creative writing camps nc

Summer Writing Camps for Young People

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.

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.

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 [email protected] . 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.

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.

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.

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 .

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Welcome to Our Community!

Every writer is welcome.

Our programs are great for any writer at any level! We maintain a stress-free environment where students can feel supported and successful. We welcome every writer - from those who need extra support to those who are accomplished authors. We offer a variety of classes, camps, and workshops so that students can work on what interests them. 

 Writing is an art as well as a skill. We recognize that writing can be intimidating for students who lack confidence with the "art" part or who struggle with the "skill" part.  We make an effort to meet each writer at their current level and take small steps to grow from that point.  Small class sizes ensure that each student receives plenty of individual attention as well as support, guidance, and feedback along the way. Most parents report great growth in their students' willingness to write, confidence, quality of content, and skill in mechanics.   

Click on the tabs at the top of the page to learn more about our programs.

Upcoming Classes and Camps

2024 summer camps, 2024-2025 school year programs.

We run week-long, half-day camps all summer long! Join us for theme-based, project-focused writing projects that build skills and confidence.

Registration is open now. Sign up early - camps fill quickly! 

We offer a wide variety of enrichment workshops for students in grades 3-12, along with a Teen Writers Circle and special programs throughout the year. 

We also offer the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) curriculum for students in grades 5-12.

Meet Your Teachers!

Casey midkiff.

 Miss Casey is a graduate of Elon University and has been teaching for 23 years. She taught public school in Alamance County and Wake County before moving on to homeschool her own two children. During her years as a homeschooling mom, she began tutoring and running writing groups at her kitchen table on Sunday afternoons. In 2013, she decided to move her groups into a classroom and give her little community of authors a name - Young Writers' Institute. Since then, she has had the privilege of working with hundreds of amazing young authors who come together to learn, grow, and express themselves confidently through the written word.  

Jenn Walski

 Jenn is a native New Yorker with a BA in Communication from SUNY Geneseo, a Master of Arts in Teaching English from Ithaca College, and Academically/Intellectually Gifted licensure from Western Carolina. Jenn taught in public schools for over 13 years as an ELA and AIG teacher. Over the course of her career, she became a National Board Certified teacher and was a STEMworks Scholar at NC State. Jenn now works with homeschooled students, teaching a wide range of subjects. Her true passion is connecting with children through literature and guiding students through the writing process. 

Kirsten Bock

Dawn bertrand.

Miss Kirsten holds a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s in Education from Holy Family University. She taught for ten years in the Pennsylvania public schools as a classroom teacher and then a reading specialist before moving to North Carolina. Since then, she has been tutoring students, running a preschool literacy program called Reading Giraffe, and working to publish her own children’s books. Miss Kirsten is passionate about writing and loves to share that passion with others. 

Shoshana Mei Ying Goldberg

 Miss Dawn has a MS in Education and holds a NC teaching license. She has been a Certified IEW Instructor since 2014. She has been working with children of all ages for over twenty-five years, both in the public schools and in private facilities. She has been with YWI since 2016, tutoring students in reading and writing, as well as teaching IEW classes. She loves working with students and helping them to achieve their writing and educational goals. 

Ms. Goldberg is the daughter of poet and artist Hilary Tham and was raised with a passionate belief that writing is an invaluable tool for self-exploration, creative expression, and interpersonal communication.

Ms. Goldberg holds a BS in Psychology and a Master’s in Leadership in Teaching. She holds NC teaching certification in English and Special Education and has over 15 years of teaching experience. She has taught English and Literacy Support at Cary High School for 8 years and works with members of the senior class on college applications and graduation speeches.

Ms. Goldberg loves the challenge of building confidence and perseverance in young writers.

Lexi Chadwick

Miss Lexi has such a passion for writing and being creative! She graduated from NC State University and she has always loved working with children in education and teaching them how to write and use their creativity and put it on paper. She enjoys poetry, action and adventure, and even history. She has two dogs and a cat that she loves hanging out with, she is an avid soccer player, and she really loves ice cream! Miss Lexi is so excited to meet all of her students this summer! 

Alice Hancock

 Mrs. Hancock graduated with a Master’s in Education  from North Carolina State University, holds a BA from North Carolina State University, a teaching certification from Meredith College and has over 20 years of teaching experience. She has taught public, private,  and homeschool students. She has been privately tutoring and teaching writing classes to the community, helping students to become stronger and more successful writers.  

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Local teens craft their skills at CampWrite

Dozens of local teenagers are at Carolina to craft their creativity at UNC CampWrite, a student-organized day camp that exposes the students to a variety of genres and provides a platform for brainstorming, editing and sharing their works.

The day began by trying to figure out why a baby would possibly be taped to a wall.

After 15 minutes of contemplation and furious writing, more than 50 answers were offered, including: a lack of chairs, rambunctious siblings and the result of a bizarre night.

Odd questions with endless possibilities are being answered through poetry, dialogues or short stories this month by dozens of local teenagers who have come to Carolina for two weeks to craft their creativity at UNC CampWrite.

Hosted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CampWrite is a student-organized day camp that aims to hone teenagers’ creative writing skills by exposing them to a wide variety of genres and providing a platform for brainstorming, editing and sharing their works.

“This is a place where I can get together with other like-minded people and just write,” said 17-year-old Tilak Lipscomb from Hillsborough, N.C., who has attended the camp for the past two summers.

Taught by Carolina students, the two-week camp, which runs from June 15 to 26, combines workshop-style discussions with guest speakers and writing exercises to develop the writers’ abilities.

“We try to expose the campers to as much of the creative writing process as we can from start to finish,” said Hannah Mickey, president of the camp.

CampWrite kicked off its fourth year last week with its largest number of participates. In the past, middle and high school students in Orange County or Chapel Hill schools attended camp, but as word of the program spread to the surrounding communities more teens from Raleigh signed up.

Founding counselor Katharine Griffiths, who helped start the program as a sophomore in 2010, said the initial initiative of Camp Write was to provide free camps.

“Giving a local based in-the-community program was our main goal,” she said. “If you’re going to start a camp for the arts, Chapel Hill is the place to do it. The community is so welcoming and supportive.”

To attend camp, teenagers had to provide a writing sample, a teacher recommendation and fill out of a short questionnaire. The application is designed to see if the camp is a good fit for the student, Mickey said.

Once camp began, participants were exposed to various writing styles including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics and fables. Branching out to different genres, Tilak said, has helped expand his writing abilities and interests.

“It takes you out of your comfort zone,” he said. “It helped me grow as a writer.”

During the first week of camp, counselors led discussion-based workshops on a variety of writing topics with writing activities built it to reinforce the topics. Guest speakers from publishers to professors also stopped by the camp to share their first-hand experiences.

“I always look forward to CampWrite,” said Ashley Boyette, who has attended the camp for three years. “I’m writing every day and I have people who want to edit and want to read it. It’s a safe place to read my writing.”

Unlike the typical school class, the workshops provide a small group environment where students and counselors are able to share their writing and ideas. The idea, Mickey said, is for everyone to learn from each other.

“It’s more personal here than what you could have in school,” said Boyette, a rising senior at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough, NC. “People are more accepting of what you want to say. You don’t have to filter yourself in your writing. In the workshops, it’s more one-on-one, and you can have more personal growth from that.”

When campers returned for the second week, attention transitioned from instruction to actually writing.

The teens were asked to write a short piece that be could written about any topic in any style they wanted. Throughout the week, they would refine their works through peer reviews and counselor edits.

At the end of camp, all of the writing is put into an anthology that is published later in the summer.

“I’m always impressed by what they can do,” Mickey said. “Some of them are ten times better than I am. I’m amazed every day by what they do.”

For many of the campers, the anthology will be the first time their works will be printed in a book. But the goal of the camp is not to produce publishable writers, but rather provide an outlet for the students to do what they’re passionate about, Mickey said.

“I want them to see how important it is for them to do what they love,” she said. “If they love creative writing, I want them to see how important it is to keep doing it and how it’s ok to them to keep doing it whether they end up being a published author or not.”

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Creative Writing

Chapel Hill has always been a magnet for writers. Some students come with the goal of becoming novelists or short story writers or poets or dramatists; others discover their vocations while  undergraduates.

