Reading retreats led by bibliophiles and best-selling authors are the latest luxury travel trend

You may feel like your coworkers are illiterate, but the reality is that Americans are reading more, not less.According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Americans spent 22.9% more money on recreational books in 2020 than they did in 2019, and time spent reading ticked up at about the same rate.

And that’s not just a COVID-bump.Reading has been on an upward swing since 2012.

Couple that with the rise of “BookTok” and it’s no wonder reading retreats have become one of the hottest trends in luxury travel.Read between the lines and a lit-focused vacation makes sense: It’s all the buzzy travel trends — like self-care, community-building, slow and solo travel — rolled into one.For former hospitality worker Megan Christopher started Ladies Who Lit to connect with other women while on holiday.She had reserved a villa in Tuscany for that purpose, but it wasn’t until the owners told her it was time to pony up cash that she took her idea seriously. Somewhat short, she panic-posted to her social media account “Ladies Who Lit,” asking for others to join her, then went to bed.

“I had 16 followers on TikTok.But when I woke up, my post had gone viral,” she said.

“The trip was sold out.”It was so successful that she quickly booked another villa in Barcelona and it, too, filled in hours.She came home and quit her job.

“It was one of the best experiences of my life,” she said, describing the vibe as “a yoga retreat without the yoga, where you sit around and read and drink a lot of wine.” “You’re with people who have a shared interest with you, which means you can connect in a way that you wouldn’t on a traditional solo trip.”Little did she know she was part of an emerging trend that authors themselves are eager to book.After the pandemic, author Jonas Saul and his writer wife, Rania Stone, also decided to create a unique retreat to engage with their readers.So last June they convinced best-selling author Mark Edwards (“The Ma...