Dear fellow writer,
I’m thrilled to be sharing some very big news with you in this preview announcement for Helen’s Word subscribers!
Together with my fabulous friend and fellow writer, best-selling novelist Sophie Nicholls, I’m holding a very special writing retreat for a handful of people on a spectacular private estate in the Dordogne region of southwest France, from 30 May to 6 June 2026.
This will be my very first collaborative writing retreat, and also the first to focus on a topic dear to my heart: Writing in Color!
Whatever kind of writing you do and wherever you are on your writing journey, Sophie and I will guide you with care and delight into a world of creative, colorful writing techniques. Alongside nourishing studio time and outdoor activities, there will be delicious gourmet food, writing trips to medieval towns, plenty of time to relax and read by the pool and, of course, lots of support from Sophie and me.
Sophie and I have been fantasizing for years about bringing people together in a nurturing space for unpressured writing, creative play, delicious food, and animated conversation — and now it’s finally happening!
We’ll be formally announcing the retreat to a wider audience in a few days from now, so we wanted to let you know about it first and give you a chance to book your spot ahead of everyone else. There are only 15 places available.
Read more and sign up here.
30 May to 6 June 2026
Stay in an historic 25-acre estate near Bergerac, France, rented for our exclusive use.
Enjoy small group workshops, relax by the private heated pool, and explore indoor and outdoor lounge areas, beautiful gardens, terraces, a private woodland, and a natural pond.
Immerse yourself in colorful, playful, pleasure-saturated writing techniques, including collage, zine-making, and observational writing. Leave with a beautiful handmade keepsake notebook for your most precious words and ideas.
Experience gourmet food, local wines, and guided writing excursions to medieval villages in the Dordogne region.
Find deep creative inspiration and build lasting connections.
On our specially designed Writing in Color retreat, you’ll stay in renovated gîte accommodation, on an exclusive countryside estate, surrounded by gardens, woodland walks, a pond and swimming pool.
There are both single occupancy and shared rooms available, all arranged around lovely communal lounge spaces, so there’s plenty of opportunity to make lasting connections with other creative people.
We’ll begin each day with a sumptuous breakfast followed by writing rituals designed to help you to find your creative flow. Sophie and I will share colorful techniques and approaches that will infuse your creative practice with pleasure and support you in honing your craft.
Whether you’re just starting out on your writing jouney, working on a current project, or simply looking for new ways to revitalize your creativity, we’ll hold a supportive space for you. We’ll explore collage, zine-making, observational and embodied techniques — and you’ll leave with a beautiful notebook full of writing and a clear plan for developing your ideas when you return home.
When we’re not in the writing studio or outside in the spacious grounds of the estate, we’ll be taking trips to the medieval villages of Issigeac and Beynac-et-Cazenac and the local market at Eymet, seeking out more color and inspiration.
We’ll share conversations together over delicious chef-prepared meals – and even a wine and cheese tasting of the Dordogne region’s specialities.
Sophie and I are so excited to be able to share all of this with a small group of creative people.
Questions about booking?
To make sure that everyone has an amazing experience, we're partnering with UpTrek, who are experts at organising creative retreats.
Take a look at the booking page that we’ve put together with UpTrek. If you still have questions, you can reach out to UpTrek directly at contact@uptrek.com, and they will be able to offer you advice and help.
Sophie Nicholls is the author of three best-selling novels and has been teaching creative writing, researching writing and well-being, and working with people using writing as creative exploration for over twenty-five years. She lives on the edge of the moors in North Yorkshire and teaches on the Creative Writing faculty at Teesside University, which is where we first met many years ago, when she invited me to run workshop there on "Writing with Pleasure."
Sophie and I passionately believe that writing can be pleasurable and fun. We want to help you to reconnect with everything that is delicious, sensuous, and joyful about writing. I could not be happier to be able to work with Sophie on this Writing in Color retreat.
This is a unique retreat experience. As Sophie and I live on opposite sides of the world, we’re not sure if or when we’ll manage to coordinate our schedules again anytime soon. If this retreat speaks to you, please do save your spot before we offer places out to a wider audience.
I really hope you’ll be able to join us for Writing in Color:
https://uptrek.com/retreat/writing-color-retreat-authors-helen-sword-sophie-nicholls-france
We’d love to see you there!
Please feel free to share this exclusive preview with your friends and colleagues. Your enthusiasm and support me so much to me.🩷
Kia pai tō koutou rā (have a great day) — and keep on writing!
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