The University has long had a vigorous writing tradition, beginning when “Proff” Koch, Paul Green, and Samuel Selden were working with Thomas Wolfe, Kay Kyser, Betty Smith, Frances Gray Patton, and Howard Richardson in the early twentieth century. Beginning in 1947 and continuing for almost two decades,  Jessie Rehder served as a one-woman program and published several books of her students’ work; upon her death in 1966, Max Steele became director of Creative Writing the program expanded to include such legendary writers as Doris Betts and Daphne Athas. In the years since, Carolina’s Creative Writing program has been home to luminaries like Randall Kenan, Lee Smith, Sarah Dessen, Carolyn Kizer, Algonquin Books founder Louis D. Rubin, Alan Shapiro, Pam Durban, Michael Chitwood, and Marianne Gingher. Hundreds of alumni have gone on to write books, films, albums, plays, and television shows, pursue graduate study in creative writing, and publish stories, poems, and essays in the world’s best journals, magazines, and newspapers.

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North Carolina State University: Young Writers Workshop

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Sponsored by the English Department within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and held on N.C. State University's campus, the Young Writers' Workshop nurtures the creative spirit and teaches creative writing skills and techniques to young writers ages 10 -14 going into grades 5 -8.

The Young Writers' Workshop is a two-week, non-residential summer camp with daily afternoon sessions to help young people develop and explore their creative writing talents.

NC State Young Writers Workshop is one of the oldest workshops for young writers in the nation and remains one of the most affordable options for academic programs. We offer generous financial aid packages.  

Students will also meet working authors and get the opportunity to win copies of their published books.

This summer's course offerings will be in poetry, prose, dramatic writing and special topics. Each student will select their top three course preferences and will be placed in two courses.

Dramatic Writing - This workshop will focus on playwriting for the stage, as well as screenwriting for film. In this class, students will learn some of the basic techniques of writing plays and/or screenplays, such as setting a scene, creating characters, constructing a plot, and moving a plot forward through dialogue in their own one-act plays or screenplays.

NOTE: Students who would like to work in dramatic writing, please note in your application if you have a preference between writing plays or screenplays. Our instructor will accommodate your interests.

Poetry  is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a "composition in verse or some other patterned arrangement of language in which the expression of feelings and ideas is given intensity by the use of distinctive style and rhythm." Students will learn and experiment with a variety of poetic forms and techniques in this class.

Genre Fiction - This workshop is a specialized fiction workshop that will explore a variety of literary genres, such as sci-fi, fantasy, magical realism, adventure, and mystery.

Students will learn the basics of world building, extended metaphor, plot structures, suspense, persona, and how to use different genres as vehicles to talk about complex topics. 

Fiction - This workshop will consist of fiction. Students in this class will write narratives in an artful way and learn the fundamentals of fiction such as character development, dialogue, point of view, and construction of plot. 

• Listing Type: Summer Programs
• Program Delivery: Day
• Destination: United States
• Provided By: College
• Session Start: July
• Session Length: Two Weeks
• Entering Grade: Below 6th, 6th, 7th, 8th
• Gender: Coed
• Category: Academic
• Sub-Categories: Writing, Career Exploration, Literacy
• Selective: No
• Ages: 12, 13, 14
• Minimum Cost:
• Career Clusters: Arts, Audio/Video Technology, and Communications
• Credit Awarded: No

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Meredith College Young Writers’ Camp

This camp, taught by Meredith College English Department faculty, offers students of all gender identities, ages 10-14, a week of writing, creativity, and fun. 

The week will include:

• creative writing exercises and games
• daily discussions of creative writing topics like characterization, setting, imagery, and dialogue with exercises to enhance our discussions
• time for socialization, recreation, and individual writing
• one-on-one conferences between writers and instructors
• group-wide sharing of and feedback about creative work
• a field trip to the NC Museum of Art to write about visual art
• a reading of the young writers’ work for parents and friends
• The registration fee includes writing materials, a camp t-shirt, daily lunches, and snacks each day.

This year’s session will run June 17-June 21 from 10-3 each day. The registration fee is $375. Students can register using this link .

Email Ashley Hogan ( [email protected] ) with any questions.

More information to come about this year’s High School Writing Workshop! 

Contact Information 3800 Hillsborough Street Raleigh, NC 27607-5298 Phone: (919) 760-8600 Fax: (919) 760-8330 1-800-MEREDITH

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0147 - Duke Young Writers

Course description.

This summer, choose from a list of writing courses that reads like an adventure novel: Myth, Magic, Monsters: Making a World; Paper Cuts, Words that Wound and Win; and Dark Fiction: Living on the Edge. And this is just a sampling of the dozens of courses to choose from! In the Young Writers’ Program for Middle and High School, you’ll spend two weeks meeting fellow writers, honing your craft, exploring new genres, and experiencing a writing community like no other. You’ll put plenty of words on the page, yes, but you may also find yourself acting out the lives and situations of fictional characters, rapping and performing poetry and song, or developing an ear for dialogue by listening in on conversations on Durham’s Ninth Street. Our most beloved program to date, the Young Writers’ Program holds all the magic of a true “summer camp” experience. You’ll go home with a full notebook, a full heart, and new confidence in your skill as a writer.

• For Session I, select Section 037
• For Session II, select Section 038
• For Session III, select Section 039

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SKC350 - 49er Minors: Creative Writing Workshop: Publish a Story

During this camp you will have the opportunity to write a story and get valuable feedback in order to make it better.

Course Overview

Has your child ever dreamed of seeing their name on a book cover? At our Creative Writing Workshop: Publish a Story summer camp, that dream becomes reality! Under the guidance of experienced UNC Charlotte Writing Project teachers, campers in grades 5-8 will:

Our new curriculum is designed to be fun, engaging, and effective. Campers will:

• Craft Compelling Stories: Learn creative writing techniques, plot development, character building, and the art of captivating readers.
• Master Feedback: Receive valuable peer and instructor feedback to refine their stories and take them to the next level.
• Embrace Revision: Discover the power of revisions to polish their masterpieces and transform good writing into great writing.
• Celebrate Publication: See their published stories come to life in a professionally printed anthology they get to keep and cherish forever!

This camp will empower your child to find their voice through writing, fostering a sense of confidence and accomplishment!

SKC350 - 007

• UNC Charlotte Main Campus

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Skc350 - 007 - 49er minors: creative writing workshop: publish a story, summer camps - full day.

$275/week ($175 plus $100 for the non-refundable, non-transferable deposit) for full day camps. Parents may opt to pay the entire fee in full at the time of registration. Or pay the $100 deposit to reserve the seat in the camp and be invoiced for the remaining balance which is due no later than 14 days prior to the start date of the specific camp for which your child is registered. Payments not received in full by the invoice deadline will result in your child being dropped from the camp.

Meal Plan Week of 6/17/24 - SR0201

Benefits Include:

• Convenience - cash free, pre-paid option
• Flat rate each day for buffet items means no chance of exceeding or leftover funds
• Eliminate hassle of packing a lunch, lost lunch boxes, or campers mishandling cash

Campers with meal plans will eat at Social 704 in the UNC Charlotte Student Union which offers an array of options including a salad bar, home-style meal buffet, pizza, and grill as well as a soft-serve ice cream station!

View a Sample Menu .

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Summer Adventures

Registration for Reynolda’s 2024 summer camps is now open!

Join us for a summer adventure! Art Adventures and Writing Adventures camps provide an opportunity for young artists and writers to explore the historic house, estate grounds, and the Museum’s renowned collection of American art. Inspired by the art collection, participants in Art Adventures will produce five original works of art, while Writing Adventures participants will craft several written compositions of different genres. Summer adventure camps are week-long, half-day camps for elementary and middle school students. 

During the Creative Writing Workshop —designed exclusively for students who have completed grades 6–9—participants will actively engage in the writing process to produce their own written compositions from the pre-writing through the publishing stages. Students are encouraged to find a personal connection to works in the fine art collection that will inspire their writing. Additionally, the workshop will include art activities in the studio, an exploration into the history of the Reynolds family, their grand estate, and a glimpse behind the scenes of the Museum.

Reynolda Gardens’ classic camp returns in 2024. Campers in the Young Naturalists camp for rising second – sixth graders will spend the week exploring the gardens, greenhouses, woodlands, meadows, and streams of Reynolda with expert naturalists and scientists. Through scientific discovery, writing, art-making, and play, students will learn more about their world.

• Eligibility information can be found here . Applications may be mailed, faxed or emailed, and should be received by May 1. 
• Want to contribute to the Neil Wilcox Scholarship Fund? Please contact Sarah Blackwell at [email protected] g or 336.758.5029.
• Photo release disclaimer Reynolda House may photograph or film summer programs for fundraising or documentary purposes. In the online application form you will need to acknowledge that photos may be taken to complete your registration. If you prefer that your child not be photographed or filmed, submit a written request to Julia Hood, [email protected].

