UPDATE: 5/17 Write it- Edit- Submit it with Saundra Mitchell has been postponed due to illness. Workshop session 1 will be Fri 5/24 and session 2 will be Fri 5/31, both 6:30-7:30 PM

UPDATE: 5/25 "This Story Does Not Look Like a Story" with Bryan Furuness has been cancelled.

Butler Bridge Program

Writing the Butler Way

We are pleased to offer the Butler Bridge Program to students in grades 3-12. The program draws on Butler's remarkable resources to build a bridge between Butler and its community, as well as between students who aspire to higher education and the professors, professional writers, teachers, and college mentors who are eager to share what they know.

Butler Bridge programs are designed to develop the writing skills of pre-college students. Participation in such an individualized writing workshop program will help students prepare for college while also nurturing their talents and imaginations.

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Please note that registration is limited for many Butler Bridge programs, as specified. See registration details below.

Writing Club: Second Saturdays

Our "Second Saturday" writing club meets monthly at the Efroymson Center for Creative Writing. Each Saturday session includes Poetry, Fiction, and/or Creative Nonfiction lessons. Students meet with peers and a college mentor who leads the workshop, engaging the students in thoughtful discussion about writing. These workshops also allow young writers the opportunity to bring in writing and have it reviewed by both the college mentor and by peers. Note: This is not class! Workshops will offer a fun, energetic environment for growing creative writers. Second Saturday sessions and open workshops will be split up by three different age divisions: elementary, middle, and high school.

1-3 PM:
Saturday, January 12th
Saturday, February 9th
Saturday, March 9th
Saturday, April 13th

Cost: $10 per session. Open to all age groups.

Writer's Workshops

The Bridge program offers single-day and multiple-session workshops for students. These workshops are led by Butler faculty and YA authors from the central Indiana community.

"Screenwriting Exposed" with Saundra Mitchell

Saturday, January 19^th 1-3PM
Cost: $20
Grades 9-12, seat limit of 15 students.

Learn the secrets of screenwriting: what goes into a screenplay, what's completely forbidden, and everything between. Learn the rules, regs and best ways to break them and break out with an incredible story ready for screen. Then use that knowledge to write a short 4-minute screenplay, all in one day.

Poetry with Rebecca Dotlich

Saturday, February 23rd 1-3PM
Cost: $20
Grades 3-5, seat limit of 25 students

Students who write poetry, or want to work on the craft of poetry, come gather together to listen, write from prompts, revise and work on your own writing. There will be plenty of time for sharing and group discussion for those who would like to. Be prepared to be immersed in poetry and get tips from a nationally published poet as you write your own. We'll work on the craft and poetic elements, and we'll have a lot of fun doing it.

"Write It- Edit- Submit It" with Saundra Mitchell

3 Fridays in April: 12^th, 19^th, 26^th 6:30-8:30 PM.
Cost: $50.
Grades 6-12, seat limit of 20 students.

Move past workshop and into publication with this three-session workshop. In the first session, students will learn how to search for appropriate markets for their work, with an emphasis on finding and choosing markets, making good copyright decisions and writing for a specific publication. The second session focuses on real revision: not just polishing, but demolishing. Breaking a story all the way down, so it can be rebuilt, better than ever. The third session will deal with final looks, what to expect on submission and dealing with rejection. The workshop culminates with each student submitting a story to a paying market.

Take TWO: "Write It- Edit- Submit It" with Saundra Mitchell

2 Fridays in May: 17^th, 24^th. 6:30-7:30 PM.
Cost: $40.
Grades 3-6, seat limit of 15 students.

By popular request, a version of the Write-Edit-Submit workshop for younger students! Move past workshop and into publication with this three-session workshop. In the first session, students will learn how to search for appropriate markets for their work, with an emphasis on finding and choosing markets, making good copyright decisions and writing for a specific publication. The second session focuses on real revision: not just polishing, but demolishing. Breaking a story all the way down, so it can be rebuilt, better than ever. The third session will deal with final looks, what to expect on submission and dealing with rejection. The workshop culminates with each student submitting a story to a paying market

"This Story Does Not Look Like a Story" with Bryan Furuness

Saturday, May 25^th 1-3PM
Cost: $20.
Grades 7-12. Seat limit of 20 students.

