Writers’ retreats o er more than just an idyllic setting to write; they now include spa treatments, meditation, editing workshops, and time for long, inspiring strolls
100 metres away, one can simply choose to stroll by it and write by the water’s edge.
Mahima Sood, a Pune-based data scientist, happened to spend a sabbatical from work in her family’s property at the Parvati Valley in the Himalayas. The place, which her grandfather bought in the 1950s, is in the midst of an apple orchard that Mahima’s father runs on the tenets of sustainability. “I was reading by myself one morning under the sun, and realised that I wanted to share the place with others,” says Mahima.
Alekhya’s writers’ retreats thus began on the same philosophy that drives the property: existing as one with Nature.
They started in 2017, and have done seven retreats so far, all of them for small batches of four to ve people and two mentors — an editor and an author. Their next is from May 25 to 30, 2024. “The author conducts writing workshops, from creating proposals to building writing practice, editing, and submitting to a literary agent or to an editor,” says Mahima, adding: “The editor will talk about how editing works and how a book gets published. Our workshops cover the end-to-end journey of a book.”
Participants go on treks, forest walks, get peer reviews, and most importantly, get to write in cottages with a gorgeous view of the hills. Alekhya also has one slot for a writer who cannot aord to pay, and is covered by the other participants. Mentors this year are
Saloni Mital, managing editor, Penguin Random House India, and Ushinor Majumdar, an investigative journalist who has written two non-ction books, published by Penguin Random House India.
The cottages, which are absolutely silent, apart from the sound of birds and the whoosh of the wind, can be reached only after a trek of 20 to 30 minutes.
Which is perhaps why some writers also choose to stay here for a month or two to work on their books. Several of Alekhya’s participants have gone on to get published; this includes Praveena Shivram, whose debut book Karuppu was published by Zubaan in 2023.
Imagine writing from inside an ancient, sprawling school campus, surrounded by hills. Add to it writing workshops, yoga, meditation, and pranayama sessions, and home-cooked meals: this is what
Panchgani writers’ retreat, organised by author, creative writing coach and motivational speaker Shabnam Samuel, is all about.
The retreat at Panchgani, a hill station 250 kilometres from the Mumbai airport, takes place at Sanjeewan Vidyalaya, a school that was established in 1922, located at 4,300 feet, on one of the ranges of the Western Ghats.
Shabnam says that the retreat (scheduled from November 3 to 9) comes with structured workshops. These include sessions on poetry, ction, memoir writing, screenwriting, and self-publishing. “Participants are free to pick workshops they wish to attend,” she says, adding that they start at 8am, before which writers get to try yoga and meditation by qualied trainers. They can walk through the eight-acre campus, and write at nooks of their liking. “At dinner time, we gather to sit and talk about our work and get feedback,” Shabnam adds.
A lot of writers fondly recall the retreats that birthed their books. Says writer Perumal Murugan: “I wrote my novel Madhorubaagan (One Part Woman) at a writers’ residency in Salem that a friend organised,” adding that he wrote Thondra Thunai, a work on his mother, at another retreat in New York. He has been part of writers’ residencies by The Sangam House in Bengaluru and Puducherry, apart from a one-month long one at Toji Culture Centre in Wonju, South Korea.
Dubai-based The Write Scene, a resource and community for writers by Deeba Salim Irfan, organises writers’ retreats at various destinations across the world. This includes Dubai, Kangra Valley (Himalayas), Kamnik (Slovenia) and Landour (Mussoorie). Deeba, a writer herself — her debut book was Urma — recalls the challenges she faced when she set out to get her rst book published. “It took me three years to learn the process,” she recalls.
At her retreats, she oers an inspiring setting, workshops, and nally, helps writers nd a publisher. Their upcoming retreat is at the Kangra Valley in November. “We hand-hold participants on things such as how to query a publisher and how to increase one’s chances of getting published,” says Deeba. Among their key sessions, is poetry by a bonre in which participants recite poems at the end of the day. They do so taking turns under the stars: words pour as the wind blows.