Finish your book.
Finally.
Accountability, community, and expertise wrapped in an anti-workshop format to get your writing done.
Hi, friend!
We see you. We’ve been there. Staring at a blank page with this big, beautiful book in your head and no idea how to get it done. Writer’s block, depression, laziness. You name it, we’ve had it.
But getting unstuck may not be as hard (or as expensive) as you think. This is how we finished our books and got our writing consistency back. Let us help you with yours.
The Accountability Workshops
How it all started… It was 2018, and we were stuck. We both had MFAs, we both had published books, but we needed something different.
Annie Hartnett found an essay by Aimee Bender about a contract for accountability. We each drafted a contract, committed to word counts and daily check-ins and became accountability partners. The work got done. The agony ended.
Annie’s second novel, UNLIKELY ANIMALS, came out with Random House in 2022, and Tessa’s second book, THE RED GROVE, came out with FSG in 2024. Golly, that’s a happy story! We knew we had something we needed to share.
Your Coaches
We are award-winning authors and longtime accountability partners Annie Hartnett and Tessa Fontaine.
We believe most writers need the support and accountability of a traditional workshop minus the endless feedback. We created the Accountability Workshops to be that sweet spot.
ANNIE HARTNETT
Bestselling author of novels RABBIT CAKE (Tin House Books, 2017), UNLIKELY ANIMALS (Random House, 2022) and THE ROAD TO TENDER HEARDS (Random House, 2025)
TESSA FONTAINE
Author of THE ELECTRIC WOMAN: A MEMOIR IN DEATH-DEFYING ACTS (FSG, 2018), the novel THE RED GROVE (FSG, 2024), and MFA Faculty at Warren Wilson College
How We Help
ACCOUNTABILITY
You’ll write a contract for a writing routine that’s consistent, but doable (which doesn’t have to be every day). Then we help hold you accountable to doing the work.
Who We Help
COMMUNITY
Join a cozy cohort of 12-15 writers who meet bi-weekly for 90 minutes on zoom, navigating the crazy, thrilling journey of completing a book-length project. Plus, an amazing community via slack, book club, monthly speakers and more.
WRITERS OF ALL KINDS!
EXPERTISE
Group and 1:1 coaching opportunities with Annie and Tessa to help solve those gnarly creative problems you can’t find your way out of alone. Plus, expert authors, agents, editors and more as rotating monthly guests.
Whether you are working on your first or fifteenth novel, a memoir, short story or essay, Accountability Workshops will help you get the words out of your head on on to the page.
We keep butts in seats. You get words on the page.
Our Programs
The Accountability Workshop
EVERY OTHER WEEK ON ZOOM
Build that writing muscle in one of our writer cohorts. We offer a flexible month-to-month option or an annual membership with a free month.
Annual Writing Camp
OCTOBER, PURITY SPRINGS RESORT, NH
An immersive retreat away with your writing besties. Join us at our annual camp getaway for 5 days of ass-in-chair writing action.
Client Reviews
“Tess and Annie’s workshop is a life changer. I’ve done more and better work on my novel in the nine months since joining than in the five years before that. ”
— Joan
“I have been able to finally build a fence around this important part of my identity and preserve it, even in the face of all life’s daily demands.”
— Liz B.
“They made it easy to disconnect from daily distractions and focus on untangling complex character arcs and refining narrative structure. ”
— Jeff M.
EXPLORE MY WRITING
The Red Grove
The Electric Woman
Essays & Stories
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