Island Scribe
Writing Retreats
Register for Barbados & Dominica 2025
An Invitation
Island Scribe is a destination writing retreat in the Caribbean curated for Black and women of colour writers.
Writing is an act of liberation. It draws from our deepest selves, craves attention, requires vulnerability and grace.
This is why we believe in the Island Scribe ethos:
- Rest: Shift self-care and self-compassion to the top of your agenda.
- Reflect: Be curious about the writer you are and the stories you must tell.
- Rejuvenate: Refresh your creative practice with moments of joy.
- Write: Find flow and focus in a community curated just for you.
We believe in creating spaces where women writers of colour are truly free to discover their craft. Our retreats honour these writers, their lived experiences, and their practices, by centering them and their stories.
Have a project waiting to be liberated?
Bring your story and come.
Your Muse
Audre Lorde. Paule Marshall. Jamaica Kincaid. Merle Collins. Dionne Brand. Edwidge Danticat. These Black women writers have forged new literary landscapes and set the world ablaze with stories born out of the same muse. The Caribbean.
Steeped in language, image, rhythm, and folklore, the literary tradition of the Caribbean and its diaspora is vast, varied, and vibrant. While the region continues to captivate with its geography, it is not to be reduced to this single story.
An Island Scribe Writing Retreat
Bring your story and come
Meet yourself rising with the sun over the sea before you set an intention for the day. Meditating in nature or through moving your body. Be nourished throughout the day by wholesome food prepared by local chefs. Feed your curiosity and be inspired with an occasional excursion beyond your island writing studio. Do all of this as you attend to your craft at your pace from the comfort of your well-appointed room (or the beach), knowing that you are in a writing community where you belong.
Explore Writing Packages
Island Scribe writing retreats are designed to support writers who are building or experimenting with their practice and/or craft, and provide writers who are established in their practice time, space, and care to attend to their craft.
While the writing retreats are as unique as the islands we visit, you can expect:
- Ample time to write, on your own terms and in community;
- Movement of body, mind, and spirit through wellness activities, a nature/cultural excursion, daily group reflection, and facilitated knowledge-sharing sessions;
- Unique, eco-conscious accommodations nestled in flora and fauna;
- Wholesome meals showcasing local flavours of the island.
Rest, Reflect, Rejuvenate, Write
July 14 - 19, 2025, in Dominica
Rest in a private/shared cottage for 6 days/5 nights, with a view of the ocean or garden, ample writing space, and kitchenette. Ceiling fans and screened windows/doors are available for added comfort.
Reflect during our daily signature Rise & Write sessions.
Rejuvenate with a dip in a natural wonder, where the river meets the sea.
Write in community and with the freedom to attend to your craft at your own pace.
Feast on a full meal plan of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with plant-based, vegan and vegetarian options on the menu. Celebrate with your writing community at the closing night dinner.
Breathe into your writing practice with a sunrise nature walk, yoga sessions, guided meditation.
Included:
- Monthly pre-retreat motivational messages and a special digital chapbook
- 1 hour virtual pre-retreat intention setting group call with writers selected for the writing retreat
- Daily group reflection and facilitated knowledge-sharing sessions
- 30 minute virtual post-retreat writing one-on-one coaching call
- Meeting and sharing words with a local writer
- Your Island Moment, half-day excursion and exploration
- An Island Scribe welcome tote with writing materials and inspiration
- Airport transfer to/from accommodation on retreat start and end dates
Rest, Reflect, Rejuvenate, Write
April 18 - 23, 2025, in Barbados
Rest in a private room, complete with a writing desk, balcony, hammock, en-suite bathroom, and kitchenette. A/C and ceiling fans are available.
Reflect during our daily signature Rise & Write sessions.
Rejuvenate with a dip in the famous pools of Bathsheba Beach or the replicas right in your backyard, then visit the sauna or journal in the Zen gully.
Write in community and with the freedom to attend to your craft at your own pace.
Feast on a full meal plan of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with sea-to-table, plant-based, vegan and vegetarian options on the menu. Celebrate with your writing community at the closing night dinner.
Breathe into your writing practice with a sunrise nature walk-and-write, yoga sessions, guided meditation.
Included:
- Monthly pre-retreat motivational messages and a special digital chapbook
- 1 hour virtual pre-retreat intention setting group call with writers selected for the writing retreat
- Daily group reflection and facilitated knowledge-sharing sessions
- 30 minute virtual post-retreat writing one-on-one coaching call
- Meeting and sharing words with a local writer
- Your Island Moment, half-day excursion and exploration
- An Island Scribe welcome tote with writing materials and inspiration
- Airport transfer to/from accommodation on retreat start and end dates
FAQs
Island Scribe writing retreats offer a joyful combination of rest, reflection, and rejuvenation.
