LA MORT PRESENTS
Ghost Stories
A four day retreat to tend the stories that haunt us, in a French Quarter home in New Orleans
Every writer is haunted. Sometimes it’s by the draft we sat down and never picked back up, or the clarity we used to write with, or maybe it’s the stories of our dear dead that still ask to be told. This retreat is a gathering of writers, and a place to sit with what lingers within you and let it speak. Over four days together, we will walk among graves, follow the city’s ghost stories, write eulogies for the writers we used to be, and breathe new life into our dead projects. Join us to explore the city that lives alongside its dead, and turn toward the craft of writing a story that stays with people.
New Orleans, LA
February 25-28
Limited to ?? spots
Held by Katie Knotts, Melissa Delizia, and Lauren Carroll
Bring what lingers. We'll tend it together.
This is a retreat to center your writing ghosts: the writer you used to be, the history you come from that informs the work you make now, and the literal ghosts of New Orleans. We will begin by honoring the centuries of stories in the city walls, and in ourselves… clearing space and setting intentions so we may return to the blank page with fresh eyes.
Then, we will write. We’ll breathe new life into our dead projects. We’ll walk among real graves and write the story of someone resting there, as truth or as imagining… as an offering either way. We will follow the city's own ghost stories on a guided night walk and learn the New Orleans’ tradition of how a story is carried, told, and remembered. We will turn towards our own shadow and hidden parts, and toward the craft of writing a compelling story that stays with people.
We will share meals, gather regularly to practice sharing our stories aloud (as well as our thoughts, insights, and struggles), and meet the hallowed city through her streets and cemeteries. Before we leave, we will each write a eulogy for the writer we used to be, honoring who carried us here and laying them to rest.
Your space holders, Dr. Melissa Delizia, Lauren Carroll, and Katie Knotts, are participants too, writing beside you and working on their own projects, creating what they need alongside you.
Our Writing Sanctuary
We’ll be staying in a historic, 1830’s, French Quarter home.
Come tend your writing ghosts in the city that lives alongside its dead.
New Orleans, LA
February 25-28
Spots are limited to X and held on a first come, first serve basis.
Price includes 3 nights in a shared room, shared meals, and our ghost and cemetery tours.
Please select the payment option that suits you best.
Your guide
Melissa Delizia
Melissa Delizia, MSW, LSW, DSW (she/they) is a death doula, educator, professional coach and social worker whose work lives at the intersection of sacred care, transformative education, and social justice. With a Doctorate in Social Work and certifications in grief companionship, deathcare, and sacred ceremony, Melissa brings both clinical insight and spiritual depth to their offerings.
Their practice is rooted in ancestral connection, mediumship, and energy work, with a focus on holding space for queer and trans individuals navigating death, dying, and grief. Melissa approaches this work with reverence, tending to the liminal with embodied presence and a belief in the healing power of collective care and ritual.
As an educator and adjunct professor, they are dedicated to reshaping how death is taught and understood—centering marginalized experiences, challenging systems of harm, and cultivating spaces where grief and identity are honored in all their complexity. Whether teaching or learning, Melissa holds a deep commitment to equitable deathwork and heart-centered education.