2024 Camp Dates, Cost, and Registration

Come play and create with us this summer! We have day camps for students in Kindergarten through ninth grade. Our campers will experience Reynolda’s collections, history, and landscape in unique ways while exploring their own artistic process. All camps include the opportunity to swim in the historic Reynolda pool. Participants should pack a snack and lunch. Student placement is based on the grade the student will complete during the 2022–23 school year.

After you have registered, you may access and view the waiver form here .

Summer 2024 registration will open on February 1, 2024. Until then, take note of our Summer Adventures dates.

Creative Writing Workshop

June 24 – 28 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Completed grades 6 – 9 In the Creative Writing Workshop, young writers will hone their craft and learn the basics of prose and poetry through a variety of writing activities inspired by the art and history of Reynolda. Participants will engage in each stage of the writing process, including pre-writing, drafting, revision, and publication. The workshop will also include art activities and glimpses behind the scenes of the historic house. This camp includes swimming in the historic Reynolda House pool. Students should bring a snack and lunch.

Cost: $260. Members at the Dual/Family level receive a 20% discount.

Art Adventures

Session I: Monday–Friday, July 8–12 Session II: Monday–Friday, July 15–19 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Completed grades K–5

Inspired by the Museum’s renowned collection of American art, young artists will produce their own original work of art each day during these half-day camps. Students will learn about the families who once lived at Reynolda by exploring the historic house and estate, will view and take inspiration from the art collection, and will have the opportunity to take a dip in the historic indoor pool. Students should bring a snack and lunch. The projects are identical in session I and II. 

Cost: $205. Members at the Dual/Family level receive a 20% discount.

Writing Adventures

Crafting Characters | July 22 – 26 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Completed grades 2 – 5 Young Writers will explore people and place through writing fiction, poetry, and journaling. Campers will study works of art as well as venture outdoors to gather inspiration for our writings throughout the week. Participants will learn about all stages of the writing process, most especially focusing on prewriting and revision—culminating in the publication of their own hand-made book. This camp includes swimming in the historic Reynolda House pool. Students should bring a snack and lunch.

Young Naturalists – Seats Added!

July 29 – August 2, 2024 8:30 a.m. – noon Completed grades 1 – 5

Young Naturalists will spend the week exploring the gardens, greenhouses, woodlands, meadows, and streams of Reynolda with expert naturalists and scientists. Through scientific discovery, writing, art-making, and play, students will learn more about their world. Students are accompanied by staff and volunteers. The camp includes time to swim in the Reynolda House pool and culminates with a show for family and friends.

Cost: $260. Friends at the Dual/Family level receive a 20% discount.

SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION IS HAPPENING NOW!

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Opportunities for ALL WRITERS ~ Grades K-12 AND ADULTS

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Scribes at The Wren’s Nest – Creative Writing Workshops & Summer Camp

The Scribes at The Wren’s Nest is offering fun, youth creative writing workshops and a summer camp. During the opening workshop 3/23 – for middle school kids – students create their own mini graphic novel. And it’s only $10!

Kids enjoy reading them but in the 3/23 workshop they’ll learn how to create their own mini graphic novel or one page comic story. In a non judgement environment, the session reinforces that each child’s voice matters. If your child loves to write or draw this is a wonderful, fast-paced, fun workshop that combines both.

“Especially appreciated it was beyond the Ipod – that the kids are not on digital screens.” – From a mom whose daughter attended Scribes.

Scribes at The Wren’s Nest: Spring & Summer Programs 

Saturday, March 23, 10:00-11:30 a.m. – “Make a One-Page Comic!” with illustrator Ross Boone

Saturday, April 13, 10:00-11:30 a.m. – “Exploring Nature Through Ecopoetry” with poet Olivia Ivings

Saturday, May 11, 10:00-11:30 a.m. – “The Hero in YOU” with storyteller John Doyle ·

Monday, July 8 – Friday 12 Scribers’s Summer Camp with author H.D. Hunter

For more details and registration  www.wrensnest.org/scribes

Published : March 14, 2024 Category : Community

2024 Carolina Writing Workshops: Charlotte & Raleigh

Get your writing published: march 8 (charlotte); march 9 (raleigh), 2024 carolina writing workshops: march 8 (charlotte) and march 9 (raleigh).

These writing events are a wonderful opportunity to get intense instruction over the course of one day , pitch a literary agent or editor (optional), get your questions answered, and more. Note that there are limited seats at the events. All questions about the events regarding schedule, details and registration are answered below. Thank you for your interest in the 2024 Carolina Writing Workshops! We are very proud of our many success stories where attendees sign with agents following events — see our growing list of success stories here .

(Please note that these are in-person events. We at Writing Day Workshops plan both online/virtual as well as in-person events. This next CWW events are in-person event happening in Charlotte on Friday, March 8, 2024; and Raleigh on Saturday, March 9, 2024. See you there.)

WHAT ARE THE EVENTS?

These are a pair of special one-day “How to Get Published” writing workshops on Friday, March 8, 2024 (Charlotte) at the Charlotte Marriott SouthPark;  and Saturday, March 9, 2024 (Raleigh), at the The McKimmon Conference and Training Center at NC State. In other words, the workshops are both one day full of classes and advice designed to give you the best instruction concerning how to get your writing & books published. We’ll discuss your publishing opportunities today, how to write queries & pitches, how to market yourself and your books, what makes an agent/editor stop reading your manuscript, and more. No matter what you’re writing — fiction or nonfiction — the day’s classes will help point you in the right direction. Writers of all genres are welcome.

This event is designed to squeeze as much into one day of learning as possible. You can ask any questions you like during the classes, and get your specific concerns addressed. We will have literary agents onsite to give feedback and take pitches from writers, as well. This year’s agent and editor faculty so far includes:

• literary agent Tracey Adams (Adams Literary) – CHARLOTTE
• literary agent Carey Blankenship Kramer (Belcastro Agency) – CHARLOTTE
• literary scout Grace Morrison (Booker Albert Literary Agency) – CHARLOTTE
• literary agent Brandy Vallance (Barbara Bova Literary Agency) – CHARLOTTE
• literary agent Kaylee Zou (Williamson Literary) – BOTH CHARLOTTE & RALEIGH
• literary agent Gary Heidt (Signature Literary) – RALEIGH
• literary agent Jess Regel (Helm Literary) – RALEIGH
• literary agent Andrea Hurst (Andrea Hurst Literary Management) – RALEIGH
• literary agent Nikki Terpolowski (Holloway Literary) – RALEIGH
• literary agent Melissa Jeglinski (Knight Agency) – RALEIGH
• editor Georgia McBride (Swoon Romance, Month9, Tantrum Books) – RALEIGH
• literary agent Zoe Howard (Howland Literary) – RALEIGH
• literary agent Lauren Albury (Holloway Literary) – RALEIGH
• and more to come.

By the end of the day, you will have all the tools you need to move forward on your writing journey. This independent event is organized by coordinator Chuck Sambuchino of Writing Day Workshops . E-mail him to register for the event at [email protected].

EVENT LOCATIONS & DETAILS:

FRIDAY. MARCH 8 : Charlotte Marriott SouthPark , 2200 Rexford Road, Charlotte, NC, 28211.

SATURDAY. MARCH 9: The McKimmon Conference and Training Center at NC State , 1101 Gorman St, Raleigh, NC 27606.

CHARLOTTE CLASSES (FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2024):

What you see below is a quick layout of the days’ events (Charlotte first, then Raleigh). The topics below are mostly set, but subject to change. You can see a more detailed layout of the day’s classes on the Schedule Page here. There will be 1-3 classes/workshops going at all times during the day, so sometimes you may have your choice of what class you attend.

8:30 – 9:30: Check-in and registration at the event location.

BLOCK ONE: 9:30 – 10:30

1. Everything You Need to Know About Agents and Query Letters 2. Practical Tips on The Emotional Writing Journey.

BLOCK TWO: 10:45 – 11:50

1. Understanding the Publishing Industry in 2024 — From Hybrid Publishing to Artificial Intelligence and Everything in Between 2. Taking Cues from Shakespeare.

LUNCH ON YOUR OWN: 11:50 – 1:15

Lunch is on your own during these 85 minutes.

