The workshop was designed to make you feel open, safe, creative, and fun. The skills and ideas I gained cannot be put into words. And that's coming from a poet.
—’11 participant
My workshop leader didn't make workshop feel like a classroom—he geared every meeting as a way to explore our individual writing styles and grow as a cooperative writing community.
—’11 participant
The Juniper Institute for Young Writers curriculum provides a wide array of opportunities for high school students to write, read, explore and discuss ideas, and learn from accomplished writers. College credit is available.
Workshops
At the heart of the Institute are daily workshops in either poetry or fiction. Working with faculty and a core group of peers, participants generate new work, revise work in progress, and form a supportive community of young writers committed to sharing and receiving feedback on their writing. Enrollment is limited so that each writer has ample opportunity to present his or her work.
The work done here was brilliant, the exposure to new ideas mind-changing.
—’11 participant
It was awesome! I became more comfortable with my weirdness.
—’10 participant
Q&As and Craft Sessions
Q&As with faculty and writers in residence from the concurrent Juniper Institute for adults allow participants to explore the creative process and writer’s life with world-renowned authors such as Pulitzer Prize winning poet James Tate, National Book award winning poet and memoirist Mark Doty, and Guggenheim recipient and fiction writer Amy Hempel.
Craft sessions with Young Writer faculty examine aspects of craft and imagination of particular interest to beginning writers. Recent topics have included: “[mis]Understanding and [mis]Translation,” “Can I Get a Story Out of That?: Using Truth to Create Fiction,” “Developing Your Imagination,” “Ghost Stories and Writing the Mysterious,” and “A Man Walks Into a Bar: Using Jokes to Better Understand Surprise in Fiction”.
The craft session opened my eyes to a whole new spectrum of writing.
—’11 participant
The craft sessions taught me new approaches to my writing, and valuable lessons of why I should take myself outside of my comfort zone. —’10 participant
Studio Courses
I was in bookmaking and fell in love with it.I spent hours each night working on my books and want to make more when I get home.
—’11 participant
I never thought that bookmaking was something I could do. This opened my eyes and I am so proud of myself with 3 books to show for it. Fun, creative, inspiring.
—’11 participant
My performance class changed how I wrote for the better. Enough said.
—’11 participant
Through hands-on studio courses in bookmaking and performance, participants explore avenues of creativity and experiment with new ways to share their writing.
 
 Readings
Participants experience the transformative power of literature presented live each evening, as the acclaimed Juniper Institute faculty and writers in residence—including Mark Doty, James Tate, and Amy Hempel—read aloud from their work. You can find the reading schedule here.
The readers were amazingly funny, witty, and often heartbreakingly sad. They opened my eyes to modern language.
—’11 participant
Res Life & Recreational Activities
The Juniper Residence Director and specially-trained Program Assistants (advanced UMass undergraduates studying the literary arts) provide participants with an introduction to college residential life, day-to-day support, and fun activities. PAs facilitate morning and evening free-writing sessions, recreational activities, and field trips to area museums. As a member of a close-knit “pod,” participants develop intense and inspiring relationships with their workshop leader, their PA, and each other.
The pod experience was AWESOME! My pod felt like a family by the end of the first day.
—’11 participant
It was so much fun to be around young people who are as passionate about writing as I am. There is a great balance between social and academic.
—’09 participant
Faculty
Workshops and craft sessions are led by top MFA candidates from the renowned University of Massachusetts MFA Program for Poets and Writers who design curricula especially for the Institute setting. Studio courses are facilitated by artists and experienced teachers at the forefront of their fields. Additionally, participants interact with the acclaimed faculty and writers in residence of the concurrent Juniper Institute for adults through Q&A sessions and evening readings.
My workshop leader challenged us to write beyond our comfort zones and preferred styles, which has really helped me cultivate my voice. —’11 participant
The workshop was unlike anything I've ever been a part of.
—'11 participant
There was never a dull moment in class. —'11 participant
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