Programs

Summer Online

Juniper Young Writers Online

Program Dates: August 5–9, 2024
Final Application Deadline (scholarships and self-pay): March 7, 2024
Cost: $1,280

Applications for the 2024 Juniper Young Writers Online are closed.

The application deadline for both scholarship consideration and self-pay admission is March 7, 2024. Scholarship notifications and admissions decisions will be issued after the application deadline. Learn more about how to apply here.

These last few years have shown us the great possibilities of virtual community and mentorship for young writers. This summer we will continue hosting online programming for students in grades 9-12, in a new collaboration with UMass Summer Pre-College programs. Juniper Young Writers Online will continue to provide young writers with opportunities for experimentation, creativity and wild invention, with the added benefit of being hosted in a virtual classroom with University Without Walls at UMass Amherst.

Whether from their bedrooms or their gardens, JYWO participants will spend an intensive virtual week engaging deeply with the writing process in community with Creative Writing Instructors, all working writers and students in the UMass Amherst MFA for Poets and Writers, and a community of deeply passionate peer writers. During past JYWO sessions, participants from all around the United States and the world have joined to share their creativity, writing, and ideas with each other. Especially for young writers, finding a writing community can be so difficult, and Juniper Young Writers Online offers participants the opportunity to form connections with like-minded writers that can last long after the program ends.

With our new collaboration with UWW, we aim to enhance our online program’s remote learning experience via the Canvas learning management system. Young writers will engage on a deeper level with their peers and more easily communicate and exchange their creative writing with their instructors.

Throughout the program, participants will spend a week of focused time on honing their craft and soaking up inspiration and advice from our faculty and from peers by taking part in our long developed programming, including Writing Labs, Craft Sessions, Participant Readings, Writer’s Life talks, and Write-alongs.

More information about our 2024 online program for young writers is forthcoming!


The University of Massachusetts reserves the right to cancel any program it deems necessary. In the event of program cancellation, payment will be refunded in full.