It’s Memorial Day Weekend, which means summer is here. Before you know it, your children will be out of school and needing activities to occupy their time. And let’s face it: you’re going to want them out of the house, at least for a few hours this summer.
Here are some summer writing workshops for youth happening around the state. Maybe there’s one in your area? Most offer a mix of creative and academically oriented classes.
ASHEVILLE
The University of North Carolina at Asheville’s summer writing program returns this year with week-long sessions in June and July for rising 6th-8th graders (“All Things Writing”) and rising 9th-12th graders (“Write Now”). The programs offer each participating student experience in different aspects of writing under the tutelage of Asheville’s finest writing instructors. Students will also participate in hour-long, end-of-day workshops called Epilogues. These workshops will feature guest speakers who will address special writing-related topics such as The College Application Essay, Writing for Newspapers, Brainstorming Ideas, Careers in Writing, and more.
CHARLOTTE
The Charlotte Writers Club offers “Seeds of a Story,” a writing workshop for ages 9-14, on Thursday, July 28. Lisa Williams Kline, along with special guest Kathleen Burkinshaw, will teach the worksohp at The Warehouse in Cornelius. To register, e-mail Lisa at Lisa.Williams.Kline@gmail.com. The cost is $25.
Also in the Charlotte area, the Young Writers Academy hosts several summer camps in Charlotte and Fort Mill, including “Campfire Stories” (ages 5-7); “Writing in Nature” (ages 7-11); and “Comic Book Writing” (ages 7-11); along with workshops on essays for ages 10-18. Tuition varies.
TRIAD
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro offers a Young Writers’ Camp. This two-week camp, in its fifth year, is for students in grades 3-12. It will be offered July 11-July 22, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm, in the UNCG School of Education Building. Campers will create twenty-first century texts using digital tools such as storyboarding, blogging, and movie-making during this two-week camp experience. The camp introduces young writers to the writing process, unlocks strategies of professional writers, and supports a variety of writing styles. Scholarships are available.
The Reynolda House in Winston-Salem offers three camps for all ages to explore art and creative writing in the unique setting of the historic Reynolda Estate and inspired by the Museum’s collections. Includes swimming in the indoor pool! These “Summer Adventures” run June 27 – July 8.
Wake Forest University’s Great American Writers’ Camp returns June 27 – July 2 with even more writing activities, strategies, and projects. Blossoming young writers will hone their skills and styles as they learn to take ideas and develop them into coherent stories, poems, arguments, speeches, and more. This program is committed to helping young writers enjoy camp AND gain new strategies for creating and communicating. Working intermittently in groups, individually, and one-on-one with an instructor, students will begin to see how their ideas and words have a place in the world around them.
TRIANGLE
The Young Writers’ Institute in Cary offers a collection of sixteen half-day camps for students in grades (rising) 2nd-12th. Each camp runs from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm OR 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Monday through Friday. Camps are limited to six students, and courses range from creative classes to classes on writing academic essays.
Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh offers summer book clubs for kids. The age groups are Summer BIRDS (ages 5-7) and two book clubs for older children, ages 7-9 and 10-12. Each club meets for multiple sessions, and there are small fees. Books purchased for the clubs receive a 21 percent discount in their Kid’s Department.
Also in Raleigh, the North Carolina State University Department of English offers its 33rd Annual Young Writers Workshop, July 11-22, for students entering 4th through 8th grades. The Young Writers Workshop is a two-week, non-residential summer program with daily afternoon sessions to help young people develop and explore their creative writing talents.
WILMINGTON
The Young Writers Workshop at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington is an annual five-day camp that brings together up to 45 high school students to study the craft of writing on the UNC-Wilmington campus. The workshop is organized and operated by UNCW’s Department of Creative Writing, and camp participants have the opportunity to study with published, working writers—faculty members and graduate students in the department’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. This year’s workshop runs July 12-16.