Current Workshops
Join Kathy and Terri for a one-day refresher session at MOVE Cold Spring! Generative writing prompts (and maybe even a few very short "summer-ish" excerpts from literature) will be offered and then students will have a chance to write, share and revise.
Join us for a six-week generative writing workshop where we will read and write with these specific themes, these places, in mind and heart. How might we find material for our blank pages from reflecting on experiences in or with the rooms we’ve occupied throughout our lives? Or, how does thinking about rooms (the contents, purpose and style) ignite curiosities about writing, structure and voice? Where does our literal and figurative understanding of home fit into this?
Wellness Wave Festival | May 21 – 23, 2027 | Vietri sul Mare and Salerno
Find Your Balance. Join the Wave.
From May 21 to 23, a wave of energy, mindfulness, and well-being arrives in Vietri sul Mare and Salerno.
Yoga, meditation, music, outdoor activities, creative workshops, and shared moments: four days to rediscover your balance and let yourself be inspired by nature and the sea. An experience open to all, where body, mind, and soul meet.
Join Kathy, Pat, and Angela in this historic, dare we say, Castle, situated on the St. Lawrence River in Quebec City for a Winter Retreat for Writers.
Past Workshops
As a sponsor of the inaugural Wellness Wave Festival in May of 2026, Key to the Castle Workshop is thrilled to collaborate on these monthly events in both Italy and the United States leading up to our participation next year at the Wellness Wave Festival, Friday, May 21st through Sunday, May 23rd in 2027.
Sign up for one of our two info sessions - 11:00am and 7:00pm - on Wednesday, July 15, to learn more and get assistance with the application process.
Give Care, Take Care: Writing about Caregiving. A three week series with Jocelyn Jane Cox
We’re returning to Cetara, a quaint and quiet seaside village - away from the hustle and bustle of Amalfi and Positano, but still close enough, just a short ferry ride away, if you decide you need that level of stimulation. Join us May 23 - 30, 2026 for our Signature Key to the Castle Workshop program for writers. Reclaim and nurture your creative voice in a supportive environment with the opportunity to explore painting and other meditative practices to keep the creativity flowing, all while taking in the beauty, charms and flavors of Italy's glorious Amalfi Coast. Friends will be made and gelato will be served. Andiamo!
As part of Key to the Castle Workshop's participation in the Wellness Wave Festival (hyperlink) Angela & Kathy guide participants on a journey from the mat to the page.
Wellness Wave Festival | May 21 – 24 | Vietri sul Mare and Salerno
Find Your Balance. Join the Wave.
From May 21 to 24, a wave of energy, mindfulness, and well-being arrives in Vietri sul Mare and Salerno.
Yoga, meditation, music, outdoor activities, creative workshops, and shared moments: four days to rediscover your balance and let yourself be inspired by nature and the sea. An experience open to all, where body, mind, and soul meet.
A six week series of Italian Language Lessons on Zoom with Ines Rodrigues: Saturdays, 10am-11:30am - March 28th, (skip April 4th), April 11th, 18th & 25th, May 2nd (skip May 9th) and Final class May 16th. Limited spots, reserve now.
Mark your calendars for our next Hudson Valley event: Two Blue Chairs at MOVE Cold Spring!
Join us for a conversation and book-signing with Key to the Castle co-founder and writing instructor, Kathy Curto, and Award-winning author, Jocelyn Jane Cox, exploring the joy, pain, and the memories that shape our stories.
This is your opportunity to come paint and travel Italy's magnificent Amalfi Coast with the artist William (Bill) Papaleo. Home base for the Painting Holiday, taking place April 18-24, 2026, will be at Bed & Breakfast 360 in Vietri. Each day we will venture to a different Amalfi Coast location to create, explore and enjoy all that this beautiful region has to offer.
Join Key to the Castle Workshop instructor Pat Dunn and guest instructor Alexandra Soiseth. The faculty for this program have decades of experience shepherding fiction and memoir writers from story idea to full manuscripts and beyond.
Join us for 2 FREE Zoom Info Sessions on Wednesday, March 25th at 1:00pm-2:00pm OR 7:00pm-8:00pm for 10 to the End and Revision Track. Ask questions and learn more!
Ask questions and learn more!
Register for one of 2 FREE Zoom Info Sessions
Tuesday, March 10th — 7:00pm-8:00pm
Saturday, March 21st — 10:00am-11:00am
Memories, ideas, objects, dreams.
Sparks of light. And dark.
Most completed work—no matter the genre or form—starts with an idea, a scene, a memory or a sensation that has been carried and held, sometimes for years.
Make time to shine a light on what’s been there, just waiting for space on one of your blank pages.
Tuesdays, March 17 - May 5
7pm-9pm.
The Writers Room
Join The Revision Track: From First Draft to Polished Manuscript in Six Months, a supportive, structured, and creatively energizing course designed for writers ready to take their manuscript to the next level.
CLASS FILLED. SNAP OUT OF OR INTO (YOUR CHOICE) THE WINTER BLUES AND REDS AND YELLOWS AND… JOIN US!
FREE writing circle with Kathy!
Wednesday, February 25th
7–9pm (Eastern) on ZOOM
Join us for an Info Session on Zoom on Groundhogs Day! Monday, February 2nd at 5:30pm.
Whether Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow or not, we will celebrate spring on Italy’s Amalfi Coast again, returning for two of our signature workshops.
Sign up for the FREE Info-session to learn more about each experience, meet the team, and have all your questions answered.
Join us for a six-week generative writing workshop where we will write from our sensory memories and experiences, using sight, sound, taste, smell and touch as points of entry into new work. All genres and levels are invited! Tuesday classes: 10/21, 10/28, 11/4, 11/11, 11/18, 12/2 7pm-9pm plus... Student reading/spoken word event: 12/9 7pm-9pm The Writers Room 740 Broadway at Astor Place, 7th floor New York, New York 10003
TWO PATHS. ONE GOAL. YOUR BEST BOOK YET.
Ten to the End
Join Key to the Castle Workshop instructor Pat Dunn and guest instructor Alexandra Soiseth. The faculty for this program have decades of experience shepherding fiction and memoir writers from story idea to full manuscripts and beyond.
The Revision Track
Join The Revision Track: From First Draft to Polished Manuscript in Six Months, a supportive, structured, and creatively energizing course designed for writers ready to take their manuscript to the next level.
Learn more—ask questions about Workshop for Writers in CETARA, ITALY. Join our INFO SESSION on Zoom.
A Restorative Yoga & Sound Bath Experience
with Angela D. Taylor July 27, 2025 at Vanda Gallery
Join Kathy for a 2-hour, refresher session on Zoom! Some generative prompts (and maybe even a few very short "summer-ish" excerpts from literature) will be offered and then students will have a chance to write and share. There will also be time at the end of the session for open discussion about our writing routines, challenges, celebrations and goals. Class is full.
Please join us in welcoming Lisa Schantl, scholar and literary magazine editor, for an afternoon of community, discussion and writing in a historic waterfront location. Refreshments and door prizes, too!
Give Yourself Permission: A Restorative Winter Retreat for Writers at The Fairmont Château Le Frontenac, Quebec City, Canada. Featuring Pat Dunn, Kathy Curto, Angela DErecas Taylro & Guest Presenters Jimin Han, Alexandra soiseth & Dr. Kimberly Grocher
