Retreats
The magic of creativity meets the power of productivity in our delicious, one-of-a-kind, salon-style retreats, curated to provide sweet support for the genius writer within.
Sign up to join and learn more about our upcoming Retreats.
Connecticut Coast
October 18-21, 2025
Home to pink granite bedrock and a resting spot for seals, Connecticut’s own premier coastline is your home for this all-inclusive retreat. The unique Gateless methodology blasts through the critic, moving you to your singular genius and unique power on the page. Discover some of the most fantastic connections of your life. Write like you’ve never written before.
Mediterranean Coast
April 13-17, 2026
A five day immersive retreat along the seaside cliffs and white stone beaches of Spain’s Costa Blanca. This is the journey of a lifetime to one of the most undiscovered spots on the Mediterranean. A private chef, daily energy work, writing salons where you receive feedback on your strength, innate talent and power on the page. Experience the incredible beauty of writing to the sound of the surf with the spirit of the word.
Italy
May 7-11, 2026
Come to a writing retreat haven in the heart of Tuscany. Explore the surprising wellspring of the limitless creative mind when you are away from home. Held in the high, ancient city of Cortona in a light-filled manse with our private Italian chef with wine tastings, thermal bath excursions, incredible art and daily writing salons for your traveling muse, this is the experience of a lifetime!
“The memoir I built out of the seed story from that retreat just got picked up by one of the biggest agents in New York! Suzanne Kingsbury is in some ways like a siren. She pulls you into the depths with praise and songs of affirmation. But unlike the siren, she brings you back to the top. When you open your hands to write, the pearls come.”
~ Mary Okoye, JD, Tucson, Arizona
The Experience
Retreats offer a wildlife sanctuary for the creative within. Run away from the quotidian to the lush power of your personal story. Share delicious meals from our private chef, experience Reiki and Thai head massage, and reach into the rich rooms of the self to create content that moves a crowd. The massage of the literary world, Gateless retreats are a radically-nurturing circle of support. They’re designed to provide the network and the craft you need so you can answer the urgent call to come home to the genius within.
The House
Our staff spends hours finding the perfect retreat house. Whether we’re in a loft in Paris, a private home on the edge of the desert, or a beach house in New England, our houses are sprawling and light-filled with couches to curl up on, both single and shared rooms, organic, gluten-free meals, and a dream team of writers who help move you forward on the creative journey of a lifetime. In these spaces, miracles happen. You fall in love again: with yourself, with each other, with your writing and with the world.
The Salon
The core of the Gateless experience is the writing salon. Morning, afternoon and night we will be writing. Led by inspirational meditations coupled with Thai head massage, Reiki, bodywork, and often augmented by embodiment practices like sound healing and breathwork, the prompts activate long-term memory and the imaginal. These sessions are remarkable for writers. Gateless feedback draws out the power of your innate talent. You will generate more work than you thought possible and reach an entirely new zenith of creative potential.
“I came into retreat feeling blocked, distant from my writing, and rudderless. The intense work and deep nourishment of retreat lifted me out of my busy life and grounded me again as a writer. Now I have a plan for my manuscript, agent interest, and a surefooted way to move forward.”
~ Kate Baldwin, MFA, MEd, writing teacher and editor, Massachusetts
The Call
The core of the Gateless experience is the writing salon. Morning, afternoon and night we will be writing. Led by inspirational meditations coupled with Thai head massage, Reiki, bodywork, and often augmented by embodiment practices like sound healing and breathwork, the prompts activate long-term memory and the imaginal. These sessions are remarkable for writers. Gateless feedback draws out the power of your innate talent. You will generate more work than you thought possible and reach an entirely new zenith of creative potential.
The Method
Gateless was born within the confluence of neuroscientific research, ancient Zen and radical support for your singular genius. The aim is to still the inner critic so that you can take risks and gain artistic agency. The method enters the somatic field and shifts brain chemistry to fire feel-good neurotransmitters. Gateless is an incredibly potent process that has led to best-selling book deals, international literary awards, and high-profile media attention. The discipline gives you the impetus to write long after the retreat ends.
The Result
Retreats burst through blocks, shift your neurotransmitters, uplevel your confidence, and give you the motivation and the direction to make your creative dreams come true. Lifelong friendships are born. Your new network will include best-selling writers, Grammy-nominated musicians, top media personalities, brand strategists, award-winning speakers and more. You connect through your personal mythology, the intimacy of your singular story and support for one another’s talent. Long after the retreat has ended, you will find your life changing in astounding ways.
Welcome!
The inspiration that leads retreats viscerally connects you with your creative genius. Whether you are working on new pieces or continuing a project, your new writing will astound you.
We never deconstruct the work. Criticism is opinion-based teaching. At Gateless, we foster your innate talent and craft tools, anything not working simply falls away. You will generate more work than you ever thought possible, access inside industry-expertise, and reach completely new zeniths in creative potential.
Suzanne
“This retreat was a liberation experience of the highest kind. We aren’t on this earth to struggle and writing doesn’t have to be about criticism. It can be the most blissful experience. I found the magic of Gateless here, and I found that the stories I’d carried around all my life were a goldmine that could carry my career.”
~Angy Torres, NYC
How do I sign up?
Retreats do fill fast, so reserve your space as soon as you can by completing this form.
If you would like to find the perfect retreat for you, we can help. Can’t wait to hear from you!