Join us to write with the seasons on Substack!
Write & Shine takes inspiration from the world around us. We run a year-long programme in distinct seasons, offering activities that tune into natural world and the environment around to inspire people and help ignite new ideas.
Spring: Regular morning writing workshops in March and April, then a whole week of events in May called the Spring Salon.
Summer: Workshops all through June and July, then in mid-August in the Summer Salon.
Autumn: Workshops during September and October, then in October in the Autumn Salon.
Winter: In December we embrace the darker side of the year with our December Festival, a set of events all month leading up to the winter solstice. This is followed by regular morning writing workshops during January and February.
Our programme runs virtually via Zoom, on UK time.
To participate in a virtual workshop, retreat or event, you need to download Zoom onto your computer. Installation takes only a minute and is easy! When you visit the website, click on ‘Sign up, it’s free’ in the top right and follow the instructions. Please test out your audio and camera before the session.
At least 24 hours before the event, we send the Zoom meeting link. If you do not receive it, please check your junk file or contact us.
On the morning of the workshop or retreat, just make a cup of tea or coffee, grab your notebook and pen, and join the Write & Shine Zoom meeting.
Join from a quiet and well-lit place (so you can be seen and heard) and turn on your video camera (as seeing each other’s faces helps create a good atmosphere).
Our Write & Shine seasonal memberships aim to motivate you to make the most of your mornings. Being a member allows you to enjoy all the events Write & Shine has to offer for a fixed fee during the season.
Think of it as a Write & Shine classpass, with added support, resources and inspiration offered during the season.
Members are sent a unique membership code, which can be entered at the checkout when booking each session.
We invite artists, makers and thinkers along to Write & Shine to lead workshops on their particular areas of interest. In the past, we’ve welcomed graphic artists, poets and playwrights, a florist who guided the group through a session about the language of flowers and a photographer asking us all why we flinch when the camera points in our direction. Gemma is always present, with the guest tutor facilitating the workshop to offer a burst of creative stimulus.
We invite contemporary artists to run workshops and join us for events. Poet Shazea Quraishi ran a wonderful writing workshop on poetry and taxidermy. Coach and creativity expert Jackee Holder joined us for our event ‘Rewilding Creativity’ and shared her passion for trees and the natural world.
Bronia Evers ran a workshop on puppetry and storytelling. And filmmaker Eelyn Lee hosted a workshop on creativity and filmmaking. Writer Philip Cowell hosted a workshop using the theme of ‘Friendship’ as a creative prompt. Inspiring Cornwall-based poet Katrina Naomi led a session all about Happiness.
We have a library of online courses designed to bring out your creativity. Our Write & Shine online subscriptions give you unlimited access to our library of courses for just £3.99 a month. Each course is inspired by a theme and is made up of four timed exercises. All you need is a pen, a notebook and a quiet space to allow your creativity to flow.
Courses are self-guided and we recommend allowing a minimum of 30 minutes for each session. You should begin each session in the morning and earlier than you’d otherwise rise. Find out more here!
We do! Write & Shine gift vouchers make ideal presents for a loved one, friend, or colleague. We send these as printed or e-vouchers, so you can offer your special someone invaluable space to reflect, craft and create. With a voucher, they can choose an inspiring writing workshops or a peaceful morning retreat. Our lovely gift vouchers are available for a one-year subscription to our online library, or a workshop or retreat.
Our e-vouchers can be bought in any denomination! Please contact us directly to discuss.
Give the gift of creativity! Terms and conditions: Each gift voucher contains a unique code to be entered at the checkout when booking. Vouchers are valid for 12 months from date of purchase. Gift vouchers are sent by email or UK post within 3 working days (free P&P). Buy vouchers now.
Yes! Write & Shine offers an ideal space for both new and experienced writers to explore ideas in a safe environment. Write & Shine workshops last 90 minutes and encourage writing freely. This allows all kinds of unexpected ideas to emerge.
Rather than share the work we produce, we focus on generating new material and tapping into our imaginations in the morning. The chance for feedback from the tutor and other writers can help improve writing, but for some writers it can damage confidence or hinder creativity. After each workshop, participants leave with a few pieces to develop in their own time.
