VIETNAM WRITING RETREAT: Heavenly Hoi An 2025

Yvonne, Cindy and Annie enjoying a moonlit boat ride to send their lantern wishes into the river.

Hooray! In February we’re returning to heavenly Hoi An as the Vietnamese new year begins with a weeklong yoga and writing retreat on the river, surrounded by rice fields. Escape the worst of the southern summer and northern winter in the pleasantly balmy weather of the Vietnamese cool season. Join a group of like-minded creative folk and explore the craft of writing in daily workshops by experienced authors with decades of experience teaching the essential skills of narrative.

We had such a wonderful time in Vietnam last year at our inaugural Heavenly Hoi A writing holiday! Some of our guests created their own special writers group and are still connecting to share work regularly. That’s what I love about these retreats, helping writers connect with others on the same path! Writing can be a lonely business, with more than it’s share of criticism and rejection too, having a supportive tribe of fellow writers makes it all so much more fun!

Are you longing to connect with other writers?

Have you always wanted to visit Vietnam, but don’t want to do it on your own?

Are you searching for ways to make your writing more powerful?

Would you love to learn more about the craft of writing?

Relax with daily yoga and breathing, deeply relax and release the stories that have been stuck in your head for way too long. Isn’t it time you treated yourself to the writing holiday of your dreams?

JOIN Kerstin and Edwina, published authors and experienced retreat facilitators, university educators and yoga teachers for a week of yoga, writing, feasting and fun in beautiful Hoi An.

6 nights/7 days — February 10-16, 2025.

EARLY BIRD ends September 30

✅ Have you always wanted to write but never have the time, motivation or courage to seriously commit to your dream? 

✅ Need guidance getting started, setting goals, or finishing a draft? 

✅ Want to learn about the essentials of the craft of writing (ie. plot, character, form, narrative drive, pathways to publication)? 

✅ Yearn to reconnect with your creativity and your body in the vibrant yet tranquil environment of Hoi An, Vietnam?

🔴 Join us for six nights and seven wonderful writing days, February 10 – 16, 2025. 🔴

EARLY BIRD to September 30!

The time around TET, Vietnamese Lunar New Year, is a special time of the year when the streets are filled with flowers.

🖌 Imagine unlimited writing time
🖌 Imagine finally getting the stories out of our head and onto the page
🖌 Imagine the joy of deep creative connection.

The retreat is held at beautiful An Villa, and Anicca Villa around the road, both small, boutique resorts on the banks of the Thu Bon river. You’ll love the overwater yoga deck.


This retreat is for anybody who yearns to creatively reconnect and who is in need of some nurturing and TLC for their creative spirits.

Whether you have an established writing practice
or have always wanted to write but never had the time, this retreat led by experienced and knowledgeable, fun and friendly hosts, may just be what the doctor has ordered.

To make this a stress-free writing holiday for you, we’ve created an all-inclusive package:

🖋 daily writing workshops with TWO experienced writing teachers & published authors

✅ 1:1 feedback on your writing

🧘🏼‍♀️ daily gentle morning yoga

🕉 your personal tarot reading

☯️ daily pranayama (breathwork) sessions and evening meditation

😴 5 nights accommodation in 4 star riverfront boutique resort

🍜 all meals, prepared with loving care, following traditional recipes

PLUS A CULTURAL EXCURSION!

🥮 authentic Vietnamese cooking class and feast

All activities are optional, so if you’d rather skip morning yoga and sleep in, or just want to focus on writing in your room and miss a workshop or two, that’s fine.

Plans are also afoot for onward travel for participants keen on exploring more but not on their own.

Private rooms start at AUD $3050 (all prices in Australian dollars) PRICES INCLUDE ALL MEALS AND ALL ACTIVITIES including a tarot reading, one on one feedback and plenty of time with the teachers to ask every writing question you’ve ever thought of!

EARLY BIRD PRICES END SOON! Don’t miss out on this affordable international retreat which will renew your body, mind and creative spirit.

“I feel renewed as a writer, and as a human being.” Bianca Millroy, past retreat participant.

“So much more than a writing retreat!” Vicki Bennett, Author of THE BOOK OF HOPE and over 40 published titles.

For more info and to book your place, visit here. New Transformational Writing Retreat website coming soon!! Keep your eyes peeled for special opening bargains!

To get a good idea of what life’s like on retreat see my rundown on this year’s retreat – we had so much fun!

You don’t have to slog it out on your own, join your tribe of fellow creative spirits, learn the craft of writing, stretch and release stories from your body with yoga, and explore the beauty and wonder of Vietnam with us! We always have a wonderful time.

