2025 Summer Camps

9:00am-12:00pm

Grades 5-6

Tell a story in a new, artistic form by turning it into a board game! We'll choose genres and themes and create characters. Then we will envision character journeys as playable adventures with triumphs, setbacks, battles, and lucky strikes determined by spinners, cards, or dice. This is a great workshop for artsy kids, as we will be drawing game boards and sculpting game pieces. When we are finished, we'll spend some time playing each other's games! 

1:00pm-4:00pm

Rising grades 3-4

Comic books and graphic novels are a relatively new and explosively popular literary form. That means that it is totally open for experimentation! First we'll create characters - maybe classic superheroes, or maybe someone totally new. We'll explore how story techniques evolve in this format, and how professional graphic novelists incorporate dialogue, exposition, emotion, and action with pictures and words. Then we'll plan a fantastic story using varied composing and drawing techniques. Each student will work to create at least the first three pages and the cover of the comic book, and they can take their work home to finish on their own. Don't worry about drawing skills - no artistic experience is needed to create an amazing comic book! 

9:00am-12:00pm

Rising grades 7-10

Embark on a delectable adventure with our food blogging class, where the art of capturing flavors and sharing culinary experiences comes to life! Throughout the week, we will travel on foot through Downtown Cary’s culinary landscape, tasting treats from various restaurants and bakeries. We’ll explore techniques for describing flavors, textures, and aromas, as well as translating dining experiences into compelling stories to share with other food lovers. We’ll also learn how to photograph food to create an irresistible visual component to enhance the narratives. It’s bound to be our most delicious week! 

The camp price includes all food from local eateries. If possible, please bring a phone or digital camera. We can provide this if needed! This camp involves walking in the Downtown Cary area, up to one mile total per day. 

1:00pm-4:00pm

Rising grades 5-6

Science fiction is a speculative genre that is a perpetual favorite of readers and writers like yourself! In this camp, we'll explore the limitless possibilities of the sci-fi genre and learn how to craft compelling and thought-provoking stories that transport readers to distant worlds and alternative realities. We'll cover the essential elements of sci-fi, including world-building, technology, and character creation, and examine how to incorporate these elements into our narratives to create immersive stories. This class is the perfect place to unleash your imagination and take your storytelling to new heights. Join us as we journey to the stars and beyond!

9:00am-12:00pm

Rising grades 4-5

Step into the world of adventure and endless wisdom in Timeless Tales: Folktales inspired by traditional stories from around the globe. In this creative writing course, fourth and fifth-grade writers will explore well-loved folktales from various cultures and learn how these stories have been shared and cherished throughout history. Students will delve into the rich topics of these traditional tales—patience, teamwork, and determination—and use them as inspiration to create their own imaginative stories. Through guided writing exercises, discussions, and storytelling techniques, writers will weave their tales into meaningful pieces of art.  

1:00pm-4:00pm

Rising grades 6-7

World-building is essential to so many setting-specific genres, such as fantasy, adventure, and science fiction. It also happens to be one of the most creative, interesting, and FUN parts of the writing process! In our camp, we'll work to develop a new world with details about its inhabitants, its topography, its history, and its conflicts. Through extensive map-making and scene-building, we'll create visual and written representations of our imagined worlds and their elements so that we have a solid understanding of how they function. Then we'll imagine the stories that could happen in these worlds and write to share them! 

9:00am-12:00pm

Rising grades 3-4

Get ready for a storytelling adventure in the Timeless Tales: Fables course. In this interactive course, young writers will dive into the enchanted world of fables—short, imaginative stories that teach us important lessons through talking animals. Writers will discover how to create amazing characters, write simple yet powerful plots, and weave in important messages. They'll bring their stories to life with props and dramatic retellings. Students will not only become confident writers but also skilled performers, sharing their fables with classmates. Get ready to unleash your creativity! 

1:00pm-4:00pm

Rising grades 5-6

Comic books and graphic novels are a relatively new and explosively popular literary form. That means that it is totally open for experimentation! First we'll create characters - maybe classic superheroes, or maybe someone totally new. We'll explore how story techniques evolve in this format, and how professional graphic novelists incorporate dialogue, exposition, emotion, and action with pictures and words. Then we'll plan a fantastic story using varied composing and drawing techniques. Each student will work to create at least the first three pages and the cover of the comic book, and they can take their work home to finish on their own. Don't worry about drawing skills - no artistic experience is needed to create an amazing comic book! 