We offer 20-25 places per session as we think Write & Shine sessions are suited to this size group. This allows us to create a stimulating and supportive atmosphere that benefits everyone who attends.
Our workshops are open to all and we pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We programme with diversity in mind. We’re a female-led company and our guest tutors are all women, women of colour, or LGBTQI+ artists. The poems, fiction extracts and creative work we share in a workshop are representative of society as a whole, foregrounding women’s voices, creatives of colour, LGBTQI+ artists and those living with disabilities.
Although we meet early, we are keen to tackle big subjects in the workshops: current affairs, politics, equality, feminism, environmental concerns and activism. Due to the format and content, we recommend workshop participants are over 16 years old.
We invite you to join us on Zoom at 7.15am, ready for the workshop to begin at 7.30am promptly. Arriving at 7.15am ensures you get the most from the session as you’ll be able to settle in, check your microphone and camera works, and begin the session feeling relaxed. We know it’s early, but please arrive on time.
Please join us with a hot drink and a pen or pencil and something to write on. Perhaps treat yourself to a special notebook to incentivise you to write? We encourage you to write by hand, as we think this helps create a calm and creative environment for all. But if you prefer, you’re welcome to use a laptop.
We create a comfortable, peaceful setting for you to write independently on Zoom. Bring your work-in-progress or a blank notebook ready to fill. You’ll be surprised at how much you’ll get done in a couple of hours! There’ll be quick introductions at the beginning, a short writing prompt, and then we’ll conclude with a facilitated discussion to reflect on the morning.
Before you arrive, you might like to set some specific goals for the retreat. Then you won’t spend the first moments deciding what to do! Remember that in the morning, you’re more sensitive to the sights and sounds of the world. So it can be the best time to think and imagine, with afternoons more suitable for editing and researching.
Absolutely. Write & Shine offer workshops for all kinds of organisations, from community groups to large companies.
Write & Shine has featured in the Financial Times magazine, Time Out and A Little Bird and has run bespoke sessions for a range of organisations including Adidas, the London Library, Meetup, the Royal Parks, Royal Society of Literature, Samsung and Paperchase.
Our host at Better Bankside, Daisy Lindlar, said of the workshop: “It was so popular we had to start a waiting list! The content was dynamic and interesting, with attendees scribbling away for the full hour and a half. I would definitely recommend Write & Shine to businesses looking to offer a unique professional development experience to their employees.”
Our rates are reasonable and we’re able to adapt the concept to suit your requirements. Please contact us if you’d like to discuss how your company could benefit from a Write & Shine session.
The Write & Shine programme is led by London-based writer & early riser Gemma Seltzer. She set up Write & Shine in 2015, following a collaboration with a photographer in 5am London, which captured the city during the first part the day. Gemma makes all kinds of literary projects and has enjoyed facilitation, performance and writing commissions from organisations such as Age UK, BBC Radio 3, Tate Modern & the Venice Biennale. Her latest book is ‘Ways of Living’, a collection of short stories published by Influx Press—and a Foyles bestseller.
We have hosted workshops and events all over London, and now reach writers across the UK and Europe via our virtual events from our base in South East London, UK.
We believe that writing regularly boosts your wellbeing, productivity and working life, including by:
* increasing your self-awareness and capacity for innovative thinking
* improving your ability to persuade and motivate with words
* developing your creative, descriptive and analytical skills through reviewing different pieces of published writing
* feeling energised by writing rapidly and continuously, letting go of doubts and self-criticism
* exploring new ways to express yourself, to have faith in your own voice and enhance your ability to judge your own writing.
If you do all this in the morning, it will set you up for the rest of the day.
Oh there are so many inspiring titles we’ve enjoyed and used in Write & Shine sessions! We like:
* Stephen King’s On Writing offers a great perspective on the tools needed to create fiction.
* Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones is all about writing swiftly and freely to learn to write well.