BLOCK THREE: 1:15 – 2:30

1. “Writers Got Talent”—a Page 1 Critique Fest 2. How to Sell a Nonfiction Book Proposal

BLOCK FOUR: 2:45 – 3:45

1. Open Agent Q&A Panel 2.  How to Market Yourself and Your Books: Talking Author Social Media, Blogging, and Platform

BLOCK FIVE: 4:00 – 5:00

1. Act One of Your Novel: How to Build a Story World 2. 10 Evergreen Keys to Writing Success

SESSIONS END: 5:00

(What you see here is a quick layout of the day’s events. See a full layout of the day’s sessions, with detailed descriptions, on the official Schedule Page here .)

Agent & Editor Pitching: All throughout the day.

———————————–

RALEIGH CLASSES (SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2024):

The topics below are mostly set, but subject to change. You can see a more detailed layout of the day’s classes on the Schedule Page here . There will be 1-3 classes/workshops going at all times during the day, so sometimes you may have your choice of what class you attend.

1. How to Prepare Your Query Package 2.  Writing In The Flow State: How Mindfulness Can Make You A More Productive Writer

1. Understanding the Publishing Industry in 2024 — From Hybrid Publishing to Artificial Intelligence and Everything in Between 2. Beginning with Power: Tips on How to Start Your Novel

1. Open Agent Q&A Panel 2.  Editing Your Novel From an Agent’s POV

1.  Social Media for Authors 2. Ten Evergreen Keys to Writing Success

———————————————–

PITCH AN AGENT OR EDITOR:

ADDED ONLINE PITCHING : To ensure that writers have a robust and diverse lineup of agents & editors to pitch, 2024 Carolina Writing Workshop attendees will have the ability to also pitch literary agents at the Writing Day Workshops *online* event that follows the 2024 CWWs on our calendar.

That event is the 2024 Online Writing Workshop of San Francisco , April 5-6, 2024, which will have 30-40 agents taking one-on-one Zoom virtual pitches.

This means that 2024 CWW attendees can have access to pitching all those online San Francisco agents — pitches still at $29 each — without being a formal registrant for the online April 2024 WWSF. (That said, if you want to formally register for the April 5-6 WWSF and have access to all classes and panels, let us know, as there is a discount for confirmed Carolina attendees.)

If you are interested in this added pitching opportunity, the first step is to get formally registered for Carolina. Following the CWW conferences on March 8-9, 2024, we will be in touch with all Carolina attendees and ask them if they want to partake in pitching online agents at the 2024 WWSF (April 5-6) . At that time, you can communicate your pitch requests and purchase meeting time.

        More 2024 agents to be announced as they are confirmed. You can sign up for pitches at any time, or switch pitches at any time, so long as the agent in question still has appointments open.

These one-on-one meetings are an amazing chance to pitch your book face-to-face with an agent, and get personal, individual feedback on your pitch/concept. If the agent likes your pitch, they’ll request to see part/all of your book — sending you straight past the slush pile. It also gives you an intimate chance to meet with an agent and pick their brain with any questions on your mind.

(Please note that Agent/Editor Pitching is an add-on, separate aspect of the day, for only those who sign up. Spaces are limited for these premium meetings, and pricing/detail is explained below.)

$189 — EARLY BIRD base price for registration to either 2024 CWW event and access to all workshops, all day. Pricing is the same for both workshops. As of fall 2023, registration is now OPEN. The $18 9 price is the same for both separate events: Charlotte (March 8, 2024) and Raleigh (March 9, 2024).

Add $29 — to secure a 10-minute one-on-one meeting with any of our literary agents or editors in attendance. Use this special meeting as a chance to pitch your work and get professional feedback on your pitch. (Spaces limited.) If they wish, attendees are free to sign up for multiple 10-minute pitch sessions at $29/session — pitching multiple individuals, or securing 20 minutes to pitch one person rather than the usual 10. Here are four quick testimonials regarding writers who have signed with literary agents after pitching them at prior Writing Day Workshops events. (Our bigger, growing  list of success stories an be seen here . )

Add $69 — for an in-depth, personal critique of your one-page query letter from Chuck Sambuchino, one of the day’s instructors. (This rate is a special event value for Carolina Writing Workshop attendees only.) Registrants are encouraged to take advantage of the specially-priced critique, so they can send out their query letter with confidence following the workshop. Also, if you are meeting with an agent at the event, you’re essentially speaking your query letter aloud to them. Wouldn’t it be wise to give that query letter (i.e., your pitch) one great edit before that meeting?

Add $89 — for an in-depth personal critique of the first 10 pages of your novel. Spaces with faculty for these critiques are very limited, and participating attendees will either 1) get an in-person meeting at the workshop, if the faculty member is attending the live event, or 2) get a 10-minute phone call with the faculty member, and have notes passed along via email, if the critiquer is not attending the live event. Options:

• Literary fiction, short stories, and poetry (in-person for Raleigh only): Faculty member Maureen Sherbondy , an author, will get your work in advance, critique the first 10 double-spaced pages of your book or story collection, talk with you virtually (Zoom/phone) for 15 minutes sometime around workshop to discuss her thoughts, and pass along written critique notes. Poetry stipulations: You may send up to 10 pages of poetry, maximum 40 lines per page, using 12-pt font.
• Romance, women’s fiction, science fiction, young adult, or memoir (virtual critiques) : Faculty member Jenny Bardsley , an author, will get your work in advance, critique the first 10 double-spaced pages of your book, talk with you virtually (Zoom/phone) for 15 minutes sometime around workshop to discuss her thoughts, and pass along written critique notes.
• Middle grade, young adult; adult fiction in the areas of low fantasy, literary fiction, romance, contemporary fiction, women’s fiction, historical fiction, and mainstream fiction (virtual critiques) : Faculty member Joel Brigham , a writing coach and author, will get your work in advance, critique the first 10 double-spaced pages of your book, meet with you online (Zoom, etc.) or by phone for 15 minutes sometime around the workshop to discuss his thoughts, and pass along written critique notes before or after the meeting.
• Women’s, mainstream, science fiction, fantasy, romance, crime, thriller, mystery (virtual critiques): Faculty member Michelle McGill-Vargas , a writing coach and author, will get your work in advance, critique the first 10 double-spaced pages of your book, meet with you online (Zoom, etc.) or by phone for 15 minutes sometime around the workshop to discuss her thoughts, and pass along written critique notes before or after the meeting.
• Romance, women’s fiction, domestic suspense, and young adult fiction (virtual critiques) : Faculty member Swati Hegde , an author and freelance editor, will get your work in advance, critique the first 10 double-spaced pages of your book, meet with you online (Zoom, etc.) or by phone for 15 minutes sometime around the workshop to discuss her thoughts, and pass along written critique notes before or after the meeting.
• Children’s picture books, middle grade, young adult, memoir, historical fiction, general fiction of almost any kind (virtual critiques) : Faculty member Eve Porinchak , a former agent turned publishing coach, will get your work in advance, critique the first 10 double-spaced pages of your book, meet with you online (Zoom, etc.) or by phone for 15 minutes sometime around the workshop to discuss her thoughts, and pass along written critique notes before or after the meeting. Children’s picture books should be 1,000 words maximum, and can or cannot have illustrations.
• More critique options possibly forthcoming.

How to pay/register — Registration is now open. Reach out to workshop organizer Chuck Sambuchino via email: [email protected] , and he will provide specific instructions for payment and registration to get you a reserved seat at the event. Payment is by credit card, PayPal, or check. Because Chuck plans different workshops, make sure you note that you’re inquiring about the Carolina workshops specifically.

REGISTRATION:

Because of limited space at the venues (Friday at the Charlotte Marriott SouthPark; Saturday at the The McKimmon Conference and Training Center at NC State, in Raleigh ) , each one-day workshop can only allow 150 registrants. For this reason, we encourage you to book sooner rather than later.

Are spaces still available? Yes, we still have spaces available. We will announce RIGHT HERE, at this point on this web page, when all spaces are taken. If you do not see a note right here saying how all spaces are booked, then yes, we still have room, and you are encouraged to register.

How to Register : The easy first step is simply to reach out to workshop organizer Chuck Sambuchino via email: [email protected] . Brian will pass along registration information to you, and give instructions on how to pay by credit card, PayPal, or check. Once payment is complete, you will have a reserved seat at the event. The CWW will send out periodic e-mail updates to all registered attendees with any & all news about the event. Because Chuck plans different workshops, make sure you note that you’re inquiring about the Carolina workshops specifically.

