Writers Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas photographed in their home, 1906
OVERVIEW
The Craft Conservatory will enroll ten or fewer high school apprentices from across the globe for its inaugural yearlong virtual writing program. The program will run from July 28th, 2026 to July 27th, 2027.
All aspects of the conservatory seek to instill artistic and communicative confidence in our students as they enter more competitive and intense academic, creative, and social spaces. The work of the conservatory is exciting and creative, but it is serious work. Through weekly writing exercises, reading, conversation, and in depth feedback designed specifically for each student, the apprentices consistently strengthen their comprehension and style through linguistic muscle building.
PHILOSOPHY
The work we do as writers has been theorized for centuries as being auditory, psychological, mystical, social, hermetic, mathematical, analytical, philosophical and artistic. In this intensive apprenticeship, we will engage in practice that supports each of these lenses. Beyond writing together in a low stakes but high interval setting, we will read deeply and widely. We will converse, theorize, defend, critique and (last but not least) listen closely to the strangeness of our own voices and the many voices of others. We will learn not only to articulate what we want to say, but find the words to diagnose how we speak and how others do too.
APPRENTICESHIP
Working synchronously and asynchronously with the program mentor every week for a full calendar year, the apprenticeship will challenge apprentices to develop a writing practice that emphasizes cultivating a unique voice, point of view, and expert command of technical craft over the course of a year so that they may refine it over the course of a lifetime.
After initial goal-setting and skill evaluation with that year's mentor, “The Craft” begins: each student is designed an intensive, comprehensive, and personally tailored curriculum in one of the four following disciplines:
The Art of the Poem
The Art of the Short Story
The Art of the Essay
The Art of Experiment
COLLOQUIUMS
Once every quarter, all mentees will be invited to a virtual colloquium or seminar where, together, they will learn a practical skill in the field such as:
+ How to write a cover letter for publishing
+ How to structure an application portfolio
+ How to write a "Statement of Purpose"
+ How to start your own literary magazine
+ The art of book binding or letterpress
After seminars, apprentices will be given ample time to ask each other questions that spark interdisciplinary discussion, talk about their current and upcoming projects, and share pieces of writing they have developed during the conservatory.
CAPSTONE
Beyond the weekly apprenticeship, students will work towards quarterly writing projects that result in a yearlong Capstone collection. The Craft Conservatory encourages students to use their Capstone portfolio to:
+ Publish individual pieces to established literary magazines
+ Debut a chapbook, ebook, or full-length collection
+ Enter pieces into contests, fellowships, or awards
+ Include in applications for summer programs and internships
+ Supplement materials for college and graduate programs
AMBASSADORSHIP
After completing the apprenticeship, alumni will serve as ‘Craft Ambassadors’-- a virtual support network for future Craft mentees. Over time, we aim to build a compendium of resources to help our young writers remain creatively inspired, community-minded, and engaged critically with the world around them. We hope for Craft Ambassadors to pioneer their own societies, publications, resources, and movements.
ars longa vita brevi
the life so short, the craft so long to learn