Yale Young Writers' Workshop

About the Yale Young Writers' Workshop 

Virtual High School Program: July 9 - 14, 2023

Yale is excited to offer a one-week online summer writing workshop for 16 - 18 year old rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors. We’re seeking bookish wordsmiths interested in adding to their writerly toolbox, writers who will generate and share their work in an intimate, non-competitive, online community.

Writers chose from one of three genres: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We have capped the workshops at 12 writers per genre to ensure all voice are heard. Participants attend talks on the craft of writing, genre workshops, open mics, faculty and visiting author readings, student readings, and learn about careers in writing.

Each day starts with a craft talk from a visiting writer followed by small group workshop for three hours in the afternoon. The craft talks expose writers to genres outside of their own. The workshop is a safe creative space to experiment, play, and develop narrative tools, and new work over the course of the week. Students will generate new material and then read it back to the group for feedback with an eye for revision.

Participants will read one assigned book from a visiting writer prior to the start of the workshop. This will create a shared literature to study during the week and allow students to investigate writing strategies from published work, and then have the opportunity to ask said writer about their creative process.

Our faculty are gifted teachers and published writers. They will meet writers where they are but also prepare them with skills to write their next story, essay, graphic story, or poem. With few exceptions, our faculty will be the closest readers you’ve ever had. They will challenge you to produce their best work. And they’ll harness the creative power unique to the writing workshop.

Before You Begin the Program:

• Your instructor will assign a short exercise for you to complete before the first workshop.
• You’ll be assigned one book to read by a visiting writer. The writer will present and then visit with your genre group
• Start writing now in your journal. Activate your muse in preparation for your workshop.

Guest Authors and Required Reading:

Poetry Guest Author - Nicole Beer Assigned Reading Real Phonies and Genuine Fakes

Fiction Guest Author (For Jotham Burrello, Jennifer Maritza McCauley and Lara  Ehrlich's workshops) - Toya Wolfe Assigned Reading Last Summer on State Street

Fiction Guest Author (For Anne Thalheimer's workshop) - Josh Neufeld Assigned Reading AD New Orleans After the Deluge

Non-Fiction Guest Author - Megan Stielstra Assigned Reading Once We Were Cool

Dates:

• Application Opens: January 17, 2023
• Application Deadline: April 3, 2023
• Decisions Released: April 14, 2023
• Payment Due (to secure your spot): April 21, 2023

Cost:

• $900

Eligibility:

• Applicants must be between 16 - 18 years old and a rising high school sophomore, junior, or senior.

Admission Process:

• A writing sample is required. It needs to accompany your application for admission and must be uploaded electronically. Submit your writing sample as a Word document: 500 words, double-spaced in times roman, 12-point font, one-inch margins. Each page must include your name. Note genre of the submission: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry or Graphic Forms.
• Transcript
• 2 Letters of Recommendation 

Refund Policy:

• We will refund 75% for cancellation requests received by April 28, 2023, and 50% for cancelation requests received by May 5, 2023.   We will be unable to honor refund requests received after May 5, 2023.