A writing retreat with Jennifer Margulis
Write the story you came here to tell
OCTOBER 10–16, 2026 · ITALY
Writing under the Tuscan sun
October 10–16, 2026 · 11 Coveted spots · Lucca, Italy
Mornings are for writing. Enjoy the interactive, hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves approach used by Jennifer Margulis, a New York Times published journalist and award-winning bestselling book author. Our morning workshops at the villa will give us the inspiration and motivation we need to overcome road blocks, dig deep, and find the kind of courage it takes to put the story on the page.
Afternoons are for Lucca. A short walk from the villa, one of Italy's most perfectly preserved medieval cities, is waiting: its walls, its culture, its cathedrals, its piazzas, its restaurants. We walk. We eat. We sit on park benches and write.
“Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow.”
~Kurt Vonnegut
Meet your mentor
Meet your guide
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YOUR WRITING COACH
Bestselling, award-winning author, professional writer, editor, and photojournalist. Jennifer Margulis has worked with eight major New York publishing companies and consults with a small number of highly motivated writers and aspiring authors. Her workshops cover craft, voice, scene, deep revision, and the nuts and bolts of how to get the attention of an agent and a publisher in today’s world.
YOUR HOST AND CO-TEACHER
Anna Bazarnaya
Creative director, clinical aromatherapist, retreat host, and house mama, Anna Bazarnaya has 20 years of experience building brands and helping people find their voice. A designer in Moscow, Anna moved to San Francisco to study graphic design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, opened an aromatherapy business and plant distillery in Costa Rica, led tourist groups and done design work in Tuscany.
OUR SPECIAL GUEST
Ayesha Pande
Literary Agent & Founder: Ayesha Pande Literary
Ayesha Pande grew up on three different continents and is especially drawn to voices that cross borders—cultural, emotional, and political. After a successful career in publishing, including as a senior editor at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, she launched her own agency in 2007.
Her list includes literary fiction and narrative nonfiction—ranging across history, cultural criticism, memoir, and biography—with the occasional young adult novel. She’s particularly interested in distinctive voices, original perspectives, and writing that lingers.
Books by Ayesha’s clients have reached #1 on The New York Times bestseller lists and won numerous honors, including the National Book Award, the PEN/Hemingway Award, the PEN/Bellwether Prize, and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize.
When not immersed in the next great literary voice, she can be found working in her garden or walking in the woods.
Currently closed to general submissions, Ayesha is open to pitches from our writers. She will present to us about what writers need to get noticed by an agent or a publisher and do speed dating with each participant.
OUR SPECIAL GUEST
Massimo Mercati
CEO: Aboca and Founder: Aboca Publishing
Massimo Mercati was born in Città di Castello. After earning a law degree, he dedicated himself to managing the family business, Aboca, where he now serves as CEO. He founded the Apoteca Natura pharmacy network and is the chairman of the Municipal Pharmacies of Florence. He lives in Sansepolcro. He has long taken an interest in the concept of a systems view of life, following the research conducted in this field by physicist Fritjof Capra and the late evolutionary biologist Lynn Margulis (Jennifer Margulis’s mom).
He is the author of L’impresa come sistema vivente. Una nuova visione per creare valore e proteggere il futuro, (2020) with Aboca Edizioni.
He will join us for an afternoon talk and an evening meal to tell us about Italian culture, his health-conscious environmentally friendly natural medicine business, and the kind of books written in English that his publishing imprint is interested in acquiring.
What's included during our writing week in Tuscany:
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Writing workshops with Jennifer Margulis every day
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Exclusive, individualized 30-minute 1-on-1 sessions with Jennifer Margulis
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Exclusive access to an American literary agent open to your pitches and ready to give constructive feedback
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Curated author headshots and the right to use them across your media platforms
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In real time social media training, platform-building, and brand management with Anna Bazarnaya
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Exclusive presentation and Q&A with an Italian publisher
What else will you experience?
