The “Write” Retreat: Fabled Retreats owner Judy Chow ’91

On most days, Judy Chow ’91 is a program analyst for Opex in Moorestown, New Jersey, a manufacturer of warehouse automation equipment, making good use of her bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering. But for several long weekends every year since 2021, she transforms into a teacher and retreat master, welcoming those who, like her, love writing and want to refine their craft.

Chow’s business, Fabled Retreats, offers writers at all skill levels a chance to get away from the distractions of everyday life and focus on their writing, whether it be fiction, memoir, or poetry. The four-day retreats include daily writing exercises and workshops, meditations, journaling, and sharing of work.

“I’ve always loved writing,” Chow says. “I love my day job in engineering, but the retreats are a chance to work the other side of my brain.”

The path to Lehigh
A native of Philadelphia, Chow learned about Lehigh University through the Philadelphia Regional Introduction for Minorities to Engineering (PRIME) program, a nonprofit consortium of colleges, public schools, business/industry, government, and community agencies that introduces middle and high school students to engineering.

“I was part of that for four summers prior to college,” Chow says. “I spent time on campuses near Philly, like Penn, Drexel, Temple, Villanova. So I knew a lot about engineering and knew that Lehigh had a great program.”

A balancing act
Chow has been balancing both of her talents for years. After graduation, she worked a series of engineering jobs until the writing life beckoned. “I would take time off or just quit to write and travel until I ran out of money. Then I’d return to my day job and repeat the process. With Fabled Retreats, I’m able to continue to work as an engineer during the day and plan and run retreats during nights, weekends, and vacation time. It’s nice to be able to balance the two,” Chow says.

From retreat-goer to retreat master
Chow has attended many writing conferences over the course of her life and, in recent years, has participated in yoga and meditation retreats. “I thought, ‘Wow, wouldn’t it be great to do a retreat for writing?’” she says. The idea became a reality in late 2019 when she planned and set up her first retreat for 2020. Then COVID-19 struck.

“I kept pushing the date later and later in 2020, and it just never happened. Finally in 2021, I set up a retreat to test the idea. COVID cabin fever must’ve hit a lot of people — I had 40 on the waiting list for a retreat that could accommodate six people!” Chow remembers.

Before Fabled Retreats, Chow had led many creative writing workshops over the years, and she even taught a memoir-writing course as an adjunct at a community college in Virginia. When she started her retreat business, she sought out accommodations at quaint B&Bs in interesting towns like New Hope, Pennsylvania, and Cape May, New Jersey. Later in 2024, she’ll host a retreat in the Poconos at “an actual retreat center, with amenities like yoga, meditation, massages, and hiking trails.”

While Fabled Retreats is gender inclusive, Chow says most of her guests have been women. “About 70 writers have come through the program since the end of 2023, and I have five retreats planned for 2024.”

The most rewarding part
Chow loves the “retreat high” she gets to experience secondhand from her participants. “I’m always amazed at how strangers come together on a Friday afternoon, and by lunch on Monday, they’ve formed this close connection with one another. It happens every time. They’re so enthusiastic about what they’ve learned, the friends they’ve made, the networking opportunities they’ve received. I’ve had some people say it’s life transforming,” she says. “They get rejuvenated to go back to their writing, and so do I. That’s the most rewarding part of Fabled Retreats for me.”