Western Looking for a Few Young Writers

"We're looking for students who are passionate about the craft," said Lynne Purtle, who directs the Young Writers Conference at Western Connecticut State University.

Typically about 60 students attend the week-long program, taking classes like writing poetry, writing the college admissions essay, writing the novel, writing the short story, sports writing, screen writing, and writing for online publications, among many others.

"What we did was work during the day on our special interest, and then in the afternoon we'd get together in the big group," recalls Rachael Adam, who will be starting her junior year at Danbury High School in August. Adam attended the summer writing conference two summers ago. "I enjoyed how they showed you how to put specific details in your writing. I use that all the time."

Kaleigh Constantine, another Danbury student heading into her junior year at Danbury High School in the fall, said she enjoyed the camp atmosphere.

"It was a really open environment. The team really helped me improve. We shared our work in a circle and critiqued our own work and helped people improve," Constantine said. "We worked toward a final piece at the end and we really wanted that to be very best. It was very supportive."

Purtle said the students get a chance to publish their work in a journal at the end of the week-long program. They attend the workshops from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. from July 9 to July 13. They host a reception on Friday afternoon for friends and family where they read their works.

Peter Asiedu, an 8th grader, has attended the conference three times, and he's looking forward to going back in July.

"They taught me not to be shy in my writing," said Asiedu, who reads novels and likes the Percy Jackson series. "I'm shy in my life. I like writing a lot."

"It's a lot of fun, this program," Purtle said. Registration is on-going. For information about the young writers' camp, visit its website at wcsu.edu/youngwriters.