Co-Lab Retreats

Peitho’s Gift: A Writing Community Retreat in Crete

Friday, August 29th to Friday, September 5th, 2025

“Throughout ancient Greece, Peitho was worshipped as a minor deity whose gift was pleasing words, persuasion, and seduction. Peitho’s gift was pleasure for words and bodies.”

from “Yearning for Peitho” by Patricia Fancher

Join us for a week-long writing retreat at a lovely hotel on a quiet beach on the southern coast of Crete, Greece. Away from the crowds, Peitho’s Gift offers writers a peaceful place close to nature and steeped in history to connect with their creative spirit and partake in the joys of an intentional creative community. 

Your facilitators, Trish Fancher and Brian Gresko, will provide a structure designed to help you maximize your day’s productivity, with morning movement (think seaside walks) followed by breakfast, and evening happy hours with local wine and snacks featuring generative writing exercises, as well as optional time for workshopping pages. Most of the day will be free for each writer to write, read, and enjoy the creative energy that comes from enjoying a beautiful location tucked away from the hustle and bustle of contemporary life. Additionally, Brian and Trish will hold daytime office hours if you want to discuss your art and goals, and ensure that you make the most of your time on retreat. 

Our retreat will close with a Writers’ Showcase that includes the option of a public reading from each writer, along with music, wine, and delicious food.  

We intend for this to be a non-hierarchical creative space and welcome each person to share their creative gifts with the community. Think of it less as “no gods, no masters” and more like we are all masters of our own creative practices and have connections with our own inspired spirits. Together, we’ll share in the joys of creation and revel in the pristine beauty of an ancient island hideaway.

Retreat fee: $1,750

What you will receive: 

  • 1 night hotel in Heraklion 

  • 7 nights hotel at Ammoudi Beach

  • Transportation to the retreat location

  • Breakfast each morning

  • Happy hour with snacks every evening

  • Welcome dinner upon arrival and closing night dinner at Showcase

  • Optional workshop with facilitators and participants

  • An opportunity to perform at a public reading

  • A week of creative community

  • One-on-one meeting with facilitator Brian Gresko or Trish Fancher

What you can give: 

  • Care and support for the other writers

  • Attention and space for your own creative experience

  • Lead one writing exercise or creative activity during one of our evening happy hours

    Individual financial responsibility:

  • Flight to and from Heraklion airport (airport code HER)

  • Travel insurance 

  • Meals not covered by the event (there is a fridge in each room and there will be an option for trips to the grocery store)

  • Taxi from HER airport and to the hotel in Heraklion

  • Optional additional expenses for excursions

In order to attend, please complete this short, simple application.

The retreat takes place from August 29th to September 5th.

Application due no later than May 1, 2025. Applicants accepted on a rolling basis.

Deposit due June 1, 2025. Payments can be made in two installments.

Things to do at the retreat location: 

  • Swimming 

  • Snorkeling

  • Scuba diving

  • Horseback riding

  • Hiking

  • Several options for dining and bars

  • Live music

  • Sunbeds and umbrellas 

Additional excursions options:

  • Painting lessons

  • Cooking lessons

  • Tour of vineyard

  • Tour of olive groves

  • Hiking gorge with waterfalls and river for swimming

  • Dancing in near-by town

    Meet the Facilitators: 

    Brian: I’m a writer, illustrator, teacher, and creative dynamo based in Brooklyn, NY. I recently published You Must Go On, a book of 30 inspirations on writing and creativity, and my profile of author Karen Russell graced the cover of the March/April issue of Poets & Writers Magazine. A firm believer in the transformative and healing power of community, I curate Pete’s Reading Series, Brooklyn’s longest running literary venue, and designed the 100 Days of Creative Resistance program, which features an email a day from an iconoclastic writer during the first hundred days of the 47th president. I am a co-director and co-founder of Writing Co-Lab.

    Trish: I’m a teacher and writer of both creative nonfiction and scholarly research at the University of California Santa Barbara. I facilitate writing retreats and work as a writing coach for UCSB’s Write to Unite program, in support of junior faculty. I’m writing an essay collection about building family, both given and chosen family, based on my essay “How to be a Woman” published in The Sun. I have family in Crete and have given myself writing retreats at Ammoudi Beach for the past few years. I’m delighted to share this special place with others and support a creative environment for all.