I no longer teach my memoir courses Memories into Story I and II, which were offered for 9 years through University of Toronto, School of Continuing Studies, Creative Writing Program.

For select writing projects, however, I’m still available upon request as a Final Project adviser or an Online Mentor. Please contact Emily Sanford, Administrator, SCS Creative Writing Department, scs.writing@utoronto.ca or 416-946-7693.

Mayne Island Writers Retreat (for Children’s Writers)

Location: Mayne Island, B.C.

Dates: June 13 & 14, 2020

Host: Pam Withers

Note: Open only to members of CWILL – BC (Children’s Writers and Illustrators of British Columbia Society)

Previous instructors for this annual retreat include authors Kit Pearson, Caroline Adderson, Maggie de Vries, Susan Nielsen, and Ellen Schwartz.

Registration and details: January 2020

Trinity Creative Writing Retreat

The Self in Storytelling

Location: Trinity, Newfoundland, Canada

Dates: October 17 to 20, 2019

Guest speaker: Melissa Barbeau, St. John’s (The Luminous Sea)

Launch:

This retreat also featured a launch event for Sonja Boon’s What the Oceans Remember, released in October 2019. Sonja was a student in my Memories into Story courses at University of Toronto, and later I was her adviser for her Final Project (on which her published book is based), which went on to win the university’s Marina Nemat Award. Sonja and I also worked together on a structural edit for the manuscript subsequently acquired by Wilfrid Laurier Press. During the Trinity retreat, I was thrilled to work with Tineke and Marieke of Artisan Inn to feature a “pop-up” book launch for What the Oceans Remember that attracted more than 20 guests.

 

Turquoise Waters Writers’ Retreat (2019)

Location: Sandy Lake, Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada

Dates: July 1 to 5, 2019

Guest speaker: Kerry Clare, Toronto, author and blogger

 

Sintra Writing & Yoga Retreat (2019)

with yoga instructor Dale Synnett-Caron

Location: Sintra, Portugal

Dates: March 9 to 15, 2019

Guest speaker: Robert Wilson, England/Portugal, crime novelist

 

Turquoise Waters Writers’ Retreat (2018)

Location: Sandy Lake, Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada

Dates: July 9 to 13, 2018

Guest speaker: Stuart Ross, Toronto, writer, poet, editor, small press activist

 

Italian Riviera Writing & Photography Retreat

with Photographer Rick Brazeau

Location: Chiavari, Italy

Date: September 23 to October 1, 2017

Guest speaker: Deborah Vail, Mission, B.C., speaking about her UBC MA program, and her novel manuscript Fault Line

 

Turquoise Waters Writers’ Retreat (2017)

Location: Sandy Lake, Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada

Date: July 3 to 7, 2017

Guest speaker: Ann Y.K. Choi, Toronto, novelist

 

Workshop, Muskoka Authors Association

Spit & Polish Self-editing

Location: St. Thomas Anglican Church, Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada

Date: April 8, 2017

 

Workshop, Ontario Writers’ Conference

Location: Deer Creek Golf & Banquet Facility, Ajax, Ontario, Canada

Date: May 1, 2016

 

Turquoise Waters Writers’ Retreat, Fifth Anniversary Celebration (2016)

Location: Sandy Lake, Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada

Date: July 18 to 22, 2106

Guest speaker: Sheryl Gordon, Toronto, writer (A Rewording Life)

 

God’s Mountain Estate Writers’ Retreat (2016)

Location: Penticton, British Columbia

Date: September 9 to 18, 2016

Guest speakers: Barbara Lambert, Frances Greenslade, Penticton, B.C., novelists

 

Turquoise Waters Digital Storytelling Retreat (2015)

Location: Sandy Lake, Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada

Date: July 2015

Guest facilitators: Karen Matthews and Judy Sillito, Weasel Tale Digital Storytelling, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Read more about digital storytelling: I Know Why I’m Telling You This by Karen Matthews

 

Mystica Writing & Yoga Retreat (2015)

with yoga instructor Lori Myles-Carullo

Location: Mystica Lodge, Lake Arenal, Costa Rica

Dates: April 6 to 13, 2015

Guest speakers: Alexandra Risen, Toronto, memoirist (Unearthed), and Lori Myles-Carullo, Costa Rica, writer, yoga instructor

Read more: A Sense of Place: Mystica Writing & Yoga Retreat by Sandra Shaw Homer

 

Spice Isle Writing & Yoga Retreat (2014)

with yoga instructor Dale Synnett-Caron

Location: Petite Anse Hotel and Restaurant, Grenada

Date: April 2014

Guest speaker: Lisa Allen-Agostini, Trinidad, novelist

 

SPICE ISLE WRITING & YOGA RETREAT (2013)

with yoga instructor Dale Synnett-Caron

Location: Petite Anse Hotel and Restaurant, Grenada

Dates: April 7 to 14, 2013

Guest speaker: Oonya Kempadoo, Caribbean, novelist

 

Turquoise Waters Writers’ Retreats (2012 – 2014)

Location: Sandy Lake, Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada

Dates: July (annual)

Guest authors: Michelle Berry, Peterborough, novelist, owner of Hunter Street Books; Alexandra Leggat, Toronto, novelist; Shannon Moroney, Toronto, memoirist

 

Namaste Gardens Writing & Yoga Retreat (2012)

Location: Playa Herradura, Costa Rica

Dates: January 21 to 30, 2012

Guest speakers: William Deverell, Pender Island, B.C., crime novelist; Sandra Shaw Homer, Costa Rica, memoirist, poet

 

Sabino Springs Writers’ Retreat (2011)

Location: Tucson, Arizona

Dates: January 2011

Guest speaker: Dan Gilmore, Tucson, poet

 

Otter Lake Writers’ Retreat (2010)

Illuminating the Path: Finding Theme and Structure for Your Memoir

Location: Otter Lake, Seguin County, Ontario, Canada

Dates: Fall 2010

Host: Cheryl Andrews, and the Life Writers Ink writing group

 

Los Parronales Writers’ Retreat (2010; 2 weeks)

Location: Santiago, Chile

Dates: Winter 2010

Host: Susan Siddeley, Toronto/Santiago, poet and memoirist