Writing workshops

Our Feedback Retreat gang 2026!

What a great joy it is to host these retreats in Springbrook a few times a year. So many wonderful women writers and my beloved retreataholics who make these weekends so much fun! And it’s always a pleasure to hang out with author of Will I Ever Be Who I Am? and chief cookie, the warm and nurturing Gay Liddington who cooked up a storm with the help of the lovely Rebecca Hall this time round. My beautiful helpers and upcoming authors to watch Liana Brown and Natasha Cox always bring smiles and are a great help to us all. Love you girls! And the wise and wonderful Monique brings her in depth body knowledge which she shares with us in a movement session and with her incredible bodywork treatments to get those stressed out bodies back to full strength.

Sunshine shone bright and sparkly all weekend as we delved deep into the heart of our works-in-progress. It was cold up in the mountains but perfect weather for writing on a blanket under the giant trees listening to the whip birds. The sun was too good to miss so most of our workshops were held outside on the porch. Sun on our backs, pen in hand. What better way to spend a weekend?

We had a fabulous group of writers of all levels of experience, from multi-published authors to complete newbies finding their way into their first book. Workshops, feedback groups, excursions to the waterfall (watch out! That’s a big drop!) and of course workshops to help you find the heart of your story and ensure your reader will keep turning those pages.

Plus my favourite part of every retreat – collage. We leave words behind and play with images to create vision boards of the futures we’d like to create for ourselves. With our lovely “kindy photos” showing off what we’ve made.

These retreats are about a whole lot more than writing (though of course that’s a vital element). People arrive frazzled and worn out from all the many roles women must perform these days, exhausted and pale and a little shutdown. By Saturday I start to notice more smiles, colour returning to cheeks, sparks of light in those eyes that had seen too much, friendships forming, ideas taking flight and epiphanies for stories and life changes. By Sunday we are all on a high from being together. There is magic in groups of women! I’m sure of it.

This retreat was over the Lion’s Gate Portal and a rare alignment of multiple planets so we took advantage of this and did a special intention setting ceremony – walking the 8 – to help manifest all our writerly and personal goals.

And of course between yoga sessions and intention setting and writing workshops, and feedback groups and chatting – a lot of feasting was done! Delicious vegetarian meals and treats considering all dietary needs, prepared with love and joy that fed our bodies and our hearts. What a treat it is to be cooked for – to spend the day writing and just turn up the kitchen to fill our plates!

Highlights of this retreat were the sunshine and smiles of retreaters. Our Readings Night on Saturday showcased the great talent in the room, had us laughing and oohing and aahing, and closed with a powerful chant.

In my heart, in my soul

In my blood, in my bones,

I am a powerful woman.

Changing, emerging, powerful, magical

Free!

Original woman.

We sang together and thumped the table and the powerful energy rising was tangible . Wise women are rising around the world and we are a part of all that. Rise women rise!

Rebecca hadn’t been writing at all but wrote a beautiful haiku that told the story of her retreat.

Here’s what some retreaters had to say about the retreat

The Relax and Write Retreat was a fantastic experience – whether you wanted to take a break from creative process and reset or sequester yourself in your room and complete a draft. Ed is a knowledgable and encouraging mentor committed to supporting you, wherever you are in your writing journey. It couldn’t recommend it more!

Naomi Jeffrey (R & W retreater August 2026)

Edwina’s Relax and Write retreats are the perfect way to recalibrate, to immerse yourself in writing and indulge in some solitude while connecting with like-minded writers. The seamless transition from activities like yoga and workshops to quiet writing and gathering around a table of delicious food was exactly what I needed to still my head and let creativity flow. I would highly recommend this retreat for anyone who longs for a safe and nourishing environment where you can let go and just be yourself.

Jo Skinner (R & W retreater August 2026)

This is the second time I have attended this retreat, and I will be back! After struggling for some time to get back into my writing, this was the perfect opportunity to absorb the beautiful surroundings and support of other retreaters. This retreat is more than workshops (though they are incredible). Speaking to other writers, great food, quiet time all contribute to an amazing experience. You can even get massages!

Robyn Ede (R & W retreater August 2026)

A wonderful writing retreat that holds and nurtures you as you progress your success in writing and publishing.

Dolores Cummins (R & W retreater August 2026)

Really loved this retreat! It was just what I needed. Perfectly structured. I loved the fact we could come and go at our own pace. It was just bliss.

Caroline Moon (R & W retreater August 2026)

Edwina is a gifted and generous teacher. Great inspiration for moving forward.

Jill Moonie (R & W retreater August 2026)

You helped me break through a stuck and stagnant point. And done with loving community. Perfect! I leave refreshed and focused.

Retreat participant August 2026 (R & W retreater August 2026)

Retreat happy snaps!

Love these weekend intensive retreats. Lots of learning packed in, a stunning location and all close to home. With such wonderful women. Love them to bits!

Relax and Write Retreats will be back in 2027! About to update the retreats page.

MEMOIR AND LIFE WRITING RETREAT – SPRINGBROOK April 9 -11

Best for memoirists and those exploring writing or just wanting to join the tribe and write in their rooms!

FEEDBACK AND REVISION RETREAT – SPRINGBROOK August 6 -8

Best for those reviewing a draft (complete or not) or those stuck partway or for those who want to develop a new idea more fully and make a plan.

And that’s a wrap! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, these retreats are only as good as the women who come along, and this one was a beauty!!

