Our new teen boys book group met this past weekend to discuss the book So Yesterday by one of my favorite authors, Scott Westerfeld. It was great fun--we discussed everything from what coolness means (the book is about a teenaged "cool hunter"--somebody who's paid by marketers to figure out what's cool and what's going to be cool) to whether or not the book is science fiction (it's set in the present but it's got that heady explosion of ideas that you always find in really good SF. Plus, Scott writes awesome SF: check out Peeps, his Uglies trilogy, or his Midnighters books).Today I was on Scott's blog and discovered something really cool: a SF/Fantasy writer's workshop for teens! It's called ALPHA. Their website says:
Does that sound like you? Would you like to study writing under Michael A. Arnzen, Christopher McKitterick, Timothy Zahn, or Tamora Pierce? That's right, I said TAMORA PIERCE! Well then, what are you waiting for, go to the Alpha website now for details!The ALPHA SF/F/H Workshop for Young Writers (ages 14 - 19) will be held at the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg Campus July 16 - 25, 2008 in conjunction with Pittsburgh’s science fiction convention, Confluence, July 25 - 27th.
We’re looking for enthusiastic, talented young writers who have a strong interest in science fiction, fantasy and/or horror and a passion for writing.
Come spend ten days working with professional authors, each of whom will spend two days at the workshop.
2 comments:
Interesting - geared towards boys but guess they need it more than the girls. Funny thing is, I think more females write sci-fi/fantasy than males but I could be wrong - looking forward to seeing you all again at the Decatur Book Festival (hopefully I will be there as an author this time and not just a volunteer - be on the lookout for my geography series coming this fall) - see you all in the postings - E :)
Geared toward boys? I just went to the site and I don't see it. The books Scott Westerfeld writes aren't geared specifically to boys (his most famous series -Uglies/Pretties/Specials- has a girl as its protagonist.)
As far as writing goes, I would guess more teen girls write or have been writing longer than most teen boys. But that's just based on anecdotal experience rather than hard data.
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