Pack your bags and hit the road--or the high seas. Readers are gathering in hotels, in secluded resorts and on cruise ships for weekend or weeklong vacations that include their favorite authors--and there's one that is perfect for you. Reader retreats are the latest turn in our literary evolution.

In the last decade or so lifelong readers have been treated to, and new readers have been brought into, another renaissance in black writing. First came a proliferation of book signings, fueled in part by an increase in the number of black bookstores. At still-popular events, readers gather to hear an author talk about their book and the writing life, purchase books and get them autographed.

Next came the blossoming of book clubs, formed around friendship, church or workplace groups, where readers meet in homes, restaurants and bookstores to discuss one book. Some are formally structured with predetermined questions, while others are free-form.

Now reader retreats are dotting the landscape, combining the best features of book signings and book-club meetings. Reader retreats usually include formal presentations by authors--either individually or on a panel--but also allow time and opportunity for more personal interactions between the writers and the readers. All include good food and libations--and, of course, time for girl talk. (We found one gathering for men.)

"Retreats allow me to reconnect with old friends that I met either at another book function or via Internet book clubs," says Sharon McCalop, a reader from Dallas. "It's also a chance to see several of my favorite authors in one place, over a two- to three-day period. Unlike bookstore signings where there is just one author for a couple of hours, a retreat gives you a whole weekend with the authors, more interaction, more hands on."

Romance Slam Jam (RSI), which celebrated its 10th anniversary in Dallas earlier this year, is probably the mother of all reader retreats. Emma Rodgers, owner of Black Images Bookstore in Dallas, and author Francis Ray hosted the first one in 1995. Although Dallas is its home, RSJ has traveled to Orlando. Durham, Atlanta, New York City and aboard two cruise ships. Participation has grown steadily over the decade, sometimes reaching 200 readers and writers.

Just Pick One