next chapter: creative writing in france for women 40+

Next Chapter is a week-long creative writing retreat designed for women forty+ who want to reignite imagination, replenish energy, and reawaken creative confidence. Whether you already have a daily writing practice, are working on a fiction or creative memoir project, or are simply longing to make space for creativity and your voice, this retreat offers an encouraging and nourishing environment in which to explore, play, and write.

Through a series of generative exercises and creative provocations, you’ll work with memory, imagination, and the senses — using smell, touch, movement, and place as catalysts for writing. You’ll write from autobiography and beyond, developing vivid descriptive language that connects body, story, and environment. Together, we’ll explore how nature, atmosphere, and lived experience can shape creative process and deepen your writing practice.

Alongside daily workshops, you’ll receive personalized mentorship and one-to-one feedback from Dr. Helen Paris, author of Lost Property and Invisible Women’s Club. Helen is an internationally recognized artist and writer with over thirty years of experience facilitating creative development. Helen’s approach is attentive, rigorous, and deeply supportive — designed to help you take creative risks, refine your craft, and discover new layers of your voice.

The Next Chapter is about nourishing both the writer and the creative body. The group is intentionally small, fostering a true writing community of women while allowing for individualized attention and tailored feedback.

All levels of experience are warmly welcome. You will be met exactly where you are in your writing journey.

The ethos of the Next Chapter is simple: this is your time. A time to pause, to listen inward, to write with abandon, to take creative risks in a caring and nurturing space — and to discover what your next chapter truly holds.

Location

Next Chapter takes place at a peaceful 20-acre woodland retreat in the southwest of France, nestled just outside the medieval village of Saint Antonin-Noble-Val. Surrounded by oak forests, birdsong, and butterflies, it’s a sanctuary designed for slowing down and focusing on your creative voice while being deeply nourished.

What’s Included

• 6 nights Accommodation in private or shared room

• All meals: Vegetarian cuisine lovingly prepared with organic, seasonal ingredients. Food during your retreat is part of the creative nourishment.

  • Breakfast: A generous buffet—think bouillie d'avoine (oat porridge), fresh baked bread, local cheese, homemade jams, fruit, and eggs.

  • Lunch & Dinner: A colourful spread of hot and cold dishes served buffet-style and family style on alternating days. Local wine is offered with dinner.

  • All-day snacks: Teas, coffee, fruit, and biscuits are always available.

  • Local wine is available and offered through our “honor bar” & you can also pick up anything you desire in the local village and at the tantalizing farmer’s market.

• Structured feedback sessions on your writing

• 1-1 mentoring with Helen Paris

• Cozy writing library with tea and music

• Outdoor Pool (weather permitting)

• Sauna

• All writing and creative wokshops; held in a beautifully restored barn with high ceilings and exposed beams or outdoors in our surrounding fields and nature.

• You have access to 20 acres of woodland, and all common areas including an indoor studio space and open-air yoga studio surrounded by trees.

• All guided yoga sessions

• Development of your Next Chapter (individual and group)

• Several hikes and the village of Saint Antonin-Noble-Val are reachable by foot. Bicycles are also available to borrow.