The New York State Writers Institute, in association with the Office of the Dean of Special Programs at Skidmore College, will sponsor the tenth annual New York State Summer Young Writers Institute (SYWI) from Sunday, July 20 through Saturday, July 26, 2008 at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY. This week-long creative writing workshop is open to all New York State high school students entering the 10th, 11th, or 12th grade in the fall of 2008. Admission and participation is limited to 34 students and will be determined by evaluation of creative writing selections submitted by the student applicants. The application deadline is April 15, 2008.
Participants in the SYWI will receive instruction in poetry, prose, and imaginative nonfiction, and engage in the critical evaluation of each other’s work. In addition, the young writers will attend evening readings and craft talks by nationally known writers who are part of the New York State Summer Writers Institute, a writing workshop for adults, which also takes place on the Skidmore campus during the month of July.
Tuition is $ 600.00, which includes instructional workshops and readings, campus activities, and room and board. Full and partial scholarships are available to participants based on need. To request an application contact Chris Merrill in Skidmore’s Office of the Dean of Special Programs at 518-580-5590.
This year’s teaching faculty includes:
Kathleen Aguero is the author of the poetry collections, “Daughter Of” (2004), “The Real Weather” (1987), and “Thirsty Day” (1977), and editor of “Daily Fare: Essays from the Multicultural Experience” (1993). She is a Professor of English at Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, MA, teaching in their low-residency MFA and undergraduate programs.
Liza Frenette is an assistant editor at “New York Teacher,” the official membership newspaper published by New York State United Teachers (NYSUT). Author of three novels for children, including “Soft Shoulders” (1998), Ms. Frenette has published articles in “Reader’s Digest” and “Adirondack Life”, among other publications, and has won first place feature and news writing awards from UPI and Associated Press.
Elaine Handley is a poet and fiction writer, as well as an Associate Professor of Writing and Literature at Empire State College. Her poetry chapbooks, “Notes from the Fire Tower” and “Glacial Erratica” won the Adirondack Center for Writing Award in Poetry in 2006 and 2007 respectively. She is currently completing “Deep River,” an historical novel about the Underground Railroad.
Richard Hoffman’s memoir, “Half the House,” first published in 1995 by Harcourt Brace, was recently reissued in a new and expanded edition. He is also author of the poetry collections “Without Paradise” (2002) and “Gold Star Road” (2007) winner of the 2007 Barrow Street Press Poetry Prize. Writer-in-Residence at Emerson College, he also teaches in the Stonecoast MFA Program.
Robert Miner worked for “Newsweek” and has written for the “New York Times,” “Washington Post,” “The Village Voice,” and “Esquire.” He has published two novels -“Exes”(1987) and “Mother’s Day” (1979)- and is finishing up the third novel in this series, “Father, Son and Holy Ghost,” as well as writing nonfiction about Istanbul, Turkey. Since 1980 he has taught writing for the University at Albany and Empire State College, as well as for Skidmore College, Syracuse University, Siena College, and the College of St. Rose.
William B. Patrick is the founder and director of the New York State Summer Young Writers Institute. His latest book, “Saving Troy” (2005), is a creative nonfiction chronicle of a year spent living and riding with professional firefighters and paramedics. He has also published a memoir, an award-winning novel, and two books of poetry with BOA Editions. Mr. Patrick teaches writing for the College of St. Rose and for the Stonecoast MFA Program.
For additional information visit the Writers Institute’s web site at http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/nyssywi.html.
