Amanda Saint
Author, mentor and publisher
Amanda Saint is the founder of The Mindful Writer, where she brings together her lifelong passion for storytelling and her deep commitment to mindfulness practice to help writers find their voice, nurture their love of writing, and use their stories to foster genuine human connection.
Amanda is the author of two novels — As If I Were A River (2016) and Remember Tomorrow(2019) — and a novella-in-flash, Pressure Drop (2024). Her short stories, flash, and micro fictions have been widely published in journals and anthologies, with accolades in international prizes including the Mslexia Flash Fiction Prize and the Fish Flash Fiction Prize. She has been nominated for Best Small Fictions 2023 and had four stories selected for Top in Fiction in 2024.
In 2012, she founded Retreat West, working with hundreds of writers through workshops, retreats, and courses she designed, and building a publishing house that released 24 books and was named Most Innovative Publisher at the 2020 Saboteur Awards. In 2022, she launched WestWord literary journal, showcasing exceptional short fiction from writers worldwide, and in 2025 she brought these two ventures together under the WestWord name.
A Certified Mindfulness Mentor, Meditation Teacher, and Journal Therapist, Amanda's life is rooted in the transformative wisdoms of Yoga, Qigong, and Usui Holy Fire Reiki III. These ancient traditions have shaped not only her own writing and life but the way she teaches — moving from craft instruction toward something deeper: writing as a path to self-discovery, healing, and authentic connection.
At The Mindful Writer, she combines all of this — her experience as a published author, her years of teaching, and her mindfulness training — to mentor writers in fiction, memoir, life writing, and writing for wellbeing, helping them find more meaning and joy in both their writing and their lives.
