Two days to romance yourself, revive your creativity, and fall back in love with your story.
Story Magic is a two-day immersive retreat for writers, artists, and storytellers who feel the quiet ache of something more. More depth. More truth. More pleasure in the act of creating.
Hosted in the historic Odéon Theatre, just steps from the Jardin du Luxembourg, we gather in the heart of Paris—where art, beauty, and rebellion have always converged—to awaken your creative voice through embodied, integrative writing.
WElcome to your creative renaissance.
DISCOUNTED FOR PARIS LOCALS
€250 for Paris and French locals
Paris Locals
Paris Locals
details
FRiday, 5 june 2026 - saturday, 6 june 2026
10 am - 4 pm
Hosted at the historic Theatre Odeon
Paris 75005
Registration $795 includes two days of integrated writing, coaching and feedback, curated evening events, and portrait photography.
Travel, accommodations, outside meals and activities are not included.
event days
-
Friday | Arrival & Awakening (10:00–4:00)
10:00–12:00 | Creative Coaching Salon
We open together inside the Odéon Theatre with guided coaching to gently clear creative blocks, orient intentions, and awaken each participant’s relationship to their story.12:00–2:00 | Integrated Writing in Paris
A curated writing journey through nearby Parisian spaces—gardens, cafés, and streets layered with history. Writing prompts invite sensory awareness, memory, and imagination.2:00–4:00 | Live Feedback & Reflection Circle
Return to the theatre for optional live feedback, witnessing, and reflective dialogue. This container is spacious, affirming, and designed to deepen confidence and clarity.Early Evening | Creativity Activity
A guided choose-your-own-adventure creative evening (see below) to experience Paris as an artist rather than a tourist. -
Saturday | Integration & Devotion (10:00–4:00+)
10:00–12:00 | Integrated Coaching & Writing Prompts
Embodied coaching practices paired with fresh prompts to help integrate insights from Friday and open new narrative pathways.12:00–2:00 | Author Luncheon
A relaxed in-retreat meal with authors Robinne Lee and Ajiri Aki to discuss the writing process and developing your writing practice..2:00–4:00 | Closing Creative Container
A ceremonial closing focused on developing and committing to your writing practice through honoring what has emerged.6:00–8:00 | Aperitifs & Professional Photo Shoot
Celebrate together with aperitifs, laughter, and a professionally guided photo shoot—capturing you in Paris, in your creative power.
held in the historic
Odéon Theatre.
WRITE YOUR BOOK THS SUMMER
If you want to find out more about Story Magic - and how you can finally start your story and finish your book this summer - join us for a free workshop on Tuesday, 26 May from 10:00am-11:00am PST.
We will guide you to embody your creativity, conjure your story, and finally, write your book.
FREE WORKSHOP TO FIND OUT MORE - 26 May
hosted by
Kristen McGuiness
Kristen is a bestselling author, NYT-bestselling editor, and Publisher and CEO of Rise Literary based in Ojai, California. With 25+ years in publishing, she’s helped writers shape and sell their work, earn major advances, and craft stories that land with power and impact.
She has written and co-authored over 20 books and her writings have appeared in Oprah Daily, People, LitHub, Rolling Stone, Shondaland, amongst others.
vyana novus
Vyana is an ecological artist and educator based in Ojai, California, exploring how creativity sustains and heals us. Blending earth pigments, somatic practice, and multimedia storytelling shaped by deep time, their work supports intergenerational healing and legacy-making.
Their work & facilitation is heavily inspired by their near death experience bringing a blend of levity & reverence, humor & awe to their workshops & retreats.
with special guests
dufflyn lammers
Dufflyn Lammers is the founder of www.dufflyn.com where she offers online courses, an online community, and one-to-one coaching for women who want to succeed at sex, love and dating. Her first book, You Had Me At Bonjour, is being published on June 4, 2026 by Rise Literary. She lives in Paris.
AJIRI AKI
Born in Nigeria and raised in Austin, Texas, Aki began her career in New York City's fashion industry, styling for top publications and celebrities. She is the author of Joie: A Parisian's Guide to Celebrating the Good Life and co-author of the New York Times bestseller "Where's Karl?" Ajiri is the founder of the lifestyle brand Madame de la Maison, which specializes in French antiques and linens. She lives in Paris.
Robinne lee
Robinne Lee is a bestselling author, actor, and producer known for writing the bestselling novel The Idea of You (2017) and acting in films like Hitch and Seven Pounds. A Yale and Columbia Law graduate, she produced the 2024 Idea of You film adaptation and has a second novel, Crash into Me, arriving July 7, 2026. She lives in Paris.
Romance your creativity.
Revive the project sitting on your shelf.
Paris reminds us what’s so easy to forget:
creativity is sensual.
art is lived.
stories are born from longing, risk, and devotion.
Let the city mirror back
what’s already alive inside you.
Choose Your Own Adventure Evening
Join us on Friday evening for your choice of a night out in Paris. From a live performance at the Odeon Theater to lingerie shopping in the heart of Paris, take Friday night to steep in the city of lights. Additional cost of tickets, meals, or purchases are not included in retreat price.
The Theatre playdate
An evening witnessing Scènes du Mariage inside the historic Odéon Theatre, where intimacy, rupture, and devotion unfold on stage. This experience sharpens your relationship to story through the art of witnessing emotional truth.
Hosted by Rise Literary CEO & Publisher, Kristen McGuiness
The gallery Playdate
A curated sensory excursion to a local gallery where sound, scent, and historic art are used to encode beauty into the body. This quietly reverent experience trains the nervous system to recognize creativity as pleasure.
Hosted by Rise Literary Chief Creative Officer, Vyana Novus
The gastronomy playdate
An expertly designed culinary walk through three Parisian restaurants, chosen for artistry, flavor, and mood. Taste, conversation, and indulgence become part of the storytelling.
Hosted by Rise Literary Chief Operating Officer & Author, Elena Azzoni
The romance playdate
A sensual Parisian evening devoted to desire and self-romance, exploring perfume houses and lingerie boutiques. Let your body lead as pleasure becomes creative information.
Hosted by Friend-of-Rise and relationship coach, Dufflyn Lammers
PARIS ACCOMODATIONS
What These Two Days Hold
Across Friday and Saturday, you’ll be guided through a carefully curated blend of:
Coaching practices that dissolve blocks and invite clarity
Free writing inspired by the ancient stories, streets, and soul of Paris
Embodied exercises that reconnect you to intuition, sensation, and desire
Evening experiences—a kaleidoscope of beauty, surprise, and shared presence
Each moment is designed to help you write from the body, not the mind—to create from devotion rather than pressure.
A creative return
to your unfinished story.