Creative Writing Camp combines learning, laughter, and compassion to inspire young writers and readers. The program connects bright, young people with talented mentors and like-minded peers to nurture intellectual and artistic discovery. This learning-rich community rejects a narrow version of education, in which, too often, assessment structures learning. We reach for a goal that is harder to define: enhancing creativity, developing the imagination, and finding our own voices. We help our students and campers be so engaged with the joys of literary arts that they don’t even notice how much they are learning.

Camp Hours: 9:00 AM–3:00 PM Additional “less programmed” option to stay from 3:00 PM-4:00 PM. The 3:00 PM-4:00 PM hour will be an additional $50 cost for the week.

Tuition:

• Early Bird Registration Cost: $300 – 9:00 AM–3:00 PM (M-F) – Enroll before February 1, 2025 to lock in your camper’s spot at the summer 2024 price for summer 2025!

• Standard One-Session Cost: $325 – 9:00 AM–3:00 PM (M-F) when registering after Jan 31, 2025.

• Discounted Two-Session Cost: $600 ($25 discount per session) – 9:00 AM–3:00 PM (M-F) when registering after Jan 31, 2025. (An additional $50 discount will be applied if also taking advantage of our Early Bird Registration before February 1, 2025 for a total price of $550 for both sessions.)

Camp is intended for students entering grades 3–12 in fall 2025. Children will be grouped by ages. Camp will meet on the Butler campus, in Jordan Hall.

Registration Deadline: Friday, May 16, 2025

Highlights:

• College student mentors
• Daily visits from guest writers
• Field trip to the Indianapolis Museum of Art

Campers will attend entertaining, lively workshops designed to inspire young writers. Students will write and read stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, personal narratives, song lyrics, and experimental pieces, experiencing the power of the literary imagination while developing language skills.

The week also includes forums on the birth of ideas, slam and performance art, free writing, nonsense verse, haiku, and abstract and concrete poetry. Campers will meet in small groups of peers over lunch to design and publish a creative webpage, as well as in daily workshops in the computer labs. Campers will also make a walking visit to the Indianapolis Museum of Art and have a pizza party and explore visual art (children need to bring a sack lunch on other days).

On Friday, we’ll cap the camp with a presentation of certificates and an open-mic reading (with ice cream). Families are welcome. Throughout the camp, students will work with Butler student mentors and professors to create a website where work from the camp will be displayed and enjoyed by participants and families.

Refund Policy
Prior to June 1—Campers withdrawing from camp will be given a refund less a 20% administrative fee

Contact Information

Geoffrey Sharpless, PhD, Co-Director
gsharple@butler.edu
gsharpless@comcast.net

Chris Speckman, Co-Director
cspeckma@butler.edu

Adriana Jones, Creative Writing Camp Coordinator
amjones9@butler.edu