Iceland Writers Retreat
Explore, Learn, Create
"If you’ve ever wanted to explore Iceland’s natural beauty and hone your writing skills, here’s your chance."
– Kirkus Reviews, "Writing Retreats to Inspire You in 2025"
"Quite possibly the world's most special creative writing course."
– Travel writer Rory MacLean, 2018 faculty member
"The perfect place to discover literary inspiration."
– The Daily Beast
"For a writer, it doesn't get much better than this."
– Huffington Post
"Absolutely superb in every way."
– Rozalind Dineen, Features Editor at the Times Literary Supplement (TLS)
"If you have a chance to attend the Iceland Writers Retreat, leap at it roaring."
– Lauren Groff, National Book Award nominee and 2018 faculty
"It was life changing ... an incredible experience."
– Kevin Larimer, Editor in Chief, Poets & Writers
"One of the world's best writers' retreats"
– The Sydney Morning Herald
"One of the most thoughtfully planned, helpful, and inspirational events ever."
– Carol, 2015, 2016, 2017 participant
"The most prestigious of its kind in the world."
– Danny Ramadan, 2023 faculty member, returning for 2025
2025 Faculty
We will begin announcing IWR 2026 faculty members soon.
Curtis Sittenfeld
FICTION
Plotting Your Novel From Start to Finish
Fiction Troubleshooting
Helen Macdonald
MEMOIR, NON-FICTION
Memoir
Encountering the Non-Human
Jonas Hassen Khemiri
FICTION
Rebellious Voices
Blueprints for Fiction:
Structuring Your Novel with Purpose
Kevin Chong
FICTION, NON-FICTION
On Metafiction:
Bringing the writing process into your story
Challenging the Hero’s Journey: Taking
a U-turn from a classic narrative pathway
Yrsa Daley-Ward
MEMOIR, FICTION
Writing into the Unsayable
Everyday Alchemy - Writing from
Life's Raw Materials
Jann Arden
MEMOIR, FICTION
How Do I Get My Project Over the Finish Line
You Don't Have to Be a Great Writer
to Tell a Great Story
Danny Ramadan
FICTION, MEMOIR
Back to Basics
The Three Bodies Problem
Thordis Elva
MEMOIR
Writing the Change the World
Get Out of Your Head:
Writing From Your Subconscious
Meng Jin
FICTION
Desire
Rocks and water
Rick Jervis
NON-FICTION
Investigative Narrative: Crafting Stories that Hum and Reveal
The Art of the Interview
Pedro Gunnlaugur Garcia
FICTION
History in the Making
The Alchemy of Storytelling: On Magical Realism
IWR Founding Sponsor

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