Lots of love

Edwina 🙂

Incredible Italy Writing Retreat gang 2025 outside Terzo

Ever since Kerstin and I first saw photos of Terzo Di Danciano we felt drawn to hold a retreat there. The restored hilltop fortress looked like something out of a fairytale, filled with magic. Perfect for a writers’ retreat. But on our way, as we drove further and further into the remote forested hills of Tuscany bordering Umbria we wondered if perhaps we’d made the right decision. If it was too far from the crowds, if we’d be isolated, trapped like princesses in that tower.

Anna at her bedroom window - Incredible Italy Writing Retreat 2025

But as soon as we arrived and our delightful hosts, Krizsti and Luca, carried our bags up to our rooms and showed us around, we knew we’d found somewhere very special indeed. Every room is beautiful in its own way, some with Luca’s original artworks decorating the walls, some with restored frescoes, Anna’s door resplendent with angels. Sleek, modern, heated bathrooms, air-conditioning in every room, crisp ironed sheets and fresh flowers from the garden on the writing desks ticked every box. Magnificent views over the surrounding hills and valleys brought light and joy from every window.

The yoga shala, in the converted barn, is every yogin’s dream. The floor in the shala has wide weathered wooden floorboards, polished and worn from use. Huge arched windows let in the sun and views and newly installed heating ensured we were toasty warm even on the coldest mornings.

Yoga shala - Incredible Italy Writing Retreat 2025

Downstairs from the fully equipped yoga room is the sublime spa. I thought I didn’t like saunas. I probably hadn’t had one for a couple of decades, but the twin saunas here – one steamy, the other infrared – made a huge difference to my enjoyment of the retreat. Usually, I’m working so hard I forget to relax and enjoy myself, but every afternoon I headed to the saunas and bubbling spa bath and emerged refreshed and renewed. I don’t know the science behind saunas, but it certainly felt like my whole nervous system was being soothed and rebooted. I’m hooked!

Eclipse Spa - Terzo Di Danciano — Eclipse Spa – Terzo Di Danciano – LOVED IT!

The main teaching rooms and dining hall cover the main floor of the converted barn, a huge pine fire roaring in the fireplace far into the night. Comfy lounges in cosy corners were perfect for chatting with other writers. We had tables to work at and Sergio and Anne-Claire and the team in the kitchen serving us delicious meals every few hours. But the breakfast room tops the lot. A recent addition to the centre, this stunning glass-walled suntrap makes the most of the stunning location and every morning we tramped down from yoga to find a sumptuous buffet of fruit, cereals, smoked salmon, cheeses and ham, breads and just about everything imaginable on your dream breakfast menu.

Breakfast and workshop room Terzo Di Danciano

Most days when we woke, we looked out the windows to a sea of cloud below us, blanketing the valley as we princesses on the hill stretched and drank in the beauty as the sun came out and bathed us all in soft golden light. Yoga, breakfast, then a break before our daily workshops. With writers ranging from newbies to those with published books under their belts, we adjusted writing activities and content accordingly. Small feedback groups and genre buddies formed organically as writers met up in the afternoons to share work and run ideas by each other, if they weren’t writing up a storm on their own, that is. With only nine participants Kerstin and I had plenty of time to discuss projects with our guests, one on one, and I really enjoyed pulling tarot cards for everyone to help them grow, not only as writers but as people. I even pulled cards for our lovely hosts.

Highlights of the week include a fun excursion to Cortona, to St Francis’s hermitage, St Margarita’s spectacularly beautiful church and the long steep walk down the Roman roads into the ancient town, where some of us may have gone a bit art crazy and bought up big. Gelatos to top off the day, then home again. Lovely Bec had rented a car and led a smaller excursion to Assisi which was heartily enjoyed by those who went. Thank you Bec!

We had a ball at Sergio’s cooking class too, some more professional pasta makers than others, but all good eaters. However, when Sergio sang sad love songs on our live music night, he claimed a little of our hearts. The band was fantastic and before we knew it, we were all up dancing. What a ball we had! Patrizia showed us some fancy salsa moves, Anna swinging with her, the rest of us releasing our best disco moves (some unused for decades). Such fun! I’m just glad no footage survives of my shimmying. But boy, we had a good time.

This retreat was really something special. Even as facilitators, Kerstin and I emerged after our week of yoga, writing workshops, saunas, spas, massages and excursions feeling rested and replenished. I loved seeing people light up with epiphanies about their projects (and their lives), thousands of new words being written and new writing friendships developing.

As always, we finished retreat with collages to shine light on our ways forward, working with images instead of words, planting seeds for the futures and books we’d like to create.

With seven nights together, we really bonded as a group, and it was hard to say goodbye as everyone headed off on their own adventures (there were many!). For days after these retreats, people’s energies and writing projects stay with me. So from afar I send them bum glue, persistence, patience and creative epiphanies to bring their book dreams to life.

For a while Kerstin and I were so enamoured with Terzo Di Danciano we were determined to return in 2026 – until we regained our senses and realised we’re only human and need more time.

So instead, we’ve booked back in to Terzo Di Danciano for the next Incredible Italy Writing Retreat for October 1- 8, 2027. Details to be updated soon. If you’re super keen drop me a line and I’ll bags a spot for you before we even open for bookings!

That will give everyone enough time to save up, because let’s face it Europe is far and Euros expensive. BUT boy oh boy was it worth it? YES!! All the info HERE!

If you’ve always dreamed of your own Tuscan writing getaway, come and join us at this heavenly retreat centre in 2027. We’d love to share this magical place and all the inspiration and heart healing of retreat with you. Put yourself and your writing dreams into these pictures. I can’t wait to share it with you! More on the 2027 retreat HERE.

With special love to our wonderful retreaters who made this inaugural Italian retreat such a joy. Love you guys!

Lots of love

Edwina 🙂 xx