A Writing Retreat in Tuscany
with
Rescheduled for April 24–30, 2022
5-day writing workshop retreat
(Limited to 20 students)
Registration is processed by our retreat partner, Radiant Jane
“At a certain point, you say to the sea, the woods, the mountains, the world, Now I am ready. Now I will stop and be wholly attentive. You empty yourself and wait, listening.”
— Annie Dillard
We postponed this retreat for two years when the unthinkable happened, and the world went into lockdown. It is finally time to open it again, and to open ourselves up to the world again, in turn.
Meet me for a week of deep writing in the heart of Tuscany, to quiet your mind and experience wonder again. This deeply restorative retreat will focus on recovery, delight, pleasure, regeneration, and joy.
We are not the same as we were in 2020. There has been a great reordering. Our lives, our hearts, and our passions have been altered, and in this retreat, we will be honouring these changes with care.
Since the lockdown, I have gone deep in self-study and writing practice. I’ve written a new novel and have a book of creative nonfiction in progress, and both books were informed by what I’ve learned about story structure, nature, somatics, and the flow state.
I have so many new methods and ideas, and I am excited to share them with you!
One thing I know for sure is that our creativity is difficult to access when we don’t also feel calm and safe. The past two years have been full of grief and fear, and our systems may need a reset. By writing together, we can digest what has passed, and awaken to who we are now, and what we long to do next with our lives.
For instruction and inspiration, we will pay close attention to nature, write with wonder, and connect to each other in conscious ways. We will take deep care of our minds, bodies, and hearts.
Spring is my favourite time to go on retreat, because equal hours of daylight and darkness make our daily routine feel balanced and whole, without effort. Italy is perfect in late April: the wisteria is in bloom, the sun is warm without being too hot, and the trees are alive with songbirds.
It would be an honour to be your guide in this class for writers of all genres.
In the morning, you step out of your own private room with a view of the hills, and walk the path up to the studio to invigorate your body in a morning movement class with Jane Reeves, the host of Radiant Jane Retreats. After breakfast, you walk to the restored historic barn for our late morning workshop session. The afternoon is free for you to write, go for a long walk, enjoy a massage, or read and research before we gather for dinner — a delicious organic vegetarian feast paired with Fattoria del Colle’s famous Brunello wines. You and your fellow writers celebrate another day of deep writing, and then settle into the lounge for our evening salon, where you share some of your work and discuss the insights of the day.
Bring whatever you are working on to this retreat. If you’re circling around writing something new, this is the perfect time and place to start it. If you are working on a messy middle draft, it would be excellent to energize it with a new perspective here. You can also bring a craft question or a writing problem that feels unsolvable, and we will look at it together. You can also simply arrive with a blank journal, a pen, and beginner’s mind. Everyone is welcome.
Fattoria del Colle, where we’ll be staying, is situated on ancient Etruscan land in the countryside, and the history of this place is fascinating. It is also home to the only all-women owned winery in Italy. The energy here makes it excellent for writers who want to find the courage to write the forbidden.
The slow food movement began in Italy, and this philosophy has a lot in common with the way I teach. Slow writing, like slow food, should feel good, clean and fair. Our writing should be nourishing. It should connect us — to ourselves, to the earth, and to each other. Good writing does not alienate or isolate; good stories never make us feel silenced. In our writing, we may question the status quo, offer meaningful reflection, create cultural change, and feel less alone.
On this retreat, we will write what we wish we could read, even if we’ve never seen it written before. Our writing will support us by bringing us closer to our true nature — alone and together.
Our retreat includes a nature hike with a local guide who will introduce us to the secrets of the Tuscan forest. Connecting to nature will bring insight to our work in surprising ways.
Prepare to feel calm and full of wonder, as you slip into the flow state every day.
Magic will happen.
We’ll also take a break mid-week to refresh our systems and enjoy a visit to Montepulciano for the day. You can use your free time here to wander through the old streets, visit museums, go shopping, or simply sip a cappuccino, write postcards, and watch the street life.
