Travel to Italy and to the villa is not included, but we will help you arrange transportation from airports in Rome, Florence and Perugia using trusted providers through Villa Poggiano. We can also pick up participants from the railroad station in Chiusi-Chianciano Terme in Chiusi, Tuscany.

Our time together will be spent exploring elements of craft—developing a character, the importance of setting, meaningful but believable dialog, plot—along with strategies for starting a new work, seeing a work through its middle ground, and ending the work too. Time will be made for generative writing—on-the-spot writing prompts—and for sharing work with each other.

in addition, each participant will meet with Bret individually for an hour to talk about particular concerns you may have with your writing, projects you may be working on or have finished or are contemplating, or just to have a conversation uninterrupted. In the evenings, for those who wish to do so (you might want to write somewhere on the estate!), we can meet together for a salon during which we’ll talk about books, publishing, and more things writing.

Our time together will be spent exploring elements of craft—developing a character, the importance of setting, meaningful but believable dialog, plot—along with strategies for starting a new work, seeing a work through its middle ground, and ending the work too. Time will be made for generative writing—on-the-spot writing prompts—and for sharing work with each other.

The temperature in October averages 59º to 72º F. It’s a good idea to bring a light rain jacket and a travel umbrella. Dressing in layers is always a good way to adjust to variations in weather.

• Make sure to bring your passport, prescription medications or vitamins and supplements, clothing, comfortable shoes or sandals, sunscreen, as well as other personal essentials.
• Layer clothing and bring a jacket or scarf for windy hilltop towns.
• Good walking shoes are essential. Italians often wear stylish tennis shoes, even with skirts or dresses, so choose your sandal or shoe selection based upon comfort.
• Bring a swimsuit in case you want to try the (absolutely beautiful) swimming pool at the villa.
• Italy uses different outlets and stronger voltage than the United States, so bring an adapter. You may want to purchase a European adapter, available through Amazon and at Target and Walmart stories. Phone or laptop chargers and curling irons can be plugged into Italian outlets with an adapter, but converters are needed with larger items that use more energy. We pack a dual-voltage travel hair dryer. Most CPAP machines are dual voltage, making a converter unnecessary, but always double-check before traveling.
• Before leaving, please contact your cellular provider to see what international features are included in your plan.
• Be sure to submit a travel notice to your bank or credit card company before traveling. You can get euros ahead of time (this is more expensive!), but we always use our ATM card. You can get euros at one of the airport ATMs or one of the many bank ATMs in Montepulciano and, of course, throughout the country.

The guest fee includes all activities offered to participants, except for our morning writing sessions.

No, but the fee for participants and guests is fixed, so there will be no prorating for not participating in our planned activities.