What we do

Freedom to Write is a creative writing venture run by Yvonne Jewkes and Andy West.  We offer four different creative writing experiences:

1. An annual three-day residential creative writing retreat at Mad Dogs and Vintage Vans, a beautiful glamping site and B&B in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, close to the English-Welsh border;

2. A day-long creative writing workshop – with an emphasis on professional and personal memoir, how to get an agent and publishing contract, the ethics of writing about real people, and how to find your writing voice – at the Union Club in Soho, London. The next one is 9th November 2023. There are 12 spaces at a cost of £395pp, including one free place for someone who has had contact with the criminal justice system; please email for more information or if you’d like to register;

3. 1:1 mentoring and editorial services. If you would like help getting started, getting going, or getting finished – or if you would appreciate being guided through your whole creative writing journey – check out our ‘Mentoring’ page (under ‘About’).

4. We teach creative writing in prisons too. Any small profits we make from the activities above are used to support our workshops in prisons and with people who have been to prison or who have had a family member who has served a prison sentence. We hope to expand these activities in the next twelve months.

Whether you come on the summer retreat, attend the Soho workshop, or opt for one-to-one mentoring and tuition, our aim at Freedom to Write is to help you to write from your experience. When writing goes well, it can be intensely satisfying and fulfilling. We want you to experience that feeling of excitement when the writing flows, or when you read it back and think appreciatively, did I write that?!

At Freedom to Write we will help you overcome common mental blocks. Wherever you are on your writing journey, we will meet you there, and we’ll support you in taking the steps to write the story you are uniquely placed to tell.

Email us at contact@freedomtowrite.co.uk if you’d like to join our mailing list and be kept up to date with developments.