Close the yearwith a manuscript.
This room filled. 4 days in a UNESCO City of Literature with 5 other writers, and a 4x NYT bestselling ghostwriter who wanted to see this city for 30 years and finally booked it. Next time I’m in Australia: Sydney, December 2-5, 2027, on the harbour.
The straight answer
Find Your Voice, December 10-13, 2026, in Melbourne, a UNESCO City of Literature. 6 writers max, 4 days, all-inclusive, with your own room, every meal and 1:1 coaching with me. Close the year with the structure finished, your opening drafted and a plan for the rest.
They promise you a book.
I promise you pages.
“Come home with a finished book.”
You leave with the structure finished, your opening drafted, and the plan for the rest. Nobody finishes a book in 4 days. Anyone who says otherwise is selling.
“Escape the distractions.”
Room, meals, transfers, schedule, all handled. The only decision you make in 4 days is which scene to write next.
“Daily writing sprints.”
Writing is the schedule. Saturday and Sunday are yours to write, and I’m in the room for all of it.
“Work with a published author.”
A 4x NYT bestselling ghostwriter reads your actual pages. Every day. By name.
“20 writers, gorgeous villa.”
6 writers. That’s the cap and that’s the point. Everybody in the room gets their pages read.
“You’ll leave inspired.”
You leave with pages. Inspiration has a half-life of about 9 days. A structure doesn’t.
Time isn’t what you’re short of either.
You’re short of 4 days where the only thing anyone wants from you is pages, and somebody in the room who has read 200 manuscripts telling you what’s actually wrong with yours.
A city that takes books seriouslyenough to name the laneways.
Melbourne is a UNESCO City of Literature, which is a polite way of saying the bookshops stay open late and nobody looks at you strangely for writing in a cafe for 6 hours. December is early summer, and the whole city is outside.
The house
A house picked for the light and the quiet, revealed to accepted applicants 4 weeks out. I choose it myself and I don’t choose it from a website.
Your own room
Your own bedroom, with shared bathrooms unless you’re coming with a friend. Nobody writes well after a bad night on a sofa bed.
Every meal
All of them handled, built around whatever you flag when you apply. You won’t spend a single writing block deciding where to eat.
This one is for the bookthat has not started yet.
Melbourne 2026 runs Find Your Voice, the same format as Christchurch with different hemisphere weather and a city that has read more than you have.
Find Your Voice is for writers starting from scratch, or close to it. You don’t need a draft, an outline or a plan. You need 4 days, 5 other writers, and somebody who has done this 200+ times sitting at the table.
4 days.Here’s all of it.
No mystery about how the time gets spent. 1 day to arrive, 1 to learn it, 1 to write it, 1 to plan what happens next.
Thursday · Arrival
Land, settle, dinner together. No writing tonight. A creativity exercise to get the rust off, then the long conversation about what your book actually is.
Friday · Learn it
Publishing paths, book strategy and the Quantum Copy Method™, then straight into the storytelling framework you’ll write inside tomorrow.
Saturday · Write it
Your full chapter map, built and stress-tested, plus 1:1 time on your structure. Then real writing time with me still in the room.
Sunday · The reveal
What it takes to launch and market this book. You go home with a plan and a chapter map. Notes are optional.
What it has actuallylooked like.
No stock photos. These are from Createcation™ gatherings I have run, and it’s the same room energy you’ll find on the day.
What the method actually did.
There isn’t any.
6 writers. Not 7.
I read every application myself. If your book isn’t right for this room, I’ll tell you that before you book a flight, not after you land. That’s the only promise worth making about 4 days.
This room is full.2027 is open.
2027 rooms are $7,500 USD, all-inclusive. Everything except your flights is in the price.
What that covers
Accommodation, every meal, all training, all materials, and every 1:1 session on your manuscript. From the moment you land, it’s handled.
What it doesn’t
Your travel to and from Melbourne. You book that yourself, and I would rather be straight with you about it than bury it in a footnote.
Sold out
This room is full. The venue is confirmed and the table is set. 6 writers, and I read every application myself.
The one thingyou book yourself.
Travel isn’t included, so here’s what to know before you book flights.
Flying in
Melbourne Tullamarine (MEL) is about 30 minutes from the centre and takes direct flights from across Australia, New Zealand and most of Asia.
Timing your flights
Arrive Thursday afternoon or evening for dinner that night. It wraps after lunch on Sunday, so book a Sunday evening flight or stay over. A Sunday morning flight means missing the part that makes the rest of it worth it.
Entry and insurance
Australia’s entry requirements depend on your passport and most visitors need a visa or ETA before boarding. Check well before booking, and travel insurance is worth having for both your flights and your spot.
The questionsI get every time.
What if I already have most of a draft?
Find Your Voice is built for the book that hasn’t started yet, or has started 3 times and never got past chapter 2. Already have most of a draft? The 2027 rooms are built for both, starting with Victoria, February 18-21, 2027.
You’ve never been to Melbourne. Is that a problem?
No. The retreat is the retreat, and it doesn’t change city to city. The venue is chosen, the meals are handled, the method is the same one I have taught for years. The city is the part you and I explore together.
Who is in the room?
5 other writers and me. 6 total, no exceptions.
What’s included?
3 nights accommodation in your own bedroom, every meal, all the teaching and coaching, the 106 page manual and your publishing roadmap. Flights are yours.
When do I find out where it is?
4 weeks out. I pick the house myself and I don’t pick it from a website.
Can I pay in instalments?
Not for this one. Melbourne is paid in full.
Why December?
Finishing the year with pages beats finishing it with another resolution about pages. Early summer in Melbourne doesn’t hurt either.
6 spots.Your book has been waiting long enough.
Melbourne is full. Sydney, December 2-5, 2027, is open, and applications close November 4th, 2027. Tell me what you want to write, and I’ll tell you honestly whether this is the right room.