We believe that all three serve the reason we are gathering as a community: to write.
And best of all, you get to attend to your craft with a beautiful, off the beaten path, Caribbean location as your backdrop. Our writing retreats include time to explore the island on your own and on a tour.*
So leave the concerns of your day-to-day needs behind, find a soft place to land with a lightly scheduled daily routine, and dream up the stories you were born to tell.
* The island tour may include time in a boat or driving by bus. Do consider this before booking or get in touch, if you have questions.
Your schedule will look different depending on your location, package, and writing needs, but here is a sample day:
7:30 Breakfast
9:00 Yoga
10:00 Writing
1:00 Lunch
2:00 Writing
6:00 Reflection and Sharing
7:00 Dinner
Free time for activities such as a dip in the ocean or a village walk is available at your discretion.
One day of the writing retreat is reserved for a group activity on the island.
No. However, you are encouraged to share your work when we come together in the evenings for group reflection before dinner.
All writers will be invited to read before our final dinner together on Day 5. Think of this as a gift to your future writer self and your writing community.
Our writing retreats are intimate and we offer 6 – 10 spots, depending on the location.
No. You are responsible for your own flight costs.
We totally understand that everyone has different financial situations. We want to make this opportunity for you to invest in yourself and your writing as attainable as possible.
We offer two payment options:
- Full payment – Rest knowing that you’ve made your investment and now it’s time to plan and prepare.
- Multi-payment plan – Spread the cost over multiple months. After providing a downpayment to secure your registration, the balance owed will be divided into equal monthly payments.
Your total payments must be received no later than 2 months prior to your retreat start date.
Please note that registration is only considered complete after receipt of either the full payment or the initial downpayment.
Your retreat deposit is non-refundable.
If you have to cancel your retreat we offer you a credit, less your non-refundable deposit, but do not offer refunds. You may notify us of your cancellation via email. You may use your credit towards any future retreat that happens within 24 months of cancellation.
No credit or refund is available within 65 days prior to the retreat. No credit or refund is available if you do not attend the retreat, arrive late or leave early.
You will receive a suggested packing list when you book, but here are some recommendations:
- Passport
- Flight itinerary
- Credit/Bank cards
- Cash
- Travel Insurance documents
- Plug adapter (if applicable)
- Small, day bag
- Toiletries
- Sunblock and a hat
- Bug and mosquito repellant
- Swimwear
- Light, comfortable clothing
- Yoga clothing (as needed)
- Flip flops/sandals
- Water-ready shoes
- Comfortable walking shoes/sneakers
- Medications
And, of course, your writing materials!
Another woman of colour writer!
Island Scribe is dedicated to creating welcoming writing spaces for those who identify as women of colour. This is an adult-only retreat. As such, non-writers, non-people of colour, people who identify as men, and children are not included in these spaces unless expressly invited.
In order for us to know if we can accommodate your needs, please send us a note at hello@islandscriberetreats.com. Only share what you’re comfortable sharing.
We are working towards offering a variety of accessible options in our inventory.
If you have any food allergies and sensitivities (peanuts, soy, dairy, etc.), please let us know immediately after booking. It is your responsibility to provide this information to us as soon as possible so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
We still recommend taking the added self-care responsibility of reconfirming during meals that ingredients that you are allergic or sensitive to have not been used. Human error does occur, so please always re-confirm and be aware for your own well-being.
Good news! Airport transfers are included in all packages. Transportation will be provided to get you to the retreat from the airport upon arrival, and back to the airport on departure.
You will need to provide your arrival and departure details ahead of time so that we may book these transfers for you.
If other writers are arriving or leaving at the same time, transportation may be shared.
Yes, free Wi-Fi is available throughout the retreat, including in your accommodation. However, we do hope that you will take this retreat as an opportunity to disconnect.
You can contact us via hello@islandscriberetreats.com.
Your Host
Meet Simone
A self-described “island scribe,” Simone Dalton is a Trinidad-born, Toronto-based author, teaching artist, and writing coach. After 12 years as a public relations professional, Simone now writes solely for her love of language.
Simone has worked with writers, ages 14 to 80+, in Canada and the United States, and most recently served as an Adjunct Professor at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She is one of the inaugural Black Teaching Fellows of the creative arts center GrubStreet. Recipient of the 2020 RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Prize for nonfiction, she holds an MFA from the University of Guelph. Her work is anthologized in Watch Your Head; Black Writers Matter; The Unpublished City: Volume I, a finalist for the 2018 Toronto Book Awards; and ARC Poetry Magazine’s Islands of Influence issue. In 2019, her play “VOWS’’ was produced for RARE Theatre Company’s, Welcome to My Underworld. Simone is working on her first memoir.