An invitation to our writer's retreat in Hội An, Vietnam.

If you’re writing something, wanting to write something, thinking of writing something, a book, a revived Substack, poetry, love letters… you’re invited.

I’m hosting ‘In Other Words’, a five day writing retreat in Hội An, Vietnam in January. And I won’t be hosting this alone. I’m over the moon about bringing this to life with Monika Jiang, a fellow writer, facilitator, and the heart behind The Oneliness Project, which shifts the narrative around loneliness from something to fix or hide, to something deeply human we all experience. We met in 2019 over pizza in Lisbon, admiring each other’s energy from afar before we started actually talking. Since then, our friendship has unfolded through monthly calls, voice notes between Berlin and Montréal, joint gatherings, and time spent together in Ho Chi Minh City earlier this year. Hội An has been a place of returning for both of us. Hosting this retreat together feels like a continuation of that. Friendship as offering.

We’ll be at Creative Play Residency, a space founded by Douglas Holwerda and Linh Trinh, who met as strangers on stage, jamming to “Mr. Tambourine Man” at a local open mic. Their friendship grew in the direction of music and gathering, and eventually brought them to this harbour-view villa they now call home. For the five days of this retreat, this space will be our writing playground.

January in Quảng Nam is the transition from the wet to dry season. Clearer skies, cool evenings, the kind of weather that makes you want to sit outside with a notebook in the morning, and listen to the sound of the rain from a cozy nook inside in the afternoons.

This retreat is an act of optimism. Not the kind that ignores what’s real, but the kind that shows up anyway. The kind that believes words matter, that gathering matters, that making something, even something small, matters.

Central Vietnam has seen serious flooding in recent weeks and parts of Hội An have been hit hard. We’re in conversation with Creative Play about how this retreat can support neighboring communities still recovering (even if only in some small way). More details on that as we finalize plans.

Laura

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