Workshops & Classes
My workshop partner, Charlotte Rains Dixon, and I hold creative writing workshops in the Portland area and other locations around the Pacific Northwest. But we also love traveling across the pond, and we’ve held workshops abroad for over ten years. We have a favorite place in England – Wells, Somerset – and one in France – Céret, in the Pyrénées Orientales. We also love to work with writers at all levels of experience and confidence, and we’re always on the lookout for new adventures. Let’s Go Write!
The Bishops Palace in Wells, England, is inspiring and super photogenic. Also historic— and it has swans. In May, when we hold our workshops there, the cygnets are small and fluffy and spotting them is a favorite sport. Set in a classic English landscape of rolling green hills and fields, with a cathedral that has been called England’s “most poetic,” just down the road from the more famous Glastonbury, Bath and Bristol, this magical small city is a perfect place to write.
This is the fountain at the center of the Place des Neufs Jets in Céret— a proud lion on top of lots of water flowing. The Place is peaceful at night; during the day it’s abuzz with restaurants and human activity. With its gorgeous giant plane trees and views of the mighty Pyrenees, Céret is a perfect town for writing— and absorbing the vibes of the artists and writers who’ve lived here in the past and still flourish here.
Moonset on Lopez Island, where we held a weeklong workshop in 2023. We’ve also held workshops in Astoria, McMinnville and Dufur, Oregon— beautiful places, full of quirk and character. We favor off-the-beaten-track venues that are lively and interesting but quiet enough to nurture creativity.