Refunds : If you sign up for the event and have to cancel for any reason at any time, you will receive 50% of your total payment back [sent by check or PayPal]. The other 50% is nonrefundable and will not be returned, and helps the workshop ensure that only those truly interested in the limited spacing sign up for the event. (Please note that query editing payments and manuscript editing payments are completely non-refundable if the instructor has already edited your work.)

Thank you for your interest in the 2024 Carolina Writing Workshop.

Get to Know an Editor in Attendance: Georgia McBride of Swoon Romance, Month9 Books, and Tantrum Books

Swoon Romance is a digital-first romance imprint from Georgia McBride Media Group that publishes romance for all audiences from Teen to Mature audiences. Our first title, CAPTIVATED BY YOU by New York Times and USA Today bestseller Diane Alberts, published in November 2012. Since then, we have had many Amazon and Barnes and Noble best sellers, with Amazon category best sellers in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and Germany. We are home to New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors such as Stacey Mosteller, Diane Alberts, Kenya Wright, and Tamara Mataya as well as international bestselling authors Lizzy Charles, Alla Kar, Natalie Decker, Cassie Mae, and more. We practice a hybrid distribution model of self distribution, but also work with InScribe and IPG.

Month9Books publishes speculative fiction for teens and tweens, where nothing is as it seems. We published our first title in 2012 and our first full list published in 2013.

——————–

Drawing from her experience at veteran branded companies like Viacom, Madison Square Garden, eBay, Toysrus, and ASCAP, Georgia is one of Publishers Marketplace’s most prolific editors, and has spent most of 2014 through 2019 atop the editors lists in Editors, Young Adult, Digital New Adult, Children’s, and Digital deals. She’s completed over 400 publishing deals on behalf of three imprints and consulting clients since March 2012.

Books published by Georgia McBride have been Junior Library Guild Selections, Scholastic Book Club and Reading List Selections, Kirkus Prize nominees, Bram Stoker Award nominees, Moonbeam winners, and winners of various regional and local SCBWI awards. Books she’s published have been sold to Hungary, Turkey, Slovakia, Korea, Czech Republic, Greece, UK, Denmark, Australia, and New Zealand.

Georgia’s published and edited works by NYT bestsellers such as Gretchen McNeil, Nancy Holder, Sayantani DasGupta, and more.

In 2022, Georgia began offering consulting services for content companies in publishing or publishing adjacent verticals. Her recent clients include Inkitt and Hot Ghostwriter.

In 2023, Georgia began literary management representation of Sapir A. Englard, author of the International bestseller, THE MILLENNIUM WOLVES, which has had over 125 million views.

Get to Know an Agent in Attendance: Melissa Jeglinski of The Knight Agency

A graduate of Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in English with a writing concentration, Melissa began her career as an editor with Harlequin Enterprises. Looking to work with a variety of authors and genres, she joined The Knight Agency in 2008.

With over two decades experience in the publishing industry, Melissa has fostered her clients to National prominence including a recent Newbery Honor. She is a member of RWA and AAR.

She is seeking:

• I would really love to find a project that captures my attention immediately. For me, this means a strong opening chapter, wonderfully engaging characters, unexpected twists and turns, and a very satisfying ending. No projects over 100k words, please.

• Contemporary Romance which is lighter in tone, has a sense of humor and a premise that is out of the box. Diverse characters welcome.

• Historical Fiction set in periods other than WWII. Also looking for contemporary and historical intertwined timelines. Prefer strong female protagonists.

• Cozy Mysteries with a unique premise but no paranormal edge. Planned series a plus.

• Middle Grade fiction with a heartwarming message or just pure entertainment. Fun and flawed realistic characters. Contemporary and historical settings but no paranormal or fantasy.

Recent and upcoming titles include Aimie K. Runyan’s ACROSS THE WINDING RIVER, Sarah Warburton’s ONCE TWO SISTERS, Ginger Garrett’s NAME TAGS AND OTHER SIXTH GRADE DISASTERS, and Rosemarie Ross’s FINISHED OFF IN FONDANT.

Get to Know an Agent in Attendance: Andrea Hurst of Andrea Hurst Literary Management

She is seeking: Women’s Fiction: Upmarket/Book Club, Romance, Historical, Contemporary, Thriller/Suspense/Mystery/Crime, Prescriptive Nonfiction/Memoir, Adult Science Fiction/Fantasy (Space Opera, Military Science Fiction, LitRPG), Cookbooks. “We are always on the lookout for #OwnVoices authors, writing about their own experiences.”

Andrea works as a literary agent with both bestselling and emerging new authors to help polish their book, obtain publication, increase sales, and build their author brand.

Andrea brings over 25 years experience in the publishing industry, including her work as a literary agent. She is also a developmental book editor for publishers and authors, a bestselling Amazon author, an instructor for the MFA creative writing program at the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts, and a webinar presenter for Writer’s Digest. As a literary agent, she selectively represents high profile adult nonfiction and well-crafted genre fiction.

Get to Know an Agent in Attendance: Nikki Terpilowski of Holloway Literary

She is seeking: romance; women’s fiction; Southern gothic; alternate histories; grounded science fiction and fantasy; speculative thrillers, Westerns (traditional and fresh takes in contemporary, historical, mystery, romance); multi-generational women’s fiction (standalone or series) about an African-American family (showing Black joy, family dynamics/relationships, etc. not racism, discrimination and oppression as part of their experience); young adult fiction; and nonfiction on the craft of writing or screenwriting, North Carolina history, culinary, hobbies, arts and crafts, plants/herbs.

After achieving a B.A. in English and Marketing, with a minor in creative writing and a graduate degree in international relations, Nikki who has been a bookworm from way back decided she wanted to learn more about the publishing industry.

She interned in the industry while working in marketing communications and then established Holloway Literary in 2011. You can find her @AWomanReading on Twitter and Instagram discussing her favorite topics: books, wine, beer & whiskey, history, travel and southern living.

WISHLIST SPECIFICS:

Looking for excellent writing and voice, relatable, likable heroines, dashing Alpha rakes, old tropes, fresh spins.

Aphrodite And The Duke by JJ McAvoy Tying The Scot by Jennifer Tretheway Royally Screwed by Emma Chase (with a lower heat level)

Young Adult & YA Speculative:

Beautiful atmospheric settings, princess-core, interesting world-building, high stakes.

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood Dread Nation by Justina Ireland The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton The Selection by Kiera Cass Interview With The Robot by Lee Bacon

Speculative Fiction (Sci-fi & fantasy):

Dark, spooky, propulsive fiction.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia My Soul To Keep by Tananarive Due Midnight Is A Lonely Place by Barbara Erskine

Women’s Fiction:

Family relationships, small towns, emotional, secrets.

Big Lies In A Small Town by Diane Chamberlain The Favorite Daughter by Patti Callahan Henry The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman Island Of Sweet Pies And Soldiers by Sara Ackerman The Marriage Of Opposites by Alice Hoffman

Domestic Thrillers:

Scary, psychological, page-turners.

Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris

Science Fiction/Alternate Realities

Looking for super-grounded fiction with speculative elements, often within a government, military or research-based context.

Underground Airlines by Ben Winters The Rise And Fall Of D.O.D.O by Neal Stephenson Version Control by Dexter Palmer

ISO espionage and military thrillers by BTDT authors with threats beyond the usual suspects.

The Expats by Chris Pavon Red Widow by Alma Katsu One Second After by William R. Forstchen

Southern Nonfiction:

Would love to find interesting, alternative, controversial ideas, and voice-driven Southern history.

The Best Cook In The World by Rick Bragg The Secret Life Of Bacon Tait

Not Looking For

Plots that focus on the Mafia Mysteries featuring professional detectives/investigators Grief/Trauma/Loss-based plots or themes Cozy mysteries Plots that focus on murder/serial killers/death WWI/WW2/Vietnam-war era historical settings Crimes against children Assaults of any kind Legal thrillers/courtroom dramas Hot mess heroines

Get to Know an Agent in Attendance: Kaylee Zou of Williamson Literary

Kaylee graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a double major in Writing Seminars and English in May of 2020. Since graduating, she has worked as a Technical Writer in the DC area. Recently, she left the corporate world and began pursuing writing her first novel full-time.

Kaylee joins Williamson Literary out of her passion for literature and writing while she continues to work on her manuscript. To many’s dismay, one of Kaylee’s favorite activities is spoiling movies and books for herself, and as such Wikipedia is her most visited website. Her favorite genre of content to consume is sad–anything tragic will do. Kaylee loves reality television, taking naps, and promenading around the ton like they do in Bridgerton. Having recently quit coffee, she promptly entered an identity crisis but found herself again in green tea. So it is with a belly full of green tea that Kaylee supports Williamson Literary as Associate Agent.

