The Florence literary society was founded by a small group of local writers with the aim of serving the international English-speaking writing community of Florence. The society’s aim is to connect fellow writers through events, meet ups and the annual Florence Publishing day.
If you would like to become a member we will be posting instructions on how to join soon. In the meantime, please feel free to get in touch with us via our contact page. For more on our mission statement click here.
Founding Members
Lori Hetherington thrives on words, connections, and emotions in their myriad forms. A translator, ghostwriter, and linguistic consultant, she published Tuscan Tales in 2020 and facilitates the monthly brainstorming session for writers at the British Institute of Florence.
Monica Sharp fell in love with Europe in 1993 and moved to Florence in 2016 with her husband and two kids. A curious spirit, incurable bookworm, and language fanatic, Monica writes poetry, essays and fiction.
Libby Cataldi holds a Doctorate of Education, and is former Head of School, co-director of the Maryland Writing Project at Towson University, and author of Stay Close (St Martin’s Press) and Stammi Vicino (Rizzoli). She writes about her family’s battle with addiction as well as about her Italian family’s immigrant experience. Her website: libbycataldi.com
Lauren Mouat is the author of the short story collection Intermezzo (Ali Ribelli Edition). She is the founder and editor of the bilingual literary magazine Open Doors Review and teaches writing in Florence.
Members at Large
Michael Howerton is an award-winning journalist and fiction writer living in Florence. He’s the former editor in chief of the San Francisco Examiner, founding editor in chief of Granite Media, and editorial director of the diaTribe Foundation. Michael has also worked at the Wall Street Journal, The Daily, Forbes, the Atlantic and other publications.
His fiction has been published in Salamander Magazine (Fiction Prize winner), Griffel, In Parentheses Magazine, and Yemassee Journal. He has taught writing at UC Berkeley, the College of New Jersey, and Berkeley City College.
Andrea Zurlo loves to play with words and languages. A writer and translator, she was named finalist for the award “Premio Planeta de Novela” in Spain, and other literary prizes, both with texts in Spanish and Italian. Her short stories were published in several anthologies in Europe and Latin America. She published three novels and a collection of her short stories, with different publishers. She also loves teaching writing techniques and creative writing.
Duncan Geddes: I graduated in natural sciences, tried to enter the commercial world and then went back to school to study medicine. I eventually became a lung specialist working at the Royal Brompton, the UK national centre for heart and lung disease. I published over 300 very serious research papers and some medical textbooks as Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Imperial College and now, in retirement with 9 grandchildren, I sing in a Florentine choir and write less serious short stories and articles for magazines.