psychoanalysis and the University; articles on literature, film, and critical theory; and public-facing essays, poems, and translations. Max edited Walt Whitman’s Specimen Days. At Mesa, Max worked on Depression and Truth—a blend of memoir, philosophy, and long-form journalism about having a chronic mental illness in academia.

Leslie is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees and Nigerian immigrants. She worked as a foreign correspondent with bylines in New York Times, BBC, National Geographic, and Harper's Bazaar. She is Director of Strategic Communications at Welcoming America, a nonprofit advancing immigrant inclusion. Leslie is pursuing an MFA in Creative Nonfiction, and received fellowships, awards, and residencies from Tin House, Disquiet, Hedgebrook, and others. At Mesa, she worked on American Hyphen, a memoir about race, identity, and belonging across the Asian and Black diaspora.

Sarah is an award winning writer, researcher, journalist, and producer covering how environmental change is transforming the systems we live in. Her work explores issues of justice and accountability, with a focus on Indigenous rights, deforestation, transnational trade, and the criminal legal system. She has been published in The Guardian, The Nation, Washington Post, Wired, and Grist. At Mesa, she worked on a book exploring how language defines our perception of the natural world, and how the erosion of linguistic and ecological diversity are inseparable expressions of the same global transformation. by @mesarefuge

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Join us on JULY 25TH to see Jeanne Carstensen and Roberto Lovato in conversation about A GREEK TRAGEDY - a timely investigation into a shipwreck that sheds light on the refugee crisis, the devastation enabled by various governing bodies, and the acts of care instinctual to everyday people.

When: July 25th, 2-3:30 pm
Where: Point Reyes Presbyterian Church (11445 CA-1, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956)
Free and open to the public. Books available for purchase at event and through @pointreyesbooks
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More about A GREEK TRAGEDY:

Silver Medal Winner in nonfiction for the 95th Annual California Book Awards

2026 Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the PEN/Galbraith Award for Nonfiction

On October 28, 2015, a boat meant for only a few dozen passengers capsized off the coast of the Greek island of Lesvos. Hundreds of refugees, forced in desperation onto the overloaded boat manned by armed smugglers, were tossed into a roiling sea. The resulting loss of life, the largest in a single day during the biggest refugee crisis since World War II, shocked the world.

After nearly a decade of research and interviews, investigative reporter Jeanne Carstensen has captured every detail of the dramatic twenty-four hours. This includes the recollections of the refugees’ lives before they left their homes and a full account of the courageous rescue efforts of the Greek islanders and volunteers rushing to help, even as their government and the EU failed to act. In this remarkable narrative feat, Carstensen brilliantly showcases the extraordinary heroism of ordinary people in extreme circumstances.

In a world where forced migration is on the rise, and where standing up to protect our neighbors can come at great personal risk, A Greek Tragedy challenges us to confront our collective humanity. This unforgettable testament of our times is “a crushing account of a senseless tragedy” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) and a compassionate depiction of the lengths to which a person will go to save another human being. by @mesarefuge

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We want to thank all of our donors who have supported us this year and in many years past. The warm, supportive environment we have created at Mesa would not be possible without your contributions.

We are inching towards the finish line of our $75,000 fundraising goal. Please consider donating to Mesa Refuge today to help us cross it! You can find the link in our bio.

We also invite you to celebrate our donors and the end of our Spring Campaign! Join us at the annual Garden Party this Saturday, June 20, 2-4 pm at Mesa Refuge! RSVP link is also in our bio. by @mesarefuge

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Our final featured resident is Annie Leonard, who is also the featured speaker at our upcoming Garden Party! Among many other credits to her name, Annie is the co-author (along with André Carothers) of PROTEST: RESPECT IT. DEFEND IT. USE IT, released from Patagonia last month. We are proud to say that Annie worked on PROTEST during her residency at Mesa Refuge.

Mesa Refuge provides an opportunity in a writer's journey to put aside the responsibilities of daily life and be around the inspirational energy of other writers. This was critical for Annie's journey in writing PROTEST. Will you help us pass our fundraising finish line, so that other writers can be given the same opportunity?

Don't forget to RSVP to our Garden Party (6/20, 2-4 pm) to hear Annie speak about her inspiring book! Link in bio, by @mesarefuge

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