What the agency represents:

Nonfiction: history, sports, science, environmental, biographies, travel, culture, adventure, educational, motivational (i.e. work that informs or inspires social change or advocates for women and BIPOC). Give thought to your author platform and develop a strong marketing section for your book proposal.

Adult Fiction:  upmarket, contemporary, literary, and commercial; character-driven women’s fiction, book club fiction, domestic suspense, adventure, international, upbeat, feel-good, dark and dangerous, fiction with fantastical elements or magical realism, poignant social commentaries, humor, satire, new takes on old tropes. Pitch us writing that sings rather than tells, take us on an emotional journey, build vivid scenes for us, craft strong voices and unusual and unforgettable settings (we love stories where place is a character too). Any subject is welcome.

What we do Not represent:

– The heavily partisan, inflammatory, or hateful – Children’s picture books, Middle Grade or Young Adult – Genre Romance or Erotica – Horror (as a strict genre, but we like classic horror elements) – Hard Science Fiction and High Fantasy (again as a strict genre, but we love out-of-this-world stories)

Get to Know an Agent in Attendance: Tracey Adams of Adams Literary

“Our clients’ work spans every age and genre—from picture books to middle grade, young adult to new adult and adult fiction, from historical novels and fantasy to books that tackle important contemporary issues. We gravitate toward unforgettable and unputdownable titles: both the timeless and the timely. I am currently most interested in middle grade and YA contemporary with underrepresented characters (show me anything likely to be banned) and fiction for any age with magical realism, thrillers and mysteries with twists, unique voices, and intriguing settings. We do not typically represent nonfiction .”

A graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Tracey speaks frequently about her profession and the children’s book industry at conferences across the country. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the Association of Author Representatives (AAR), and a founding member of the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) chapter in Charlotte.

In her spare time, Tracey enjoys traveling, playing tennis, cheering for the Carolina Panthers, and test-marketing children’s books with her two daughters.

Get to Know a Literary Scout in Attendance: ​Grace Morrison of Booker Albert Literary Agency

She is open to pitches for the following: young adult contemporary & paranormal romance, new adult contemporary & paranormal romance, contemporary adult romance, all types of young adult fiction, adult science fiction, adult fantasy, horror, LGBTQ+ romance, action, adventure, thrillers, dystopian, eco-fiction, speculative, grounded fantasy.

​Grace is a graduate of the University of Florida with a B.A. in English and Mass Communication. She first found her love for stories by devouring fairy tales as a child, especially the Andrew Lang Fairy books. Usually, she’s drawn to stories with unusual and exciting fantasy worlds like Stephanie Garber’s Caraval and Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Boys or any other stories with complicated character relationships and strange mythologies. Her favorite tropes are enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn relationships, and hidden worlds. Grace typically has a few jobs at once, and when she’s not reading or writing, she’s most likely at the beach or trying a new restaurant in her hometown. ​

Get to Know an Agent in Attendance: Brandy Vallance of Barbara Bova Literary Agency

Brandy comes from a long line of storytellers. An old soul, she fell in love with passed-down tales, the odd and unexplained, and the pursuit of answering the mysteries that perplex us all. She loves to wander down ancient paths, explore dusty libraries, and does occasional archaeology. Her books are a lush escape into timeless romance, breathtaking adventure, and push the boundaries of what is expected.

Brandy is the winner of two national writing awards, one of which included a $20,000 prize. Her critically acclaimed novel, The Covered Deep , has been featured in USA Today and Writer’s Digest. Romantic Times called her second novel “passionate and riveting” and Publishers Weekly encourages those who like sweeping Scottish sagas to dive in because “the journey is wonderful.”

After more than two decades in the world of publishing, Brandy has joined Barbara Bova Literary Agency, and she is looking forward to being a champion of amazing writers and outstanding books.

Throughout the years, Brandy has been a Writing Coach, a Story Consultant, and an international Publishing Specialist. For hundreds of writers, her mentorship has broken the chains of fear and self-doubt. From teaching Master Classes to sitting at quiet tables, Brandy loves helping people explore their deepest truths.

Brandy believes in the high calling of storytelling, and she lights the way for writers, as well as readers. Page by page, she walks in the legacy of those who have gone before her, and she holds a torch for any who are seeking their way.

Here’s what she’d love to represent:

Quality fiction. While I do read more frequently in some genres, my book love is very eclectic. If you’ve put hard work into the craft of writing and you have an amazing book, query me!

I represent these genres but I am also not limited to these genres:

Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical Mystery, Romance, Literary, Women’s Fiction, Southern Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, Adventure, Speculative, Inspirational, Thriller.

I’m a fan of:

*atmospheric writing

*stories set in the British Isles, Europe, or exotic locations

*Regency, Victorian, and Edwardian romance

*Victorian time period in general (other centuries are welcome too)

*archaeology / artifacts / history’s mysteries

*stories set in castles, manor houses, or quaint villages

*stories with a Gothic flair

*Byronic heroes

*redemption stories

*stories that feature “thin places”

*stories that explore Biblical themes without being preachy (ex. Charles Martin books)

*Appalachian stories / mountain culture

*folklore / cryptids / legends / fairy tales

*time travel

*fantasy & sci-fi in almost every sub-category

*characters who are writers, artists, or have a unique profession

*stories that explore deep emotion

*stories that make me FEEL

*stories that tell me what it means to be human

*anything imaginative, witty, or hilarious!

Get to Know an Agent in Attendance: Carey Blankenship-Kramer of Belcastro Agency

After growing up surrounded by books and people who loved to read them, Carey dreamed of bringing more books to the hands of avid readers like herself. She graduated from Berry College with a dual degree in English and Creative Writing. She later received her master’s in Writing and Digital Communications from Agnes Scott College. She has experience working with both publishing houses and literary agencies and loves her role as Junior Agent at Belcastro Agency. As an editorial agent, she loves working closely with her authors to ensure their stories come to life on the page.

While her sweet spot is horror and middle grade, Carey’s tastes are wide and varied. From mystery to fantasy to science fiction, she loves anything that can draw her in and have her rooting for the main characters.

Specifics Across All Genres and Age Groups:

• If you have a strong platform and love what you do, feel free to pitch me a concept.
• Diverse stories from Ownvoices.
• HORROR. Horror, horror, horror! If you have something remotely spooky, Carey wants to see it.
• Neurodiversity rep. As someone with ADHD, anxiety, and depression, neurodiversity is extremely important to Carey.
• Queer stories, especially those with happy endings.
• Quiet, coming of age stories for MG audiences, especially if the word count is on the smaller side with a twinge of magic.
• Stories with animal sidekicks / main characters / or just fluffy pals. Especially horses.
• Dragons! Or anything with mythological creatures.
• Tennis centered books.
• Stories set in the South.

Middle Grade specifics:

• Contemporary
• Science Fiction
• Literally everything. Carey LOVES Middle Grade.

Young Adult specifics:

• Graphic Novel

New Adult/Adult specifics:

Carey is NOT accepting

• Stories where the animals die. I’m so sorry, I am weak and cannot handle it.

Some of her most recent favorites include Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega, The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune, Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren, The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill, How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu, When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb, The Broken Girls by Simone St. James, and Just South of Home by Karen Strong.

Outside of work and writing, you can usually find Carey spending time with her small zoo and husband, getting way too competitive on the tennis court, gardening, playing video games, or eating candy.

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Lighthouse's Young Writers Workshops are designed to foster creativity, self-expression, and excitement about writing. There are no grades here, just the stories. We offer workshops at Lighthouse including afterschool and weekend workshops, the Young Authors Collective, and summer camps, as well as youth outreach in schools, at juvenile residential treatment centers, and in collaboration with other arts organizations.

For the latest on workshops and events,  sign up for our Young Writers Program e-newsletter . 

Lighthouse connects kids and teens to words, new friends, and a writing community. We offer workshops in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, screenwriting, and many other genres and topics. Our classes are taught by published authors and are designed to foster creativity, self-expression, and excitement about writing.

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Lighthouse's Young Writers Camps are led by published and award-winning writers, and each workshop is designed to foster creativity, self-expression, and excitement about writing in young writers aged 8 to 18. Registration for half-day camp and applications for full-day camp will open on January 1, 2019.

