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Writing retreats created by writers, for writers, with a thoughtful blend of touring, social time, and dedicated alone time to focus on your writing.

 

Go and Write! with Dr. Gerard Collins and Jane Simpson, professional, award-winning authors based in New Brunswick, Canada. Our participants include emerging and published writers of all genres—poets, dramatists, children’s authors, memoirists, and more—as well as their friends, family and spouses.

Every retreat, whether we’re at a historic estate in Atlantic Canada, a castle in Scotland or Ireland, a manor house in England, or a villa in Italy, delivers a unique, life-changing experience and creates new friendships. We hope you’ll join us on our next adventure.

 


The mix of travel and writing made this a truly special trip… Even if it is a cliché, this was the experience of a lifetime. ~ M.I.

 


Upcoming Go and Write! retreats and workshops

Visit our Current Retreats page for more information.


March update
There are still spaces remaining for many of our 2025 retreats—details are at the links below, and you can contact us to register!


New workshop for the public coming to Newfoundland, August 2025 to coincide with our Retreat to the New World


Gerard returns to Newfoundland in the summer of 2025 to host a writing retreat, and while he’s there, he’ll offer The Art of Storytelling workshop, open for public registration, at The Lantern in St. John’s on Saturday, August 16, 10:00 a.m. — 1:00 p.m.

Need a refresher on the art of storytelling? Get focused on your writing and join award-winning author and professor Dr. Gerard Collins for this condensed version of his storytelling masterclass, which he recently taught at the invitation of the Frye Festival and at other Maritime venues.

In this workshop, we’ll talk about story structure, how to show instead of tell, how to develop characters, enhance narrative tension, infuse your prose with subtext, and write dialogue that gets people talking.

Bring your questions and conundrums—we’re putting it all on the table.

Register now!

Cost: $85. There is limited seating for this workshop, so please reach out to Gerard to secure your registration before August 10.


St. Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick, Canada, Spring or Autumn 2025

Writing on the covered porch at the Kingsbrae Estate

Have you always wanted to visit Canada? Join us in May, June, or September for one of our most exclusive and focused writing retreats in a beautiful part of the East Coast.

Update

May 18-25, 2025 — three rooms remaining, suitable for single or double registration
June 4-11, 2025 — FULL
September 17-24, 2025 — FULL

Visit the webpage for more information, or contact us to register or with questions.


Retreat to the New World: Newfoundland, August 2025

Trinity, Newfoundland — Image courtesy of Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism / Gord Follett

Join us on our first ever writing retreat to the Island of Newfoundland, on the East Coast of Canada. Several spaces remaining.

Note: On Saturday, August 16, 10:00 a.m. — 1:00 p.m., Gerard will also teach a workshop at The Lantern in St. John’s. The Art of Storytelling workshop is a condensed version of his masterclass and will be available to the public. Please reach out to him for more information and to register for this one-off workshop.

For more information about our writing retreat to Newfoundland, visit the webpage or contact us.


A Grand Writing Tour of Ireland: Autumn 2025

The Cliffs of Moher

Join us on our grandest writing tour of Ireland yet. Several spaces remaining.

Visit the webpage for more information, or contact us to register or with questions.


Mountains, Lochs, and Lore: Scotland 2025

The incomparable hills of Scotland

Join us as we travel together to the wilds of the Highlands and back to Edinburgh, a UNESCO City of Literature. Several spaces remaining.

Visit the webpage for more information, or contact us to register or with questions.


Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire: England 2025

The Fleece Inn, where we’ll spend a day immersed in English culture and hospitality

Join us for a Yuletide retreat, with additional nights, meals, and events. Several spaces remaining.

Visit the webpage for more information, or contact us to register or with questions.


GO AND WRITE!

Here are just a few of our more recent retreats. Visit our Previous Adventures page to see all the wonderful places we’ve been lucky enough to share with other writers.


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Hate has no home on our retreats.