So hope you can join us in 2025! Free your creative spirit and inner explorer and put yourself at the top of your to do list for once!

Lots of love

Edwina 🙂 xx

Feedback Retreat Fairies and Wood Nymphs! August Retreat Rundown 2024

Our happy campers from the August Feedback and Revision Retreat 2024

What a treat to meet so many talented and inspiring writers and to help them tackle the dreaded second draft with some useful tools! With writers from their twenties to almost eighty we had libraries worth of shared wisdom to delve into to help each other make our projects the very best they can be.

We honed in on the themes and worked on scene lists to help us see more clearly the structural issues that needed to be addressed, before looking at cleaning up our prose and then learning about how to write a pitch and a synopsis. Lots of brainwork this retreat, with writers sharing their work in small feedback groups and/or receiving individual feedback with me, to help get those first few pages shining like beacons to potential publishers.

Look at that concentration!

But it wasn’t all hard work. We had yoga and breathing to relax and restore our bodies and minds, beautiful surroundings for walks and adventures, and of course, thanks to the Wonder Woman that is Gay Liddington lots of delicious nurturing food to keep our bellies full and our spirits happy. Gay’s own memoir Will I Ever Be Who I Am is being released early in 2025 – watch this space. Not just the best cook in the world, also a talented writer, brave advocate and healer through story. Food magician!

Plus our lovely special helpers, Liana and Natasha who did all the hard work of cleaning up. THANK YOU!

With our tummies and minds full, we were glad of the lovely, if cool, weather to take walks around the stunning location and refresh ourselves with the beauty of nature, listen to the birds and the sound of running water, leaves rustling in the wind, making friends with the little yellow robins hopping around the cabins and pademelons that bounded away when we got too close.

TESTIMONIALS
Here’s what retreaters had to say about their weekend of writing, yoga, feasting and friends.

‘A once in a lifetime retreat that won’t be my last!’ Selena Wallace August 2024

‘A very well organised retreat, beautiful peaceful surroundings and nurturing food. The writing sessions were informative, practical, relevant to writers of all stages and ages. Thank you for a fabulous weekend.’ Alina Hughes August 2024

‘I would encourage all those interested in writing, reading and a truly unique experience to come to a Relax and Write Retreat.’ Indrani Ganguly August 2024

‘A peaceful, beautiful place to connect with others and reconnect with yourself and to inspire better writing, but also to gain confidence moving forward. Beautiful location, excellent food and most of all, a truly inspiring group of women.’ Isabel Coe August 2024

‘This retreat was a wonderful opportunity to focus on my writing project in a relaxed supportive environment with like-minded women. Thanks Edwina for sharing your expertise and knowledge in such an open-hearted way.’ Jen Barrkman August 2024

‘The food was perfect! Nutritious, tasty, interesting and nurturing.’ Alina Hughes August 2024

The most magical part of these retreats is the connections made between writing friends who help and support each other to bring their creative babies to full and beautiful fruition in the world. Hooray for new writing buddies I say! THANK YOU to all the wonderful, wise, inspiring and creative women who make these retreats such a joy for me and Gay.

We work hard to make these retreats a nurturing and uplifting experience for all who attend but ultimately it is the open hearts, kindness and generosity of those who come along that create the magic we all enjoy. THANK YOU new friends! And old ones too 🙂

As is traditional, we finished our weekend full of words with some images, creating collages to open our eyes to the goodness coming our way.

UPCOMING RETREATS

Are you ready for a retreat?

Our next Springbrook Weekend Intensive is the Memoir and Life Writing Retreat 18 – 20 October. This retreat is perfect for those working on stories based on life and for new writers wanting to get started and finally get some stories out of their heads and onto the page. All the info HERE. Still a few places left but CONTACT EDWINA to make sure there is a place for you before booking.

And keep an eye on my UPCOMING RETREATS PAGE for retreats in 2025, including:

February 10 – 16Heavenly Hoi An – Vietnam Transformational Writing Retreat

April 4 – 6 SPRINGBROOK – Memoir and Life Writing Retreat

June 23 – 29 Blissful Bali – Bali Transformational Writing Retreat

August 8 – 10 SPRINGBROOK – Feedback and Revision Retreat

October 10 – 17 Incredible Italy – Italy Transformational Writing Retreat

November 7 – 12 Beautiful Byron Bay – Writing for Wellness Transformational Writing Retreat – info coming soon!

Want to know more? Just drop me a line!

We always have a wonderful time. I feel so lucky to get to run these retreats where I meet the very best kind of people — writers, dreamers, creators! THANK YOU!

Lots of love

Edwina xx