Only Connect
The Dark Angels story began in 2004, when a group of writers gathered in an old Devon farmhouse to explore a simple question:
How well can we write when we bring our full selves to the page?
Two decades later, hundreds of alumni around the world have discovered the answer: you can write with more clarity, truth, and human impact than you ever thought possible. Today, we attract people from all walks of life – corporate leaders, freelancers, poets, and those seeking creative refuge in a frantic world. Everyone comes for their own reasons, and all are welcome. What unites us is a shared desire to write words that make a genuine human connection.
We’ve held courses and gatherings in magical spaces across the globe – from the Scottish Highlands and the deserts of the Sahara to the sierras of Spain and the quiet of a digital screen. Whether you join us for a multi-day creative immersion, a one-day session, or an unhurried online gathering, we offer a positive, judgment-free space to explore what words can do.
Create
Allow your imagination to take flight in a community of encouragement and support. You’ll be amazed at what you can do.
Explore
Explore your writing self and share unique perspectives and experiences in lively and stimulating environments.
Connect
Experiment with writing practices to connect on a deeper level – whether for work or for your own creative expression.
And what about that name?
People always ask why we are called Dark Angels. The word angel comes from the ancient Greek angelos, meaning messenger. We believe everyone comes to the page with a vital message to deliver, but the noise of modern life often blocks that call. None of us is perfect. We are flawed, distracted, and beautifully messy. Yet, as Leonard Cohen famously noted, it is through those exact cracks that the light gets in. We write best, do our best work, live our best lives, when we are Dark Angels.
Dark Angels is led by Neil Baker, working alongside a small circle of founding partners and guest creative facilitators. We bring decades of combined experience from the worlds of creative facilitation, strategic business communication, literature, and developmental psychology to create spaces where words mean something.
Neil Baker | Director & Principal Facilitator
Our director, Neil Baker, is a writer, creative facilitator and coach. He helps individuals and organisations to tell their stories, share their ideas, and make a deep connection through words. Over the last 30 years, Neil has worked with world-famous brands, corporate leaders, charities, business schools, and academics in just about every sector – inspiring human plainspoken ways of working and creating.
Founding Associates & Co-Facilitators
We are occasionally joined on our residential courses and digital gatherings by our original founders and long-term creative partners, who bring their unique craft:
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John Simmons
Writer, brand consultant, and author of the foundational book Dark Angels. John is a former director of Interbrand and an Honorary Fellow of Falmouth University.
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Jamie Jauncey
Novelist, musician, and former board member of the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Jamie specializes in the power of language to transform how we see our place in the world.
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Martin Lee
Co-founder of the London brand agency Acacia Avenue and former Marketing Director at Waterstones. Martin focuses on the pleasure of writing for a life, rather than a living.