Our first Writing Retreat took place in May 2022 at Burg Rappottenstein in Austria, and we returned to the same amazingly inspirational location in both 2023 and 2024. We are now looking forward to our 4th Sunday Writers’ Club Burg Rappottenstein Writing Retreat in May 2025.
Registration for our 2025 Retreat is now closed.
Writing Retreat ’25 at Burg Rappottenstein
29th May to the 1st June 2025
Here we go again! The last three years writing in the Burg were genuinely joyful experiences, so we are delighted to return to ‘our’ favourite castle.
We will once again be living and writing in the never-conquered fortress of Burg Rappottenstein, situated in Lower Austria with glorious views from its hilltop perch. There are photos of the Burg and some of the bedrooms on their website (click on ‘Location Burg’ and then ‘Wohnen’).
What is included in the Retreat?
- 3 nights accommodation, sleeping in the heart a 12th century never-conquered fortress.
- Transport using a specially hired, chauffeur-driven mini-bus (from Vienna Hütteldorf to the Burg on the afternoon of Thursday 29th May 2025, returning to Vienna Hütteldorf on the afternoon of Sunday 1st June 2025).
- Light/continental breakfasts prepared by the SWC Team.
- Lunches and dinners provided by the Burgschenke (this is the restaurant/pub at the gates of the Burg).*
- 2 hour writing workshop: ‘The Writer in the World’ with Eleanor Updegraff (see below for more info).
- 2 hour writing workshop: ‘The Character in Your World’ with Keith Gray (see below for more info).
- Sunday Creative Writing Session with a one-off Rappottenstein-inspired Prompt Menu.
- Optional evening activities such as readings and social gatherings.
- As much of your own free writing time as you can squeeze in.
*Important: drinks at the Burgschenke are not included in the price and you will need to buy your own.
Please note: The cost quoted below is the FULL amount for the WHOLE Retreat (excluding personal drinks during lunch and dinner). We are unable to deduct chunks from the cost for writers who prefer to travel to the Burg under their own steam, skip a workshop or bring a packed lunch.
‘The Writer in the World’ with Eleanor Updegraff
Burg Rappottenstein is surrounded by the glorious and varied Waldviertel landscape. In Eleanor’s workshop she will take us outside the castle walls to explore the woods and hills and valleys. Eleanor is an experienced nature writer, and she will guide us through how the best descriptive writing brings place and setting vividly to life for our readers. Whether writing from reality or building fantasy worlds – evocative, striking, authentic imagery is the key. This is the perfect workshop for both prose writers and poets, helping to hone our skills of observation and develop our writing using all five senses.
You will need a pad and pen for this workshop – there will be nowhere to charge your laptop in the forest!
Eleanor Updegraff
Eleanor is a writer, translator and editor from the UK who spent many years living in Austria. She has worked for most of the major UK publishing houses, including with bestselling authors Dame Jilly Cooper, Bea Fitzgerald and Gareth Brown, and regularly reviews new German literature for the Goethe-Institut UK. Her most recent translations are ‘Cooking in the Wrong Century’ by Teresa Präauer and ‘The Trembling World’ by Tanja Paar, both forthcoming in spring 2025.
Eleanor’s short stories have been published in magazines including ‘Panel’ and ‘Stanchion’, but her real interest as a writer is in conveying a sense of place. She is currently writing a narrative non-fiction book about weather and the English landscape, for which she was awarded a residency at the Cromarty Arts Trust in 2025. Eleanor believes that opening our eyes to the world around us is one of the most important things we can do for our writing – be it fiction or non-fiction. She looks forward to using the inspiring setting of Rappottenstein to help us observe and re-imagine the natural environment.
‘The Character in Your World’ with Keith Gray
A strong sense of place always brings a character vividly to life for the reader. The world can appear differently depending on who’s viewing it and experiencing it – depending on attitudes and memories, loves and fears. A character’s relationship with a story’s setting can be used as a mirror for that character’s feelings, perceptions, and values. But how can you, as the writer, ‘show’ this? Because simply ‘telling’ may not be enough.
In this linking workshop with ‘The Writer in the World’ we’ll explore ways to develop fully-realised, 3D characters who leap off the page by focusing on their reactions to, and engagement with, the world you’ve built around them.
Keith Gray
Keith’s first novel ‘Creepers’ was an instant hit when it was released in 1996, and was shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Prize. Since then he’s published a further 24 books for teenagers and younger readers, including editing two short story anthologies. His books have been translated into over a dozen languages, have won awards in the UK, USA and Japan, and autumn 2025 sees the debut performance of a musical theatre adaptation of his novel ‘Ostrich Boys’ in Korea. He’s been a regular fiction reviewer for both the Guardian and Scotsman newspapers, he’s been a judge for several of the major children’s/YA book awards in the UK, and he’s professionally mentored many aspiring writers – seeing several all the way through to publication and even awards recognition. He’s also co-founder of Sunday Writers’ Club.
Accommodation options and costs
Burg Rappottenstein is not a hotel, it’s a quirky 12th century fortress with no maid service, and each room is unique. When registering for a place on this year’s Retreat you must let us know your 1st preferred room/accommodation option as well as your 2nd prefered room/accommodation option.
Option 1: €599.00
Single occupancy bedroom, en-suite bathroom (1 place/1 room available)
Option 2: €489.00
Shared bedroom, en-suite bathroom (6 places/3 rooms available)
Option 3: €489.00
Single occupancy bedroom, shared bathroom (2 places/2 rooms available)
Option 4: €399.00
Shared bedroom, shared bathroom (4 places/2 rooms available)
Please be aware that wi-fi in and around the Burg is very patchy, and if you are someone who feels the need to stay connected, it should not be taken for granted – although phone coverage has proven adequate during our previous Retreats.
Accessiblity: unfortunately Burg Rappottenstein is not easily accessible, especially for people using wheelchairs. The walk to the Hochburg is steep and uneven in places, and the only access to our accommodation is via several staircases.
Registering Your Interest
Registration for this year’s Retreat will be open from Sunday 9th March to Sunday 16th March 2025.
Email office@sundaywritersclub.com with ‘Retreat 25’ in your subject line.
When emailing us to register your interest you must let us know your 1st preferred room/accommodation option as well as your 2nd preferred room/accommodation option. If you are happy to share a room, and already know who you’d prefer to share with, please include them in your email.
However, sending this email does not guarantee you a place on the Retreat. We will try our utmost to match writers to their preferred room/accommodation options.
We have a maximum of 13 places available.
If we are able to offer you a place, we will contact you during the week beginning 17th March. We will then ask for a deposit of €100.00 to secure your place. The full payment will not be required until 29th April.
