Workshops & Retreats

This page lists my upcoming writing workshops and writing retreats. I also offer one-to-one mentoring, and manuscript assessments and editing. Please click here for more details.

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30 Sept-2 Oct 2026: Making Herstory

6-8 Jan 2027: Feminist Life Writing

18-24 July 2027: Feminist Writing Adventure: intensive writing retreat in Italy

Flexible dates: intensive one-to-one writing physio in Harrogate

Dates to be agreed on point of booking: Five-Day One-to-One Intensive Writing Physio, Online

Recorded Online Writing Courses

Feminist Voice: Creative Writing Course for Writers on Women and Feminism (consists of six two-hour recorded writing workshops)

Recorded Online Writing Workshops (two hours each)

The following are all part of my Feminist Voice Creative Writing Course for Writers on Women and Feminism, but can be purchased individually. To find out more, please click here, or you can purchase the workshops by clicking on the links below,

Buy the whole Feminist Voice course (£150 for six two-hour recorded workshops)

Buy Workshop 1: Overcoming the Challenges of Writing About Women and Feminism (£30 for a two-hour recorded workshop)

Buy Workshop 2: Fleshing Out: Writing the Body (£30 for a two-hour recorded workshop)

Buy Workshop 3: The BiograpHer: Researching and Writing Women’s Lives (£30 for a two-hour recorded workshop)

Buy Workshop 4: The Personal and the Political (£30 for a two-hour recorded workshop)

Buy Workshop 5: The Survivor’s Voice: Writing After Trauma (£30 for a two-hour recorded workshop)

Buy Workshop 6: Mother Tongue: Forging Female-Friendly Language (£30 for a two-hour recorded workshop)

Intensive Five-Day One-to-One Writing Physio: Residential

Intensive Five-Day One-to-One Writing Physio: Online

Weds 30 Sept - Fri 2 Oct

Making Herstory: a three-day residential writing retreat

Are you writing about a historical woman or event, or do you want to incorporate historical details into your writing, whether in fiction, non-fiction, or other genres? In this three-day residential writing retreat, we’ll encounter fresh approaches to researching and writing about past lives, eras and changes. We’ll experiment with different ways of incorporating historical details, whether with an eye to authenticity or pastiche, and we’ll explore structural issues concerned with representing cultural and political shifts in the past. We'll explore the challenges of writing about women's lives, and try out ways of negotiating those challenges. (This is a female-only retreat.)
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Weds 6 Jan - Fri 8 Jan 2027

Feminist Life Writing: a three-day residential writing retreat

Whether you’re writing memoir, biography, or other non-fictional or fictional genres, this three-day residential writing retreat will explore different ways of telling the story of a woman's life. We will identify surprising physical and behavioural details through which character can be revealed, and we’ll experiment with narrating significant moments in women’s lives, such as turning points, traumas and moments of enlightenment. We will consider the relationship between the personal and the political, and ways to narrate the transition between the two. We will explore the particular challenges of researching and writing female lives, such as the relative lack of archival evidence, and we'll experiment with ways to negotiate gaps and silences in the stories of women's lives. This is a female-only retreat.
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Sunday 18 July-Saturday 24 July 2027

Feminist Writing Adventure: a Week of Feminist Writing, in Italy

Fancy a Feminist Writing adventure? In July 2027, join me for 6 days in beautiful Umbria, in Italy, for a complete immersion in feminist creative writing. Whatever your preferred genre, and whether you’re a published author or complete beginner, this extended retreat will be transformative. With a group of like-minded women - the retreat is female-only - you’ll enjoy group writing workshops, energising discussions, one-to-one tutorials with me, and independent writing time and space – as well as delicious organic Italian food prepared by a private chef, a swimming pool, yoga classes, single occupancy bedrooms (all equipped with writing desks), lush surroundings with a nearby river and wildlife including badgers and deer, and a range of shady writing spots amid olive and fruit trees. Doesn’t it sound wonderful?
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Flexible dates: to be agreed on point of booking

