Workshop Details

July 8 – 12, 2024

For incoming 1st through 12th graders

Program runs 8:00am-12:00pm each day
Drop off begins at 7:45am. Pick up starts at 12pm.

 
Location:
Texas A&M University – Texarkana
7101 University Avenue
Texarkana, Texas

*Workshop rooms, offices, and activities will take place in the University Center building

*Drop off/pick up take place in the small parking lot northwest of the UC building

Workshop Details*

Each young writer will receive the workshop reader, writing supplies, t-shirt (wear it to Friday’s celebration), and an anthology (mailed) with the best of each writer’s creations.

Incoming 1st/2nd Graders: Finding a Happy Place

Our youngest writers will journey with beloved children’s author Virginia Lee Burton through two of her books, The Little House and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. Following the themes of belonging, or finding a happy place, young authors will create illustrated stories and poems of their own to enjoy and share.

Incoming 3rd/4th Graders: Mystery and Mayhem

Incoming third and fourth graders will read, and perhaps solve, mystery stories. Thinking about “what makes a mystery a mystery?” they will create their own stories, illuminating the texts through multiple means: drawings, watercolors, maps, comics, etc. They will immerse themselves in creativity.

Incoming 5th/6th Graders: Fun with Fantasy

Our more advanced young writers will explore fantastical worlds with Ursala Le Guin’s A Wrinkle in Time or C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. From these inspiring novels, the authors will then create their own amazing worlds with unique geographies, populations, animalia, and more. We are looking forward to illustrious illustrations and fantastical fusions.

Incoming 7th/8th Graders: When Conflicts Arise

In fiction, as in life, conflict takes place in some form or fashion. These young writers will explore the serious and hilarious sides of conflict through The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton (with a side dish of Robert Frost) and This is Not a Personal Statement. Writers and artists will then work on their own creative projects for conflict resolution; whether a story, poem, play, poster, or something else entirely, creativity will abound.

Incoming 9th – 12th Graders: Strange Occurrences and Found Families

These experienced young authors will explore the unusual occurrences described in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. As with the youngest, these teens will focus on the theme of belonging, or found families, through discussions of the novel and other stories, creating a play or screen play of their own, working individually and in groups.

*YWW director staff reserves the right to recombine workshop groups based on student ability, participant enrollment, and/or staff availability.

To register for the Young Writers' Workshop, visit our registration page.
*Please ensure all information is accurate, as it will determine participant placement, t-shirt received, etc. 

Inquiries concerning summer 2024 programming can be directed to blancaster@tamut.edu.