27 – 30 June 2026, North Bali
Write from a different place.
Three days of storytelling, decolonial thinking, and creative renewal in the intellectual heart of Bali, in the run-up to the Singaraja Literary Festival.
Why this week exists
The world is asking harder questions.
So should your writing.
How can you keep writing when the world seems to fall apart?
What is the impact of storytelling (or should it be story-sharing)?
Whose stories are being told, and whose are being left out?
How is colonial history still influencing our societies today?
What can you do to balance your health and work with the world around you?
Come to North Bali to discuss these questions and reinvent your writing with creatives from Southeast Asia and beyond. Set in Singaraja — the former Dutch colonial capital of Bali and now home to one of Indonesia’s most vibrant literary communities — this writing retreat puts your practice in conversation with history, nature, land, and the people who actually live it.
You’ll write, think, and discuss with an intimate group of creatives, and you’ll visit a library of manuscripts written on palm leaves that survived colonialism. You’ll attend a purification ceremony at a water temple and walk through historic streets. And you’ll leave with new stories or new versions of old stories, and a changed perspective on how you tell them.
Who is this for?
You’re already writing/creating, this week is for going deeper.
Journalists and reporters
Who want to tell stories beyond the Western frame, and find new methods to do it.
Content creators
Who are asking whether their work actually reflects the world as it is.
Authors and essayists
Who feel their writing needs new ground to stand on, literally and figuratively.
Academics and educators
Who want to reconnect with writing as a living practice, not just a professional output.
This week is probably not for you if you’re looking for a relaxing beach holiday with some optional writing time. This is an immersive programme with a full schedule and a genuine intellectual challenge at its heart.
The experience
Three days. A different way of seeing.
You will engage in sessions on creative and constructive writing, poetry, mindfulness in writing, and decolonial theory, centered on this year’s Singaraja Literary Festival 2026 theme, Stri Sasana (“balance with the universe”).
- Creative writing and poetry. Sessions with Kadek Sonia Piscayanti, Balinese poet, academic, and founder of the Singaraja Literary Festival.
- Gedong Kirtya Lontar Library. A private visit to the collection of manuscripts about Balinese culture and society, written on dried palm leaves, including documents from the colonial era.
- Water temple purification ceremony. A ritual visit to a Balinese water temple near Sonia’s home, with space for reflection and writing.
- Decolonial storytelling workshop. Examine whose perspective shapes your writing and how to consciously expand it, led by Sanne Breimer.
- Colonial history walking tour. A guided storytelling walk through Singaraja’s Chinese and Balinese temples, the mosque, and the harbour, led by Sonia and Sanne.
- A published zine. Your writing from the week will be collected and published together. You leave with something made.
- (optional) Singaraja Literary Festival. Three days attending the festival with special sessions, guest speakers, and theatre performances.
Your hosts
Two women. Two worlds.
One conversation.
This week exists because of the friendship between a Balinese poet and a Dutch journalist, and a shared belief that writing is one of the most powerful tools we have for changing how the world is understood.
Kadek Sonia Piscayanti
Poet – lecturer – festival founder
Founder of Komunitas Mahima and the Singaraja Literary Festival. Assistant Professor at Ganesha University of Education. Holding a PhD in mindfulness and poetry.
Sanne Breimer
Founder of inclusive journalism
Accredited Solutions Journalism trainer and decolonial thinking student. Consultant for Thomson Reuters Foundation, European Journalism Centre, and SembraMedia.
Investment
Choose what fits your situation.
Supporter rate
Includes a contribution to the festival and helps fund a community spot.
Standard rate
The full programme cost. Most participants choose this rate.
Community rate
For writers with limited income. Only a few spots available.
All rates include the full programme, all meals, and accommodation. Transport and insurance not included. Space is intentionally limited to 8–12 participants.
Ready to write
from a different place?
Questions before you commit? Reach out to Sanne and Sonia directly. We’re happy to talk! Email us at sanne [at] inclusivejournalism [dot] com.
Inclusive Journalism 
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