They say every good story begins with either someone going on a journey or a stranger coming to town. In 2012, Jane Flett walked into one of Victoria Gosling’s workshops in a Berlin bookshop, and it was the start of not just an ongoing story, but a wild adventure that has seen them leading workshops across Europe, throwing a literary festival in a ruined fort, and hosting countless salons and events. They led their first writing retreats in Pelion, Greece, in 2017 and 2018, respectively, before realising that they were simply too much fun not to run together. Since then, they’ve organised and hosted retreats in Mantua in Italy and on the island of Kefalonia.
In spring 2025, on a road trip around Greece’s Halkidiki Peninsula, they discovered wild beaches, olive groves, delicious sardines, an army of cats, and the perfect venue … and Ink & Salt was born.
Victoria Gosling
VICTORIA GOSLING is a British author. In 2021, her debut novel BEFORE THE RUINS was published by Serpent’s Tail (UK) and Henry Holt (USA). It received a star in Publisher Weekly and was favourably reviewed by The New York Times, The New York Journal of Books, LitHub, and Kirkus.
Her second novel BLISS AND BLUNDER was published by Serpent’s Tail in August 2023. It was a Guardian book of the day and a TLS, Grazia and Good Housekeeping summer pick. Chosen by Spotify as one of their Best Indie Fiction Audiobooks and put on their Fiction Playlist, BLISS AND BLUNDER has also been optioned for TV.
Victoria is the founder of The Reader Berlin and the Berlin Writing Prize. She is the recipient of a Hawthornden fellowship and has lectured at Gladstone’s Library. She has taught workshops for major UK literary festivals, for the Arvon Foundation and in prisons as part of Penned Up.
These days, she divides her time between Wiltshire and Berlin.
Jane Flett
JANE FLETT is a queer Scottish author based in Berlin. Her debut novel, FREAKSLAW, was published in 2024 (Penguin/Zando). It received a starred review in Booklist and was hailed by CrimeReads as “possibly one of the defining novels of the century.” Her second novel, WELCOME TO THE CHAOSKAMPF will be published by Penguin in 2026.
Jane’s poetry has appeared in POETRY Magazine and the Best British Poetry, while her short fiction has been commissioned for BBC Radio and highly commended in the Bridport Prize. She’s written for the Guardian, the Times, and Electric Literature, and is a recipient of the Scottish Book Trust New Writer Award and a Berlin Senate Stipend.
Jane has taught workshops for the Reader Berlin since 2013. She’s been a guest tutor at Bard College and CIEE, and is the founder of the reading series Queer Stories and The Reading Berlin. She is also a cellist and tarot reader.
Our Writers
Who comes to an Ink & Salt retreat?
Our writers are a varied bunch! Many have found their way to us via The Reader Berlin, the creative writing platform Victoria founded back in 2011 and where Jane has been leading workshops since 2013. Other writers come to us via word of mouth, because they’ve read one of our books, or attended an event and think we sound like fun.
Many are Berliners but writers have joined us from as far afield as Dubai, New York and Australia. Some (shout out to Dan!) have attended every retreat since our first trip to Pelion in 2017. Others (shout out to Lauren!) arrive full of mystery, having stumbled over us via the power of google.
We have hosted internationally published authors and writers who are just starting out on their journey. It’s more common that more experienced writers choose the retreat weeks without workshops since they have an established project they want to devote time to. That said, there are no hard and fast rules – and whoever you are and wherever you are at with your practice, you can be assured of a warm welcome.
If you want to sit with fellow writers under the stars, drinking wine and talking about all your favourite authors, this is the retreat for you. But if you want to write in peace and quiet, eat solitary meals on your balcony and swim at dawn, you’ll also find your happy place.