Bali Writing Retreat
July 11 - 17, 2024 How outrageous would a writing holiday in Bali be?
Blissful Bali Writing Retreat
7 days / 6 nights — July 11- 17, 2024
Rest and write in Bali
Imagine tuning into the sound of cascading waterfalls and the rhythm of nature punctuated by the gentle Balinese practices of spiritual worship.
Imagine your pen and notebook, covered in your newly formed stories, are scattered on the batik covers of the carved daybed. You’ve lost track of time. You have given yourself over to the creative flow and the gentle embrace of nature.
Imagine a view of rice paddies cascading all the way to where the horizon meets the sea.
Imagine your senses are alive to the sounds and smells of nature. You are deeply relaxed and connected. Your pen glides effortlessly over the page. Your mind is awake and alive. Imagine the joy of deep creative connection.
Experience the unique environment of Bali Eco Stay and discover a new sense of wonder.
Connect deeply, emerge restored and creatively re-charged.
Gift yourself a Bali writing retreat, you deserve it!
Unleash your wild mind and heart
& join us at Bali Writing Retreat and write your life back into balance
Join our Bali Writing Retreat and set your stories free!
Get your stories out of your head and onto the page and feel the joy of creating beauty of your own.
Whether you have an established writing practice or have always wanted to write but never had the time, this retreat is for anybody who yearns to creatively reconnect.
Every day begins with gentle yoga, followed by breakfast and an inspiring writing workshop.
The afternoons are free for your own adventures and explorations, 1:1 sessions with Kerstin & Edwina, your complimentary massage, a tarot reading, and a guided writing group if you like to write in company.
At the end of the day we join together again in the beautiful open air yoga shala for some gentle yoga breathing techniques to help clear your mind and revitalise your energy.
Every evening we share incredible dinners and relax with conversation and readings.
All retreat activities are optional and there will be no judgement if you prefer not to join the yoga sessions and meditations, or if you skip a few.
This is your creative holiday and we are there to serve your wellbeing and your creative process.
Ready to join us at a blissful Writing Retreat in Bali?
Where you will stay
Bali Ecostay — Nurtured by Nature
ACCOMMODATION
During our Bali writing retreat you will be staying at Bali Eco Stay, a small boutique resort with 8 uniquely designed Balinese bungalows, spread out over five acres of beautiful tropical gardens.
The resort is fed by crystal clear mountain streams and surrounded by food forest and organic rice paddies gently worked by the local community.
There are plenty of beautiful spaces where you can sneak away with your journal, walk through the rice paddies and the fruit forest, sit by the waterfall or take a swim in the creek that winds through the property.
Please note that this writing retreat is for the curious and the open-minded. You will be sleeping in beautiful open Bali-style bungalows. All beds are fitted with mosquito nets. For some of us, living in such close proximity with nature will be a new experience. Nature’s powerful embrace is deeply nourishing and soothing if you allow yourself to surrender to it.
LOCATION
Bali Eco Stay is situated on the southern slopes of Mt Batukaru in the central Bali mountains, about 90 minutes drive from Ubud and two and half hours from Denpasar airport.
FOOD
The retreat is fully catered and you’ll be fed morning, lunch and dinner, plus morning and afternoon tea. All meals are prepared from organic vegetables grown in the property’s permaculture gardens. It’s some of the most exquisite food you’ll ever taste.
Meet your Bali Writing Retreat leaders:
Kerstin Pilz & Edwina Shaw
Kerstin Pilz, PhD
I’m a former academic with nearly 20 years university teaching experience, a RYT 200 qualified yoga teacher and a published author.
My publications include an academic monograph (Mapping Complexity: Literature, Philosophy and Science in the works of Italy Calvino), book chapters for Oxford University Press, peer-reviewed academic articles as well as travel features including for The New York Times, The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald.
My debut memoir Loving My Lying, Dying, Cheating Husband: A Whirlwind Romance Gone Wrong, is out with Affirm Press in early 2024.
A series of difficult life challenges made me discover the healing power of writing. I believe we are the authors of our own life.
Watch my TEDx talk about The Healing Power of Writing.
Read my story here.
I love helping writers at all stages of development and I enjoy the intense focus and joyful synergy we can create at a writing retreat!
Edwina Shaw
I’m an Australian writer of fiction, memoir and screenplays. My books include the critically acclaimed Thrillseekers, In The Dark Of Night and A Guide Through Grief. You can find some of my publications here.
I’ve been writing and publishing since 2002 and have been teaching Creative Writing at the University of Queensland and in the community since 2005.
I love helping people get their stories out of their heads and onto the page.
I’ve run Relax and Write Retreats in Queensland for over six years and just love connecting with writers at all stages of their development.
Like Kerstin, I have a long-standing yoga practice and over twenty years teaching experience.
The mix of yoga and writing has been a great healing force in my life and I love to share the magic of these transformational practices with others.
I am looking forward to sharing Bali’s gentle energy with you as we adventure together through yoga and writing, deep into our creative selves and beautiful spirits.
