Opportunity Guide I Summer, Enrichment & Activities Guide

Developing as a writer requires writing a lot. There are opportunities available to encourage and motivate young writers and help them develop their craft.  If writing poems, plays and stories excites your child, encourage her submit her writing for publication in a school or special interest magazine. There are more than a few online literary and writing magazines that publish writing by and for children and teens.

For a child that likes competitions, many historical organizations and various nonprofits (e.g., environmental groups) sponsor annual themed writing contests for children in various age/grade categories. For an older child who wants to improve and enhance her skills, there are specialized summer writing workshops and intensives that offer focused concentrations (e.g., science fiction, screenwriting, novel writing) and provide an opportunity for peer review.



  1. Founded in 2002 by internationally acclaimed author Dave Eggers and award-winning educator Nínive Calegari, 826 Valencia inspired a network of creative writing and tutoring centers now eight cities… Read more
  2. Try out college life and take college-level courses in special programs for high school students. High school students with a B or better grade point average may enroll as non-degree students in… Read more
  3. Through on-site arts education programs, outreach to schools and community-based partnerships, Appel Farm provides people of all ages, cultures and economic backgrounds with a supportive, cooperative… Read more
  4. Columbia University offers several summer programs for high school students, both in its home city of New York City, but also in foreign countries as well. For students that will be in New York, they… Read more
  5. The Cornell University Summer Session traces its roots to summer courses in geology, zoology, and entomology that were presented in the late 1870s. The University offered these courses in the summer… Read more
  6. The Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) is a nonprofit organization that has served over 2.8 million academically talented students in grades four through twelve since 1980. Each… Read more
  7. FPSPI 's mission is to develop the ability of young people globally to design and achieve positive futures through problem solving using critical and creative thinking. FPSPI is a dynamic… Read more
  8. The world leader in gifted education since 1979, Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth is a nonprofit dedicated to identifying and developing the talents of academically advanced pre-college… Read more
  9. In 2005, Classical archaeologists Regan & Amy Barr founded The Lukeion Project. Now with a much larger teaching faculty, we offer 6 years of Classical Latin & 7 years of Greek, Classical… Read more
  10. Student Writing Awards Achievement Awards in Writing (for 11th grade students) This school-based writing program encourages high school students in their writing and publicly recognizes some of the… Read more
  11. National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, empowering approach to creative writing. The challenge: draft an entire novel in just one month. Why do it? For 30 wild, exciting, surprising days… Read more
  12. The New England Young Writers’ Conference (NEYWC) at Bread Loaf is a four day writing-focused workshop for high school students in New England and from around the country. The long weekend is packed… Read more
  13. 6-Week, 1-Week, & Everything In Between NYU’s varied array of high school programs offer flexibility and options that can be tailored to your individual needs and schedule. Most programs are… Read more
  14. Talent Search Assessment - A research-validated program, Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search (NUMATS) utilizes above-grade-level testing to identify academic ability, measure… Read more
  15. At A Novel Idea, we believe in the transformative power of language. We believe that words can change minds, change hearts, change our lives, and change the world. That's a tall order for anyone, let… Read more
  16. Pratt PreCollege programs provide high school students with rigorous college level art, design and creative thinking courses, modeled after Pratt Institute’s undergraduate offerings. Classes are… Read more
  17. The Young Artists and Writers Project (formerly the Young American Writers Project) is dedicated to mentoring middle and high school students in the development of creative expression and critical… Read more
  18. The Iowa Young Writers' Studio offers online courses for high school students! These courses are offered independently of the summer residential program. Each spring, we will offer three online… Read more
  19. The Office of Pre-College Programs offers programs, events, and competitions that have been designed to challenge talented K-12 students to experience academic rigor and success at levels above what… Read more
  20. Writopia Lab is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in New York City in April of 2007. Writopia runs creative writing workshops for kids ages 6 to 18. All of the workshops have a maximum of… Read more