January 7-10, 2027
Midnight in the Garden
A Reading Retreat - Savannah, GA
Why January, Why Savannah
The holidays end. The house is quiet again. This is the retreat for the week after — three nights to put the resolution into practice instead of just writing it down.
Savannah keeps its own literary company. Independent bookshops sit inside converted parlors, walking tours trace the same squares Berendt wrote about, and the whole city still feels a little like it's telling you a story. It's the right place to spend three days doing nothing but reading, walking, eating well, and talking about a book with people who came here on purpose to do the same.
We built this retreat around one book — Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil — because Savannah is the book, and reading it here is a different experience than reading it anywhere else.
3 nights, one inn, one book, no agenda you didn't ask for.
The Itinerary: Four Chapters, Three Nights
Nothing is mandatory. Everything is planned, so you don’t have to.
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Settling In
Check into the Forsyth Park Inn at your own pace throughout the afternoon.
To allow for a comfortable travel day, there are no formally scheduled events on Thursday evening. Enjoy a welcome reception when the timing works for you, and meet fellow attendees.
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Reading the City
A full day spent inside Savannah's version of a book club — half on foot, half with your feet up.
Morning reading hour in Forsyth Park, coffee provided
Guided walk through the squares and houses that appear in the book
A tour of local indie bookstores, to stock up on more to read during the weekend
Lunch together at Clarys
Free time to read and explore
Enjoy dinner at the classic Savannah restaurant, Husk
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Slow Morning, Deep Discussions
The day with the most nothing on it, on purpose — and the evening with the most to talk about.
Open morning: read, nap, wander
Lunch together at Betty Bombers
Afternoon journaling session with prompts pulled straight from the book
Evening discussion circle: the book's ending, and what we made of it
Closing dinner and book discussion at The Grey
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Sending You Home
A last unhurried morning before everyone scatters back to real life.
Closing brunch at the inn
Bookish circle - share your weekend experiences and say goodbye to new friends
Checkout by noon
A detailed schedule with timelines will be provided to all attendees, including options for free time and included activities.
Forsyth Park Inn — The Whole House Is Ours
We've reserved the entire inn for the retreat — no strangers in the hallway, no shared breakfast table with anyone but your fellow readers. It sits directly across from Forsyth Park, close enough that the fountain is the first thing you'll see each morning.
Right on the park — Steps from Forsyth Park's fountain, moss-draped oaks, and morning walking loop.
Private for the group — Every room in the inn is held for retreat guests only
Common rooms made for reading — A porch, a parlor, and a library nook, all quiet enough to actually use.
Table & City:
Eating Like a Local, Reading Like One, Too
Meals are built around Savannah institutions — the kind of restaurants that have their own chapters in the city's story, not just its menus.
Friday: Dinner at Husk
Chef-driven Southern cooking, local and seasonal, in one of Savannah's most celebrated kitchens — built for lingering over a second glass of wine.
Saturday: Farewell Dinner at The Grey
Our closing dinner in a landmark Savannah dining room, set inside a beautifully restored 1938 Greyhound terminal — a fitting last stop for the retreat.
A city that already loves books
Savannah has one of the densest concentrations of independent bookstores of any city its size, plus literary walking tours, a historic library society, and a home-team pride in the writers who've set their work here. You won't feel like an outsider carrying a paperback around this city — you'll feel like you're finally in the right place for it.
Reserve Your Room
One inn. One book. Three nights that are entirely yours.
Rooms are limited to the inn's full capacity and are held for retreat guests only. Reserve early — this one fills the way a good bookshop does: quietly, and then all at once.
Dates: January 7–10, 2027 (Thursday–Sunday)
Where:Forsyth Park Inn, Savannah, Georgia
Hosted By:The Bookshelf on Church & Verdancy Retreats
Sales begin on August 6 for the Beyond the Bookshelf Fan Club and August 13 for everyone.