« All Events

Creative Writing Retreat with a Side of Yoga / Jacqueline Sheehan & Jane Mortifee

July 25, 2026 - August 1, 2026

Step out of your daily life and onto the luminous shores of Lake Atitlán, with dedicated writing time, gentle yoga, restorative quiet, and just enough adventure to shake loose the stories waiting inside you. In an intimate and supportive circle, Jacqueline and Jane will offer daily craft sessions, prompts, and embodied writing practices designed to spark fresh ideas and deepen your voice.

When not writing, lounge by the pool, relax in a hammock, wander through lush gardens, or cool off with a dip in the lake. Also included in the registration: a visit to San Juan, a Mayan village a boat ride away known for its women’s weaving co-ops, chocolate and art galleries; a cooking class in a local village home; and a Fire Ceremony led by a local Mayan Shaman.

Come ready to write and leave with reawakened energy, deepened craft, and pages that wouldn’t have existed anywhere else. Travel has a way of loosening what’s stuck. Let the shift in perspective work its magic on your creative process.

Retreat pricing

  • Maya Rose (2-7) Single $2775 / Double $2310
  • Junior Suite Single $2890 / Double $2370
  • Ginger Suites Single $2950 / Double $2575

Retreat price includes:

 7 Nights accommodations at Villa Sumaya
 Round trip van transportation from Antigua
 3 Scrumptiously delicious vegetarian/vegan meals daily
 Unlimited purified water, herbal and black tea, and local coffee
 5 writing workshops
 3 yoga sessions
 Gratuity for staff
 Fire ceremony with local shaman
 Mayan cooking class and dinner with Raquel in Santa Cruz
 Mayan Women’s art collective in San Juan
 All local boat transport to retreat outings

What’s Not Included:   
 Airfare to/from Guatemala City (GUA)
 Transportation from Guatemala City Airport to and from Antigua
 Hotels in Antigua
 Adult beverages
 Fish or chicken additions to dinner
 Spa services
 Travel insurance (recommended)

 

Jacqueline Sheehan, Ph.D.,

is a fiction writer and essayist, the bestselling author of the novels Lost & Found, Now & Then, Picture This, The Center of the World, The Tiger in the House, and The Comet’s Tale. Currently on the faculty of Writers in Progress in Massachusetts, she also offers international writing workshops. Her essays are found in The New York Times Modern Love, The Writer, Next Avenue, and on NPR commentaries. She is the co-founder and past president of Straw Dog Writers Guild. She has been awarded fellowships with MacDowell, Jentel Arts, Hawthornden Castle, and Turkey Land Cove. She is working on her next novel and memoir.

 

 

 

Jane Mortifee,

author of the novel, Out of the Fire, is also a professional singer and actor in theatre, film, television and studio voice-overs, jingles, and animated series. She has been nominated for an Actra Award, three Jessie Awards, a Westcoast Music Award, and was inducted into the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2002. She has recorded five CDs, ranging from ballads, R&B, pop and her latest a lullaby album recorded for her shiny new grandson. She is writing a second novel, with two others on the back burner. Jane led yoga at creative writing and yoga retreats in Guatemala, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Wales, Scotland and Mexico.

Details