Fattoria del Colle, where we’ll be staying, is situated on ancient Etruscan land in the countryside, and the history of this place is fascinating. It is also home to the only all-women owned winery in Italy. The energy here makes it excellent for writers who want to find the courage to write the forbidden.
The slow food movement began in Italy, and this philosophy has a lot in common with the way I teach. Slow writing, like slow food, should feel good, clean and fair. Our writing should be nourishing. It should connect us — to ourselves, to the earth, and to each other. Good writing does not alienate or isolate; good stories never make us feel silenced. In our writing, we may question the status quo, offer meaningful reflection, create cultural change, and feel less alone.
On this retreat, we will write what we wish we could read, even if we’ve never seen it written before. Our writing will support us by bringing us closer to our true nature — alone and together.
Our retreat includes a nature hike with a local guide who will introduce us to the secrets of the Tuscan forest. Connecting to nature will bring insight to our work in surprising ways.
Prepare to feel calm and full of wonder, as you slip into the flow state every day.
Magic will happen.
We’ll also take a break mid-week to refresh our systems and enjoy a visit to Montepulciano for the day. You can use your free time here to wander through the old streets, visit museums, go shopping, or simply sip a cappuccino, write postcards, and watch the street life.
*hat tip to adrienne maree brown
Here’s what a day on retreat might look like:
6:00–11:00am: Personal writing time/free time
9:00–10:00am: Movement in the studio with Jane
7:30–10:00am: Breakfast
11:00am–12:30pm: Writing craft sessions with Sarah
12:30–1:30pm: Lunch
2:00–6:00pm: Personal writing time/free time/optional massages
EVENING
6:30–7:30pm: Dinner
7:00–8:00pm: Salon and togetherness
6:00–11:00am: Personal writing time/free time
9:00–10:00am: Movement in the studio with Jane
7:30–10:00am: Breakfast
11:00am–12:30pm: Writing craft sessions with Sarah
12:30–1:30pm: Lunch
2:00–6:00pm: Personal writing time/free time/optional massages
6:30–7:30pm: Dinner
7:00–8:00pm: Salon and together
Writing is one of the most challenging things we’ll ever do; it’s also one of the most supreme pleasures in our life. This is one of the many paradoxes of being a writer. While this may never be resolved, one of the best things we can do to support our writing is to nourish ourselves, and give ourselves permission to enjoy the pleasure of it.
When we give ourselves time and space to honour the mystery of our own creative process, we access a deep well of unreleased power and energy.
That’s why writing on retreat is so special. It initiates the altered state of mind that you’re in when you’re writing, and protects it for a prolonged period of time. We can go deep in our writing, and feel deeply connected to who we truly are. That’s why, after we’ve been on a writing retreat, we feel so transformed.
“Writing is both the excursion into and the excursion out of one’s own life. That is the queasy paradox of the artistic life.”
— Lorrie Moore
Registration is processed by our retreat partner, Radiant Jane
Your $3,650 USD retreat package includes:
°Writing instruction with author Sarah Selecky
°Gentle yoga and guided meditations
°6 nights lodging(*)
°Daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner
°Vegan and vegetarian options
°Group transport to and from the Rome airport
°Excursion to Montepulciano
°Wine tasting
°Tour of Fattoria grounds and ancient chapel
°Pici pasta making class
°Wellness spa access
°Beautiful classroom studio
°Bicycles to use
°Concierge office staff
°On-site laundry
***Airfare and massage treatments not included***
Guest rooms are a private bedroom within a two or three-bedroom shared apartment and bathroom. We’ll pair you with a like-minded roommate, or bring a friend!
*Upon request, we may be able to provide a completely private bedroom with ensuite bath for an additional cost.
Canadian writers: you may be eligible for a Canada Council for the Arts grant to help offset the cost of this writing workshop. Please visit the Canada Council website for more information.
Sarah’s writing classes helped make writing one of my closest friends. Her expansive spirit leaves room for all styles and personalities. She’s a truly talented teacher, helping guide even the most timid.
