Overview

Residencies are designed to give screenwriters and TV writers the time and space to write and build community in a uniquely CineStory way. The residencies take place over eight days in the beautiful mountains of Idyllwild, California. Participants enjoy private bedrooms, private baths, and three meals per day, plus spaces to write together, meet in small groups, and socialize as a community.

Unlike our retreats, which focus on mentorship and education, our residencies focus on generative writing and community building. Residents devote most of their time to writing, away from the demands of daily life. Every day also includes structured time for generative writing exercises, story breaking sessions, and social time.

Residencies are open to screenwriters and TV writers. 

Residency Dates: June 12 - 19, 2026

Application Deadlines & Fees:

• Early Deadline - January 30, 2026 ($30)
• Reguarly Deadline - February 27, 2026 ($50)

Available Residency Spots: Up to 25 spots.

Residency Information

General

This year's residency takes place on June 12 - 19, 2026 in the beautiful mountains of Idyllwild, California. 

Residents stay in air-conditioned, private rooms with private bathrooms. Wi-Fi is available in all rooms as well as on the main campus, where all meals and group events will be held. There is ample communal writing space on the main campus as well.

Idyllwild itself offers numerous coffee shops and other locations for those who prefer writing in public spaces, as well as hiking trails for residents looking for contemplative outdoor time.

Residencies are different from our retreats, which focus on mentorship and education. Residencies focus on generative writing and community building.

In addition to having plenty of unstructured writing time, residents meet daily in small groups led by experienced CineStory staffers to do writing exercises and story breaking sessions aimed at helping residents develop the project they’ve brought to work on. There are also places to take short, unscheduled breaks throughout the day for those who need a quick breather before diving back into their work. Finally, residents and staffers also gather for meals, games, and socializing.

Residency Fee

The residency fee for 2026 is $3,200.

The residency fee covers three meals per day (continental breakfast, catered buffet-style lunch and dinner), air conditioned, private rooms with private bathrooms, parking (including main campus parking for off campus residents), and all residency events (including group writing exercises, story breaking sessions, games, and socializing).

The residency fee does not cover transportation to and from Idyllwild or transportation while in Idyllwild. Residents are responsible for getting to and from the residency and for getting themselves around Idyllwild. Please note that Idyllwild is a small town and very walkable, and off campus housing is located close by.

Deposit

If you are accepted, you must secure your residency spot by paying a $500 nonrefundable deposit by April 10, 2026.

Housing will be assigned on a first come, first serve basis in the order in which deposits are received.

Residency FAQs

If you have any questions about this application or the residency itself, please check the FAQs at the bottom of our Residencies page. If your question isn't answered there, please feel free to email us at info@cinestory.org.

Application Rules & Guidelines

Eligibility: All TV writers and screenwriters.

Application Deadlines & Fees: 

• Early Deadline - January 31, 2026 ($30 Application Fee)
• Regular Deadline - February 27, 2026 ($50 Application Fee)

Application Materials: Applicants must submit all of the following:                         

• An original feature screenplay or TV pilot that applicants plan to pursue during the residency,** which must meet the formatting and page length requirements below; 
• a logline (up to 150 words) of that original feature screenplay or TV pilot; 
• a short bio (up to 300 words);                         
  • an artist statement (up to 600 words).

    
      **Please note that applicants accepted into the residency may work on any project while at the residency and are not obligated to work on the project submitted with this application.
  
  
  
  
   

Formatting and Page Length Requirements:                         

• All scripts must be PDFs.
• Feature screenplays must be 85 - 125 pages excluding cover page. TV pilots must meet the following page restrictions: 1-hour TV pilots 45 - 65 pages, excluding cover page; single camera TV pilot 22 - 45 pages, excluding cover page; multi-camera TV pilot 52 - 58 pages, excluding cover page, with dialogue double spaced throughout.
• Body pages must be numbered.
• No additional materials, artwork, illustrations etc. should be attached to the script.
• Screenplays must be in English.
• No substituted pages or other revisions to your script will be accepted once you have submitted your application.
   
• Evaluation: CineStory's executive director, creative directors, and residency coordinator make all residency decisions at their sole discretion. Applicants are evaluated primarily on the strength of their TV pilot or screenplay and their artist statement. Applicants who do not satisfy all application rules and guidelines automatically will be disqualified from consideration. CineStory reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to accept fewer applicants than the number of spots available at a residency.
   
• Notification: Accepted writers will be notified via email by early to mid April.
   

All residency application rules and guidelines are subject to change without notice.

Retreat Dates:  

• 1st - 5th, May 2026

Deadlines / Submission Fees  

• Early Deadline – July 20, 2025 ($60 Submission Fee)
• Regular Deadline – August 24, 2025 ($70 Submission Fee)
• Late Deadline – September 21, 2025 ($80 Submission Fee)
• Extended Late Deadline – October 26, 2025 ($90 Submission Fee)
• Final Deadline – DECEMBER 7, 2025 ($95 Submission Fee)

Announcements  

• Quarterfinalists - February, 2026
• Semifinalists/Invitees - March,  2026
• Finalists - Late-March, 2026
• Division Winner - Early-April, 2026
• TV Fellow - Mid-April, 2026