* The Writer’s Voice by Al Alvarez is a fascinating set of essays analysing how authors such as Sylvia Plath and Jean Rhys uncover and develop their distinct style.
* The Paris Review interviews with writers give thrilling insights into the craft of writing. Check out early-riser Toni Morrison’s piece!
* Finally, the New Yorker’s fiction podcasts are tremendous.
Of course! We’ve had plenty of publicity for our morning writing programme in UK & international press. You can read more about the beginnings of Write & Shine, and how we spend our time in the early hours, here:
* Tips for Tapping into Morning Creativity (The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year, 2019)
* Write & Shine for Better Mental Health (Paperchase, 2018)
* It’s Time to Write (Writers’ Bloc, 2018)
* Things to Do: Write & Shine (Time Out, 2018)
* Inspire: Gemma Seltzer of Write & Shine (Less Stress London, 2017)
* Q&A with Gemma Seltzer of Write & Shine (whitefox, 2016)
* Discover your Creative Skills (Psychologies magazines, 2016)
* Write & Shine (A Little Bird, 2015)
* Where London Looks Best in the Morning (Londonist, 2015)
We’re sorry but no refunds are available. Transfers to future workshops or courses may be possible with more than 48 hours notice. This allows us to offer a place to someone else on the waiting list or promote the slot to our community. We’re a small organisation and while we’ll try to accommodate any changes in your circumstances, we do need this notice to ensure we can cover costs including paying guest tutors. This also helps keep our programme sustainable. Please contact Gemma at hello@write-and-shine.com to discuss changing your booking.
You can transfer your event booking to another person, please just let us know their name and email. That way we can ensure they have the details they need in advance of the session.
As each event booking is for one person, please don’t share your Zoom link with others. We love each person to participate and contribute and cap numbers to ensure it’s a positive experience for everyone.
We use Stripe for our online payment system, which is a fast, safe and reliable service. You won’t need to set up an account or leave the Write & Shine website to pay. We won’t have access to your card details, and can’t obtain the details of your bank account. All payments are made over a secure connection.
The General Data Protection Regulation came into effect on 25 May 2018. We regularly review all our data and privacy policies to ensure we adhere to the law.
The only data we collect is the information you submit when you sign up to the newsletter (name and email address). You will receive emails from Write & Shine about your booking or subscription, but you will not be added to the mailing list unless you have first consented by signing up through our website. Similarly, if you purchase a gift voucher to be sent by email or post, the details will not be added to our mailing list. We occasionally send gifts to members and workshop attendees by post. In these cases, we will only use the postal address given for that activity. We are committed to ensuring that all your personal information is kept private and protected, and promise never to pass on your details to third parties. You can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time by clicking the link in the newsletter footer or by contacting us at hello@write-and-shine.com.
We use MailChimp as our marketing automation platform. By joining the mailing list, you acknowledge that the information you provide will be transferred to MailChimp for processing in accordance with their Privacy Policy and Terms.
We use Stripe and Paypal to process all payments. We do not hold your information anywhere other than Stripe and Paypal after a payment has been made. You’ll receive a confirmation email from Stripe or Paypal when you make a booking, but you will not be placed on our mailing lists without your consent, nor will data collected in the booking process be used. Additionally, we keep personal information about subscribers on a secure database. All passwords are encrypted. We do not store any financial information. Here is Stripe’s Privacy Policy & Paypal’s User Agreements and Privacy Policy.
We promote our courses on the social platform Meetup. You’ll receive an initial confirmation email from Meetup and a welcome email about the event from Write & Shine when you make a booking, but you will not be placed on the Write & Shine mailing list without your consent, nor will data collected in the booking process be used. Meetup’s Privacy Policy is here.
Google Analytics uses cookies (small pieces of text saved to your hard disk) in order to collect information about how visitors use write-and-shine.com. Write & Shine uses the information to help improve the website. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited. Google will store this information. Google’s Privacy Policy is here. Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. It is possible to configure your browser to refuse cookies or to raise an alert when they are sent.
If you have any concerns regarding privacy issues, please contact us on hello@write-and-shine.com.