WE'RE SOLD OUT!
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR! APRIL 16-19, 2027
Wild writing in the boreal
A wilderness writing retreat for women with award-winning writers Lauren Carter and Donna Besel
April 24 – 27, 2026
at Falcon Trails Resort in Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba,
on Treaty 3 Territory, the traditional lands of the Anishinabe and Metis people
Email groups@falcontrailsresort.com to book!
Wild Writing in the Boreal is an annual Manitoba writing retreat for beginning, emerging, and experienced writers. Women from Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, North Dakota, Minnesota, and beyond have gathered for the past five years for this weekend of creative writing and connecting in a warm, easygoing, and gorgeous environment.
Delicious food, hot tubs, wood-burning stoves, starry nights, nature walks, new friends and, of course, lots of writing, create a weekend to remember. Not to mention our relaxed and inspiring Saturday evening open mic full of beautiful creative writing and lots of laughs.
Past writing workshops have included sessions on character development, revision, and other explorations in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Class offerings are different every year to keep things fresh and interesting but you can take a look at 2025’s workshop descriptions here.
About Your Hosts
Donna Besel loves writing of all kinds, and does workshops and presentations for schools, libraries, universities, conferences, and retreats. She grew up at West Hawk Lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park and her “boreal stories” have appeared in various publications and earned national recognition. Her work has won the Prairie Fire Creative Nonfiction prize, the Great Canadian Literary Hunt, and has been longlisted multiple times for the CBC Literary Awards.The forests of Eastern Manitoba, where she has always lived, provide endless ideas and settings. Her first book, a collection of short stories called Lessons from a Nude Man, earned several award nominations. Her memoir, The Unravelling: Incest and the Destruction of a Family, was published by University of Regina Press and is available wherever books are sold.
Lauren Carter’s sixth book, a magical realist thriller called The Longest Night, will be published by Freehand Books in Fall 2025. This Has Nothing To Do With You, her last novel, won the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction from the Manitoba Books Awards while her short story collection Places Like These was a finalist for the 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Award. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph and brings her passion for writing, adventure, and community to multi-day writing retreats organized through her business Wild Ground Writing Retreats.
About Falcon Trails Resort
This family-built-and-run resort in the woods has earned shout-outs from National Geographic, EnRoute Magazine, Canadian Living, and travel influencers from all over. Check out the video above for a glimpse of gorgeous Falcon.
About the Workshops
Details of the sessions offered by Lauren Carter, Donna Besel, and our 2026 guest writer will be posted in Fall 2025
What Else Do You Get?
- Two or three nights in your accommodations (single, double, or triple) in cabins with wood stoves and hot tubs
- Incredible meals, eaten family style, from Friday supper to Sunday lunch
- A welcoming swag bag of writerly goodies
- New friendships and community with other women writers
- Time away from the daily grind to reconnect with your words
- A chance to share your work at the low-pressure open mic
- Workshops led by award-winning, experience authors—and the chance to chat writing and the writing life at the breakfast table (and beyond!)
- Marked hiking trails, including the 3.4 km Top of the World loop with its fantastic views
- Free time for hot tub soaks, fireside chats, or whatever else you want to get up to in the woods (“what happens at Falcon…”)
- A closing raffle of a few handcrafted items to say thank you, including one of Lauren’s annually gifted ‘magical writer shawls’
See You in the Woods!
