This month sees our largest retreat to date: 6 writers joining us for our February tutored retreat at A Place to Write - exciting times! It seems so long since our first retreat last May, and so satisfying to have seen so many writers pass through our doors in the last 9 months and give such positive feedback after their experience with us. We are truly blessed to have such a beautiful property in such a wonderful location and such talented guests.
But we are not resting on our laurels! March will see the arrival of our first third-party adverts for A Place to Write in Mslexia Magazine (https://mslexia.co.uk) and the lovely people there have even provided a review of our retreat in their blog. In addition, we have begun planning for our stone circle project in our old slate quarry and we are now just waiting for the ground to dry out a little before we begin proper work on it. Furthermore, one of our most recent guests, Clare Flynn (https://clareflynn.co.uk), has kindly donated the first book for our 'writers' bookshelf' - a special part of our library which we plan to fill with books published by writers who have joined our retreats and, where possible, where A Place to write contributed to the conception or writing of the book. Clare's work - 'Letters from a Patchwork Quilt' - is available from Amazon and other booksellers. If any of our previous guests have a book or publication that they think should be on our shelf, just let us know.
Our February untutored retreat, earlier this month, also included our special candlelight-reading and, once again, the writers all expressed pleasure at the atmosphere and the conditions for reading that candlelight created. This was enhanced further by the session taking place in our guest lounge with a glorious view across the Dee Valley. Stories of visiting a father's grave for the first time, a first world war firing squad executing an undeserving soldier, and a thrilling adventure on board a sailing ship in the 1800s, were all lapped up in the unique atmosphere created by our setting.
Finally, looking ahead, we have just published our full 2024 programme on our website and bookings for all dates are starting to come in - July's is already almost full. Altogether it has been an exciting 12 months for A Place to Write and we look forward to even more exciting times and significant growth in 2024. If you are a writer who has visited us previously, look out for a communication with a special offer for you in your email next week (sometimes they seem to go to spam!); if you or someone you know is looking for a glorious writing retreat this year, check out our upcoming dates on our website. But whatever your reason for joining us at A Place to Write, Wendy and I look forward to welcoming you this year and making your time with us exciting, inspiring and - above all - productive.
Nic - February 2024
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