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Essay 
Writing Sample
Work Sample 
Additional Requirements 
Online Application From 
Application Fee 
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Application is closed
Through a group learning experience designed to help writers engage and interact, you'll develop your craft and find your unique voice in a setting where creativity blooms. Here, you’ll learn from published and professional writers who are also skilled editors. They’ll inspire you to fill the pages, tear them up, and start again. They’ll teach you how to connect with your reader. You’ll discover how to tell stories that resonate—working with passionate fellow writers who’ll lend support and a sounding board.
Non-credit
Residential
Accepts International Students
Financial Aid
Final project
Application fee waiver
Are you a developing young artist with a story to tell and a passion for expression? Do you love to write? Is it your dream to transport an audience to another world through written word?
Interlochen Arts Camp is the destination for you. When you participate in one of our creative writing summer camps, you’ll learn techniques and tools of the trade from our gifted faculty members, meet incredible guest artists, and build friendships with students like you who will inspire you to reach your full potential.
In this fun and fast-paced environment, you will:
1 - Learn from faculty and guest artists who have established writing careers;
2 - Enjoy all the benefits of a summer camp experience;
3 - Meet students from around the world who love to write.
Creative Writing Camps
Interlochen Arts Camp offers summer programs in multiple focus areas in our Creative Writing Division: Creative Writing, Novel Writing, Performance Poetry, and Comics & Graphic Narratives.
While on campus, you'll live in a division with other students your age.
Housing & Dining
Campers live in one of the more than 120 cabins that dot our 1,200-acre campus. Each day, you'll experience the beauty of northern Michigan as you walk to one of our three dining halls, take a dip in one of our two lakes, or watch a performance in one of our open-air venues.
While Interlochen Arts Camp students spend most of their days in classes and rehearsals, you'll still find plenty of time for fun and friendship.
Each week, you'll enjoy a busy schedule of enriching classes, challenging rehearsals, and phenomenal performances. During your free time, you can make crafts, go for a swim, read a book, play games with your cabin-mates, join a pick-up basketball game, or just get in a few hours of extra practice. You can also participate in field trips to local hot spots like Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore for canoeing, swimming, or dune-climbing.
Arts Camp Summer 2024 Sessions and Dates
Interlochen Arts Camp offers a variety of session lengths and dates for multiple age ranges (grades 3-12). Six-week programs are available for ALL age groups, four-week sessions are available for grades 3-6, three-week sessions are available for grades 6-12, two-week sessions are available to grades 3-6, and one-week "Intensive" programs are available for grades 9-12.
Please note our age and grade divisions for the application process:
- High School Programs and One-Week Intensives (students currently in grades 9-12)
- Intermediate Programs (students currently in grades 6-8)
Essay
Writing Sample
Work Sample
Additional Requirements
Online Application From
Application Fee
Parent/Guardian Consent
All applications for Interlochen Arts Camp are submitted online. You will need the materials listed below to complete your application:
1 - Your audition or portfolio materials, if required by your program.
Your audition/portfolio materials show your artistic readiness and will be reviewed by the appropriate faculty member. Please carefully review the requirements on your program page before uploading the materials to your application:
High School Intensives(Grade 9- Grade 12)
Comics & Graphic Narratives Intensive
Submissions should include samples from one of the following categories. You may, however, include submissions from multiple categories:
Three to five examples of visual art, which can include drawings, paintings, comics, and graphic narratives
At least a 10-page spread from a graphic narrative for which you have done the art and/or writing
A short story or multiple short stories (a total of 10-20 pages)
Novel Writing Intensive
Submit your 50-page manuscript excerpt in PDF format. All materials should be typed and proofread, double-spaced, with a standard 12-point font.
Performance Poetry Intensive
Submit an audio or, preferably, video recording of you performing one or more original poems. If you are unable to submit audio-visual work, submit at least three page-based poems that demonstrate sonic sensibilities that we hear as we read. (Note: interpret "poem" broadly—that doesn't mean it has to be traditionally lineated.)
High School Programs (Grade 9- Grade 12)
Please submit up to five PDF files.
PDF #1 A one-page, double-spaced personal essay that addresses these two points:
How the practice of reading and writing enriches your life.
How your time at Interlochen will help you attain your goals for creative writing.
PDFs #2-5 Assemble a portfolio that includes at least two of the following genres:
Poetry—four to five poems, preferably non-rhyming, that offer a variety of forms, styles, and subject matter.
Fiction—two short stories, only one of which may be so-called "genre" writing (science fiction, fantasy, etc.).
Playwriting—two dialogue-driven scenes or plays.
Nonfiction—two personal or outward-looking essays. Please do not send academic essays, like book analyses for English class.
Experimental or Unclassifiable work—one or more pieces that don't play by the rules and which perhaps include visual or sonic components.
All portfolio materials should be typed and proofread, double-spaced, with a standard 12-point font. Single-spacing is preferred but not required for poetry. Portfolios must not exceed 25 pages.
2 - Form 1040 from your most recent Federal Income Tax Return (domestic applicants) or official verification of salary for each parent (international applicants), if you are requesting financial aid.
International applicants: Official Verification of Salary for each parent. This document must be in English.
3 - Make sure to review your application before submitting. When you feel it is ready, pay the application fee of $65 and submit. We accept electronic payments, checks, and money orders.
Deadline
Interlochen Arts Camp applications for Summer 2024 are now open.
Applications for programs that do not require an audition or portfolio will enroll on a first-come, first-served basis starting in December. All other applications will be reviewed after the priority application deadline in January. We will continue to accept applications following the deadline until program enrollment is full.
Jun 15 - Jun 21
1 week
Residential
Jul 22 - Jul 13
-1 week
Residential
Jul 14 - Aug 04
3 weeks
Residential
Your tuition is based on the number of weeks you attend Camp. For example, if you choose two three-week programs, you will pay the six-week price.
Financial Aid
All students in programs that are two or more weeks long are welcome to apply for need-based financial aid. To apply, complete the following steps in your application in the Education Community:
Indicate your interest in applying for financial aid in the "Financial Aid" section of the Camp Application for Admission.
Upload a copy of your most recent Federal Income Tax Return Form 1040 prior to submitting your application. If you are an international applicant, please submit an official Verification of Salary, in English, for each of your parents.
The Financial Aid Committee will then review your family's income documentation to determine your eligibility for need-based aid. Any financial aid award will be included on your child's enrollment agreement after acceptance.
Applying for aid will not affect your admission decision. However, it is important to submit your financial aid application with your application for admission. If you request aid after applying, you may experience significant delays which could affect your eligibility for financial aid. If you plan to request financial aid, we recommend obtaining a PDF copy of your tax documents before you begin your application.
Essay
Writing Sample
Work Sample
Additional Requirements
Online Application From
Application Fee
Parent/Guardian Consent
Application is closed
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