Our retreats are designed for authors - aspiring or otherwise - who seek guidance and inspiration. The guidance comes from the expertise of published authors. The inspiration comes from hand-picked Himalayan locations. To apply, please complete the application form and share a sample of your writing.
Get your book done.
Event Calendar
Writing Weekend+ : For budding writers, heavy on instruction.
Writers' Retreat : For evolved writers, heavy on inspiration.
We host events through the year so please check back for updates.
Himalayan Writing Weekend +, Kangra
March 14-18, 2018 (4 nights)
Andretta village, Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh
A story-tellers workshop for Novice - intermediate writers, this three-day boot camp will give you all the tools you need to get your writing going. Published authors guide you as you stay at the gorgeous Mirage home stay surrounded by art, nature and inspiration.
Host: Chetan
Himalayan Writers Retreat, Spring 2018
April 1-8, 2018 (7 nights)
District Nainital, Uttarakhand
India's highest peaks bless your writing during this inspiring retreat. Seven days of inspiration. Amazing food. Fireside chats. Long walks. Lots of free writing time, published authors and Himalayan peaks for inspiration.
Hosts: Chetan, Vandita. Co-host: to be announced
Himalayan Blogging Retreat, April 18 - 22
Village Satkhol, District Nainital, Uttarakhand
A workshop for bloggers - novice to intermediate. This four-day boot camp will give you all the tools you need to get your blog started, or move it to the next level. Award winning bloggers guide you as you stay at the small, alternative Frozen Woods resort surrounded by nature and inspiration.
Hosts: Chetan, Sumit.
Create your own retreat
Village Satkhol, District Nainital, Uttarakhand
Structured retreat not working? Why not create your own? Stay in your own private apartment as a guest in the home of two published authors sensitive to the needs of writers. Days of distraction free writing can be mixed with the opportunity to discuss your writing with the host authors. Wine and cheese evenings, forest walks and fireside chats are on offer - but you control how you want to spend your time.
Hosts: Chetan, Vandita.
Our Story
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be - Lao Tzu
Out loud
Ishq 104.8 FM : Founder of the Himalayan Writing Retreat https://www.ishq.com/author/rjsangeeta/?audio_id=4382 ( click on the seventh track from top. 4 mins)
Biker radio Rodcast : A freewheeling discussion about life, motorcycles, and writing. https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/bikerradiorodcast/episodes/2018-02-02T02_08_53-08_00 (49 minutes)
Online
Little Black Book https://lbb.in/delhi/business/The-Himalayan-Writing-Retreat-940346/
Brown Paper Bag http://brownpaperbag.in/delhi/travel/bpbpine-a-himalayan-retreat-for-writers-who-want-to-finish-their-damn-books/
Yourstory https://yourstory.com/mystory/af2d54ad12-seven-building-blocks-of-a-lifestyle-business
Thrive Global https://www.thriveglobal.com/stories/13603-this-prison-inmate-started-the-himalayan-writing-retreat
New Asian Writing http://www.new-asian-writing.com/five-terrible-writing-habits-we-learn-in-school-and-how-to-break-them/
A favourite blog https://travelingfeasting.com/2018/01/17/the-himalayan-writing-retreat/
Print :
Business World http://businessworld.in/article/The-Writerly-Life/24-10-2017-129319/
Facilitators
Writers who help writers
Mariam Karim Ahlawat
Playwright, Author, visiting Facilitator
Novelist, playwright and children’s writer Mariam Karim was educated at JNU, New Delhi, and the Sorbonne in Paris. Some of her works are:
- My Little Boat (Novel, Penguin India 2003) (Vitasta 2009) (nominated for the IMPAC international Literary Award 2005)
- The Street of Mists (Novel, Vitasta 2009). (Longlist Man Asian 2009
- The Betrayal of Selvamary (play, shortlist Hindu Metroplus Playwrights Award 2010)
- The Undoing (play, longlist Hindu Metroplus Playwrights Award 2011)
- A Bagful of Dreams (play)
Mariam's many children's books include Tales Old and New, Putul and the Dolphins, The King and the Kiang, Gulla and the Hangul and the latest children's fable The house of a hundred stories.
Chetan Mahajan
Author, Blogger, Resident Facilitator
Chetan is a full-time author, writing coach and Himalayan resident. Penguin published his first book "The Bad Boys of Bokaro Jail" in 2014. He is working on his next book. His blog https://uncityblog.wordpress.com/ won the IBA 2017 award for humor. (details at www.indiblogger.in/iba/2017/winners/literature-personal )
Dr. Vandita Dubey
Author, Resident Psychologist and Facilitator
Author Vandita Dubey was educated at TISS, Mumbai and also at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology. A US-licensed clinical psychologist and author of "Parenting in the age of Sexposure", Dr. Dubey brings a deep understanding of writing and the human mind to our retreats. She also speaks often at various institutions such as the British School. You can learn more about her at http://vanditadubey.com/about-me/
Sumit Bansal
Blogger, Trainer, Microsoft MVP
Sumit Bansal co-hosts the Himalayan Blogging Retreat. While working with IBM, Sumit started a blog to share his expertise in Excel spreadsheets. Now he is a full-time blogger, and his blog gets more than 350K page views a month. He has been featured on many prominent blogs and websites (such as Glassdoor, Problogger, and Indiehacker). He has also been featured as one of the most popular bloggers in India (in 2018). You can check out his blog here - www.trumpexcel.com
Roy Abraham
Award-winning copywriter, visiting Facilitator
An Adman, his 16 years of writing advertisements have won him much recognition including 12 Abbys, 2 Effies and a reputation for ‘longhand’. Chiselling and crafting the language to say something persuasive and engaging – that too with the sword of a deadline hanging on his head -is the fine art he thrives on. Roy lives in Mumbai and on occasion flies in to aid in HWR events.
Our Partners
Writers Melon
The leading community of book-lovers, authors and bloggers
Writersmelon is our outreach partner for all our retreats
IndiBlogger
Home of the Indian Blogger
An award winning community of Indian Bloggers
Waxing Eloquent
Nice stuff people say about the Himalayan Writing Retreat. More on our fb page at www.facebook.com/pg/himalayanwritingretreat/reviews/
Ashoka India
"Ashoka's first-ever Changemaker Writing Retreat couldn't have been better helmed. Chetan brought all the necessary passion, energy and expertise to convert a bunch of social entrepreneurs into writers. It was a great experience where we learned from each other, and our writing became a means to tell the stories we always wanted to. Social entrepreneurs make the best story-tellers and Chetan's guidance was critical in extracting the best, most personal and most powerful written stories from them. We couldn't have done it without him!"
- Olina Banerji, Change Manager, Ashoka India
Matthew Wheelock
A Brit in India
"The course has given me not only the motivation to start my book, but also the structure and process. A very worthwhile 3 days spent in the company of charming fellow budding authors."
Dipti Ranjan
(Picture with Jenn)
"The mountain of finishing my book seems smaller. I am using the tips and practical tools already. Working with fellow writers makes me part of something bigger. The long forest walks and warm fireside chats are etched in me. If writing has a home, this is it.”
Jennifer Harper
(Picture with Roy)
"I've long dreamt of writing a book and the HWR was the catalyst for turning that dream into a reality."