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Continental breakfast served daily at the villa
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One communal dinner made with fresh, local, organic ingredients prepared for us by a private chef at the villa
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Guided walks along the medieval wall and a tour of Lucca's most beautiful landmarks
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Optional Nottolini Aqueduct hike
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Incredible boutique shopping: Lucca is a fashion center, hub for handmade leather goods, silver jewelry, olivewood kitchenware and furniture, and more
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The best restaurants in Tuscany, grocery stores where you can buy healthy organic locally grown food, and open-air markets
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Visits to Pisa, Florence, the quarry where Michelangelo mined his marble (for an additional fee)
But, wait, there’s more:
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Community building with other writers that will continue long after the retreat
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Personalized trip planning and concierge service from Anna
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Access to the villa for those choosing to make their own accommodations, including the pool, the garden, tea, coffee, and healthy snacks throughout the day
Invest in your writing dreams
Stay at the villa: $5,954
Book your own accommodations: $4,954
Early bird pricing: $500 discount until July 31st, 2026
What people are saying about our retreats
"I attended the writers’ retreat in Lucca, Italy, the first such retreat I’ve ever been to. I was called to it for several reasons: the beauty of Lucca and northern Italy, the idea of being together intimately with a group of other writers, housed in a gorgeous villa, sharing meals and dreams. And the fact that it was being facilitated by a woman whose writings I deeply admire.
"It was a profound experience, and I will encourage other friends of mine who are at any stage in writing a book, to attend one of Jennifer Margulis‘s unique writing retreats."
Suzanne Arms
Founder of Birthing The Future
New York Times best-selling author
Our writer’s getaway
Villa Buonamici (which means “villa of good friends” in Italian) is our writer’s sanctuary: a perfect teaching hub and a place to relax and get inspired just a short walk from Lucca’s medieval walls.
The villa has plenty of space for us to gather–from the several sitting rooms to the spacious kitchen to the outdoor terrace and garden.
Bring your bathing suit, if you dare to enjoy a cold plunge or swim some laps in the villa’s private (but unheated!) pool.
There’s a piano downstairs, a chess board and billiards table in the game room, and a bright and comfortable living room where you can work on your manuscript, read a book, enjoy a lively conversation with a fellow writer, or have some down time.
Sit outside to write or eat or talk. Our terrace boasts a large table and chairs, as well as comfortable outdoor furniture.
In a residential district of Lucca, just in front of the medieval walls, there are plenty of shops, restaurants and cafes within walking distance of our villa, including a Bavarian Brewery just around the corner, a famous local pizzeria, a home-made pasta shop, groceries, and the renowned Giulio in Pelleria, one of Lucca’s most popular traditional restaurants.
This retreat is designed for motivated writers who are working on book-length manuscripts (or want to be) and are eager to move their work forward and hold their writing to a higher standard of excellence.
We have space for only 11 writers: 5 will stay at the villa and 6 will enjoy nearby accommodations.
Unless you have already spoken with or been invited by Jennifer Margulis or Anna Bazarnaya, you must complete this intake questionnaire to be considered for one of these coveted spots.
Our team will review your application and get back to within 2 business days. Our retreat director, Anna Bazarnaya, is available via phone, email, or WhatsApp to help guide you and answer any questions.
If I’m accepted, what happens next?
A non-refundable deposit of $2,000 is due within two days of being accepted.
Pay in full by July 31 to get early-bird pricing.
All writing classes will be held at the villa, which is also our rendez-vous spot for afternoon excursions and evenings out on the town. Five (5) rooms at the villa have king or double beds and private baths. There is one (1) room with a shared bathroom available at a discount. Anna will help find accomodations for participants who prefer to stay inside the wall.
$5,945
Double bed · Private ensuite bathroom · Second floor
Early bird: $500 discount through July 31
Virginia Woolf Suite
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$5,945
Double bed · Private ensuite bathroom · Second floor
Early bird: $500 discount through July 31
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Françoise Sagan Suite
$5,945
Double bed · Private ensuite bathroom · Second floor
Early bird: $500 discount through July 31
The Colette Room
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$5,445
Double bed · Private ensuite bathroom · Second floor
Early bird: $500 discount through July 31
6 retreat spots: choose your accommodation
Join us at the villa for the group time and choose your own accommodations nearby that suit. Luxury city apartment? Classic hotel or modest bed-and breakfast? Lucca has it all.
Retreat Spot (6 available)
$4,954
All workshops, sessions, optional excursions, and chef dinner included. Book your own nearby accommodation. Or ask Anna to provide a curated list of hotels and apartments within walking distance.
Early bird: $4,554 through July 31
Before you pack your bags
© 2026 Jennifer Margulis · Anna Bazarnaya · All rights reserved