Ever write a story in the form of a product review? A job application? A crime report? How about a story as a series of text messages? Join Bryan Furuness on May 25 to play around with forms, and to explore how the form of a story can affect its content.

More Exciting Programs

We are also thrilled to offer the following new Bridge programs.

Cancelled:
Meet the Author Book Club: Pool Boy, by Michael Simmons

Saturday, April 27th 1 -2 PM
Cost: $30, book included & mailed to home address.
Grades 6-12

Read the book and meet the author! Brett, 15, had it all: good looks, a winning personality, and a lot of money. That is, until the police busted his dad for money laundering and insider trading. Now the teen's posh lifestyle-like his dad-has gone to the dogs, and Brett, his mom, and sister move into their great-aunt's humble two-story on the other side of the tracks. Forced to help out in making ends meet, the teen takes a job cleaning pools in his old upscale neighborhood. Dubbed "pool boy" by the new owners of the house that his own family lost, Brett stubbornly comes to terms with forgiving his father for being a criminal and losing the family fortune. What results from Simmons's dead-on characterization in this well-told first-person account is a humorous yet thought-provoking journey through the life and mind of a self-centered young man who must now reconsider his own sense of responsibility to rebuild the life torn apart by his father's crimes.

Cancelled:
Spring Break Word Game Night

Saturday, March 23^rd 7-9 PM
Cost: $10
3rd-12th grades

Calling all wordsmiths! Staying home for spring break and need something fun to do? Put your vocabulary to the test on our tournament-style word game night. Call up all your friends and challenge them to a game of Bananagrams, Last Word, Apples to Apples and more. You're sure to walk away with some prize-worthy words that you can use in your stories and poems. Treats included.

Private Tutoring/Mentoring

If you are interested in getting more focused attention for your student, one-on-one or small group mentoring is available on an appointment only basis. Students may bring in writing assignments, college essays, or a creative piece to work on with their mentor. Mentors can provide praise, constructive criticism, editing and writing advice. Consider signing up with a friend or two to defray costs.

Mentoring sessions can be arranged by contacting coordinator Mindy Dunn with specific requests. Requests and fees will be considered at the discretion of the proposed mentor, professor or author.

Cost: Varies, minimum $30 per hour.

Registration:

If you are interested in signing up for any (or all!) of these Butler Bridge programs, please fill out our new online registration form here, including the option for secure online credit card payments. Please fill out one form per student. If you choose to pay by cash or check, checks should be made out to Butler University and mail your payment to:

Butler Bridge Program
Mindy Dunn
Butler University
4600 Sunset Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46208

Meet the Faculty and Staff:

Second Saturday Mentors

This year's mentors all have previous experience working at Butler's Creative Writing Camp. Mentors are graduate students in Butler's Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program and also advanced students in Butler's undergraduate English writing major.

Farhad Anwarzai, HS mentor: a graduate student in Butler's MFA program in creative writing.
Doug Manuel, MS mentor: a graduate student in Butler's Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing.
Katie Arnt, elementary mentor: a Butler graduate and substitute teacher.
Andrew Elrandson, "floating" mentor: an upperclassman in Butler's English department.

Writer's Workshop Teachers

Workshop teachers are all professional writers: either Butler writing professors or publishing YA authors from the Indianapolis community.

