A week to move, write, learn, bond and get inspired. All in a warm, welcoming, authentic town in the heart of an undiscovered part of Puglia.
Prana and Pages
11-17 October 2026
Puglia, Italy
group size:
5-10 writers
About the retreat
To get the writing moving, the writer must move the body.
Prana is the Sanskrit word for breath: the life force that moves through everything. When we breathe and move with intention, something shifts.
Blocks move, making way for inspiration to enter.
Writing, like yoga, is about moving, from thought to word, from word to sentences, from sentences to paragraphs and from paragraphs to pages and back.
Prana and Pages is a week of yoga and writing in one of Italy's most beautiful and still authentic places.
Together, we'll breathe, move, write, and eat well — in a baroque palazzo minutes from the Ionian coast.
Come solo and meet your people, or bring a friend who needs this as much as you do. Either way, you'll spend seven distraction-free days with a small, warm group of writers and practitioners from around the world.
You'll leave refreshed, inspired, and ready to write.
We welcome people with all levels of yoga and writing experience.
The Writing Grove writers retreat was an incredible experience. Lloyd is an intuitive teacher...You will leave his lessons feeling more confident in your own writing abilities. I cannot recommend The Writing Grove enough!
-Anova, USA
Retreat Highlights
Daily yoga sessions: Start each day on the mat with Karin Montali, a certified Iyengar teacher. Sessions are designed for all levels and built to carry their benefits through to your writing practice.
Daily writing workshops: Hands-on, intimate sessions focused on craft, voice, structure, and the practical work of getting words on the page. A guest writing teacher joins us for a session during the week.
Tour the town: Explore Nardò, your home for the week and discover its main Piazza, known as "the most beautiful square in southern Italy."
Meals: Each day we'll have a delicious, energising, healthy brunch prepared by a private, local chef. In the evening, we'll dine together at local restaurants.
Downtime: There's plenty of time for you to write but also relax and explore on your own.
Karin introduced me to and guided me in my practice, and I will never stop thanking her for this gift.
-student, Italy
Workshops & activities
Workshops
The week begins with intention — yours.
Before we dive in, you'll set a clear goal for the week: what you want to write, where you're stuck, what you want to understand better about your own work.
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We'll cover the essential craft elements every writer needs — character, setting, voice, scene-building, structure, and revision.
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One of the things that makes this week work is the mix. Fiction and nonfiction writers in the same room learn from each other in ways that don't happen when everyone's working in the same genre. We lean into that.
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A guest writing teacher joins us for one masterclass during the week.
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Open to all genres and writing levels.
"I learned a lot about how to improve my writing... colour, context, background, senses...The feedback was really useful! The exercises were really well thought out and writing examples were really high quality. I found them motivating and challenging. 100% recommend to others."
- Clare, France
A typical day
We'll begin and close each day with Iyengar yoga, led by Karin Montali. Iyengar yoga. Iyengar yoga focuses on the detail, precision and alignment of yoga postures -- skills that will also serve your creative practice.
Morning sessions are full and grounding. The closing practice is shorter — a way to settle the body and let the day's writing breathe.
After yoga, we'll have brunch together prepared by a local chef.
Then it's time for the writing workshops.
One day, we'll tour Nardò —one of the most beautiful baroque towns in southern Italy.
Each evening, we'll dine at a local restaurant.
The rest of your free time is yours entirely.
All levels welcome. No experience needed.
Where you'll stay
We are blessed in Nardò with beautiful palazzos.
Our home away from home is Palazzo Donna Titi, a lovingly restored palazzo in Nardò’s historic centre. There’s enough history to inspire a novel (or two).
Palazzo Donna Titi was born from the idea of creating a blend between the local tradition and culture with the modernity and contemporaneity of today.
Nothing has been left to chance. The restoration work has been carried out with meticulous care and respect for the building, highlighting every ancient architectural feature. The contemporary touches come from select, custom-made furnishings designed to enhance Salento tradition and the colours of the surrounding environment.
The spacious, private rooms will make you feel like royalty during your stay.
The beds are large and luxurious, with high-quality linen. All rooms have views of either the old city or the courtyard. The rooms all have their own en-suites, with designer fixtures. You’ll have no issues finding your writing rhythm at the desk.
Staying here will inspire you while providing a restful atmosphere to create and dream and write.
You may even discover centuries-old secret passageways the nobles used!
"This was the best place to stay in Nardò. The mother-daughter team made my stay the best I had in Puglia. The room was clean and beautifully decorated. They make you feel part of the family. Will always go back."
- Guest
What about the food?
Puglia is where Italians go to eat! Blessed with fertile soil, more than 300 days of sunshine per year and on a peninsula, the region is globally recognised for its fresh fruit, vegetables and seafood.
You haven’t had a tomato until you’ve tasted one in Italy. You’ll be amazed at the flavour packed into vegetables grown, harvested and prepared with deep respect and care for the land.
You’ll dine on traditional, regional dishes like silky roasted chickpeas and handmade orecchiette with thin slices of fried parmesan cheese, whose every crunch crackles with flavour. There’s also grilled melanzane with sprinkles of sea salt and a splash of lemon.
Regardless of your dietary requirements, you’ll eat fabulously here. Light on meat, Puglia’s cuisine is heavy on seasonality and vegetables.
Meals are the highlight of the day, and Italians (especially in this region) take their time – dinners here can, and should, last for hours.
We'll do our very best to accommodate your dietary requirements.
A private chef will prepare nutritious brunches to energise us after the yoga sessions.
