Writers' Retreats: Literary Cabins, Creative Hideaways, and Favorite Writing Spaces of Iconic Authors

by Neil Burkey

Featuring over 50 writers and their getaways–get a glimpse into the creative habits of some of the greatest writers of the last two centuries.

From Henry David Thoreau’s famous cabin at Walden Pond and James Baldwin’s ‘Welcome Table’ in Provence, to Roald Dahl’s garden hut and Toni Morrison’s sunrise-lit couch at dawn, Writers’ Retreats reveals the quirky, private, and sometimes curious places where literary magic has happened. Each location is brought to life through illustration and the writer’s own words on what made that place so perfect for creating.

An exploration of famous literary writers of past and present, from Emily Dickinson and Marcel Proust to Margaret Atwood, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Alice Munro, this is the perfect bookish gift for both writers and book lovers to feed their fascination with what ignited the creativity behind their favorite works of literature.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Books About Books

176 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 16, 2021

Reviews

[Unbridled Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an inspiration for readers and writers! This book summarizes where 49 different authors write. Some at home, others in a big city or a writing shed in the middle of nowhere. From Emily Dickinson to Jack Kerouac, we hear about why environment can sometimes encourage - or discourage - the writing muse. I also loved the pages of quotes about words and emotions, storytelling. I plan on keeping this book handy to glance at when my own creative juices need stirring.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting read. It covers 50 authors and where they write, from big cities to garden sheds, considering their process and how it was influenced by the setting. I also liked the pages of quotes and the snippets of other topics, like pseudonyms. I just ended up wanting more information about each writer!

[Bud Winn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read - good overview of writer's retreats and habits, with some news on modern retreats

[Janelle Bogart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this book by a dear friend who had heard of my own writing retreat and thought this would provide some inspiration. She had no idea how right she was! This book opened my eyes to additional works of some well known authors I had read (Wharton, Woolf, Baldwin, Fitzgerald) and encouraged me to re-read or purchase other lesser-known novels of theirs. But it also opened up my world to a list of authors not often considered in the "canon" of the literary greats. I now have Chimanada Adichie, Marilynne Robinson, Constance Fenimore Woolston and Fyodor Dostoevsky on my list of next reads. My only complaint about the book is that it just covers a snapshot in time, a "retreat" as the author writes, "As brevity necessitates compression, the book generally neglects each author's life beyond the moment represented." Even though the book is a quick read, it took me over a month to finish it, as I continued to research the fascinating components of each author's life. Most authors embodied the term, "struggling artist" but they also created fascinating movements (Beat Poetry, Transcendentalism, Realism, Romanticism and Naturalism). While the book didn't have the detail one would expect from a biography it started me off on an exploratory adventure and who knows where it will lead to.

[Chrissy Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

My impulse buy/guilty pleasure purchase this month was a coffee table book about books. Very meta. What really drew me in was the proper apostrophe use in the title. Writers’ Retreats: Literary Cabins, Creative Hideaways, and Favored Writing Spaces of Iconic Authors hits all the things I just can’t say no to - books, authors, cabins, and proper grammar. Neil Burkey doesn’t just review the well-known writers retreats like Dahl’s garden shed and Dickinson’s family home. I mean, he does that too but he also explores the spaces of writers who enjoy writing on the go - outdoors and in hotels, in cognito within crowds, and even those who find inspiration in the sounds of the big city - something I haven’t seen in any other review of writers spaces. There are very few photographs of the actual spaces but each authors space comes with a vivid description in time specific to a particular novel with illustrations which forces you to use your imagination to fill in the blanks; much like the good authors the book reflects on. It’s a great concept overall and really well executed

[Vivian Valvano · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sheer delight for lovers of books, lovers of authors, those of us who live our lives in literature.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

some of the design choices of this book were clunky and a little juvenile, but the actual contents of the book were wonderful and informative while also being well written. learned a lot!

[meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was such a fun book to flip through; i only took one star off because i ended up wanting to read so much more information about each author.

perfect prep for my massachusetts author road trip!