NYS Summer Young Writers Institute
June 24– July 6, 2018
The New York State Summer Young Writers Institute will be held at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York from June 24 to July 6, 2018. Participants in the Summer Young Writers Institute receive instruction in poetry, fiction, and dramatic writing (screenwriting, playwriting, and dramatic monologue) and engage in the critical evaluation of each other’s work. By bringing top high school student writers together to work extensively with professional writers, the Institute provides young artists with recognition, respect, opportunities for artistic development, and peer support.
The Institute is open to any high school student entering the 10th, 11th, or 12th grade in the fall of 2018, who is a resident of the United States. Approximately 40 students will be chosen, based on the submission of creative writing samples (see application for details). Full and partial scholarships are available to participants based on financial need.
2018 Summer Young Writers Institute Visiting Authors
Elizabeth Benedict
Elizabeth Benedict is a bestselling novelist, journalist, and editor. Her novels include Slow Dancing, shortlisted for the National Book Award, Almost and The Practice of Deceit.Her journalism and essays appear in The New York Times, Salmagundi, Esquire, Tin House, and many other publications. She is the founder of an internationally known college application essay firm, Don’t Sweat the Essay, which helps students around the world craft winning application essays via Skype. Using her decades of experience as an editor and professor of creative writing at Princeton, Columbia, Swarthmore, and elsewhere, she helps high school seniors find topics, find their voices, and craft essays that are unique and persuasive. She has been on the fiction faculty of the New York State Summer Writers Institute for 20 years. Please visit her website or email.
Jon Sands
Jon sands is the author of The New Clean (2011, Write Bloody Publishing), as well as the co-host of The Poetry Gods Podcast. His work has been published widely, and anthologized in The Best American Poetry. He’s a Youth Mentor with Urban Word-NYC, and teaches creative writing for adults at Bailey House in East Harlem (an HIV/AIDS service center). He’s a recent MFA Graduate in Fiction from Brooklyn College, where his work won the Himan Brown Award for short stories. He’s represented New York City multiple times at the National Poetry Slam, and lives in Brooklyn. (Photo by Jonathan Weiskopf)