Our Bali Writing Retreat is for you if you:
- yearn to step away from all that keeps you busy, distracted and disconnected from yourself & your writing
- need to get some writing done and crave time to dive deeper into your creativity
- desire a nourishing environment that will allow you to release long-held stories
- are willing to surrender to the flow, because we’ll let all of it flow, our creativity, our writing, our breath, our wild minds, our voice, our stories.
Whether you’re writing a journal or a book, whether you’ve always wanted to write but never knew how to start, whether you’ve written before but need a creative push, this relaxing creative retreat will leave you feeling nourished and in tune with yourself, with an abundance of new writing tools and skills.
Inclusions
- 6 nights accommodation in superior eco-resort
- All meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner; afternoon & morning tea)
- Morning yoga
- Daily writing workshops (7 x workshops)
- Guidance by TWO experienced writing coaches & published authors
- Evening Pranayama
- 1:1 mentoring
- 1x Balinese massage
- 1x Tarot reading
- Return airport transfer
- 2-hour guided village and nature walk
- Traditional Balinese Welcome & Blessing
- Bonfire on last day
- Gift bag
Cost* of Bali Writing Retreat
Private Bungalow with en-suite (sold out) $2950
Private Room (in shared bungalow with one other)
$2750
Twin-share Room (in shared bungalow – bring a friend)
$2050 (2x spots only)
*All prices in Australian dollars
A non-refundable deposit of $ 450 will reserve your spot.
Book early, don’t miss out!
“I just finished the inaugural Blissful Bali Writing Retreat and it is hard to put into words how profoundly it helped!
I came not understanding my voice and how to tell my story. Edwina and Kerstin were kind, understanding, and knowledgable and guided me gently through the process of finding and telling my story. I met incredible people in the group and we all grew a little together. The location is stunning with amazing food and beautiful staff.
I would recommend this retreat endlessly! Whether you have completed a book, or just picking up the pen, this retreat will help you be a better writer and a better human.”—Natasha Cox, www.natashacoxedits.com
Bali Writing Retreat
July 11 -17,2024
Price per person from: $2050*
A $ 450 deposit will reserve your spot.
Have more questions? Please get in touch:
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What kind of writing will we do?
The daily writing workshops are designed to help you unleash your creativity, connect you with your voice and to lead you towards the stories you need to write.
There will be a two-hour formal writing workshop each morning after breakfast exploring a particular aspect of the craft of writing and also some free-writing exercises to carefully selected writing prompts.
Timed freewriting allows you to bypass your inner critic so that you can write straight from your core, without stopping to think or edit or worrying about grammar and spelling.
There will be many opportunities for sharing. Sharing your writing is totally optional, but we find that reading your writing out aloud helps build confidence, momentum and creative synergy!
The writing sessions are aimed at any level of writer, whether you are working on a project, or simply writing for yourself as a way to make sense of your personal self-narrative.
What if I don't write in English?
You are encouraged to write in your native language as this will allow you to connect more deeply with your inner voice.
The writing you will be doing in this retreat is for your eyes only. Sharing is optional but encouraged. Some of our foreign language writers in the past have opted to summarise their words in English .
What kind of yoga will we do?
We will start our days with a gentle Vinyasa flow sequence to wake up the body and get you connected to your breath.
The classes are designed for people who have some experience with yoga but you don’t have to be an experienced yogi to participate.
Sample schedule
7:30 Morning Yoga
8:30 Breakfast
10:00 Workshop
12:30 Lunch
Free time
15:00 1:1 sessions/tarot card readings/massages/ guided free-writing in a group setting
17:30-18:00 Pranayama
18:30 Dinner
Terms & Conditions
• A non-refundable deposit of $450 is required to book your spot.
• Full payment for all bookings is required 2.5 months prior to retreat start. Any bookings made thereafter, must be paid in full.
• To participate in our international retreats, you will need to provide evidence of international travel insurance. This will also protect you in case of flight cancellations or any unforseen events.
REFUND POLICY
We understand that circumstances can change. In the unlikely event of another Covid related lockdown, any monies paid will be transferred to a future date.
If you cancel 2 months out from the retreat, we will refund your fee minus the $450 deposit.
Cancellations up to five weeks prior to retreat start will receive a 50% refund.
If you cancel one month out from the retreat, we are unable to provide any refunds.
However, if you can find a replacement to fill your spot, we are happy to transfer all fees paid to the new participant.
Likewise, if we can find someone to fill your place, we will issue a refund minus a $200 administrative fee.
Where do I fly into & how do I reach Bali Ecostay?
Denpasare International Airport.
Your retreat package includes complimentary group pick-up & drop-off from Denpasar airport (or a nearby hotel).
Aim to be ready for pick up from 10am (exact times to be confirmed).
Depending on flight arrival times, you might like to consider arriving on the day before (ie. on the 14th) and overnighting near the airport (at own expense).
There are plenty of good options in all price categories.
It takes about 2.5 hours from Denpasar airport or 90 minutes from Ubud.
One-way transfer by private car is about $50.
Check-in at Bali Eco Stay is from 2pm; the retreat starts at around 4pm (exact time tbc).
