This is a follow on retreat from 4th August (details here) which has now SOLD OUT. However, there are still spaces on this retreat (8th to 11th August).
8-11 August, a weekend retreat with a two night stay, self catering, as Margarita continues her amazing tuition. Also available to people who have been on her retreats in previous years.
Itinerary in full – please see separate listing on the other post here.
9am – arrive early morning on Saturday (Gastro pub, opposite, the half moon inn , May offer accommodation you can book direct with them if you’d like to stay over on the Friday night and be ready to join us on the Saturday morning ) join the tuition.
Check into your room at 4 pm.
Leave room 10 am on the Tuesday, morning of the 10th.
SPECIAL EARLYBIRD OFFER – OPPORTUNITY TO STAY OVER ON THE MONDAY NIGHT FOR FREE, only available to the 1st to book, subject to availability.
Margarita has been widely published in many well-known publications
Bio
Margarita Gokun Silver wrote the award-winning collection of memoir-in-essays, called I Named My Dog Pushkin . It came out with Hachette in 2021. Margarita is also a freelance journalist. She has been published in the New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and Oprah magazine, with pieces in the BBC, the Atlantic, and the National Geographic, amongst many others. Margarita was the Gladstone Library Writer-in-Residence in 2023 and she holds an MSt in Creative Writing from Oxford University.
I Named my Dog Pushkin and other Tales, Hachette, 2021
“While dreaming of buying the boat-sized Buick she’d seen in a pirated VHS of Miami Vice and getting a taste of whatever it is Bruce Springsteen is singing about, she comes up with a plan to escape Mother Russia for good.
When Margarita arrives in the US with her family, she has one objective – become fully American as soon as possible, and leave her Soviet past behind. But she soon learns that finding her new voice is harder than avoiding the KGB.”
Find out more about Margaritas on her website and Instagram.
About Retreats For You
Full board, wine included at supper, mini gym, summer house, roaring fire in cooler months. Own room with an amazingly comfortable bed, crisp white sheets, writing table, tea and coffee making. £819 (early bird £799) for four nights. (Two ensuite rooms are available at a supplement, please enquire – first come first served, so please book early to avoid disappointment). Only £125 deposit now, with the balance due 6 to 8 weeks beforehand.
Testimonials from previous students:
August 7, 2026
“What a wonderful experience!
Great community, food, conversation + learning. Deb is a gem and host who’s always got our needs in mind. Margarita is a fantastic leader who shares her knowledge with warmth + expertise. Thanks!”
August 7th 2026
“Just what I needed – thank you Deb. Great accommodation, great food, fun and inspiring company, and a fantastic location. Margarita is a great teacher and I now feel that I can revisit a project which has been untouched for the last 20 years.
Thank you so much,
Claire x”
August 7th, 2026 — Shem
“Thank you so much Debbie for this retreat, my first! And to Margarita, brilliant memoir-writing tuition, exactly what I came here for. The food, wine, company, fantastic, all of it. I will go away renewed, refreshed + taking all I have discovered about my memoir + eager to come!
Loved every moment — Shem xx”
7 Aug 26 — Andy
“My first retreat and what a brilliant experience it’s been! Hospitality, expertise and great company all combined into a fantastic package.
I learned so much and will remember the experience for a long time to come.
Thank you
Andy”
Andranel
“This experience exceeded all my expectations. Thank you for a calm, accommodating space. Thank you for delicious, abundant food! Thank you for fielding all my questions gracefully. Thank you for arranging to have Margarita here as our tutor. I have grown and gotten clarity in just two/three days!
Much appreciation
(from Alaska)
Andranel”
Gautam: “This was one of the most rewarding writing retreats I have attended. Margarita’s teaching style is both informative and nurturing. All of us were encouraged to develop our individual voice and to put our personal essays on the page.”
Jane: “Creativity needs a crucible, and the setting and support of all involved provided that for me.”
Smita: “I joined the workshop at a time when I was feeling pretty blocked. This was my first foray into writing groups and it was enriching.”
Novelda Sommers
“Margarita presented the materials in such away that it was easy to absorb and understand. Margarita is funny and charming, and her style is conversational. She brings a lot of credibility, with her personal accomplishments and successful journey as a writer herself. I left the workshop feeling inspired, and with some new tools to use in my craft.
Another highlight of the workshop was getting to meet other participants and hear their stories. The other writers were highly engaged and encouraging of one another. It was all-around a positive experience.”
Amanda Fletcher
“Margarita is an amazing writer and great mentor. Her class was highly inspiration for me to embark on my own novel-writing journey. the class I took from her was about memoir writing, and I’ll never forget her first lesson: Write what you DON’T know. Meaning, fill in all those details that you may not remember exactly. I’ve taken it to heart ever since.
I think her editorial notes were spot on, and her teaching style is very organized and easy to follow. She’s got an easy-going attitude, and I never felt judged, which is what you want in a writing instructor!”
In August 2024, Sue Weedon attended And was over the moon. Here is her feedback in full. Thanks Sue!
Five days at Debbie’s peaceful writing retreat forty minutes down the road was just what I needed to focus my mind and get some work done. Having attended non-tutored retreats at Retreats for You before, I know how welcoming Debbie is.
I have been writing pathos memoir ‘for some time’ as part of my PhD at the University of Exeter, England. Spending time with memoirists is enjoyable. They are my tribe. Most have interesting stories to tell about their lived experiences. We all try to find the most suitable way to structure our memories and show them on the page in a relatable form. The relaxed, no chores, help yourself to drinks and never-ending snacks at Retreats for You helped as did the massage chair in my room. What a treat. Within minutes of laying back in the chair, relaxation arrived in mind and body. That reminds me, I must get one for home. Let’s be honest it’s the people that make any retreat. The group of people I shared my time with, hosted by the lovely Debbie with the workshops facilitated by Margarita was without doubt the best retreat I have been on. Margarita, once she got over the initial shock of discovering where Sheepwash is (do read about it on her website) became one of us – one of the group. This is rare with a tutor. I have attended many writing courses, workshops, conferences and retreats over the last twelve years. I know about these things.
Margarita prepared for her morning workshops as you would expect. She joined us for coffee, breakfast and lunch as you may expect. Margarita joined the group walkers in the afternoon to discover the Devon countryside in typical west country varying weather fronts. Margarita joined us for our cream tea, wine o’clock before dinner, dinner and after dinner conversation. Having been a tutor myself in a previous day job, it’s not easy to talk shop continually and spend your down time with your attendees. Margarita did. Not that we talked about writing all the time, but Margarita was more than willing to share her writing knowledge and experience with us whenever we wanted. We had the most in-depth conversations about important life issues, well we would, we are memoirists. Margarita taught me about personal essay writing and how I can use this form of life writing in my work-in-progress memoir. I am looking forward to sharing how I may experiment incorporating personal essay with my PhD supervisors. Learning is what my life is about. Finding the most relatable way to sprinkle my message throughout my memoirs something I am still working out. I naturally write in ‘chunklets’ as I call them. Perhaps personal essay is the way to go for me. Margarita explained memoir is writing about me and my life as the illustration of a larger story. She suggested a simple formula; why is an event of particular significance, what did it mean and why is it important? I won’t say any more about the formula, I’ll leave that to Margarita. Spending time at Retreats for You with Margarita and Debbie, who is also a writer, in August 2024, was a good decision. I have booked to return to Margarita’s personal essay memoir retreat in August 2025. Maybe I will have decided on my structure and form by then. Who knows, I might see you there…”