RETREATS
Susan’s introduction to teaching came when, just after her first novel was published, she was invited to be a tutor on an Arvon course (which, for the record, are brilliant – do consider this option!) It was a transformative experience and she loved everything about it – the process of understanding what makes some prose leap off the page, some not…and what makes some storylines so grabbing that you can’t stop turning the pages. (Also, how fun and inspiring it was to spend a week with other writerly and imaginative types.) She went on to teach, and then examine, on various of the leading MAs in the country, including Birkbeck, Goldsmith’s and City (she herself having studied at UEA, where she was the Curtis Brown scholar for her year and lucky enough to be taught by Malcolm Bradbury and Rose Tremain.)
These days she runs her own retreats in Somerset and Provence, as well as teaching creative writing to English undergrads at Downing College, Cambridge, and mentoring asylum-seekers and refugees at Write to Life, the long-established writing group at the amazing organisation Freedom from Torture in London.
Susan tends to attract a keen sort of writer – someone who’s interested in the nitty gritty of the craft. And those who are in it for the long haul: being a writer is a life-long practice, a way of engaging with the world.
Upcoming retreats
LE GRAND BANC,
PROVENCE
Next retreats: 3rd-9th May 2026 & 10th-16th May 2026
With yoga teacher Tashi Dawa
These six-day yoga & writing retreats facilitated jointly by Susan and Australian yogi Tashi Dawa – a doyenne of the yoga retreat scene in Europe – combines the complementary practices of yoga and writing. Designed to ignite your creativity by reconnecting with your body, the retreat is offered for two separate weeks next May at a spectacular private hamlet in the Luberon area of Provence.
PENNARD HOUSE,
SOMERSET
Next retreat: 10th-14th November 2025
These five day retreats at the glorious Pennard House in Somerset – a family-owned stately home near Glastonbury – is where Susan first started running retreats and remains very close to her heart. Perfect for those wanting to take time out from their busy lives to immerse themselves in their writing, it offers a glorious mix of luxury and cosiness – the sort of place where you can pad around in your slippers then eat around a long, candle-lit table with various ancestors glowering down at you from the walls. Complete with log fires, dogs, drinks before dinner, optional morning yoga, a spring-fed swimming lake for the hearty, and a mid-week guest speaker (read on for who’s coming in November!) Pennard has everything you need for an inspirational and highly productive week.
Susan works with all types of writers – fiction, non-fiction, memoir, even sometimes poets and screenplay writers. Some people who come to her haven’t written creatively since school; others will have published already and be looking to find their next book – a mix of experience that keeps everyone humble and fresh. Herself a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at UEA, she has taught on the MA courses at Birkbeck, Goldsmith’s, City Uni, and currently works with undergraduates at her own alma mater, Downing College, Cambridge, as well as asylum-seekers and refugees. She believes our best work comes almost by accident – rising to the surface organically – and though it is scary to show your work to others, it is also an excellent way to test things out and see what causes others to light up. No preparation is required for her retreats – you can arrive with nothing but a notebook and pen. You’ll leave with a host of new material, a new understanding of writing as a craft you can hone, and a new bunch of writer friends. Susan inspires a dedicated following amongst her students, with many coming on retreats repeatedly over the course of many years.