Sharpen your style
Say goodbye to bland, boring, colorless prose! Join Helen Sword, the author of Stylish Academic Writing, for a carefully curated professional development package including advanced writing and editing workshops, personal coaching, dedicated writing time, and hands-on feedback. The Stylish Writing Intensive runs three times per year, in March, June, and October. We’d love to see you there!
Sign up for Helen’s free newsletter to hear about future courses as they become available. Better yet! Turbocharge your writing with our WriteSPACE PowerPack professional development package.
Next Intensive: Sep 21 - Oct 9, 2026 (3 weeks).
SPECIAL OFFER: Join the September 2026 Stylish Writing Intensive and we’ll enroll you in a Catalyst Course of your choice for free! (A value of $550).
What is the Stylish Writing Intensive?
The Stylish Writing Intensive is a transformational online course for academic and professional writers who want to take their writing from stodgy to stylish — or from adequate to amazing — over a short period of focused learning. Choose between an immersive 3-day weekend in March, 3 non-consecutive weekdays in June, or 3 weeks of self-paced workshops and coaching in October. Expand your stylistic repertoire, increase your research impact, and learn to write with renewed pleasure and panache!
How it works
The Stylish Writing Intensive comprises approximately 24 hours of workshops, writing and editing time, and curated breaks — including 6 hours of small-group coaching with international writing expert Helen Sword — over a period ranging from 3 days to 3 weeks, depending on which session you enroll in. Wherever you live in the world, we will work with you to design a schedule that fits within your time zone.
What you’ll learn
Whether you’re hoping to fine-tune a work-in-progress, revisit a stalled manuscript, or kickstart a new project, the Stylish Writing Intensive will help you get there — in style! Each day or week of the retreat, you’ll attend a carefully sequenced series of advanced writing and editing workshops, engage in several hours of focused writing time, and work with Helen in an intimate 2-hour masterclass to transform your abstract ideas into engaging, accessible, beautifully crafted prose.
Why you’ll love it
Enrollment numbers for this exclusive event are limited to just 4 people per local cohort, ensuring personal attention for every participant. A local facilitator will check in with you regularly, even when your colleagues elsewhere in the world are asleep. Best of all, you’ll meet with Helen for intensive craft-focused coaching sessions designed to build your confidence and hone your writing style.
Meet your facilitator
Greetings, fellow writer! I’m Helen Sword, a scholar, poet, professor, and the author of four research-based books on writing and writers, including Stylish Academic Writing.
I’ve helped thousands of writers find their voice, tell their story, and strut their style — and I’d love to help you, too! Whether you’re a PhD student, a faculty member, or a writer in any other discipline or genre, I’d be delighted to work with you to tailor this course to your needs and aspirations.
Please contact me to book a free Zoom consultation if you’d like to discuss whether the Stylish Writing Intensive is right for you.
The Stylish Writing Intensive curriculum
Schedule
In March or June, your timetable will include a carefully choreographed mix of advanced writing and editing workshops (2 hours), structured writing time (2.5 hours), curated breaks (1.5 hours), and 2 hours of intensive coaching (8 hours per day, 24 hours in total). In October, these same activities will be spread out over 6 weeks.
Coaching
At the heart of the retreat are the 6 hours of masterclass-style coaching that you’ll undertake with Helen as part of a small local cohort. At each of your 3 coaching sessions, you’ll have the opportunity to discuss new techniques, solicit focused feedback on your writing, and seek advice from Helen on matters of both style and substance.
Workshops
Across the days or weeks of the retreat, you’ll attend hands-on workshops on topics including Smart Sentencing, Structural Designs, Tempting Titles, Engaging Openings, The Story Net, and Finding Your Voice. You'll get lifetime access to all course materials, so you can catch up later on anything you miss.
Writing
You can focus on a specific writing project or on multiple pieces of writing. This is your retreat, and Helen will consult with you closely to ensure that it meets your personal and professional goals.
Breaks
No need to stay glued to your screen all day! Between sessions, we’ll prompt you to take replenishing breaks designed to feed your brain and nourish your productivity.
Contacts
Meet the WriteSPACE team and find our contact information.
What people are saying
Frequently Asked Questions
Don't see your question answered here? Contact us for more information.
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The Stylish Writing Intensive has been designed primarily with academic and professional writers in mind: for example faculty, students, research fellows, lawyers, business writers, and government employees. However, the course materials can be adapted to suit any kind of writing, including fiction, creative non-fiction, and personal memoir. All writers are welcome!
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The course runs for 8 hours per day over 3 days or 8 hours per week over 3 weeks (24 hours in total). We will also ask you to do some preparatory activities in the week before the retreat begins (1-2 hours)
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We’ll prepare a personal schedule for you based on your time zone and the locations of the other participants in your cohort.
For the March or June sessions, please block out the hours between 8 am and 8 pm on each of the 3 retreat days; you’ll receive your individual timetable one week before the retreat begins.
For the October session, we’ll send you a suggested timetable for the workshops and other activities, which you are free to adapt to fit your own schedule; we’ll also work with you to find a suitable time for your three 2-hour coaching sessions with Helen.
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You’ll have lifetime access to the online workshops, so you can catch up on any that you miss during the retreat. However, the times of the live coaching sessions with Helen are fixed and cannot be made up if you do not attend.
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Our premier professional development package, the WriteSPACE PowerPack, includes the Stylish Writing Intensive, five Catalyst courses, and one year of WS Studio membership, all bundled together at a steeply discounted price.
SWI alumni can apply for a 50% discount off the regular price in any cohort that has extra space available.
For more information or to enquire about these discounts, please contact us.
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Yes! Every participant will get 2 hours of daily, weekly, or fortnightly coaching (6 hours total) with Helen as part of a small masterclass group limited to no more than 4 people.
Transform your writing - right now!
Enrollment is limited to just 4 people per cohort, so book early to reserve your place.
Cost: USD $2400
Next Intensive: Sep 21 - Oct 9, 2026 (3 weeks).
Schedule
Session dates: Sep 21 - Oct 9, 2026
Cohort A (North/South America): Sep 21 - Oct 9
Cohort B (Europe/Africa/Middle East): Sep 21 - Oct 9
Cohort C (East Asia, Australasia): Sep 21 - Oct 9
Enroll
Please select one of the following based on your Sep 21 - Oct 9 location.
Price is in US dollars, payable by credit card. Contact us if you would prefer to be invoiced.
Please see our Terms & Conditions here.
By enrolling in this retreat, you agree to be added to Helen Sword's automated email distribution list.