Residential Writing Course with Simon J Woolf
Spend a week in the beautiful Slovenian countryside working on your writing
Do you write professionally or are you an aspiring writer? Would you like to hone your craft, workshop your writing with colleagues and be inspired by beautiful surroundings?
This May, I’ll be running a residential course in rural Slovenia specifically for non-fiction writers. Whilst wine and food will be a strong focus, non-fiction writers from all sectors are welcome.
Jump to: Content / Location / Format / Dates / Accommodation / Cost / Course Tutor
Content
We’ll explore all this and more, over four seminar/workshop sessions:
Analyse writing examples - what stands out and why?
Looking at language structure - which constructions are more engaging?
Narrative non-fiction and the importance of structure
Field work and the unspoken rules of journalism
Covering your back and handling criticism
Giving your writing a sense of authority
Fact checking and research - how far do you need to go?
Avoiding common pitfalls
How to work with an editor
Why editing is important and how you can best edit yourself
Matching style to publication
Writing for a global audience - thinking about the non-native speaker
How can you describe sensory experiences with words?
The sessions will be highly interactive. We’ll try some exercises as a group, and you’ll have time to work on further exercises and your own writing.
Group discussion and sharing of work is very much encouraged. Our discussions will continue in a more informal setting over lunches and dinners - lubricated by the delicious wines of the region.
Course location
The hilltop village of Pedrovo is situated on the border of two western Slovenian wine regions, Vipava Valley and Karst. Pedrovo has about 15 inhabitants, and boasts peace, tranquillity and stunning views out over the valley. The dreamy Rihemberk Castle sits just below the village.
How to get there
Venice airport (VCE) is 1 hour 45 mins drive.
Ljubljana airport (LJU) is 1 hour 30 minutes drive.
Trieste airport (TRS) AKA Ronchi dei Legionari is 45 minutes away, but has limited direct connections with some European cities including Paris, Dublin, London, Berlin and Frankfurt.
Shuttles can be arranged from the airports. We will help you organise this, and we’ll do our best to combine rides or encourage lift sharing to make it as easy and affordable as possible.
Local train and bus services run from Venice, Gorizia, Nova Gorica or Ljubljana to Branik but they are infrequent and slow. You will still require a taxi for the last hop.
Format
Maximum of eight participants
Five nights, fully residential
Morning seminars/workshops from 09:30 - 12:30
Afternoons mostly left free to write or explore the local area
One-on-one tutorial session with Simon
Visit to a local winery
Further optional visits to local food and wine producers and beauty spots
Dinners at our accommodation and local restaurants
Dates
Sunday May 24th - Friday May 29th 2026
Arrival in time for dinner on the Sunday.
Depart after the morning session on Friday, or stay for lunch.
Accommodation
You will sleep at one of two properties situated 100 metres apart.
Villa Artes is our workshop location, where we’ll meet and work each morning. It has two apartments and a total of three bedrooms, and a separate gallery space downstairs.
Toncevi Organic Farm is where we’ll eat breakfast, lunch and dinner on two nights. The accommodation and restaurant are ranged around a secluded courtyard. There are four bedrooms spread over three apartments.
The rooms vary in size and facilities, but all are spacious, modern and comfortable. In some cases, two guests will share one bathroom.
Toncevi has a pool while Villa Artes has a hot-tub and sauna.
Your room will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis once we receive your confirmation and deposit.
Cost
€2,200 per person (about GBP £1,900 or USD $2,500 at the time of writing), based on single occupancy.
A deposit of 25% is required to secure your place. The balance is payable by 8th May 2026.
What’s included
Accommodation for five nights
Buffet breakfast and a simple lunch at Toncevi every day
Four dinners, two at Toncevi and two at local restaurants - one will be fine dining
Simon’s curated selection of the region’s natural wines, served at dinner
Excursion to a local winery
Tuition/course fee
Coffee and tea during the workshop sessions
Transfers to and from Pedrovo for our scheduled dinners and winery visit
Tourist tax
What’s not included
Your travel to and from Pedrovo (eg: flights and airport transfer)
Additional alcoholic beverages per consumption
Gratuities - not expected or required, but you may choose to tip if you wish
Dinner on the Wednesday night (option to eat at Toncevi or a local restaurant of your own choice)
Additional visits to local attractions (there is a famed cheesemaker in the village)
About me, your tutor
My belief has always been that the quality and beauty of prose is frequently more important than its subject matter. The wine world has an addiction to dry and dusty copy, written by well-meaning individuals who forgot to study the craft of writing.
If your work isn’t enjoyable and engaging, who cares what it’s about?
I’ve worked as a freelance writer and journalist since 2012. Specialised in wine, I’ve also written about food, history, culture and music.
I’ve written for international magazines including Decanter, World of Fine Wine, Maxim, Noble Rot and many more.
My subscription site themorningclaret.com became a Substack ‘bestseller’ just three months after its launch in 2024, and now has over 4,000 subscribers.
My two self-published books, Amber Revolution and Foot Trodden were both awarded New York Times Wine Book of the Year. I’ve twice won a Roederer International Wine Writing award and I’m also a James Beard nominee.
In addition to self-publishing I’ve worked with major publishers, for example on The Wine Lover’s Bucket List: 1,000 Amazing Adventures in Pursuit of Wine, which I wrote in 2020.
I was the consultant and narrator of the film Call It Amber, which was based on my book and released in 2022.
I’ve also worked as an editor, notably on Ben Little’s book Pignolo, and as a translator.
My favourite authors include John Le Carré, Haruki Murakami and Anthony Bourdain. I also have a soft spot for the film scripts of the Coen Brothers - the language effervesces with its own urban poetry.
In addition to a love of writing, food and wine, I am a total music nut and DJ of all things house and electronic. Despite living in Amsterdam for well over a decade, I still identify as a Brit and you will hear me quietly tutting whenever I encownor American English spelling or idiom.
Jump to: Content / Location / Format / Dates / Accommodation / Cost / Course Tutor
Organiser
Simon J Woolf trading as The Morning Claret (registered in the Netherlands No. 65405218) is the organiser of the course.
Contact me at hello@themorningclaret.com with any questions you may have.