Summer camp offered for aspiring young writers
May 8, 2002
KALAMAZOO -- Aspiring child and teen writers should sharpen their pencils for a new opportunity to hone their creative writing skills in June at a Camp for Young Writers at Western Michigan University.
Coordinated by the WMU's Third Coast Writing Project, the two-week Camp for Young Writers will be held for children ages 9 to 15 from June 17 through June 28. The camp runs from 8 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday.
Through the camp, which is being offered after a three-year hiatus, young writers will explore and expand their creative writing skills through such activities as reading fiction, group collaboration, using computers, meeting professional writers and publishing their writing. Among the professional writers the campers will interact with are poets John Rybicki and Patricia Jabbeh Wesley.
Karen Zoynk, a language arts teacher from Olivet Middle School in Olivet, Mich., and Dominic Siciliano, a language arts teacher and basketball coach at Portage Central High School, will direct the camp.
"There was a great interesting starting the summer camp for kids again," says Dr. Ellen Brinkley, TCWP director and WMU professor of English. "We had two people from last year's Invitational Summer Institute for Teachers who had great ideas for the program. Their enthusiasm and talent will make the camp a success."
The cost to attend the camp is $275 and includes supplies, a daily snack, a T-shirt, a literary publication of campers' writing and end-of-session celebrations. Scholarships are available for some students. Applications for the camp and scholarships are available through the TCWP office by calling (616) 387-2581. The deadline for enrollment is Friday, May 17.
WMU's Third Coast Writing Project is a site of the National Writing Project which promotes the improvement of the teaching of writing at all grade levels through a variety of programs.
For more information, contact Ellen Brinkley at (269) 387-2581.
Media contact: Marie Lee, 269 387-8400, marie.lee@wmich.edu