Join a community of writers at Gonzaga:

A creative writing retreat for high school juniors and seniors

Gonzaga University is pleased to begin accepting applications for the 2009 Gonzaga Summer Writing Institute, to take place June 20-28, 2009, in Spokane, WA. The Institute offers young writers from the classes of 2010 and 2011 the unique opportunity to develop their talents in a college atmosphere, with assistance and direction from published poets and fiction writers.

The Summer Writing Institute is an intensive, week-long creative writing retreat that equips high school students to pursue writing as both a form of artistic expression and a craft to be developed. In short, we hope students will begin to see the study of literature from a writer's perspective, asking at every turn what options are available and what guides a writer's pattern of decisions. Students will discuss contemporary literature, learn drafting strategies, generate new work, and offer and receive constructive feedback from peers and faculty.

As part of the Summer Writing Institute Reading Series, students will give public readings alongside emerging and established writers. Previous years' writers have included Beth Cooley, winner of the Delacorte Press prize for her novel Ostrich Eye; Christopher Howell, an editor, publisher, and the author of eight poetry collections, including Light's Ladder, which won the Washington State Book Award; and Nance Van Winckel, author of three fiction collections and five poetry collections, the most recent of which, No Starling, was published in 2007 by University of Washington Press.  This year's special reading series guests may include editor of Willow Springs, writer and teacher Sam Ligon, whose collection of stories, Drift and Swerve, won the 2008 Autumn House Fiction Prize; Laurie Lamon, who won a Washington State Artist Trust award in 2005, the same year her collection of poems, The Fork Without Hunger, was published; and Tod Marshall, editor of a collection of interviews and two poetry collections, the most recent of which, The Tangled Line, was released this Spring. Parents and friends are encouraged to see students read their work in these vibrant, creative events.

Students will also engage in cultural excursions both on and beyond the Gonzaga campus. Institute participants may visit art museums, enjoy nature walks, or attend evening readings at local coffee houses. We're still scheduling exciting events for this year's students. In addition, students will have access to many of the facilities that make Gonzaga University a world class liberal arts university.

Please take this opportunity to help develop your writing in a fun, supportive environment.