Saundra Mitchell is a YA author whose novels include SHADOWED SUMMER, THE VESPERTINE, THE SPRINGSWEET and the forthcoming THE ELEMENTALS and MISTWALKER. She's also the editor of the forthcoming YA anthology, DEFY THE DARK. For almost fifteen years, she was the sole screenwriter for the Book of Stories, On the Road, Fresh Films and Girls in the Director's Chair short film series. In 2008, she headed and instructed the first Fresh Films Emerging Screenwriters program, and she was the Head Writer and an Executive Producer for Fresh Films and Sprite Refreshing Films. Her debut novel, SHADOWED SUMMER, was the 2010 winner of The Society of Midland Authors Book Award for Children's Fiction and a 2010 Edgar® Award Nominee. It was chosen as a Junior Library Guild selection and an ALAN Pick in 2009. Her short story "Ready to Wear" was nominated for a 2007 Pushcart Prize after appearing in Vestal Review Issue 27. Her short fiction and non-fiction has appeared in anthologies TRUTH & DARE, FORETOLD, DEAR TEEN ME and DEAR BULLY.

Rebecca Kai Dotlich grew up in the Midwest exploring trails by the creek, reading comic books, making paper dolls and building snowmen. She is a children's poet and picture book author of titles such as Bella and Bean (an SCBWI Golden Kite Honor) and What Is Science? (Subaru SB&F finalist and Bank Street's Best Book of the year.) She has published numerous poetry titles such as When Riddles Come Rumbling, Castles, and Lemonade Sun. Her forthcoming book, Grumbles From The Forest, Fairy Tale Voices with a Twist (co-authored with Jane Yolen) will be released in the spring. Rebecca gives poetry workshops, visits classrooms across the country, and speaks at conferences, retreats, libraries and schools to teachers, aspiring writers and students of all ages. Her books have received the Gold Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award as well as an IRA Children's Choice and her work has been featured on Reading Rainbow and the PBS children's show Between the Lions. Her newest picture book, WHAT CAN A CRANE PICK UP? (Illustrated by Mike Lowery) received a *starred* review from Publisher's Weekly.

Bryan Furuness is the author of the novel, The Lost Episodes of Revie Bryson. His stories and essays have appeared in Ninth Letter, Southeast Review, Hobart, and elsewhere, including New Stories from the Midwest and Best American Non-required Reading. He teaches at Butler University, where he serves as the Editor in Chief of the small press, Pressgang.

Director

Geoffrey Sharpless, holds a B.A. in English from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught literature, creative and academic writing at Park Tudor for fourteen years, and has directed Butler's summer creative writing camps for 12 years.

Coordinator

Coordinator Mindy Dunn has a B.A. in English from Butler University and an M.F.A in Creative Writing from Purdue University, with a specialty in poetry. Mindy is the Administrative Specialist for the Efroymson Center for Creative Writing and has taught at Butler in the English, First Year Seminar, and Honors departments for five years. She has also worked as a teacher and mentor at Butler's creative writing camp for 8 years.

If you have any additional questions about the Butler Bridge Program or its programs, please email Mindy at butlerbridge@butler.edu.

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Second Annual Writing Contest:
2013 Booth Tarkington Prize for Young Writers

This year's contest is closed. We thank all of the students who submitted their work, as well as all the parents and teachers that encouraged them to do so. This year we had over 60 submissions- triple that of last year! We encourage all of our participants to continue in your writing efforts. Your continued participation is the lifeblood of the contest, so please submit again next year!

We are pleased to announce this year's winners:

High School Poetry: Sarah Panfil "In the Kitchen"
High School Fiction: Carley Drake "Practice and Apologies"

Middle School Poetry: Samantha Downton "Façade"
Middle School Fiction: Hannah Plunkett "Just Run"
Middle School "Other Genre": Valerie Kraft "Sunset and Stars Over the Ocean"

Elementary Poetry: Samantha Lewis "The Eagle"
Elementary Fiction: Siriphin Vonphrachanh "Black Rabbit's Friend"
Elementary "Other Genre" : Kyriana Bures "Walking in a Winter Wonderland"