Students who enjoy reading and writing are coming together at The Cabin in Boise – to express creativity, experimentation and imagination. Nearly 400 kids in grades 3-12 are participating in week-long summer workshops led by professional writers. The camp is designed to challenge kids in creative writing, poetry, fiction, memoir journalism and plays.

“We encourage campers to think about the skills that real writers use,” said Katie Fuller, camp manger at The Cabin. “We treat the kids as if they will be published authors and it gets the kids excited about writing.”

The camp runs June-August. At the end of the summer, students share their writing at a public reading and get the chance to publish a revised piece in The Cabin’s end-of-summer print. Students, parents and the community are also welcome to attend a teacher-writer reading event on July 30. The teacher-writers will read from their own published work and will show skills that are being taught to the campers.

“This reading at the end of the month is a benefit to our scholarship fund for camps, so all aspiring writers who want to attend the camp can have access to an unforgettable experience,” Fuller said.

Julia Valderrama, a fifth grader at Sage International School, wants to be a writer when she gets older. This is her first-time attending the camp and hopes to attend next year.

“I just love to read and write. When you read a book you never know what is going to happen next – that is what I love about books,” Valderrama said. “When I write I love that I can make things up as you go, you never know what will happen.”

For more information about the camps and how to register, click here.