Avignon and Aix-En-Provence 2024

Travels with
Leslie and Susannah

LESLIE BAIRD’s debut novel, Salomé, was published by Putnam in May 2026. She works as a professional ghostwriter, editor, and book coach and holds an MFA in fiction from Sewanee, University of the South. She ghostwrites for organizations such as Gotham Ghostwriters and Kevin Anderson & Associates, specializing in memoir. She has taught craft and writing business classes in the United States and abroad for communities such as the London Writers' Salon.

Leslie started Travels With in 2024 as a way to bridge her passions for writing and travel.

SUSANNAH FELTS is a writer, editor, and cofounder of the Porch, a nonprofit literary arts center in Nashville, Tennessee. She is the author of the novels The Come Apart and This Will Go Down on Your Permanent Record, and her writing has appeared in The Best American Science and Nature Writing, StorySouth, Literary Hub, and elsewhere. She is a contributing writer for Chapter 16 and an editor with SWING, a biannual literary magazine published by the Porch.

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  • Leslie and Susannah did a wonderful job of creating the most supportive workshop structure I’ve experienced to date (and since the trip, the piece I workshopped on this writing retreat has gotten published!). the trip was so well thought out and we got a nice mix of unique activities and downtime for writing, wandering, etc. But most important, I’ve made life-long writer friends.

    —Stephanie Buck

  • My trip to the south of France with Leslie and Susannah was one of the best experiences I've ever had! I'd just published my first short story, and this group inspired me to submit more work. I've since had another short story published, and one is forthcoming! The writerly bonds I formed in France are special, indeed.

    —Lisa Clay Shanahan

Our Itinerary

Day 1:

AM: Travel to Avignon on the TGV

PM: Group dinner in Avignon at La Cour d’Honneur

Day 2:

AM: Free time in Avignon to write or explore the city

PM: Craft Class #1: “Taking an old piece in a new direction”

Workshop #1

Day 3:

AM: Free time in Avignon to write or explore the city

EXCURSION: Arles

PM: Dinner at L’Arlatan

Day 4:

AM: Free time in Avignon to write or explore the city

EXCURSION: Ornithological Park

Craft Class #2: “Writing the Natural World”

Visit: Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer 

PM: Arrive in Aix-en-Provence

Group dinner in Aix at LICANDRO LE BISTRO.

Day 5:

AM: Wine/Foodie tour

PM: Workshop #2 

Day 6:

Free day in Aix to write or explore the city

Day 7:

AM: Free time in Aix to write or explore the city

PM: Craft Class #3: “Speculative Nonfiction”

Day 8:

The end!