Who Should Apply to the Writers Institute
Since its inaugural season in 1987, the New York State Summer Writers Institute has drawn students from across the United States as well as from Australia, Brazil, France, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, South Korea and Singapore. Students have ranged from 20 to 99 years of age. The Institute is intended principally for students who have had at least one or two previous workshop experiences. It is definitely not for high school students or for freshman college students. The Institute offers courses for undergraduate and graduate credit, as well as noncredit courses.
Experience the Workshops!
Standard three-hour class meetings held each Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1 to
4 p.m. are supplemented by a program of Tuesday and Thursday afternoon discussions
with visiting writers and other special events. Each workshop is primarily built around
discussion of student works, which are collected in early June and run off in multiple
sets so that students may receive them throughout their stay at the Institute, a few
at a time, to be read in time for the various class meetings. Some instructors also
assign writing exercises (optional) and recommend brief readings that are not written
by workshop students for classroom discussion. A fiction writer-in-residence reads
entire student novels or extensive fiction works in progress—not collections of stories—and
meets with students on a tutorial basis. Other distinguished writers-in-residence
read book-length poetry or non-fiction manuscripts and offer advice for revisions
and eventual book submissions. The extra tutorial fee is $400. The program sponsors
public readings by visiting and staff writers Monday through Friday evenings. Weekend
programs, for enrolled students only, include publishing symposia, panel discussions
and student readings.
Students may enroll for two weeks (July 1-12 or July 15-26) or for the entire four-week
session (July 1-26).
2013 Workshops
Only four-week students may receive academic credit. All workshops meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1 to 4 p.m.
How to Select a Workshop: Applicants are encouraged to select the workshop which seems most appropriate and attractive to them, but the Director and Associate Director of the program will make the final determinations about placement based upon review of the required writing sample and other relevant factors, including previous workshop experience.
All manuscripts must be received by the Skidmore program office no later than June 1, 2013, and must be addressed to Robert Boyers, Director, New York State Summer Writers Institute, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York, 12866-1632.
| Workshop Name | Two Week Option(s) | Four-Week Option(s) |
| FICTION 1 INTERMEDIATE FICTION |
July 1-12, 2013: Elizabeth Benedict and Adam Braver (one week each) July 15–26, 2013: Howard Norman (both weeks) |
July 1-26, 2013: Benedict, Braver, Norman |
| FICTION 2 ADVANCED FICTION |
July 1–12, 2013: Clark Blaise and Bharati Mukherjee (one week each) July 15–26, 2013: Amy Hempel and Mary Gaitskill (one week each) |
July 1–26, 2013: Blaise, Mukherjee, Hempel, Gaitskill |
| FICTION 3 FICTION MASTER CLASS |
July 1-12, 2013: Ann Beattie and Claire Messud (one week each) July 15–26, 2013: Rick Moody (both weeks) |
July 1–26, 2013: Beattie, Messud, Moody |
| POETRY 1 INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED |
July 1–12, 2013: Campbell McGrath and Rosanna Warren (one week each) July 15–26, 2013: Peg Boyers (both weeks) |
July 1–26, 2013: McGrath, Warren, Boyers |
| POETRY 2 ADVANCED & MASTER CLASS |
July 1–12, 2013: Master Class with Frank Bidart (both weeks) July 15–26, 2013: Advanced and Master Class with Henri Cole (both weeks) |
July 1–26, 2013: Master Class w/Bidart and Advanced w/Cole |
| NON-FICTION INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED NONFICTION PROSE |
July 1-12, 2013: A Workshop in Memoir & Personal Essay with Phillip Lopate (both
weeks) July 15-26, 2013: A Workshop in Miscellaneous Non-Fiction Forms (including memoir) with James Miller (both weeks) |
July 1-26, 2013: Lopate & Miller (two weeks each) |
NOTES
Special Readings/Discussions: Discussions with visiting faculty and special panels are scheduled between 2 and 4 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday and are open only to students enrolled in the Institute. Summer 2013 writers participating in this program include Russell Banks, Robert Pinsky, Joyce Carol Oates, Caryl Phillips, Siri Hustvedt, Jamaica Kincaid, Jane Shore and Francine Prose. Public readings, interviews, and discussions are scheduled between 8 and 9:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Student readings are on Sunday evenings. Other special weekend events include two-hour workshops (session one and session two) on “Writing Historical Fiction” and "Fiction Into Film".
Tutorial Sessions
- Students enrolled in Fiction 1, 2, or 3 who are writing novels are invited to register for intensive tutorial sessions with writers-in-residence Amy Wallen. The writers-in-residence will read and discuss with students entire novels up to 300 manuscript pages in length.
- Students enrolled in poetry or non-fiction workshops who are preparing book-length collections are invited to register for private sessions with Barry Goldensohn (poetry) or Honor Moore (non-fiction), who will offer criticism and advice on manuscripts up to 90 pages in length (poetry) or 150 pages (non-fiction).
- Tutorial fee: $400.
Registering for a Tutorial: Students accepted into the Institute who wish to register for a tutorial program with
one of the writers-in-residence will find an opportunity to do so in a letter sent
out by the Director in early May. Once accepted students receive this letter, they
may access the Manuscript Tutorial Registration Form here.