Five-Day Intensive Writing Physio, One-to-One: Residential

Would you benefit from five days of intensive writing work, with daily one-to-one tutorials? Come and spend five days in beautiful Harrogate, with all meals provided, as well as a dedicated private work space, a meeting room for daily one-to-one tutorials with me, and gorgeous surrounding countryside to freshen your mind. You can send me up to 25,000 words in advance, and together we’ll work on any writerly issues you may be having. Meeting for 60-90 mins each day, I’ll make suggestions for revisions and improvements at the level of both structure and individual lines. You'll then spend the intervening time working on your writing, experimenting with my suggestions, or even devising new material. This retreat is designed for both experienced writers, and for beginners, who may wish to draw on intensive support in kick-starting a project. It would also be suitable for anyone honing a manuscript prior to submission to agents or publishers, or postgraduate students wanting a second eye on a project prior to submission. This is open to everyone.
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Flexible dates: to be agreed on point of booking

Five-Day Intensive Writing Physio, One-to-One: Online

This is the online version of the residential intensive writing physio. It won't include a hotel or meals, but it will be an enormously valuable opportunity to dedicate yourself to your project for a week, alongside a supportive expert tutor. As with the residential version, you can send me up to 25,000 words in advance, and we'll work on it together. Meeting for 60-90 mins each day, I'll make suggestions for revisions and improvements at the level of both structure and individual lines. You'll then spend the intervening time working on your writing, experimenting with my suggestions, or even devising new material. This retreat is designed for both experienced writers, and for beginners, who may wish to draw on intensive support in kick-starting a project. It would also be suitable for anyone honing a manuscript prior to submission to agents or publishers, or postgraduate students wanting a second eye on a project prior to submission. This is open to everyone.
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Feminist Voice Writing Course: An Online, Recorded, Six-Session Course

The Feminist Voice course is designed for anyone who is involved or interested in writing about women and feminism. It is aimed primarily at non-fiction writers, but there are exercises and discussion points that are also relevant to fiction writers, poets, and writers for screen and stage. My focus is creative rather than prescriptive. I do not seek to teach feminist history or theory in these workshops, and the course is not geared towards any specific definition, theory or practice of feminism. The course is therefore intended for participants who already have their own interests in women’s lives and feminism, and ideas for what they wish to write about. I will support you in bringing to light the creative issues that are most relevant to your own work, and in developing your own responses. You can purchase the course as a complete set of six two-hour sessions, or you can purchase each workshop individually. This is open to everyone.
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"We had a very clear and structured plan and explored ways of writing that I had never thought of: it was inspiring"
Workshop participant
Workshop participant
"This has given me so much to think about and... a lot of questions that I need to answer and is a great jumping off point."
Workshop participant
Workshop participant
"this was a brilliant, intelligent and useful session"
Workshop participant
Workshop participant
"nothing short of kind, communicative and warm throughout"
Workshop participant
Workshop participant
"I have gone a long way to achieve what I set out to do with my piece... thank you for your support in the development of my work and my thoughts."
One-to-one tutorial client
One-to-one tutorial client
“[It was] an amazing job to cover so much in such a mixed group, without anyone feeling like they weren’t part of the whole”
Retreat participant
Retreat participant
“I enjoyed all the workshops and have come away with so many ideas…I just loved it”
Retreat participant
Retreat participant
“I do writing courses occasionally but they tend to go over the same things. It was so interesting to approach things differently – to think differently, to learn different ways of doing things. Thank you so much, Rachel, you are a wonderful teacher and facilitator. I had a fabulous time.”
Retreat participant
Retreat participant
“A lovely hotel. Food excellent”... “I really enjoyed this setting. [The outdoor activities were] a welcome shake-up – I loved them.”
Retreat participant
Retreat participant
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