"I really enjoyed the experience! I gained perspective on character. Recommend to others." - ME Rothwell, author of best-selling blogs The Books that Made Us and Cosmographia.
The itinerary
Settle into your hotel room, relax from travel and join an optional grounding yoga session followed by dinner with the group.
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"I learned how to inject detail and emotion in my writing. I really enjoyed reading the sample exercises to gain insight. I do look forward to more opportunities with The Writing Grove - online and in-person :)"
-Lisa, USA
What you get
You've been meaning to write. Life keeps getting in the way. This is a week where nothing gets in the way.
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If your manuscript is stalled, no laundry, no inbox, no meetings. Just you, your writing, and the space to actually move it forward. Writers regularly leave with chapters finished, plots unlocked and a clear path ahead.
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If you feel stuck or blocked, the workshops are designed to diagnose what's not working and give you the tools to fix it. Whether it's character, structure, or confidence, you'll leave knowing exactly what to do next.
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If you write alone, you'll spend the week with seven writers from around the world, all serious about their work. Long dinners, honest conversations, shared enthusiasm. The connections made here tend to last well beyond the week.
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If you need a reset, a baroque palazzo, the Ionian coast ten minutes away, and food that takes two hours to eat because it deserves it. Inspiration is part of the curriculum.
Included:
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6 unforgettable nights in a private, single room with an ensuite in the luxury palazzo
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1 historical and informative tour of Baroque Nardò
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Daily delicious brunches
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5 dinners
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2x daily yoga sessions
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2 aperitivi
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All retreat materials
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Transfer to/from Brindisi airport or Lecce train station. Transfer from Bari airport is possible at an additional cost
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For each participant, I will plant an olive tree via a local olive farm regeneration nonprofit. The tree will sequester 600kg CO2 per person - perfect for travel offset!
Not included:
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Flights or trains
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Meals outside of those specified
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Trips, tours and activities outside those specified
Nardò, Italy
Nardò is the crown jewel of the southern cities in Salento, Puglia, the region at the very bottom of Italy’s heel. The town is renowned for its baroque and rococo architecture: the squares are full of ornate churches, palazzi, and restaurants.
It’s not just the buildings that are magic – local legend has it that mystical elves live in the countryside and love playing pranks on people.
Only an hour's plane ride from Rome, Salento is a well-known treasure to Italians but still undiscovered by the rest of the world. You’ll be amongst locals, far from the masses, giving you the authentic experience in Italy you’ve always dreamed of.
Over your morning coffee and brioche, you’ll admire the elaborate, baroque palaces and churches built centuries ago by nobles to show off their wealth.
You’re also only a ten-minute drive to the Ionian coast, which has the clearest, cleanest beaches in all of Italy. Regardless of the season, the sea is always worth visiting. Large mystical forests line the coastal hills, perfect for a walk as you tour ancient forts and villas as part of the retreat.
Take in the local culture. There's always a procession, festival or celebration happening in the town.
Your hosts
Lloyd Miner - Facilitator
My name is Lloyd Miner, and I'm the founder of The Writing Grove.
Working full-time in a demanding tech job for years meant that I had too little time or energy to devote to my first passion: writing. Over the years, I managed to get published, but it was going on a writing retreat in the UK that was a revelation.
Once I discovered how powerful time spent focused on writing could be, I wanted to share the experience with others.
I decided to start my own retreats, designed for people who yearn to do more creative work but are busy with life and need time away from it all to focus on their creativity.
I set up all the elements that would create a perfect writing retreat: stunning locations, great local food, history and culture, collaborations with artists and craftspeople, rest and relaxation, and activities to stimulate creativity. And most importantly, an atmosphere where you can focus on your writing away from the daily distractions.
Writers I’ve worked with have published short stories and novels, and have been nominated for and won several awards, including the prestigious Pushcart.
Now more than ever, people need a place where they can express themselves creatively. My workshops and retreats are spaces where you can slow down, get inspired and allow yourself the time and space for play and creativity. I create supportive, calm, open experiences where participants thrive.
I can’t wait to work with you!
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Karin Montali - Yoga instructor
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Karin Montali first encountered yoga in 1996 in England, practising the Iyengar method. For her, yoga is primarily a journey of human and spiritual exploration. She obtained her yoga teaching qualification from the British Iyengar Yoga Association (IYA UK) in 2001.
She moved to Italy, where in 2002, she began teaching yoga at the Scuola Yoga Camerino. In 2004, she spent two months in India studying directly with the Iyengar family. She devotes herself wholeheartedly to her personal practice and regularly attends advanced seminars led by senior teachers of the Iyengar method.
She guides her students with care and patience, giving each one individual attention that respects their abilities.
Her classes are structured so that the benefits of the postures can be felt in the body immediately after the yoga session. She shares her way of being through her personal experience and practice.
Valeria D'Alltri - Italian Experience Expert
Valeria is the founder of Fluxus, a company for real travellers since 2001. Valeria creates bespoke experiences for us in Puglia, helping students discover the local history, authentic traditions, and culture of the region. We're so lucky to have her taking care of us in Italy!
Giving back
I believe the earth is a precious, though vulnerable and fragile resource. The olive groves of Southern Italy have been threatened by disease over the last several years, causing environmental and economic damage.
For every participant in a Writing Grove retreat, I plant an olive tree with a local nonprofit, Olivami. The tree will grow to provide habitat for animals, jobs for farmers and, of course, delicious olive oil.
Each tree sequesters 600kg (.67 tons) of carbon dioxide - perfect for offsetting the impact of travel!
FAQs
