The Classic Retreat

That first Gateless Retreat completely changed my career, my writing and my life. I will never be the same–Sarah Montana, Screenwriter.

May 6-10 | Tuscany, Italy

Gateless Offerings

The Place

Cypress-lined hills, sun-drenched Medieval hill towns and gorgeous Renaissance art, from the rugged Apennine Mountains to the Tyrrhenian Sea, there’s no better place to write than Tuscany. Run away with 10 writers to the seat of creative inspiration, the medieval city of Cortona, one of the only pedestrian cities in the world, an hour train ride from Florence and two hours from Rome. Overlooking the Vineyards and villas of lower Tuscany, Cortona is a historical marvel of cobblestoned streets, ancient architecture, galleries, cafes and some of the most charming people in the world.

Gateless Offerings

The Experience

This is our second year in Tuscany, and all we can think about is going back. Elizabeth Farren, a Literature and Writing professor from Rome is our private guide to the history and beauty of the area. And our private Tuscan chef, Claudia, provides us with delicious gourmet of the region. You will stay in a private room in our small cluster of apartments and write in an Estrucean-styled salon with a view to the hills of Umbria. In the afternoon we explore the galleries, shops and cafes of Cortona, and adventure to the nearby thermal baths and vineyards of Tuscany.
Gateless Offerings

The Writing

Rising to the light of the Tuscan sun, you will feast in the dining room, where Claudia has prepared fruits, coffee, tea, and a hot breakfast (gluten free available). We start our first writing salon with Reiki, Thai head massage, and a deep meditative prompt. After writing and sharing the work, Gateless feedback mirrors your unique talent and singular genius in your story. Midday, we spread out for a long Tuscan-style lunch before afternoon excursions. One last writing session after dinner moves you into the creative before sleep, giving you a profound understanding of your power on the page.

“The Gateless Writing Retreats are transformative, electrifying, nothing compares to the elation you feel when you receive feedback in the circle. That incredible infusion of community and soaring creativity can really only happen in Gateless. The critical voice falls away and you find again the pure, bliss that’s been inside you all along. Nothing else compares.”

~ Lauren Myers, MFA, Newton Mass

Gateless Offerings

The Schedule

Arrive any time on the 6th, just let us know so we can meet you at the train. Claudia will be cooking up a storm and we can sit down for lunch before exploring Cortona on that first afternoon. Dinner at about 6:00 and an evening salon thereafter. Each day breakfast at 8:30, Gateless writing salon at 9:30. Break for lunch at 12:30 for lunch and excursions, come back for an evening salon after dinner. To sign up: gatelessprograms@gmail.com.

Gateless Offerings

The Result

Known for its beauty, the Tuscany Retreat is also a high-touch experience. By radically nurturing you and elevating your craft, the retreat gives you the permission to take huge creative risks. New writers discover personal narratives that have the power to change the domain. Celebrated non-fiction writers have been surprised that novels poured out. Corporate olympians have peeled off layers of conditioning and found the true bliss of what it means to be artistically alive. This is the escape you have been craving.

Gateless Offerings

Travel & Cost

Fly to Rome, and take a scenic 2-hour train from Termini to Cortona (multiple trains daily). From Florence, take the 1-hour train to Cortona. Inexpensive option: Fly to London, Gatwick, take a quick 2-hour flight on Vueling, Ryan Air or Easy Jet to Rome (about $100), then the Termini train to Cortona. All can be booked easily online. We can help with travel and will pick you up at the train in Cortona. Private room, all meals, excursions, and writing salons: $3200. Payment plans available. To sign up: gatelessprograms@gmail.com

“A Gateless Writing Retreat is like 1000 Christmas mornings…you never want to leave”

~ Kate Baldwin

Your Retreat Leader:

Suzanne Kingsbury is an award-winning, internationally-acclaimed author, whose work has been translated widely abroad and optioned for film.

In 2007 after graduating from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop Novel-Writing program with Frank Conroy and the Bennington College Masters in Fine Arts in Writing and the Literary Arts, Suzanne founded Gateless Writing, a global literary arts organization whose unique methodology combines brain science, ancient Zen techniques, and therapeutic nurturing to develop writers’ unique talent and singular genius, enabling them to move through residual blocks and create domain-changing prose.

Suzanne is the recipient of a Fulbright Award and the Oxford Town Fiction Award and her work has been profiled in Rolling Stone Magazine (European edition), the Guardian, the L.A. Times, O Magazine, BuzzFeed, Bustle, Ms Magazine, Thrive Global (top writing retreat of 2017), NPR syndicates, and more …

Suzanne is also trained in Reiki and certified in Thai Head Massage and can “read” a writer through touch. She began working as a scribe channel while she was leading her first Gateless Teacher Training in 2014, receiving messages from a divine source of unconditional love that helped writers find clarity and power in their words. As a writing intuit, she uses the sacred spirit of the word to understand deep patterning and repeated archetypes in a writer’s work, that lead to profound alchemy in their lives.

Through retreats, workshops, one-on-one intensives, and career training programs, Suzanne has helped countless writers on their way to landing top agents, signing lucrative book deals and winning prestigious literary awards. Her writers have also been profiled in some of the world’s top media outlets including The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CBS, NBC, ABC, Forbes, USA Today, the Jane Pauley show, and more.

She believes if you are a writer, you have been tapped by the divine to be a conduit for a message only you can tell and you have the power can move a crowd with your story.