Creative support.
Inspiring settings.
Deepen your writing and enrich your creative self during retreats and workshops in unique places.
Deepen your writing and enrich your creative self during retreats and workshops in unique places.
Join us in the woods, by the water, or wherever the next story sends us.
Explore your imagination at Bell Aura, a 19th-century church turned B-and-B in picturesque Carman, Manitoba. Stay in cozy rooms named after writers and books, enjoy delicious home-cooked food, explore the town during creative excursions, and let Lauren and Ariel Gordon guide your writing during fun and imaginative sessions!
Journey into the cloud forest at Refugio del Río, a riverside sanctuary tucked into the hills of Mindo, Ecuador. Wake to birdsong in your jungle-view room, savor vibrant local flavours, and let the surrounding lushness fuel new pages during guided excursions and generative writing sessions! This is a place for writers at every stage — bring whatever you're working on, or just bring yourself.
Settle into quiet creativity at a Victorian cottage on the shores of Lake Simcoe, where the pace slows and the pages open. Wander to the labyrinth for guided contemplative time, gather around the table for meals made with care, and write alongside a small community of fellow writers. This is a retreat built for reflection, not performance — come exactly as you are.
This intensive, intimate five-day retreat is designed for writers with draft manuscripts. You get developmental editorial notes, pre and post video calls, daily one-on-one time with Lauren, and a private room to write in between shoreline walks and shared delicious dinners. provides direct editorial feedback, group and individual mentorship sessions. This is deep-work territory, built for the writer determined to bring their draft home.
We are writers, artists, and teachers fiercely committed to helping you and your writing
grow and thrive.
Your writing deserves more than the leftover corners of a busy day. It deserves dedicated time! Realizing your potential as a writer often requires a physical departure from the noise of daily life and an intentional entry into a space designed for focus. You belong in a creative writing community in Manitoba that values your voice and understands the courage it takes to put words on a page.Finding a supportive writing environment changes how you approach your work. Instead of fighting through distractions, you can join a process that prioritizes creative flow. When the pressure to perform is replaced by an atmosphere of safety and curiosity, your writing moves past resistance and into a deeper, more authentic place.
Our workshops and retreats emphasize grounded creativity by rooting the experience in calm, inspirational settings across the province and beyond. You can expect:
Dedicated Focus: Uninterrupted hours to immerse yourself in your work.
Expert Support: Trauma-informed teaching from experienced writers who understand the vulnerability of the craft and creative journey.
A Lasting Spark: Tools and connections that sustain your momentum long after you leave the retreat.
Stepping into a nature-based writing retreat allows you to reconnect with your creative spark away from the demands of your routine. These gatherings provide the essential time and silence needed to settle into your projects, from drafting something new to refining a long-held manuscript. Surrounding yourself with like-minded peers creates a unique energy and a shared understanding that makes the solitary act of writing feel supported and seen.
Every writer needs a place to land. Whether you seek the quiet expanse of the prairies or the restorative shade of the woods, you will find the space here to breathe, write, and grow. It is time to give your work the dedicated attention it requires and see what emerges when you finally have the room to flourish.
Wild Ground Writing Retreats’ head office is located on Treaty One Territory, the traditional territory of the Anishnaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dene, and Dakota peoples and the homeland of the Red River Metis. As treaty people, we are grateful to make our home and livelihood on this land and endeavour to act in support of reconciliation.