French River Writing Retreat

A CREATIVE WRITING RETREAT AT THE LODGE AT PINE COVE

Sunday May 16th to Friday May 21st, 2027 season

We invite writers of all skill levels to take part in the 15th annual French River Writing Retreat, at the magnificent Lodge at Pine Cove.

OVERVIEW

At the French River Writing Retreat, our remarkable instructors (see their bio’s below) will help you to enter a writer’s life, free from your everyday challenges. The six-day retreat allows time to reflect, rejuvenate and access the expertise and coaching of some of Canada’s finest writers and editors. You will be encouraged to hone your craft, explore your unique voice and otherwise work on your writing project under the guidance of your instructor’s watchful eye. Your time will be spent attending innovative workshops, engaging in one-on-one and small group sessions with your instructor, and listening to thoughtful and insightful talks presented by our special guests. Situated alongside the historic French River, The Lodge at Pine Cove offers a natural beauty that will undoubtedly enhance your creative talents and bring peace to your hectic life. Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, memoir or for magazines, blogs or newsletters; regardless if you have been published before, hope to become published for the first time, or simply want to get your story down for family and friends or just enjoy yourself, there’s a place for you at the French River Writing Retreat. See below for details.

Meet our Instructors

Ann Dowsett Johnston

Author of the critically acclaimed, best-selling book Drink: The Intimate Relationship between Women and Alcohol, Ann is also an award-winning journalist. Having worked for close to three decades at Maclean’s magazine, she is best remembered for her columns on modern life, including “The Boy Can’t Sleep” (anthologized in Carol Shields’ Dropped Threads II) and as the chief architect of the magazine’s popular university rankings. In her mid-60s, Ann switched careers to enroll at Smith College. She is now a well-respected trauma-informed psychotherapist.

Today, Ann lives a braided life, intertwining her psychotherapy work, her second memoir (in progress) and running her popular memoir-writing workshop entitled Writing Your Recovery, both in Canda and beyond. As a writing teacher, mentor and coach, Ann is gifted at helping others find their voice, secure their structure, and prepare for the world of publishing. Ann lives in Toronto and travels frequently.

Nino Ricci

Nino Ricci’s first novel was the internationally acclaimed Lives of the Saints. It spent 75 weeks on the Globe and Mail‘s bestseller list and was the winner in Canada of the F.G. Bressani Prize, the Books in Canada First Novel Award, and the Governor General’s Award for Fiction, and in England of the Betty Trask Award and Winifred Holtby Prize. Published in seventeen countries, Lives of the Saints was the first volume of a trilogy that continued with In a Glass House and Where She Has Gone. The trilogy was adapted for a television miniseries starring Sophia Loren and Kris Kristofferson. Nino’s other novels include Testament, winner of the Trillium Award, and The Origin of Species, winner of the Canadian Fiction Award and Nino’s second Governor General’s Award for Fiction. His most recent novel is Sleep, which also received the Canadian Author’s Award for Fiction. Nino has served as a writer-in-residence and taught creative writing and literature at institutions across Canada and the U.S., including at Colorado College and Princeton University. His most recent appointment was as the inaugural Alice Munro Chair in Creativity at the University of Western Ontario. In 2011, he was appointed a member of the Order of Canada for his contributions to literature.

Merilyn Simonds

Merilyn Simonds is the internationally published author of three e-born works of fiction and 20 books, including the novel The Holding, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and the Canadian classic nonfiction novel, The Convict Lover, a finalist for the Governor General’s Award. The Convict Lover has been continuously in print for 30 years.  A writer who follows her curiosity, Merilyn has published narrative nonfiction (Walking with Beth: Conversations with my 100-Year-Old Friend),hybrid biography/memoir (Woman, Watching), travel (Breakfast at the Exit Café), and extended personal essay (Gutenberg’s Fingerprint: Pixels, Paper, and the Future of the Book). She has taught in the Creative Writing MFA program at UBC and given workshops in writer’s craft at universities, festivals and retreats across Canada. Devoted especially to new writers, Merilyn continues to mentor emerging writers from idea to publication.

Meet our special guests

For each retreat we invite a special guest who is available to attendees and gives a presentation one evening. Special guests in the past have been editors, publishing agents, journalists and other literary professionals, including: 

(2024 Anne Collins, Random House, 2025 Ian Brown, Globe & Mail, 2026 Don Ferguson, Royal Canadian Airfarce).

2026 Writing Retreat Attendees/Instructors

Small groups with instructors

Now is your chance to work with an award-winning writer and instructor in a small group (maximum of 8 participants) setting. Groups meet each day, for exercises, readings and discussions specific to your interests. Groups in 2027 will explore the power of narrative through various techniques, the big question of voice and many other ways to improve your narrative writing. Will you have a chance to learn from all three instructors? Yes.

Retreat Highlights

Certain traditions bear repeating because, well, they’re just too good to miss. Here are two to keep in mind as you plan your packing list.

Student Readings

A highlight of the retreat experience is the closing banquet and student readings. Your imagination has been firing for days on end. The final night is the time to enjoy the spotlight and to share a short selection of your work. Everyone is encouraged to read an excerpt from whatever piece they have developed over the week. Student readings are not mandatory.

Field Trip

Another not-to-be-missed tradition is the guided trip down the French River with our host, Alex, who brings this historic route to life. You will learn about the region’s extraordinary geology and river lore, including stories of the coureurs de bois, intrepid adventurers on route between the Great Lakes and the Ottawa River, who followed the voyageurs’ route to the west, filling their Montreal canoes with fur pelts.

