Shaping Memory into Memoir
with Alison Wearing
14-18 April 2024
Inn at Laurel Point
Victoria, BC, Canada
UPDATE: This retreat is now SOLD OUT. (Sorry!)
Cancellations do happen, though, so if you’d like to join the waiting list,
please fill out the form at the bottom of the page.
Clarity, Vision, and Inspiration
Victoria in the spring feels like a deep breath of light, emerging life, and possibility. This 4-night memoir writing retreat is designed to offer a literary version of those things: clarity, vision, and inspiration, as well as rich connection and community.
Overview of the Retreat
This retreat offers a balance of inspiring teachings and the chance to expand the possibilities for your writing, approach your story with fresh eyes, open to new insights and ideas, and replenish your creative well.
Bestselling author Alison Wearing will offer focussed daily teachings on the critical elements of memoir and how to employ these in your writing, as well as small group sessions and informal Q&As, ensuring that all participants have a chance to discuss and explore their ideas and projects in depth over the course of the retreat.
The aim of this retreat is to provide you with literary nourishment and inspiration, direction and clarity, as well as the support you need to move forward with your ideas and writing projects with renewed enthusiasm and energy.
Just to clarify: If you are looking for direct feedback on your manuscript, this is not the retreat for you. But if you are looking to deepen your understanding of the essentials of memoir and the many things you need to consider, explore, refine and employ when crafting your story or book; if you are looking for a literary kick-start, sparkling inspiration, companionship, joy, beauty, life-changing insights and connections, nourishment and light — this will be a good fit for you. :)
A Literary Spring
I have been wanting to lead a writing retreat in Victoria (one of Canada’s most beautiful cities!) since my first stay at our retreat venue, the Inn at Laurel Point, about a decade ago.
As is the case with all the retreats I’ve lead over the years (from Mexico to the south of France to Stratford, Ontario, to Tuscany), I have curated this one with care and attention to the sorts of details that create a successful experience: uplifting beauty, light-filled spaces, plentiful inspiration, glorious food, dreamy beds(!), opportunities for connection and solitude, not to mention my finest offerings as a writer, facilitator, and writing coach.
More than simply a wonderful experience in the short term, this retreat is—ideally—a life-changing touchstone that you may return to, and be nourished by, for months and years to come.
“The most empowering week of my life.”
“I am, and always will be, a changed, more evolved person and writer
since the retreat. ”
“For the first time, I am able to envision my memoir. And that’s no small feat! I have hundreds of pages of writing, probably two if not three books. But now, I view my North Star.”
Prices & Details
YOUR RETREAT PACKAGE INCLUDES:
Daily talks, teachings and Q&As with Alison Wearing, as well as small, focussed group sessions (Sunday evening to Thursday morning)
Exquisite, gourmet meals prepared by on-site chefs with regional farm-sourced ingredients (Sunday evening to Thursday morning, with one dinner out)
Vegetarian and buffet options
Stunning classroom studio with a breathtaking view of Victoria’s Inner Harbour
Unlimited private access to the hotel’s top-floor wrap-around balcony for reading, writing, contemplation, conversation…
Harbourside walking trails directly outside the hotel’s front door (12-minute walk to downtown Victoria)
On-site ‘literary festival’
There are only 21 spaces available. Retreat fees do not include accommodations; see below for details.
PLEASE NOTE: Participants are not required to submit writing in advance, as Alison will not be reading individual submissions, but rather teaching and offering direction and suggestions on people’s ideas and projects in a small group setting.
Retreat Fees:
Early Bird Bookings made before December 31, 2023: USD$1,750 | CAD$2,395
Bookings made after December 31, 2023: USD$1,950 | CAD$2,695
Accommodations & Rates:
Retreat guests have access to deeply-discounted rates at our retreat venue, the gorgeous Inn at Laurel Point, famous both for its exceptionally beautiful rooms and its commitment to sustainability (the hotel has been carbon-neutral since 2009).
The hotel has two wings: the Laurel Wing is the original hotel with lovely rooms overlooking the harbour, and the newer Erickson Wing offers “ultra-luxurious” rooms (and 5-star suites). Our discounted retreat rates, for 4 nights (Sunday-Thursday) are:
Laurel Wing Guest Room: USD$630 / CAD$860 + tax
Erickson Wing Studio Room: USD$860 / CAD$1180 + tax
PLEASE NOTE: Accommodations can be shared with another participant (and the Erickson Wing studios are very spacious!). There are a very limited number of ‘events & meals only’ spots available for people with alternative accommodations in Victoria. Because this is a hotel-based retreat and our arrangement with that hotel is an all-inclusive one, there is no ‘only events/no meals’ option. Given sufficient interest, however, Alison may offer a workshop for local people at a future date. To add your name to the ‘Victoria - Local Workshop’ list, CLICK HERE.
TRAVEL DETAILS: The retreat will begin on Sunday, April 14, with a welcome event at 5pm and participants are welcome to arrive anytime after hotel check-in at 3pm. We will wrap up the retreat on the morning of Thursday, April 18, and hotel check-out is at 11am. The closest airport is in Victoria (YYJ), but there are also ferries to Victoria from Vancouver (BC Ferries) and Seattle (FRS Clipper). Participants should plan to make their own way to and from the retreat venue, The Inn at Laurel Point.
A portion of all proceeds will be put toward tree-planting efforts with TreeCanada, which has planted more than 83 million native trees in urban, rural and wilderness areas and sequestered millions of tons of carbon pollution in the process. This ‘carbon calculator’ calculates carbon use (per flight) and estimates the number of trees that need to be planted to offset that use [somewhat]. Obviously, this is an imperfect solution, but it does, at the very least, add more trees to this world.
Interested in future retreats?
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