2023 Sewanee Young Writers' Conference Application

First Name

Middle Name

Last Name

SYWC Application Materials
You will need to assemble a variety of application pieces prior to starting your application. The application will not save your information, so everything must be submitted simultaneously.
Here's what we need:

A statement of purpose: Your statement should be approximately 250 – 750 words and should describe your reading and writing life, how attendance at the Sewanee Young Writers' Conference will contribute to it, and how you believe you can contribute both to the small workshop and to the overall conference. You should also address why you wish to spend two weeks this summer writing at Sewanee. Make sure to upload your statement as either a word document or a PDF.
A sample of your writing: A song, an autobiographical essay, a short story, 6-8 poems, a piece of creative nonfiction, a play or a chapter of a novel. Make sure to upload your sample as either a word document or a PDF. If you are interested in more than one genre, please prepare samples (if you have them) of all applicable forms of writing. We welcome students to try a genre with which they may have no experience; this is particularly true for the songwriting workshop. While it is permissible to submit fanfiction, which we know is a fun and popular way to learn to write and express oneself, applicants must submit other samples as well to help us in the evaluation process.
A teacher recommendation: Your recommendation should come from an English teacher, other instructor or counselor at your school who knows you and your writing. If you are homeschooled, you need to find an instructor who is not a parent, perhaps someone in a home-school cooperative or someone else who knows you well. If you have questions, don't hesitate to email or call. We do not accept recommendations from private tutors or teachers from writing labs. Please give your instructor ample time (2 or more weeks) to write your recommendation. Once your application has been submitted, your recommender will receive a link to the SYWC recommendation form within 24 hours.
- On the application, you will be asked to provide us with some general information about your recommender: name, school title, teacher, home number, and email address.
- Once your application is officially submitted, your recommender will receive an email with a link to the SYWC Recommendation Page.
- It is your responsibility to confirm your teacher or counselor received the recommendation form via email. If they cannot find the email, please have them check their junk or spam mailbox. The email will have the following subject line: Sewanee Young Writers' Conference Recommendation. We prefer they use the recommendation email because it will link them directly to your application. If your recommender cannot locate the email, they can access the recommendation form above.

Admissions Decisions will be sent out via email on April 1 through a program used by our Admissions' Office.
Note if you unsubscribe from University emails, you will not receive this email, so please do not do this.

Preferred Name

Home Phone Number (xxx)xxx-xxxx

Mobile Phone Number (xxx)xxx-xxxx

Please list your preferred contact number

Home

Mobile

Email Address

*Confirm Your Email Address

Workshop Selection

We offer workshops in fiction, playwriting and poetry, as well as three specialized workshops.

Because of the large number of applications we receive, you will increase your chances of admission by indicating more than one workshop preference. Though not getting your first choice may be disappointing, recall that many of the elements of successful writing (character, dialogue, plotting, imagery, diction) are important in every genre.

In which workshop are you most interested in participating? (first choice)

Second choice, if any

Third choice, if any

Address & School Information Section

Permanent Home Address

Country

Street

City

Region

Postal Code

IMPORTANT: We do not need your school address if you do not board (live) at your school. If you are a boarding (live-in) student, please provide you school mailing address here.

If you select no on the next question, PLEASE don't put your school address in the space provided. Only fill this space out if your family receives mail somewhere other than your home address.

Are you a boarding school student living at your school? (If yes, please make sure to put your school mailing address in the "current mailing address" prompt)

Yes

No

Current Mailing Address (Leave blank if your "current mailing address" is the same as your Permanent Home Address)

Country

Street

City

Region

Postal Code

Sex designated at birth

Female

Male

X or another legal sex

Please share more about your gender identity below. This information is helpful for housing purposes.

Birthdate

Term in which you expect to enroll in college

Current High School

High School CEEB Code

Student Type (Unless you are an international student, please select "freshman")

Parent / Guardian Information Section

Please fill out this section with all the information that applies to your parent /guardian (s). It is important that you include as many phone numbers as possible.

Parent 1 / Guardian 1 First Name

Parent 1 / Guardian 1 Last Name

Parent 1 /Guardian 1 Cell Phone

Parent 1 / Guardian 1 Home Phone

Parent 1 / Guardian 1 Work Phone

Parent 1 / Guardian 1 Email Address

Please Retype Your Parent 1/ Guardian Email Address:

Parent 1 / Guardian 1 Address

Country

Street

City

Region

Postal Code

Are you currently living with this Parent 1/Guardian 1?

Yes

No

Parent 2 First Name

Parent 2 Last Name

Parent 2 Cell Phone

Parent 2 Home Phone

Parent 2 Work Phone

Parent 2 Email Address

Parent 2 Address (if different from yours)

Country

Street

City

Region

Postal Code

Are you currently living with Parent 2?

Yes

No

If not with your parent(s) or guardian previously listed, with whom do you live permanently? (Name, relationship)

Emergency Contact (Name, relationship)

Emergency Contact Phone Number (Home)

SYWC Conference Questions and Essay Section

How did you hear of the Sewanee Young Writers' Conference?

(To expand a text box, click and drag the lower righthand corner.)

Have you applied to Sewanee's Young Writers Conference in the past?

Yes

No

When did you apply?

List any extracurricular activities related to your interest in creative writing

Statement of Purpose
Please upload a statement (of approximately 250-750 words) in which you describe your reading and writing life, how attendance at the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference will contribute to it, and how you believe you can contribute both to the small workshop and to the conference in general. We want to know why you wish to spend two weeks at Sewanee this summer. (Word or pdf document only please.)

Upload Statement of Purpose

Writing Sample
Please upload a sample of your work: We are looking for 10 pages of creative writing. If you are interested in more than one genre, please upload samples (if you have them) of all applicable forms of writing. We welcome students to try a genre with which they may have no experience; this is particularly true for the songwriting and memoir workshops.

Upload Writing Sample

Teacher Recommendation Section

Please provide some information about your teacher.

Your application must include a written recommendation from a teacher. We will email the instructions for submitting the teacher recommendation to your teacher when you submit your application. Your application IS NOT COMPLETE until we receive your teacher's recommendation. It is your responsibility to follow up with your teacher to make sure they complete the form.

Teacher's / Counselor's Name

Teacher's / Counselor's School Title

High School Phone Number

Teacher's / Counselor's Personal Phone Number (cell or home)

Teacher's / Counselor's Email Address

Confirm Your Teacher / Counselor's Email Address

Occasionally, we take photographs and video of students to use in our promotional materials. Please give your permission to use your likeness in photography or video to be used in the brochure or on the web site. It is worth noting that when we use photographs, we do not identify the students in them by name.

Photo and Video Permission

Yes, you can use my likeness in photos or video

No, you cannot use my likeness in photos or video

You cannot save and revisit this form, so if you close the application prior to submission, you will have to start over. Once you successfully submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email from sywc@sewanee.edu. If you don't get a confirmation email in your inbox or spam folder within 24 hours of submission then you may have not submitted the application properly. You will want to resubmit your application.

Your electronic "signature" below indicates that to the best of your knowledge this application is complete, honestly presented, and factually correct. I understand that I can be sent home if the information contained here is false.

Admission & Aid

2023 Sewanee Young Writers' Conference Application

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