_{Cover Image: An outdoor evening event in Ravensthorpe run by award-winning author of Skins, Sarah Hay. Image by Will Yeoman.}

Writing is usually a solitary act, executed in isolation with screen or paper. Yet, as two distinct winter gatherings in regional Western Australia recently proved, literary creation gathers its true momentum through communal engagement. Between the coastal-mallee fringe of the Reef to Range 2026 Readers & Writers Festival in Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun, and the monastic quietude of the New Norcia Writing Retreat, writers gathered not merely to refine their craft, but to experience the generative friction of shared space.

The geographical and historical contrasts between these locations provided rich, distinct backdrops for creative exploration.

Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun occupy a dynamic landscape in the Goldfields-Esperance region, bounded by the mineral-rich Ravensthorpe Range and the pristine coastal ecosystems of the Fitzgerald River National Park. Here, history is written in copper, gold, and lithium mining, agricultural persistence and deep First Nations connections to country.

In contrast, New Norcia, founded in 1846-7 in the Wheatbelt, remains Australia’s only monastic town. Originally established to create a self-sufficient Christian community among the Yued people, its Spanish Benedictine architecture, historic cemetery, ringing church bells and sense of sacred tranquillity offer a living archive of religious and cultural history.

At Reef to Range, participants engaged directly with landscape and memory. Visiting US academic Sky O’Brien guided writers through the mechanics of establishing atmospheric settings and character voices, while sessions led by Perth-based life-story mentor Rhuwina Griffiths and local author Sarah Hay examined how personal history transforms into compelling narrative. Also from Perth, Dr Bruce Powell shared a poignant testament to writing’s therapeutic role following brain injury. In my own workshops – ranging from observational poetry walks through Ravensthorpe to unpacking narrative mechanics in Hopetoun – the focus remained on linking place to sense impression.

The spirit of collaboration extended beyond formal instruction. Evenings saw participants discussing history writing around a campfire at the Ravensthorpe Museum or sharing improv comedy, conversation, and hospitality throughout both towns. The weekend was followed on the Monday with the Southern Scribes hosting a writing marathon – a practical demonstration of how local writing groups sustain creative energy.

For the second year running, organisers the Southern Scribes, whose number includes local dynamo and Renaissance woman Richenda Goldfinch, have clearly demonstrated the value and importance of regional festivals to the culture, resilience and cultural life of the communities from which they spring. The support of the Shire of Ravensthorpe must also be acknowledged. I’m already looking forward to next year’s Reef to Range.

Two weeks later, the New Norcia Writing Retreat offered a different mode of collective focus within its heritage hostel and monastery grounds. Organized around visiting award-winning author Emily Maguire’s historical novel Rapture – set in a Benedictine monastery – the weekend explored physical space and sensory precision. Keynote discussions between Maguire and Josephine Taylor illuminated the mechanics of historical fiction, while Taylor’s workshop used passages from Maguire’s work to interrogate character voice and scene construction. In my travel writing session, participants mapped field notes taken around the town grounds. Maguire’s generative afternoon masterclass pushed writers toward fresh metaphorical language and concrete physical details.

Between sessions, community formed organically: over communal meals at the guesthouse, night walks beneath the Wheatbelt stars, informal discussions in the magnificent hostel where everyone was billeted and small-group sorties to the town’s roadhouse for a caffeine hit.

For many years, I’ve been a frequent visitor to New Norcia, and have been involved in numerous other festivals and workshop weekends there. This one was special for having hosted such a concentration of talented writers who also happened to be the best company one could have wished for. Chapeau, organiser Zoe Deleuil!

Ultimately, both weekends demonstrated that writing benefits immensely from collective momentum. Whether observing the mallee scrub of the Fitzgerald coast or walking the colonnades of New Norcia, these gatherings reminded us that while the pen is held by one hand, the imagination thrives in the presence of many.