Retreat Schedule

August 12-15, 2021

Retreat participants should plan to arrive on Prince Edward Island in time for the opening workshop and group welcome dinner in Victoria.

During the week, we’ll gather each morning for writing workshops at The Hideout. Afternoons will offer one-on-one meetings with Trevor, optional outdoor activities, plus free time for you to write, head to the beach, stroll the charming streets of Victoria, or head out to explore the Island on your own. On our final morning together, we’ll gather at The Hideout for a group reading and celebration to mark your achievements from the retreat.

*Please note that the schedule below is subject to change.

thursday

Participants should plan to arrive in Victoria by early afternoon on Thursday for hotel check-in and to get settled.

4:00 PM Group welcome and first workshop

6:30 PM Group dinner

fridaY

8:00 AM         Breakfast

9:00 AM         Optional mindful meditation

9:30 AM Writing workshop

12:30 PM       Break for lunch

Afternoon       Instructor meetings

Private writing time

Optional kayaking or cycling ($)

Explore the Island! Dinner on your own

7:30 PM         Optional theatre performance, Victoria Playhouse ($)

saturday

8:00 AM         Breakfast

8:30 AM Optional yoga & meditation

9:30 AM         Writing workshop

12:30 PM       Break for lunch

Afternoon       Instructor meetings

Private writing time

Optional kayaking or cycling ($)

7:00 PM         Group dinner

sunday

8:00 AM         Breakfast

10:00 AM       Final workshop + celebration

12:30 PM       Departures

Writing workshops

I teach from the philosophy that we each possess the innate ability to tell stories that help us to make sense and connect more deeply with the experience of being alive in the world. Narrative research shows that the ability to create and share our stories has a positive impact on our health and wellbeing. Whether it's reflectively journaling or working on a concrete fiction, memoir, poetry, or creative nonfiction project, you'll find plenty of warm support and structure at this retreat. We'll integrate creative writing prompts, discuss questions of craft and voice, engage together in interactive storytelling and focused solo writing time--all with a sense of play and openness. Retreat participants will be expected to work through and revise a small writing project of 5-10 pages (either standalone, or an excerpt from a larger project).

No prior writing experience necessary.

Looking to go deeper? For retreat participants, a limited number of pre-booked, discounted one-hour private consulting sessions with Trevor are available for $90+HST. Retreat participants will also be offered discounts on future online or in-person editing or consultation sessions. 

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Trevor's novel The Electric Boy is set to debut with Doubleday Canada. An award-winning writer, educator, scholar, and editor, he has facilitated workshops and lectured across Canada and around the world. His fiction, essays, journalism and reviews appear regularly in periodicals such as the Toronto Star, Walrus and The Globe and Mail and his work has been recognized with nominations for the Journey Prize, a National Magazine Award for Fiction, a Western Magazine Award for Personal Journalism, the CBC Short Story Prize, and the CBC Creative Nonfiction Prize. Trevor was the 2017 Writer-in-Residence at Lester B. Pearson United World College and a 2017 Writer-in-Residence on the Canada C3 expedition. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC and an MA in Adult Education and Community Development from the University of Toronto. A current PhD student in Adult Education at the University of Toronto, his research uses narrative and storytelling to explore notions of home, belonging, and identity in a globalized world.