Peggi Lepage
Thank you for all of the support, advice and guidance. The retreat was incredible! I will keep at it.
Sanjay Reddy
Writer, Sarah Selecky California Writing Retreat 2019
Everything that Sarah Selecky puts together is the result of much considered thought.
Linda Quennec
Your writing and your teaching has literally changed my writing life.
Mary Montanye
The weekend with Sarah was without exaggeration, a life-saving experience for me ... My writing is stronger, deeper and truer.
Jo Anne Wilson
I arrived at the workshop quite unsure about the level of my writing and what would be expected, but found Sarah’s guidance for the critiques led to super-clear and very helpful discussions about the pieces. I learned from the critiques about other’s writing as well as from the critique about my piece. I left feeling much clearer about how to continue and finish my piece.
Nicoletta Vogg-Wrightson
Sarah Selecky earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, and her writing has appeared in top Canadian magazines and quarterlies such as The Walrus, The New Quarterly, and The Journey Prize Anthology.
Sarah is the author of This Cake Is for the Party, which was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Book, and longlisted for the Frank O’Connor Short Story Award, as well as the new novel Radiant Shimmering Light, which has been optioned for a TV show by Muse Entertainment.
She is also the creator of internationally-acclaimed creative writing school (and MFA alternative) Sarah Selecky Writing School, which includes collaborations with Margaret Atwood, George Saunders, Karen Joy Fowler, and other authors.
Sarah is an expert who creates a calm, intentional, and powerful space for writers to drop deeply into their practice in a way that’s expansive and eye-opening. She even manages to make it feel like soul work, while giving writers real and practical tools.
Jill Margo
This is Good and the Victoria Festival of Authors
Writing and sharing a short story made me more nervous then I care to admit. Sarah does an excellent job of creating a safe space in her classes, offering constructive tips and tricks to start (and finish) stories in an environment that is never intimidating or critical. It is her warmth and the collegial atmosphere she creates that makes her workshops so enjoyable, giving me confidence to go places with my writing that I wouldn't have reached on my own.
Julia Magnuson-Ford
I've taken a lot of courses, in all sorts of areas, including several other creative writing courses. Some of those courses have made me a more self-conscious writer. Sarah's course is different. It encourages you to pay close attention to what delights and inspires and intrigues you, in your own writing, and in the writing of others. It encourages you to write what you like, how you like. I loved getting feedback on my writing from so many lovely people who were determined to show me my strengths. I loved going in to the online classroom every week.
Indigo Esmonde
Ask me about a perfect writing coach and I'll tell you about Sarah. A wonderfully insightful and warmhearted mentor, she's coached me towards a healthy, loving relationship with my writing. She's offered invaluable advice on any imaginable writing topic: how to access my creative reservoir, questions on technique, style and aesthetics, how to work around writer's block. She's a revision wizard who provides gentle, yet highly potent editorial feedback.
Gabriele Kohlmeyer
Sarah's writing workshops are the anchor that ensures writing practice in my week. Her classes and exercises provide a rich soil from which to generate material and keep going to the first draft and beyond. The classes are consistently supportive and the people I have met through Sarah's workshops have helped create a necessary writing community.
Mary Wood
Sarah’s critique and coaching sessions for my short story helped me create new and exciting characters – significantly develop the narrative background – and enrich the plot and themes. The number one lesson I learned from her critique method is to expect and rejoice in the process of revision.
Stephen Winbaum
It was wonderful working with such a warm, generous and supportive writer. I would recommend Sarah's course to other writer friends without hesitation ... I loved the writing exercises: they really helped focus me, and the writing I produced was much more vivid and interesting.
Ali Thrum
Sarah Selecky Writing School
Writing is both a craft and a calling, and learning to honour both is a lifelong practice. Inspired by this, I’ve created programs, courses, and resources to support you at every stage of your creative life, including The Story Course, Centered, and one-to-one coaching.
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