After many requests over the past four years we have finally - some might say belatedly - put together our online support programme. And it's launching TODAY - Saturday 24th October 2026 - with a very special offer for Founding Members available for just two weeks. This launch marks an important step for A Place to Write, providing a resource for our guests to maintain their momentum and achievements long after leaving one of our residential retreats. Writers have, until now

Writing is a journey that requires more than just a quiet room and a laptop. It calls for inspiration, focus, and sometimes, a change of scenery. That’s where writers retreats come in. Spending time at a writers retreat in the UK can be a transformative experience. It offers a unique blend of solitude, community, and creative stimulation that nurtures your craft and refreshes your spirit. In this post, I’ll share the many benefits of writers retreats and why the UK is an idea

On Tuesday 6th October our Shakespeare's Henriad holiday retreat began. We were joined by 9 guests from as far afield as Norfolk, Lancaster, Sowerby Bridge and the Cotswolds, for an exploration of Shakespeare's plays examining an aspect of history from the deposition of Richard II to Henry V's victory at Agincourt. It was one of the most delightful Shakespeare events we have run to date, and here's why... As usual at A Place to Write, the guests came together as a fantastic c

Writing retreats offer more than just a change of scenery; they provide a space where creativity can flourish naturally. In this post, having just spent the week in the company of yet another fantastic group of aspiring writers, I want to share why residential writing retreats are so effective and how they can help anyone looking to extend and deepen their writing practice. The Unique Writing Retreat Benefits That Inspire Creativity Residential writing retreats create an envi

If you're wondering whether a writing retreat will help you finish your book, the short answer is... YES. And here’s why: On a writing retreat you get time and space to focus on your writing in a way that everyday life generally prevents: No cooking… No children…No meetings…No cleaning…No phone calls…No DIY jobs to do…No sorting other people’s problems…No distractions. Finish your book on retreat in your own space And instead, you can have: Your own special place to write; Un

Over the past two years it has become increasingly noticeable that writers on our retreats fall into three groups when it comes to the use of AI in their writing. The first group are generally sceptical, feel it is cheating, and avoid its use (although some in this group are simply not interested in exploring it). The second group, in some ways the binary opposite of the first group, use it for everything: research, editing, grammar and spell-checking, proofing, and anything

As previous guests will know, our property in Corwen was operated as a guest house by the previous owners. Part of what attracted us to it was the potential for it to be transformed into a retreat centre - and the journey towards that end is one we have been travelling since we arrived! To explain, when we first took over we had little choice but to operate primarily as a guest house. It was the middle of the tourist season (not a great time to move into a hospitality busines

This week, and long overdue, I am reading Mary Karr's The Art of Memoir. And yet again the link between acting and writing is at the forefront of the text - although I'm not sure how much Karr herself realises this (maybe it will become clear in due course). I had read to page 32 when I had to stop and turn my attention, briefly, to this post. So here goes... Karr makes clear that one of the most challenging and dangerous parts of memoir writing is the event/memory that elici

N.B. The following blog was drafted, coincidentally, just one day before I read page 114 of Bernadine Evaristo's autobiography, in which she confirms the influence of acting on her writing. A link to the book on Waterstones' website is provided at the end of the blog and I have added a couple of quotations from it to demonstrate Evaristo's view of the kind of things I am saying. The power of the connection is as strong as ever! I have been reading Bernadine Evaristo's memoir

As many of you will know, I am currently editing and revising my thesis for publication as a monograph. This has involved not only eliminating and shortening many of the references that are not relevant for a book on the subject, but also reviewing all of my arguments for clarity, consistency and coherence. Of course, this work on argument was 'completed' before I submitted my thesis but, as my wonderful supervisor once said, 'Nic, you'll never be finished! The day after you

Over the past few days I have been working my way through Hester Lees-Jeffries' wonderful new book: Textile Shakespeare . It was only published last week and offers a detailed examination of ways in which textiles were created, handled, used and subsequently viewed in Early Modern England, with occasional reference to the intervening years between then and now. Hilary Mantel's use of textiles in her Wolf Hall trilogy gets special coverage. I am reading Textile Shakespeare be

Another unique feature of writing retreats at A Place to Write is the reading by candlelight on the final evening. Retreaters are often...

One of our new signs This month, with my doctoral thesis finally out of the way, there has been time to move things forward behind the...

One of the benefits of a summer retreat is the fine summer weather: walks at Rhug Estate or to the top of Caer Drewyn or Pen Y Pigyn are always a delight but the views are particularly spectacular at this time of year.

The past three months have been extremely busy at A Place to Write. A bit like the proverbial swan: floating serenely on the surface but...

So much has been happening at A Place to Write in the past two months that it's been difficult to catch my breath! Aside from two...

Conversations with past guests have indicated that a blog post about writing retreats in general, and the different types of retreat...

It's been too long since I wrote my last blog entry (almost two months!) but happily that's because of the major developments taking...

The day has come and passed.... after four long years of research, on Tuesday 27th August 2024, I finally submitted my doctoral thesis...

Looking ahead, our July untutored writing retreat has been sold out for sometime now and, with nine guests from all over the UK booked to...