Instructor Readings

We added a new feature to the retreat in 2026. It was so successful that it’s now a permanent addition. On our last morning, your instructors have their chance to show off. Each instructor will give a short reading from their material, providing students an idea of what these talented writers can produce. It’s a fun and interesting event, and a great finale to the French River Writing Retreat.

Nurture Nature Adventure

The Lodge at Pine Cove

Why venture to the French River? Because Ontario’s premiere lodge in the heart of the Canadian Shield offers something special.  Kim T, a lodge guest, writes, “This is a piece of Canadian heaven. We had the most wonderful getaway, and plan to return every year. A beautiful location, great food, an awesome little cabin. ”When asked what she liked best about the Lodge, a retreatant wrote,  “We liked the screened porch, the cleanliness, the ambiance, the bed, the linens…everything!”. To understand how beautiful the Lodge is, please read some of the 290+ reviews on Trip Advisor. Our guests will tell you about their canoeing, kayaking and hiking experiences, the delicious cuisine (including hamper breakfasts), our immaculate cottages, friendly staff and attention to detail. The Lodge at Pine Cove is a haven. Cottages have from one to three bedrooms. All cottages have full kitchens. All cottages have a river or cove view, a refrigerator, kettle, coffeemaker, fine coffee and tea, modern bathroom, natural soaps, creams, shampoo and conditioner, screened-in porch, living area and fabulous beds.

Useful information

Meals

Your artisanal breakfast arrives at your cottage each morning in a wicker hamper filled with homemade granola, yogurt, fresh fruit salad, juice and freshly baked croissant. Lunch and dinner are served in the Lodge. For dinner, you will be offered a soup or salad, entre, dessert and coffee. Wine, beer and spirits are available at an extra charge. Please make us aware of any food restrictions you may have.

Other Activities

You will have access to canoes and kayaks to explore the French River and Wolseley Bay. Hiking trails that begin onsite lead to spectacular spots along the river. There is a pool table in the Lodge as well as a selection of games and historical books in the Lodge’s Toni Harting Library. We also encourage you to explore the villages of Noelville and Monetville, about 20 minutes away by car, in the heart of Ontario’s historic francophone region.

Communications

Internet service via satellite is available in the Lodge at no charge. Since our use of broadband is limited, you will not be able to download or view movies, download music or other large files. There is no cellphone reception and Skype is not available. You are, however, welcome to use our telephone.

Getting to the Lodge

The Lodge at Pine Cove is a 3½-hour drive from Toronto (Hwy 401 and Hwy 7) and one hour from Sudbury. If coming from farther afield, you can fly into Toronto and either rent a car or take the bus (ontarionorthland.ca/en/). Or, you can fly into Sudbury. Pick up from the bus stop or in Sudbury is available for a fee.

2027 fees

Early Birds

Apply by December 31st for a $125 discount

Your retreat fee is based on your choice of accommodations. A limited number of private cottages is available. Why not venture out and consider sharing? Year after year we hear about roommates who go on to become lasting friends and writing partners. All cottages have full kitchens and screened-in porches.

Deluxe Private Cottage

$3184 plus 15% service charge plus HST – Enjoy one of our deluxe cottages all to yourself! Tuition + accommodations for five nights + all meals

Private Bedroom & Private Bathroom

$2360 plus 15% service charge plus HST – Enjoy your private bedroom, all to yourself, and a private bathroom in a shared cottage with other guests. <span “>Tuition + accommodations for five nights + all meals.

Private Bedroom & Shared Bathroom

$2180 plus 15% service charge plus HST – Enjoy a Private Bedroom with a Shared Bathroom in a two or three bedroom shared cottage. Tuition + accommodations for five nights + all meals

What's included?

Accommodation, 3 great meals from our chef each day, 9 person (max) per instructor, personal time for each attendee with instructor, special guest, to be announced, (2024 Anne Collins, Random House, 2025 Ian Brown, Globe & Mail, 2026 Don Ferguson, Royal Canadian Airfarce.

Note:

A partner attending without instruction will be charged accommodation at $155/night plus $109/night (three meals per day)

How to Apply

The Retreat is a haven for writers of all ages and appetites. Instructors and editors are looking for distinctive voices, and for a diverse mix of new and seasoned writers. Enrollment is limited.. Apply before December 31st, 2027 to receive the $125 discount.

Once we have received your application, we will contact you to arrange a 50% deposit that then guarantees your placement.

Full payment is due March 30th, 2027.

Cancellation Policy

If any applicant is unable to attend the retreat due to illness or other health problems, he or she will receive a refund for the amount paid, minus a $245 application fee, ONLY if we can fill that person’s spot at the retreat. If an applicant cancels on or before March 30th, 2027 and we are unable to fill their spot, their deposit (minus the $245 application fee) can be used as a credit toward a future booking at The Lodge at Pine Cove throughout the 2027  season. Should an applicant cancel after March 30th, 2027, and we are unable to fill that vacancy, their deposit will be NON-REFUNDABLE. We will endeavour to fill a spot left vacant due to illness or other health problems, but we are not able to guarantee it.

Upcoming Events

September 17 to September 21, 2026 season

Body & Soul Retreat

Relax, re-boot and restructure your body and your mind at this 5-day and 4-night yoga and nature retreat.

Sunday May 16th to Friday May 21st, 2027 season

French River Writing Retreat

A Creative Writing Retreat at the Lodge at Pine Cove

June 21st - June 24th, 2026

Explore the Historic French River with your Camera

This retreat is about creating a narrative of the historic French River with your camera.

September 24th - 27th, 2026 Season

River Within

Where seasonal rhythm, Nordic ritual, and inner wisdom meet.

October 2nd - October 5th, 2026

Wild Soul Retreat

Come Away with me for a weekend of LUXURY in the WILD

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