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The Young Writers Program offers creative writing workshops in public and private schools as well as juvenile residential treatment centers throughout the Denver metro area. Led by working, published writers with a passion for sharing their craft, our outreach workshops provide access to our innovative creative writing programming for young people who cannot come to Lighthouse.

The Young Authors Collective, or YAC, is a group of talented, word-obsessed high school writers dedicated to experimenting with new creative forms, collaborating with other arts organizations, and writing a ton. We meet once a week at Lighthouse to generate new pieces, give friendly feedback, and work towards publication.

Support Young Writers

Our Future Scribes Depend on Your Support. Nearly all of the workshops and projects that will engage 2,300 students this year are free to attend, and for the sessions that do have tuition, such as summer writing camp, financial aid is available for any student who needs it. We want all young people who want to write to be able to do so and for them to be nurtured by the best instructors and mentors available. This only happens with the support of generous donors like you.

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The Master of Fine Arts in creative writing is a two-year full residency program with an emphasis on providing studio time for the writing of poetry or fiction. Our students develop their particular talents through small classes in writing, literature, and publishing. As part of a community of writers, students read and comment on each other’s work under the guidance of distinguished faculty, who also meet with students in one-on-one tutorials.

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Jennine capó crucet fiction reading, michael parker: the last lecture, the history the uncg mfa program.

The MFA Writing Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro is one of the oldest such programs in the country. During the early years, the University had among its faculty noted writers such as Allen Tate, Caroline Gordon, John Crowe Ransom, Hiram Haydn, Peter Taylor, and Randall Jarrell. They invited other distinguished authors to campus to meet with students and read from their work; these writers included Saul Bellow, Robert Frost, Robert Lowell, Flannery O’Connor, Robert Penn Warren, and Eudora Welty.

In 1965, under the leadership of Robert Watson, creative writing offerings were formalized. Since that time, the faculty has intentionally kept the program small, enabling students to work one-on-one with faculty in a community of writers.

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Welcome! The UNCW Department of Creative Writing is a community of deeply committed writers who believe that the creation of art is valuable to self and culture.

We think you'll find we are an open-minded and big-hearted group. Our faculty encourages a rigorous yet safe, supportive environment in which diverse writers can grow as artists and as individuals. We believe excellence starts with an informed application of craft and we encourage writers to explore aesthetics and methods across genre lines.

Whether you are an undergraduate writer just starting down the path, or a more experienced one looking for support and guidance in the mastery of your art, we have a program that will work for you. We invite you to explore the pages of this site. Get to know us.

Look over the seasoned and well-published faculty. Check out the creative careers and prestigious publications of our students and alumni, and the extraordinary success of our Publishing Laboratory with its hands-on curriculum for BFA and MFA students.

Find out more about our award-winning semiannual journals,  Chautauqua and Ecotone , and book imprint, Lookout Books , at Ecotone Lookout . Read about our partnership with HarperCollins Publishers (which gives students direct access to crucial publishing industry information and individuals). Then be sure to let us know if you have any questions.

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Integral to the Department of Creative Writing, the Publishing Laboratory incorporates into the apprenticeship of creative writers an applied learning experience in the process by which literary manuscripts, including their own, are edited and designed into books and published to a wide audience of readers.

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We believe that the ultimate measure of our worth is not a faculty's published work - important as that may be - but the artistic, personal, and academic evolution of each of the students in our charge. Our primary profession, in short, is to recruit, support, and nurture the most promising writers and students of letters in the country.

Support Creative Writing Today!

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In the spirit of collective work and responsibility, UNCW actively fosters, encourages and promotes inclusiveness, mutual respect, acceptance and open-mindedness among students, faculty, staff and the broader community.

Contact UNCW Department of Creative Writing

Phone: (910) 962-7063 Fax: (910) 962-7461

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B.A. English (Creative Writing)

The creative writing program.

“Leading with Service – Motivating through Words and Ideas”

North Carolina A&T is one of the oldest historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) offering a full-service Creative Writing Program, and one of the few offering a Bachelor of Arts degree in English/Creative Writing. At North Carolina A&T we help you shape your ideas into the spoken or printed word.

Students choose from two tracks: fiction or poetry, and while our curriculum includes a full range of literature past and present, we have a special focus on African-American Literature, literature of Africa and the African Diaspora. Spoken Word and Hip-Hop are among the courses offered. Such diverse course offerings allow our  majors to develop their talents in writing fiction, poetry, screenwriting, spoken word and nonfiction from a diverse background of writing traditions. Students also have the opportunity to:

• Participate in the Aggie Open-mic Series: SpiritSpeak
• Attend the Carolina on my Mind Reading Series
• Become an Aggie Keeper Peer-mentor
• Perform in N.C. A&T’s premier Spoken Word Troupe: Poetic Insurgents
• Become the next Aggie Poet Laureate
• Become an Aggie Poet of the Month
• Publish in our literary journal: Encore
• Join the creative writing club: Freedom Scribes
• Showcase creative work in The Blue Poet Salon
• Write in the Bi-annual Craft Workshops for majors
• Participate in a writing competition: NC HBCU Literary Network
• Participate in the annual "Aggies Create" Literary Festival

For more information contact:

Dr. Kimberly Harper Interim Chair, Department of English North Carolina A&T State University General Classroom Bldg., A-440

[email protected]

336-285-3518 or 336-334-7771

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Sf creative writing institute to offer week-long summer camp, announcement details, announcement message.

In this one week-workshop style summer camp, teens will write stories, novel excerpts, nonfiction, and poetry in a fun, inclusive environment. 

Our goal is self-expression. Our methods are learning by doing, teaching young writers to find their unique voice, try out different styles in their writing, and follow the artistic process to see where it leads. 

Taught by working artist and college English instructor.

Ages: 

Date: .

Aug. 12-16, 2024

Time: 

12 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Location: 

Harvey Milk Center for the Arts 

50 Scott Street 

San Francisco, Calif. 94117

Cost: 

Use code SAVE50 to get early bird discount of 50 percent off before July 1. 

SFUSD neither endorses nor sponsors the organization or activity described in this announcement. This distribution is provided as a community service.

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“Community Matters Here”: Inside NC State’s Creative Writing MFA Program

When Meghan Tanaka was preparing to graduate from the University of Mississippi with a double major in English and philosophy in 2020, she knew she wanted to go on to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing with a specialization in poetry. What she didn’t know was which of the hundreds of MFA programs in the United States she should apply to. 

“It was one of my professors who suggested that I apply to NC State,” she recalls. “He recommended it because the program has really good faculty, and also because it’s smaller. Small class size means you get a lot of faculty attention.” 

Tanaka took her professor’s advice, and she’s glad she did. Now in her second year at NC State, Tanaka has flourished in the MFA program . The small classes taught by excellent faculty — including Dorianne Laux, whose sixth book of poetry, Only as the Day Is Long , was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry — are a big reason why, of course. But there’s also one other factor her professor didn’t know about: the sense of community that pervades the program from top to bottom.

“For me, community is what sets this program apart from the others,” she says. “It feels really good to know that you can talk with your professors and your classmates about life and writing and the scary stuff we’re all going through. You’ve got people you can lean on.” (You can read Tanaka’s poem “Stargazer” in the literary journal Pigeon Pages .)

An Unlikely Pairing That Makes Good Sense

Although the casual observer might be surprised to discover an excellent graduate-level arts program at a world-class STEM university like NC State, the pairing actually makes sense when North Carolina’s rich literary history is taken into account. The state has been home to so many respected, beloved writers — including Thomas Wolfe, Zora Neale Hurston, David Sedaris, Jaki Shelton Green, Charles Frazier, Jill McCorkle, Randall Kenan, Lee Smith and Anne Tyler, to name only a very few — that it’s fitting for North Carolina’s largest university to host a program dedicated to continuing that legacy.

It also makes sense for a university whose mantra is Think and Do to feature a program devoted to tangible creative output, informed by a mixture of classroom instruction, peer support and faculty mentorship. The MFA is a two-year, 36-hour program comprising writing workshops, interdisciplinary coursework in academic subjects and a final thesis consisting of a book-length literary work supervised by a faculty advisor. The program has two tracks: fiction and poetry. All students admitted to the program receive full funding in the form of a graduate assistantship.

Since the program enrolled its first cohort of students in 2003, it has earned a national reputation for offering high-quality instruction while welcoming many different styles of writing, says Belle Boggs, director of the program. 