DIVISIONS  

• ORIGINAL DRAMA - 1 HOUR SERIES (45 - 65 pages, excluding cover page): The pilot episode of your original one hour drama series
• ORIGINAL COMEDY - 30 MINUTE SERIES (single-camera pilots, 22 - 45 pages, excluding cover; multi-camera pilots, 52 - 58 pages, excluding cover page, with dialogue double spaced throughout): The pilot episode of your original single-camera comedy series or multi-camera sitcom
• ORIGINAL SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY - 1 HOUR SERIES (45 - 65 pages, excluding cover page): The pilot episode of your original series that falls into the Science Fiction Genre (i.e., stories about time travel, space travel, advanced technology, extraterrestrials, post-apocalyptic and alien worlds; examples of Science Fiction Series are "Star Trek," "Battlestar Galactica," "The 100," "Sense8," "The Walking Dead") or Fantasy Genre (i.e., stories featuring elements of the fantastic, often including magic, supernatural forces, or exotic fantasy worlds; examples of Fantasy Series are "Game Of Thrones," "Once Upon A Time," "Supernatural," "The Magicians," "American Gods")

FORMATTING GUIDELINES  

• Teleplays must be PDFs and must be pilot episodes.
• Teleplays are judged anonymously; therefore, they must have CLEAN COVER PAGES (i.e., title only on the cover, no author’s name/contact information) and no identifying information anywhere in the body text or in the PDF file name.
• Teleplays must be (a) 45 to 65 pages (excluding cover page) for 1 hour divisions; (b) 22 - 45 pages (excluding cover page) for 30 minute Original Comedy division single-camera pilots; or (c) 52 - 58 pages (excluding cover page), with dialogue double spaced throughout, for 30 minute Original Comedy division muliti-camera pilots.
• Body pages must be numbered.
• No additional materials, artwork, illustrations etc. should be attached to the script.
• Teleplays must be in English.
• No substituted pages or other revisions will be accepted once you have submitted your teleplay.  A new version of a teleplay may be resubmitted by filling out a new entry form and paying a new entry fee.
• Entries that do not meet all Rules & Guidelines will be automatically disqualified and the submission fee WILL NOT be refunded.

ADDITIONAL RULES & GUIDELINES  

• Entrants must be 18 or older.
• The Grand Prize Television Fellowship winner MUST ATTEND the Television Retreat in order to receive the cash award and other prizes. If a Fellowship winner cannot attend the Retreat, the person will be disqualified and a new winner will be determined.
• Any teleplay from any genre will be considered. NO FEATURE SCREENPLAYS WILL BE CONSIDERED. Any feature screenplays submitted will be disqualified without refund of the submission fee.
• In the 5 years prior to the applicable contest’s final deadline, an entrant must not have earned more than $25,000 total for motion picture and television writing services as well as for the sale of (or sale of an option on) screenplays, teleplays, treatments, books, stories, premises, stage places, or other source material. Excluded from this total earnings are any earnings from fellowships or contests unless the fellowship or contest terms and conditions include a “first look” clause, an option, work-for-hire terms, or any other terms that result in monetary payment in exchange for the entrant’s written work or writing services.
• No substitutions of new drafts or corrected pages for entries will be accepted under any circumstances. However, you may submit a new draft as a separate submission accompanied by a separate submission fee and any other required information.
• CineStory notifies winners only. Entrants are advised to check CineStory's website and e-newsletter for judging announcements.
• Entered teleplays may not be optioned, sold or produced at the time of entry.
• Multiple entries are accepted, provided a signed entry form and appropriate entry fee is attached to each submission.
• Multiple authorship is acceptable. However, if the teleplay wins an award, only one award will be given and it will be divided equally among the writers.
• Teleplays must be the original work of the author. If based on another person's life story, a statement attesting to the rights obtained must be attached.
• No adaptations of other written work will be accepted unless the writer owns the rights to the original material. PLEASE NOTE: Any adaption of other written work that is in the Public Domain is eligible for submission.
• There must be no dispute about the ownership of submitted teleplays or the writer's right to submit a teleplay.
• CineStory recommends registering your screenplays with the WGA or the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress.
• Judges' decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into. Sorry, we cannot provide individual feedback from the judges.
• Entrants acknowledge that CineStory, its judges, mentors and officers may be exposed to or may develop materials and ideas that may be similar to those of the submitted material. Entrants acknowledge they will not be entitled to any compensation because from such similar material which is independently conceived and created.
• Entrants agree to never assert against CineStory (or any of its judges, directors, officers, employees or agents) any claim based on an assertion of plagiarism, idea theft, confidential or fiduciary relationship or any other theory relating to the submitted material.
• Winners will be responsible for their own U.S. income tax withholding.
• Entering the contest constitutes permission to use the winners' names and likenesses for publicity and promotions with no additional compensation.
• Retreat fees are determined per individual retreat based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to then-current vendor estimates, valuations of mentor sessions determined by then-current entertainment industry standards (e.g., mentor sessions as of 2020 valued at $500), and then-current valuations of comparable retreats.
• CineStory does not issue refunds of submission fees and/or retreat fees that have become nonrefundable under the terms of retreat invitations. Any and all such payments made to CineStory are not refundable for any reason, including, without limitation, withdrawal or disqualification of a teleplay for any reason, withdrawal from or failure to attend a retreat due to illness, acts of God, travel-related problems, acts of terrorism, and/or loss of employment.
• All entries must be uploaded by the appropriate deadline.
• CineStory reserves the right to extend the final deadline; however, an extended deadline is not guaranteed. CineStory will not accept revisions of previously submitted teleplays if it chooses to extend the deadline unless the teleplay is accompanied by an additional submission fee as stated in these Rules & Guidelines.
• CineStory is not responsible for entries lost, stolen or damaged in transit.
• Finalists are required to submit a letter and video as part of the finals judging process.
• Entries that do not meet all Rules & Guidelines will be automatically disqualified and the submission fee WILL NOT be refunded.

All Rules & Guidelines are subject to change without notice.