9:00am-12:00pm

Rising grades 4-5

Become a master storyteller in our Timeless Tales: Tall Tales course! In this writing course, fourth and fifth-grade writers will explore the world of exaggerated storytelling, crafting larger-than-life characters, wild adventures, and unbelievable feats. Through guided writing lessons, students will explore the art of stretching stories to new heights, creating their epic tall tale full of humor, imagination, and unexpected twists. Students will write their tales and create story scrolls, visually showcasing their works with vibrant details. In addition, writers can record audio dramatizations of their tales, adding voice, sound effects, and even original song lyrics to make their stories sing! 

1:00pm-4:00pm

Teens 13+

Ready to bring your writing out into the world? Join us for a camp designed to help teens prepare their stories, poems, and essays for submission to prestigious writing contests, anthologies, and literary publications. Learn how to craft compelling entries, polish your work, and navigate contest guidelines with confidence. With the guidance and support of your instructor and peers, you'll transform your ideas into quality, submittable pieces. We’ll also develop a contest calendar to keep you on top of your submissions throughout the year. This camp will help you gain confidence and direction as you grow your audience! 

9:00am-12:00pm

Rising grades 6-7

Quests have been a part of the human narrative since we first began telling stories, and they remain just as captivating and thrilling today as they were thousands of years ago. Characters are driven by a need or a desire to seek, to find, to experience, and to discover, and they will stop at nothing to reach their goals! In our camp, we’ll first define an object of the quest, then create an adventurous character that rises to the challenge. Then we’ll send them on their journeys where they’ll face seemingly insurmountable obstacles and watch how they use their strength, wit, and charm to complete their quests. 

1:00pm-4:00pm

Teens 13+

Have you ever heard of a tragicomedy? How about docufiction, or dark fantasy, or Weird West? All of these are mixes of the main genres of fiction that lend a new and fresh take on the common forms. In this workshop, students will learn about the characteristics of different genres and decide how to select and combine elements to make new types of stories. We'll also practice different ways to brainstorm unusual ideas, warp conventions, and manipulate text to add an inventive spin to your stories.  

9:00am-12:00pm

Rising grades 3-4

Are you a fan of Harry Potter or Wings of Fire? Do you love fire-breathing beasts and wand wielding magicians? Then come cast a writerly spell with us! With the wave of a #2 wand, we will conjure fantastical creatures, develop unique worlds, and create exciting adventures. Who knew writing could be so magical? 

1:00pm-4:00pm

Rising grades 6-7

There are no stories with more action and adventure than spy stories! We’ll create sly, smart spy characters, give them disguises, invent disguises and gadgets for them to use, and then send them on thrilling missions where they will encounter villains, mishaps, and seemingly impossible situations. We’ll learn about techniques to write amazing spy stories, including writing suspense, action, and witty dialogue. If you like Mission Impossible, James Bond, Spy Kids, or other stories of espionage and intrigue, you’ll love this camp!  

9:00am-12:00pm

Rising grades 7-9

If you like books and movies such as The Hunger Games, Station Eleven, or Divergent, you should try your hand at writing dystopian fiction. These are stories that are absolutely full of tension and conflict, rich detail, and usually some parallel commentary on the issues humans face in society. First, you'll imagine a dark world in cataclysmic decline, then add characters who must fight against the control of evil authorities and environmental ruin just for a chance at survival. This camp is an in-depth look into the dystopian genre in which you'll practice worldbuilding, character and plot development, tension and suspense, and so much more.  

1:00pm-4:00pm

Rising grades 4-5

Unleash your inner detective! In this exciting mystery writing class, you'll learn to craft captivating stories filled with clues, twists, and suspense. Whether you decide to create a classic detective whodunit, a paranormal mystery, or a fun caper, you’ll discover the secrets to creating smart and savvy characters, puzzling plots, and thrilling endings. Perfect for young sleuths and storytellers, this workshop encourages creativity, sharpens critical thinking, and brings out the mystery master in everyone!!