“Thanks to the vision and example of the program’s founders — John Kessel, Wilton Barnhardt, and John Balaban — we’ve been open to and inclusive of and excited about a wide variety of forms and genres since the very beginning,” Boggs says. “That celebration of a diversity of styles — postmodernism, traditional realism, gritty Southern fiction, science fiction — is not something you can get just anywhere. But we’ve been doing that a long time, perhaps longer than any other program out there.” 

The program’s openness to variety and experimentation has made it popular with prospective students, she says. 

Celebration of a diversity of styles — postmodernism, traditional realism, gritty Southern fiction, science fiction — is not something you can get just anywhere.

“Last year we received over 275 applications for 13 spots,” Boggs says. “That means we can be selective in recruiting really amazing, interesting writers who build a great community.” 

One of those new recruits is Rafeeat Aliyu, a first-year fiction writer from Kwara, Nigeria. Aliyu writes speculative fiction in the burgeoning Afrofuturist tradition. (You can see a list of Aliyu’s publications, and find links to many of them online, at her website .)

“I wrote my first story in primary school, about a family of ghosts, from the point of the view of the young ghost daughter,” Aliyu says. “I kept writing, and after undergrad I got a few stories published; but not many Nigerian magazines cater to what I write. Nigerians have always had these weird, fantastical stories about mermaids and things like that, but when it comes to literature, publishers mostly just go for literary fiction — writers like Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.” 

Aliyu heard that Western markets might be more friendly to her work, and in 2018 she met an alum of NC State’s program who told her she should consider applying. Now that she’s been admitted to the program, she’s happy to have found such a welcoming artistic home at NC State. Aliyu is studying under the supervision of speculative fiction writer Cadwell Turnbull, author of the acclaimed new novel No Gods, No Monsters . Turnbull’s fiction has appeared in Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018 and The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2019 .

The Key: Rigor and Nourishment

Over on the poetry track, faculty member Eduardo C. Corral — whose second book, Guillotine , was longlisted for the National Book Award in 2020 — says NC State’s emphasis on community is what drew him here.

“My first book of poetry came out in 2012, and after that I started doing poetry readings at colleges all over the country,” he says. “I did 12 to 15 readings a semester for years. I saw a lot of different programs during that time. But when I came to NC State, right away I noticed that community matters here. And that’s important, because the key to making any writing workshop successful is two words: rigor and nourishment. You have to have both, working in tandem. And that only succeeds if the students respect each other. Community is what makes that kind of respect possible.”

Community is what sets this program apart from the others.

When asked what it’s like to teach poetry at a STEM school, Corral laughingly replies, “The undergrads will catch any mistakes I make in anything having to do with math — especially when it comes to grading! The percentages do have to add up to 100, you know?” 

He goes on to note that scientists and engineers are a naturally inquisitive bunch. “They’re trying to figure out how to make bridges safer, how to make energy systems more environmentally friendly; they’re problem solvers, and that lends itself to writing poetry. The trick is to remind them that there’s no equation for how to write poetry, so they have to draft a new set of questions for every poem. I help them focus on the questions, not just on the solutions.” 

Alumni Making Their Mark

NC State’s MFA program has helped many outstanding writers find their voices. The program’s alumni include:

• Threa Almontaser , whose first book of poetry, The Wild Fox of Yemen , won the 2020 Walt Whitman Award and was recently longlisted for the National Book Award.
• Emily Cataneo and Arshia Simkin , who launched the Redbud Writing Project , an adult education writing school offering classes in fiction, nonfiction and poetry, both in person and online.
• Leila Chatti , whose debut poetry collection, Deluge , was published by Copper Canyon Press and won the Larry Levis Prize from Virginia Commonwealth University.
• Noel Crook , whose debut poetry collection, Salt Moon , won the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award and was published by Southern Illinois University Press. 
• Tyree Daye , whose debut poetry collection, River Hymns , earned the American Poetry Review ‘s Honickman First Book Prize. Daye was also a 2019 recipient of the prestigious Whiting Award in poetry, one of the largest and most prestigious awards given to emerging writers in the United States. Daye’s second poetry collection, Cardinal , was featured on the New York Times list of the best poetry of 2020. 
• Kij Johnson , whose first collection of short stories, At the Mouth of the River of Bees , contained stories that won Nebula and Hugo Awards. Johnson now teaches at the University of Kansas.
• Sarah Grunder Ruiz , whose debut romantic comedy, Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships , comes out this fall with Berkley/Penguin. Sarah teaches in NC State’s First Year Writing Program.
• Alyssa Wong , who as a student in the program won the 2015 Nebula Award for Best Short Story and the 2016 World Fantasy Award for Short Fiction.

Boggs says many of the program’s alumni demonstrate a remarkable commitment to the program even after they graduate. “Alumni frequently come back for readings and workshops, and to mentor our students,” she notes. “For example, Cadwell Turnbull studied in the program under John Kessel and Wilton Barnhardt, and now he’s our newest faculty member. His addition to the program continues their teaching tradition and at the same time brings an important new voice into the program.”

Another alum is Therese Anne Fowler, whose fourth novel, Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald , was a 2013 New York Times bestseller and was adapted into the Amazon TV show Z: The Beginning of Everything , starring Christina Ricci. Her latest novel, It All Comes Down to This , will be published in June 2022. 

The program’s famed openness to difference helped Fowler find her way into writing after she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology — not the typical academic preparation for a fiction writer, she notes.

“I came out of the social sciences and did not have a background in reading literature,” Fowler recalls. “For someone like that, who also has the desire to express themselves through fiction writing, it’s important to know you don’t have to be a literary scholar to get into the program.” 

Fowler says the most important thing she got out of the program was learning how to critique her own work. “I think you can learn to write without studying it the way we did in the program,” she says, “but because the workshops require you to assess and deconstruct and analyze other people’s work and then produce some kind of commentary on it, that process taught me how to do that for my own work. And gaining that ability helped me shorten the path from aspiration to success.” 

The Transformative Impact of Philanthropy

As successful as the program and its alumni have been, now it’s poised for even greater success thanks to Tony McLean Brown ’83 and his family, who earlier this year made a $1 million gift to support the MFA program. The gift marks the largest for a humanities department at NC State and one of the largest funded endowments in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. 

“This gift is transformative,” said Dean Jeff Braden when the gift was announced. “Tony and his family are creating a legacy that will launch the careers of many gifted poets, novelists and other writers for years to come.”

Director Belle Boggs says the Browns’ generous gift will allow the program to greatly expand its efforts to recruit students from diverse backgrounds, likely doubling the impact of the program’s  diversity recruiting efforts.

Our students care deeply about their impact on the community.

Boggs says the Browns’ gift will also support the expansion of the program’s community engagement efforts. “Our students care deeply about their impact on the community,” she says, “and we’re exploring ways to support them in programs of outreach teaching, publishing and literary ventures that will positively affect the literary landscape of North Carolina and beyond.”  

For example, in 2016 poetry students Tyree Daye and Alabama Stone founded a literary outreach program called Street Smarts and the Arts that hosted informal poetry workshops with homeless youth in Raleigh. The program ended when funding cuts shuttered the homeless center where the workshops were held, but Daye and Stone created a record of the participants’ artistic achievements by publishing an anthology of the poetry produced in the workshops. 

The MFA program also sponsors an annual poetry contest and an annual fiction contest , both of which have no entry fee and are open to all North Carolina residents. The fiction contest, which is currently taking submissions, awards two prizes: 

• The James Hurst Prize for Fiction ($500) is awarded to the best unpublished short story of no more than 5,000 words. 
• The Shorter Fiction Prize ($250) is awarded to the best unpublished short story of no more than 1,200 words. 

The postmark deadline for entries in the fiction contest — hard copies only, no electronic submissions — is Oct. 15, 2021. Visit the fiction contest webpage for more details.

For prospective students who are interested in applying to the MFA program, Boggs says the program is first of all looking for students who have extraordinary talent. “But in addition to that talent and spark,” she says, “we also want people who are going to be generous, enthusiastic, constructive, supportive members of our community. We want people who want to be part of a team.”

Boggs says she couldn’t be more happy about having joined this particular team. 

“When I first came here as a visiting writer, not to be corny about it, but I fell in love with the program,” she says. “I love being on a big campus that offers cool events like the AV Geeks at the Hunt Library, lectures about public science, art exhibits, musical performances, so many amazing opportunities — but at the same time we have this small, tight-knit community of writers.”

If its history is any indication, this small program will continue to make a big impact on students, the university, the community and the literary landscape for a long time to come.

This post was originally published in NC State News.

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