Eat. Write. Heal. Writer's circle

Eat. Write. Heal. Only on Wednesdays in Rotorua

Nurturing mind, body and soul for creative people

Join us for breakfast, and then a creative writing session within the tranquility of the Hindu Heritage Centre, in Rotorua.

Our eat, write, heal sessions are for people who are looking for nourishing, informative, practical sessions.

EAT: 9 - 10 AM

- eat nutritionally and well for your body type, age, stage, preference and spiritual practice  

- fill your creative well by enjoying social time other writers 

WRITE: 10 - 11.30 AM

- a safe, quiet and peaceful place to write productively and well 

- bring a writing project you are working on 

- free your voice, and tell your story

HEAL: 11.30 - 12.30 

-  nourish our physical health with self-massage, breathwork and movement to re-juvenate and heal the body

- opportunities to process and heal trauma or grief through writing

-  quick and easy practices, tips and techniques that help alleviate the doubts, stress and worry you have about writing

- book with visiting practitioners (massage, reiki, readings etc).

Talented Tutors, Spirited writers

We offer a supportive, uplifting community, with talented Tutors and spirited writers. 

Our sessions are made up of local writers, tutors and authors,of all ages, stages and genres. 

Some of our writers are children, others are grandmothers, aunties, Mums , Koros, Nephews, Grandads, our sisters and daughters who might be visiting Rotorua from overseas or other parts of New Zealand. Anyone can be a story teller.

This Eat. Write. Heal (morning) and the afternoon Soak. Write. Heal are both integral parts of the Thee Write Away 7 Day Writer's Retreat. 

About Our facilitators

Meet Dr Julia Anne

Dr Julia Anne, is an award-winning scientist, writer and entrepreneur. 

She’s also a performance poet and author of the creative non-fiction stories: Secret Diary of an Entrepreneur & Secret Diary of a Writer. 

Julia has nearly 30 years of experience writing across many genres and styles: mainly business, PR, literary tourism, the Shared Access Economy, plant molecular biology and creative. 

As Founder and Managing Director of the 'Look After Me' Accommodation Network, during Covid-19, Julia pivoted the company and has created retreats, live events and educational experiences for writers. 

All events, but especially this Eat. Write. Heal Event honour our 'look after me' philosophy around wellbeing.

As Facilitator, Julia will lead the creative writing sessions and quick writes.

Passionate about looking after people, as a mindfulness and meditation practitioner for about 30 years, Julia shares her quick, practical and easy mindfulness, breathing and stretching techniques that are helpful for creative people. 

Julia will also offer a self-care group therapy session, aligning chakras (the 7 wheels of energy in the body), and connecting with your higher self as a way to approach difficult, painful, and highly charged experiences without re-traumatizing yourself. 

Meet our local Doctor/Naturopath - roving practitioners

We'll be hosting a qualified doctor (GP with an MD) as well as a Naturopath (ND).

They will discuss nutrition for writers to help alleviate and heal stress, trauma and anxiety. 

They will also discuss helpful herbs and nutraceuticals for improving brain function, which is critical for writers as they navigate the complexities of story telling.

Finally, we'll talk about sleep from a nutrition for mind, body, soul perspective.  

Special guests - roving practitioners

Each of our healing sessions come with options to experiment with technqiues like yoga, meditation and movement - even if you've nver done anything like this before, ever in your life, this supportive group nuturing session is designed to be age and stage friendly. 

By special request, we invite specialists in sound healing, forest bathe-ing techniques, massage - every week we introduce new self-care practices, depending upon what requests we get from our community. 

About Rotorua

Rotorua is New Zealand's most celebrated geothermal valley, so it's where writers come to soak, write, learn, eat, play, stay and heal.

It’s also the home of the Thee Write Away retreats which brings local, national and international writers to Rotorua to celebrate words, stories and ideas.

If you plan to stay a few days on either side of Eat. Write. Heal., we'll share our local secrets of the most stunning lakes, endearing wildlife, historical architecture, fantastic bookshops and mouth-watering restaurants.

Need a place to stay? 

No problem. Look After Me will look after you. 

We're both an events and accommodation network, so we know safe and comfortable places to stay in Rotorua. Make a note in the comments, and we'll send you separate information about bed and breakfasts, homestays, self-contained units, holiday houses or lodges suitable for writers coming to this event.  

Eat. Write. Heal.

Our time together will be an immersive experience of writing, story telling and connection.

We'll nourish our deepest self, fill our inner well of inspiration and tap into creativity and joy. 

Find your tribe.

Free your voice

Tell your stories! 

Head over to our Thee Write Away information page to hear more about our multi-day writer's retreats.

Thanks to Our Supporters, Suppliers, Venues, Caterers, Tourism Family and Funding

We are grateful to all the tutors, individuals, organisations and businesses who support this and our other events for writers, with funding, logistics, risk-management, catering, venues, photography, marketing, in-kind and cash contributions or sponsorship. 

Thank you!

Please note: Funding partners for our 2024-2027 events are still being finalised. Sponsorships and partnerships are being secured, so this may change slightly. 

If you are interested in meeting and supporting our local or visiting writers - then please join one of our breakfasts, workshops, lunchtime glides, dance fit classes, focused writing sessions or book coaches.

For all our new writers and those discovering Look After Me for the first time - welcome to our community! We are writers, authors, publishers, booksellers and tutors, private businesses, council owned organisations and national funding bodies, accommodation hosts and bespoke tourism operatores who have come together to support story telling and Literary Tourism in New Zealand.  

The Look After Me team loves creating, hosting or being involved in memorable, enjoyable events and experiences for writers in New Zealand communities.

Our Key focus is helping Writer's enjoy a 5 - 7 Day Thee Write Away Writer's Retreat in Rotorua.