​This two-week summer writing program for teens offers a curriculum designed to develop and support students’ imaginative and academic writing across literary genres. The Teen Writers Institute features guest presenters, authors and various workshop choices. Courses every year range from humor to horror, writing plays and playing with writing, making arguments and making memories, all taught by teachers versed in instruction and publication. Once course selections have been determined, registrants will be notified.

COURSES OFFERED WEEK 1:

THE PEN THAT HEALS: Writing to Change Ourselves and the World

As zen master and peace practitioner Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us, “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.” And part of accepting ourselves—truly, lovingly, and unapologetically accepting our beautiful selves—requires that we embrace our stories. In this workshop, we will embrace our stories by practicing multigenre narrative writing and centering our lives as primary text. During Week 1 (Knowledge of Self) we will explore narrative, poetry, argumentative, and other types of multigenre writing that will help us deepen our understanding of self and each other.

Writing about our joys, hopes, fears, uncertainties, and even pain is a vulnerable process, but it is also deeply courageous; our willingness to lean into vulnerability is what guides us toward self-love and sharing who we are with the world. And when we accept ourselves, we radiate our beauty.

WRITERS IN RESIDENCE: Novel Writing

This course will cover everything you ever wanted to know about writing a book—and culminate with you writing one! We’ll tackle concepts, first lines, chapter structure, those sagging middles, and punch-powerful endings. While writing, we’ll work on ways to keep up motivation, tackle writer’s block, and avoid creating another unfinished work. Students should have a working knowledge of genre and basic story structure prior to taking this class and will be expected to write. Laptops equipped with WORD preferred.

GET GRAPHIC: Visual Storytelling for Illustrators & Writers
Love graphic novels? Webtoons? Comics? Photography? Storyboarding? Join this class to learn, build confidence, and create a visual component to your stories or to tell a story strictly through visuals. This class will include experiencing and analyzing visual art; time to write and create; discussion and feedback from peers and instructor; and direct instruction in both your writing and art. If you are a novice artist do not fear, don’t let that stop you from trying something new, there will be many options available for all levels of writers and creators.

CLOSED COURSES WEEK 1 (Waitlist Only)*
WRITE YOUR PASSION (And Get Better for School at the Same Time)

Want to learn how to write better for school, while pursuing writing that you love now? Want to have fun practicing strategies you can use to get started writing, keep writing when writing gets hard, and revise writing to make it better? In this class, you’ll have the freedom to choose topics you love and have expertise in--sports, movies, music, video games, books, and fashion are just a few of the possibilities. Each day, you’ll learn and practice important strategies and techniques, and write something that delights you.

* To sign up for the waitlist for Write Your Passion select the OPEN course that your child would like to take during Week 1 at checkout and then respond to the waitlist question that follows.

COURSES OFFERED WEEK 2

THE PEN THAT HEALS: Writing to Change Ourselves and the World

As zen master and peace practitioner Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us, “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.” And part of accepting ourselves—truly, lovingly, and unapologetically accepting our beautiful selves—requires that we embrace our stories. In this workshop, we will embrace our stories by practicing multigenre narrative writing and centering our lives as primary text. During Week 2 (Writing for Justice), we will explore narrative, poetry, argumentative, and other types of multigenre writing that will help us deepen our understanding of self and each other.

Writing about our joys, hopes, fears, uncertainties, and even pain is a vulnerable process, but it is also deeply courageous; our willingness to lean into vulnerability is what guides us toward self-love and sharing who we are with the world. And when we accept ourselves, we radiate our beauty.

WRITERS IN RESIDENCE: Novel Writing

This course will cover everything you ever wanted to know about writing a book—and culminate with you writing one! We’ll tackle concepts, first lines, chapter structure, those sagging middles, and punch-powerful endings. While writing, we’ll work on ways to keep up motivation, tackle writer’s block, and avoid creating another unfinished work. Students should have a working knowledge of genre and basic story structure prior to taking this class and will be expected to write. Laptops equipped with WORD preferred.

WRITERS IN RESIDENCE: Advanced Novel Writing

For students who already know the basics of novel writing, ADVANCED NOVEL WRITING offers an in-depth, next step workshop. Students with works in various states of completion will learn to make their characters dynamic and realistic, make dialogue pop, strengthen their “saggy middles,” and create chapter cliff-hangers and endings that leave their readers breathless and wanting more. There will be lots of writing time and students will be expected to peer workshop their projects
*NOTE: Advanced Novel Writing is intended for students who have spent consecutive summers with us and/or are part of the Novel Writing Program. If this is your student's first summer with us please sign up for the regular Novel Writing course Week 2. This course will have different content than Week 1 Novel Writing.
​
WRITER'S PLAYGROUND

Love great stories? Develop a piece, or pieces, of writing in a mishmash of fun! We will explore writing by examining short stories, playing improv games, being inspired by the outdoors, and so much more. Join the fun.