Uab Creative Writing Workshop

This workshop is sponsored by the UAB English Department. It is named in honor of Dr. Ada Long, founding director of the UAB Honors Program, Professor of English, and lifelong advocate for community outreach, the value of a liberal education, and the enduring significance of literature.

Do you write or want to? Do you have stories or poems squirreled away in a journal or in a corner of your mind? Would you like to see your own words in print? If so, apply to the Ada Long Creative Writing Workshop where you will find inspiration, guidance, and support to express your ideas. Each day for three weeks, you will work with nationally recognized authors and teachers. You will also explore and find inspiration in Birmingham's rich culture and history. Best of all, you will learn and make friends with students who are just as interested in expanding their creativity.

Update on the 2021 Workshop

While we had hoped to offer this summer's workshop in a virtual format, we don't have enough students enrolled to make that happen. We've regretfully decided not to hold the workshop in summer 2021, and to focus our energies instead on roaring back in person in 2022 with even more vibrancy than before. So stay tuned, stay safe, and stay creative!

To feed our imaginations, the Ada Long Creative Writing Workshop seeks out unique activities such as catching river creatures with the Cahaba River Society and sewing quilt blocks for The March Quilts project with Bibb & Tucker Sew-Op. Writers never know where inspiration may strike.

What You Need to Know

• What happens at the workshop?
• Location, cost, and other basic info
• Sample daily schedule
• How to apply
• Deadlines
• Questions? Contact us!

• What happens at the workshop?

  Every day, students work closely with nationally acclaimed novelists, essayists, and poets in small groups. Limited to just 30 students, the workshop encourages discussion and the exchange of ideas in small groups and one-on-one.

  In addition to small group workshops:

  • Students draw inspiration from virtual field trips, creative activities, and presentations.
  • Each week students explore a different genre such as poetry, fiction, memoir, magazine production, etc.
  • Students draft, critique, and revise complete original works weekly.
  • Student work is published in the The Writers' Block, our yearly anthology, and learn about other publishing opportunities.

• Location, cost, and other basic info

  • Dates: The workshop is a three-week online camp, June 7-24, 2021. Sessions last from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
  • Location: Online, via Zoom.
  • Participants: 30 students will be selected to join the workshop. All students will be rising high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
  • Cost: $400 for the workshop fee. Optional college credit costs an additional $357 for in-state students and an additional $850 out-of-state students.
  • Financial Aid: Full and partial scholarships for the workshop fee are available to anyone who needs them. NOTE: Financial aid does not cover costs for college credit.
  • Application Form: See "How to Apply."

• Sample daily schedule

  • 12:00 - 12:30 p.m. — Warm-up Writing Exercises
  • 12:45 - 2:00 p.m. — Enrichment activities:
    • readings and presentations from workshop faculty, UAB student writers, and visiting authors and performers
    • art activities
    • discussions about publication opportunities
    • public readings of student works
    • virtual visits to local cultural and historical sites
  • 2:15 - 4:00 p.m. — Small group writing workshops

• How to apply

  Students need to complete and submit an application and writing sample to the director. Download and complete the application or apply online.

  • The writing sample should be three to five pages of creative writing in any form or genre.
  • To apply for a full or partial scholarship, send an email to the Director, Tina Braziel, detailing your need.

• Deadlines

  • For college credit and first consideration: April 1
  • Applications accepted: May 15 or until all the spaces are filled
  • Students notified of acceptance: May 20
  • Enrollment forms and half of the Workshop fee due: May 25

• Questions? Contact us!

  For more information, contact:

  Tina Braziel, Director, Ada Long Creative Writing Workshop
  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  UAB Department of English
  University Hall, Room 5065
  1720 2nd Ave. South
  Birmingham, AL 35294-1241
  (205) 934-8573

Student Highlights

Each year we collect our students' poems, stories, and memoirs in The Writer's Block. You can read excerpts online, or download the complete anthologies below.

Anita Cade
Middle School Soup

---

2019 Issue

2018 Issue

2017 Issue

Uab Creative Writing Workshop

Source: https://www.uab.edu/cas/english/news-events/ada-long-workshop

Share this post