A garden bed with orange flowers in the foreground, surrounded by green plants and trees, with a blurry house in the background.

Pond hill writers’ retreat

Have a script, novel, memoir, story—or even just a great idea and need to take it to the next level?

Spring Session: May 17-22, 2026

The Pond Hill Writers' Retreat is a six-day immersive at Hilltown Commons set on 100 historic acres of forests and fields in Rensselaerville, NY, steps from the Huyck Preserve. Work closely with one of three accomplished instructors (Steven Rinehart, Sydney Sidner, or Barbara Jones) in an intimate group of ten. Between sessions: good meals, hiking trails, yoga, and the company of fellow writers who get it.

Have a script idea rattling around in your head?

Meet Syd.

In How to Ready Your Feature-Length Idea for the Screen, Syd starts by simply listening–to your idea, your characters, your instincts. Then she helps you build it: sharpening your protagonist, mapping the structure, getting inside each scene, understanding what dialogue can carry (and what it can't). By the end of the week, you'll have a clear, character-driven blueprint ready for a first draft or a revised draft that finally works.

Sydney Sidner has sold TV pilots to CBS and the CW, and has taught screenwriting and TV writing at Columbia, NYU, and Stony Brook. She has worked with writers including Peter Hedges and Min Jin Lee. Her feature screenplay My Problem with Marriage is in production with Maven Screen Media in 2026.

Good writing is in there. Let's find it.

Meet Steve.

In Writing for Impact: From the Sentence Up, Steve guides you through strategies for improving both the style and the substance of whatever you bring. You'll learn techniques for reading your own work the way a reader would, then making the hard decisions it deserves. Bring a piece you love, a piece you love to hate, or a piece that simply perplexes you. You'll leave knowing what to do with it.

Steve Rinehart writes and ghostwrites for a former U.S. President, Fortune 100 CEOs, entrepreneurs, and social activists. A novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter, his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, GQ, and many others. He holds a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and has taught fiction writing at NYU for 25 years.

Deep in a manuscript but not sure how to get it across the finish line?

Meet Barb.

In When Your Book-in-Progress Is in a Middle Place, Barbara Jones brings over three decades of editorial experience directly to your manuscript. The workshop is designed for writers who have 50 or more pages of a novel, memoir, or essay collection and are ready for the bigger-picture thinking that will carry the book to completion. Barbara will arrive prepared, having read your pages, with tailored approaches for each writer in the group.

Note: This workshop requires a submission of 15–20 pages (12 pt, double-spaced).

Barbara Jones spent more than thirty years as an editor in magazines (Harper's, Vogue) and books (editorial director at Hyperion; executive editor at Henry Holt), working with writers including Jennifer Egan, Elizabeth Gilbert, Lauren Groff, Ann Patchett, Paul Auster, and many others. She is now a literary agent at the Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency.

Included in your tuition

Accomodation

5 nights accommodation in a peaceful, character-filled, nature setting.
Fresh Meals

Nourishing, seasonal, freshly prepared meals every day
Faculty-led sessions

Daily faculty-led sessions to deepen your writing practice
Guided Nature Hike

Experience nearby trails and forest paths
access to our grounds

Enjoy our shared spaces and 100 acres of grounds to explore