Write in Italy With Writer’s Digest
WD Editor-in-Chief Amy Jones shares the personal inspiration and goals behind the first-ever Writer’s Digest Writing Retreat to Florence and Tuscany in Spring 2025.
[This post has been updated to reflect new tour dates in Spring 2025.]
Florence holds a special place in my heart, though not for any one particular reason. Rather, it’s a sense of homecoming I’ve felt, even from the first time I stepped into the city. There’s something about the way the sun reflects off the painted yellow buildings or brown stones and terra cotta roofs that creates a golden hue. The sky seems a more brilliant blue than I’m used to and every corner you turn hints at another discovery waiting to be made.
I’m not the first, nor will I be the last, to feel such a strong affinity for the Renaissance city. It’s a place where writers have found inspiration for centuries, from poets like Dante Alighieri, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Robert Browning, to novelists like E.M. Forster, Maggie O’Farrell, and Sarah Winman, to nonfiction writers like Mary McCarthy, Kamin Mohammadi, Emiko Davies, and Robert M. Edsel. The list goes on.
Florence is never far from my mind and for as much as I love traveling to Florence solo (and to answer the unspoken question: I’ve never felt safer), on recent trips, I’ve discovered how much I also enjoy introducing others to this place. So, when I was asked if I could put together a writer’s retreat in Europe, I handed over an itinerary for this trip the next day. After all, I’ve essentially been planning it in my head for more than a decade based on my own travels.
In Florence, each stop we’ll make has some essential literary or creative connection, whether it be paintings or sculptures depicting myths or legends, writers’ homes, or statues that are so full of life that essays and stories have been written about them.
During my trips to Florence and Tuscany, I’ve always packed my days full of museums and vineyards and olive tasting experiences, or day trips to surrounding towns. Each afternoon I’d find a café for an aperitivo, making time to journal about my day. But I never did leave quite enough writing time. I always promised myself I’d write more based on what I saw when I got home. But life gets in the way. Which is why, for this retreat, in addition to our days in Florence, we’ll physically retreat to the countryside outside the hill town of San Gimignano.
We’ll be staying at an idyllic villa where we’ll have dedicated writing time. Time to develop stories based on the truly glorious (and sometimes truly bizarre) paintings. Time to craft personal essays about your experiences. Time to adapt what you’ve seen into that historical novel you’ve been planning, no matter where it’s set. Time to poem about walking the same streets as Michelangelo and Donatello. It’s the writing time needed after filling your mind with so much wonder.
I can’t wait to share my favorite parts of Florence with you and write together this fall.
About Amy Jones
Amy Jones is the Editor-in-Chief of Writer’s Digest and was the managing content director for WD Books. She is the editor of the Novel and Short Story Writer's Market and Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market. Prior to joining the WD team, Amy was the managing editor for North Light Books and IMPACT Books. Like most WD staffers, Amy is a voracious reader and has a particular interest in literary fiction, historical fiction, steamy romance, and page-turning mysteries. When she’s not reading, Amy can be found daydreaming about Italy or volunteering at her local no-kill cat shelter. Find Amy on Twitter @AmyMJones_5.
