The Mark Twain Young Authors Workshop

The year 2007 marked the inauguration of this program. We received 120 applications from students in 17 states last year. In 2008 we received 400 applications from 27 states! Thank you to students, teachers, and parents for this tremendous interest and to our partner, the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, Missouri. Unfortunately, we were unable to secure a grant for the Summer 2009 program, but we are working on acquiring funding for Summer 2010.

View pictures from the first summer's workshop:

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Who? Young authors in grades 5-8 (2009-2010 school year), from anywhere in the United States , are invited to apply for the Annual Mark Twain Young Authors Workshop each year. The workshop is sponsored by the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in partnership with HATS.  It is directed by Cindy Lovell, Ph.D. (HATS founder and interim executive director of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum) and Henry Sweets, museum curator.  Writing workshops are taught by writer Adam Lefton.
 

What? The Mark Twain Young Authors Workshop is open to talented young writers. Students are invited to spend one week in Hannibal, Missouri, Mark Twain’s hometown, to study the author’s life and his use of real life to create fiction. Students are selected based on their writing ability and will be awarded scholarships to participate. They will collaborate with other young authors and instructors to develop their writing voice. Students will be expected to have recently read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer prior to arriving for the workshop. A copy will be provided to each participant.
 

When? 2010 Dates TBA The workshop will include five full days of reading, writing, talking, laughing, exploring, and imagining! The days and evenings will be fully planned to include instruction in writing, examining Twain’s life and writing, and exploring the hometown haunts of young Samuel Clemens. Applications are due by January 31, 2010.
 

Where? The workshop will be held in Hannibal, Missouri so participants can experience the town where Mark Twain grew up. Participants will be housed in dorms at the Hannibal-LaGrange College and meet daily with instructors and fellow participants at the Mark Twain Museum and other settings to delve into Twain’s experiences. Participants will visit the boyhood home and museum, the cemetery, Cardiff Hill, the cave, and even ride a riverboat on the Mississippi River.
 

Why? The HATS Program is committed to recognizing and nurturing talent in young people. In 1996 Cindy Lovell, the program’s director, began collaborating with Henry Sweets, the curator of the Mark Twain Museum. Together they have worked to serve gifted and high achieving students to foster an appreciation of America’s greatest author, Mark Twain. By studying Twain’s experiences in the setting for some of his greatest work, participants can hone their own writing skills toward the long-term goal of becoming the next generation of great American writers. An anthology of participants’ collected works will be published after the workshop. To learn more about the origins of this program, read an interview with Cindy Lovell. Dr. Lovell first brought writing students to Hannibal while teaching a summer program at The University of Iowa. 

So what? Anyone who has ever curled up with Huckleberry Finn or A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court knows that not only is Mark Twain’s writing engaging, it is relevant. Mark Twain lived during an exciting time in America’s history, and he captured events and preserved history in his fiction and other writing. With 20/20 hindsight, who wouldn’t applaud Huck’s noble efforts to free Jim, the runaway slave? But it wasn’t so simple, and Twain’s words capture the agony of the conflict that taunted Huck. Twain was an insightful observer and recorder of events in a fast-changing America. And America is still changing. Who will capture today’s events and preserve them in the timeless and relevant fashion of America ’s greatest author? Maybe you will! If you love to write and want to work with other writers to develop your skills, apply to this exciting program next year.

How? Students can apply by submitting a completed application packet by Jan. 31, 2010 that includes a teacher recommendation and a writing sample.
 

Application Packet must include:

• Completed application form

• An original sample of applicant’s writing that was written within the past year (not to exceed three typed pages). The writing sample you send can be in any genre. It can be a short story, essay, or poem, or even a selected passage from a book you're working on. (Note: The writing sample does not have to be in the style of Mark Twain, nor must it be about Mark Twain.)

• A letter of recommendation from the student’s teacher (Note: If home-schooled, the parent must provide.)
• Mail to: MTYA/HATS, Stetson University, 421 N. Woodland Blvd., Unit 8390, DeLand FL 32723

2008 Scholarship Recipients:
Cassidy Alexander, 7th grade, Orange City, Florida
Cullen Burling, 8th grade, Monroe, Connecticut
Haley Johnson, 7th grade, Platte City, Missouri
Jordyn Pair, 5th grade, Milford, Michigan
Richard Plunkett, 7th grade, Thornwood, New York
Emily Schwenneker, 7th grade, Princeton, Missouri
Claire Sincox, 8th grade, Barrington, Illinois
Max Sopher, 7th grade, North Hampton, New Hampshire
Rachel Thornton, 6th grade, Portage, Indiana
Dave Wang, 7th grade, Hinsdale, Illinois
Samuel Weitzman, 5th grade, Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Adam Williams, 5th grade, Jonesboro, Arkansas 

2007 Scholarship Recipients:
5th Grade: Jonathan Agvent - Mertztown, PA; Brooke Davis - Williamstown, WV; Jack Harvey-Camillone - Chicago, IL
6th Grade: Madeleine Britton - Perrysburg, OH; Aliza Razell Hoover - Natick, MA; Alexander Parodi-Light - Deltona, FL
7th Grade: Joseph Genovese - Valhalla, NY; Emily Huniter - Oviedo, FL
8th Grade: Kelsey Connor - Altamonte Springs, FL; Breanna Hembree - Glen St. Mary, FL; Ky Viet Dong Quach - Garland, TX; Alic Szecsei - Port Orange, FL

Visit the museum's website to view the Virtual Tours created by the young authors.

Thank you to our partners and sponsors:

The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum
Hannibal Courier-Post
Hannibal LaGrange College
Lula Belle's Restaurant
Mark Twain Cave
Mark Twain Riverboat
Star Theater
Rockcliffe Mansion
Herb Hutchison, Private Donor

• If you would like to make a donation to support our program, please contact us at hats@stetson.edu.