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Writing for Young Adults

ENGL 121.301
instructor(s):
T 1:30-4:30

Intelligent and searching, original and impassioned, lit from within and motivated by a desire to start a conversation about it means to be alive, to choose, to yearn, to be different, to take a stand, to get along, and to hope, the best books written for middle grade and young adult readers are, most assuredly “big” books, the kind that live with readers long after the last pages have been read and the books slipped back onto the shelf. In this intensive (and fun) reading and writing workshop, we’ll learn from the likes of R. J. Palacio, Sherman Alexie, Kate DiCamillo, Ali Benjamin, Patricia McCormick, Francisco X. Stork, CeCe Bell, Dana Reinhardt, David Levithan, Ruta Sepetys, A. S. King, and Jason Reynolds. We’ll study the development of characters (and character), the creation of setting, the power of talk, and the secrets of narrative risk. We’ll produce three short pieces and one longer one, in addition to a series of brief in-class prompts.

fulfills requirements