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Orvieto Retreat Registration

Leader: Heidi Hornbacher
Concept to Pages (two week program): Sunday, May 24 – Saturday, June 6, 2026
Foundations & Structure (Week One): Sunday, May 24 – Saturday, May 30, 2026
Scenes & Dialogue (Week Two): Sunday, May 31 – Saturday, June 6, 2026
*Note: Applications for Week Two Only are limited to alumni of PageCraft’s residential labs or Concept To Pages workshop. Applications for Week One and the full two-week program are open to all.

Two-Week Program

Lodging Included:  $4400
Lodging Not Included: $3600

Discount for alumni of our residential labs: $400
Early registration discount: $400
Note: You must apply by December 31, 2025 and make a $1000 deposit immediately upon confirmation of admission.

The registration covers:

  • Coaching, mentoring & tuition (see PROGRAM information).
  • Welcome dinner and farewell dinner.
  • Pickup and dropoff at the Orvieto train station, if required.
  • Two Alumni Drop-In sessions (see Important Notes, below).

Lodging option:

  • 13 nights at Istituto San Lodovico (see LODGING).
  • 13 continental breakfasts.

Shared room discount: −$400 per participant (requires two participants)
Surcharge, non-participating spouse/partner (lodging option): $600

Learn more about your lodging options HERE.

One-Week Program

Lodging Included:  $2400
Lodging Not Included: $2000

Discount for alumni of our residential labs: $200
Early registration discount (week 1 only): $200
Note: You must apply by December 31, 2025 and make a $1000 deposit immediately upon confirmation of admission.

The registration covers:

  • Coaching, mentoring & tuition (see PROGRAM information).
  • Welcome dinner (week 1 participants) or farewell dinner (week 2 participants).
  • Pickup and dropoff at the Orvieto train station, if required.
  • Two Alumni Drop-In sessions (see Important Notes, below).
  • Week 2 participants only: outline review and feedback session (via Zoom) prior to arrival.

Lodging option:

  • 6 nights at Istituto San Lodovico (see LODGING).
  • 6 continental breakfasts.

Shared room discount: −$200 per participant (requires two participants)
Surcharge, non-participating spouse or partner (lodging option): $300

Learn more about your lodging options HERE.

How to Apply

If you are interested, please write to us at info@pagecraftwriting.com. Unless you are a PageCraft alumnus, please include a 5-page writing sample in PDF format and brief answers to the questions listed below. We will then schedule a conversation with you, so we can discuss your interest and background.

  1. What is your screenwriting or storytelling experience? (max 75 words)
  2. What is a brief description or logline of the script you would like to rewrite? (max 75 words)
  3. Why does this story matter to you? Why do you want to write it? (max 75 words)
  4. What is your favorite piece of writing advice or mentoring that you’ve received? (max 75 words)
  5. What is a writing note you have received that you disagreed with, and how did you handle it? (max 75 words)
  6. How did you hear about PageCraft?

Once we review your application, we will schedule an informal interview. In addition, we require:

  1. $1,000 deposit upon admission.
  2. Additional $1,000 deposit by March 31, 2026 (two-week program participants only).
  3. Balance May 1, 2026 (regardless of date of admission).
  4. Signature of a standard liability waiver (to be provided later) by May 10, 2026.

Method of Payment

Participants will be invoiced through PayPal. If you wish to use a credit card, you can do so through PayPal. For U.S. students we can also arrange to accept checks or money orders. For international students, we can arrange wire transfers, but we ask that students cover the fees.

Cancellation Policy

Before April 1, 2026: payments are refundable net of PayPal fees. On April 1, 2026: 10% of your full registration cost becomes nonrefundable. On April 16, 2026, 25% of your full registration cost becomes nonrefundable. On May 10, 2025, your full registration cost becomes non refundable. We will offer PageCraft credits for costs we are able to recover, but we cannot guarantee whether or to what extent we will be able to do so.

This is a small retreat that runs on a tight budget with up-front costs, which makes refunds for late cancellations difficult. Please see about travel or personal insurance to cover illnesses and emergencies. Any questions, please talk to us.

Lodging Arrangements

We can arranging lodging for you at the Istituto San Lodovico (including extra nights, if required), or you can arrange your own lodging anywhere in Orvieto’s medieval town center, at one of Orvieto’s many hotels or via booking services such as AirBnB.

LEARN MORE ABOUT LODGING OPTIONS HERE

If two participating writers are willing to share a room at Istituto San Lodovico, each two-week participant will receive a $400 discount on their registration. Each single-week participant will receive a $200 discount on their registration.

The cost of bringing a spouse or partner who will share your room at Istituto San Lodovico but not participate in the retreat is an additional $600 ($300 for single-week participants). Your partner will be welcome in our group activities, such as the welcome and farewell dinners. If you choose to arrange your own lodging, there is no charge to bring your spouse/partner, but we will ask them to pay their own way if they participate in group activities. The retreat is not open to non-participating friends/acquaintances.

Important Notes

  • It is our belief that great writing groups make great progress. We endeavor to ensure that each retreat is filled with adaptable, capable writers who can have a positive effect on one another. We expect all participants to adhere to our Code of Conduct. We reserve the right to refuse any applicant or remove any participant for any reason, including abusive or unkind behavior toward others and failure to respect our venue’s rules, which include an 11pm curfew every night. Our cancellation policy will apply.
  • Participants registering for Week Two only (Outline to Pages) must be alumni of PageCraft’s residential labs or Concept To Pages workshop. They must submit a completed treatment or detailed story outline approximately 3 weeks in advance of the program and participate in a review session on Zoom with the workshop leader prior to the the retreat.
  • Admissions are rolling. Once courses are full, we will maintain a waiting list. Failure to meet any of the deadlines listed above may be construed as cancellation.
  • Students may change the writing project they plan to work on, but they must agree on the switch with the retreat leader.
  • Two Alumni Drop-In sessions are included in the registration fee, provided they are used within 2 months of the final workshop session, and provided that you present pages from the script created or rewritten during the workshop. Otherwise normal rates apply.
  • Please note that PageCraft leaders are working writers. It has not yet happened, but there is always the possibility that a leader may be pulled away unavoidably due to the demands of an employer or a creative project. In such an event, we will make every effort to bring in a qualified replacement.
  • If we must cancel a workshop for any reason, we will refund all money paid to us. We suggest not purchasing airline tickets until we confirm all details of the program with you. Other than the registration fee (per the terms of our cancellation policy), we are not responsible for costs incurred by participants or prospective participants (including air fares). We recommend travel insurance.
  • We will do our best to accommodate applicants with reduced mobility, so that all our writers to have happy, healthy, comfortable, and inclusive experiences. However, it is important to understand that there are factors in Italy beyond our control that may present challenges. This lab takes place in a medieval Italian hill town, with cobblestones, uneven walking surfaces, stairs, and ancient buildings. The town is largely pedestrian, so participants can expect a lot of walking. Rarely do you find ramps. For those who choose to arrange lodging through us, there are elevators at our host venue, but they are very small and not step free.
  • Finally, a note about weather and physical comfort. Spring and summer weather can be unpredictable, similar to the east coast of the United States. Rain is possible; heat and humidity are likely. Air conditioning in Italy is still the exception rather than the rule and mosquitos are common.