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Scholars to Storytellers · Book Proposal Intensive
Your Book Deserves Five Days in Portugal.
Join us in a medieval literary town for an intimate, hands-on retreat devoted to transforming your book idea into a compelling trade book proposal.
Explore the intensive ↓8
SEATS
2
LEADERS
1
SOLID DRAFT PROPOSAL
The Intensive
One week. One outcome. A proposal that gets you where you want to go.
You have the expertise and the book idea. What you need is uninterrupted time and the right people in the room. For five days, a small group of senior scholars works alongside author John Ghazvinian and veteran publisher Clive Priddle to turn a book idea into a solid draft of a trade book proposal.
Mornings are group sessions, where every proposal gets input from the whole room, not just two perspectives. Afternoons are for one-on-one work with John and Clive and quiet writing time. Each day includes a break and a walk into the village for lunch, wandering through medieval streets, climbing the ramparts of the castle or taking in panoramic views of the Oeste wine valley below.
You leave with
■ A solid draft proposal: overview, chapter outline and author platform
■ Your hook, sharpened: the big idea, and why you are the one to write it
■ A clear view of your market: readers and comparable titles
■ Feedback from a publisher’s desk: notes from someone who has acquired books for decades
Your Leaders
An author and a publisher, in the room with you
John Ghazvinian
Founder, Scholars to Storytellers
Historian and author of America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present (Knopf), a New York Times Notable Book of 2021, and Untapped: The Scramble for Africa’s Oil (Harcourt).
Oxford DPhil in history, NEH Public Scholar and former executive director of the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post and Newsweek.
Clive Priddle
Former Publisher, PublicAffairs
Senior roles at HarperCollins, the Perseus Books Group and Hachette, most recently as publisher of PublicAffairs for twelve years.
He has published four Nobel Prize winners and edited writers including Esther Duflo, Muhammad Yunus and Ibram X Kendi. Earlier, at Fourth Estate, he acquired Laura Hillenbrand, Erik Larson and Sebastian Junger.
The Place
A book hotel, in a town built around books
The Literary Man is a former convent inside the medieval walls of Óbidos, about an hour from Lisbon. More than 65,000 books line its rooms, halls, bar and restaurant. You work in a book-lined room, sleep in a quiet private room, and end each day over dinner with people who care about books as much as you do.
Óbidos was named a UNESCO Creative City of Literature in 2015. Its cobbled lanes hold about a dozen bookshops, one of them inside a Gothic church, and a castle crowns the town.
Beyond the writing desk
A little unexpected inspiration
The Literary Mystery Box
Two books. A box of surprise ingredients. One deliciously unusual challenge.
Working in pairs, you'll create a dish inspired by books selected from the hotel's collection, with the chefs on hand to help. Consider it a different kind of creative collaboration.
A taste of Óbidos
We'll visit a local producer of ginjinha, the cherry liqueur synonymous with Óbidos, and enjoy the pleasure of discovering a little more of the town together.
A thought to take with you
“Sometimes the best way to find your book is to step away from everything else.”
The rhythm of the retreat
Five days in Portugal. Three full days devoted to your book.
Arrive. Settle in. Begin.
Airport transfer, welcome gathering, an opening teaching session and light thought exercise, followed by dinner.
The big idea
Sharpen your hook, identify the story and begin shaping the overview.
The reader and the market
Audience, comparable titles, author platform, writing and individual critiques.
Give it shape
Chapter architecture, further writing, close editorial attention and peer feedback.
Take the next chapter home
Breakfast and departure, with a substantial working draft and a plan to complete it.
Daily themes are illustrative; the final schedule will weave instruction, writing, critique and experiences throughout the stay.
Arrive a day early · Saturday, March 20
Lisbon, through a local's eyes
Flying overnight? Join John, who lives in Lisbon, for an optional half-day "jet lag-buster" literary walk through the city he calls home.
Fresh air, literary corners, good conversation—and a gentler way to shake off jet lag before the retreat begins.
Optional add-on · $197
Your invitation
One table. Eight places.
$3,697
Per participant · March 21–25, 2027
Four nights at The Literary Man, with a private room.
Reserve Your Place →Included in your stay
- Four nights in a private room
- Breakfast and dinner daily
- Instruction, coaching and critiques with John and Clive
- Dedicated writing time and peer feedback
- Airport transfer
- Literary Mystery Box experience
- Ginjinha producer visit
Airfare, lunches and the optional Lisbon literary tour are not included. Exact transfer arrangements and any additional exclusions to be confirmed.
The invitation
For five days, live the literary life
In a medieval Portuguese town devoted to literature, eight scholars gather to do something they've been meaning to do for far too long: turn their book ideas into compelling trade book proposals.
Join author John Ghazvinian and veteran publisher Clive Priddle for five days of books, ideas, conversation and intensive editorial guidance in one of the most extraordinary literary hotels in the world.
Leave with a substantial, polished draft of your trade book proposal—and the confidence to take it across the finish line.