The Department of English at Southwest Texas State University offers talented high school creative writers the opportunity to work on their fiction and poetry with established authors in San Marcos. SWT is home to a Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing, illustrating the University's ongoing commitment to quality instruction in writing. Creative writing faculty in the department have published widely and won numerous national and international awards. Praised by teachers and students from across Texas, the camp has also received major grants from the Burdine Johnson Foundation and the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Therese Kayser Lindsey Endowment for literature, all of which provide support for outstanding cultural programs.
Campers attend writing workshops in both fiction and poetry.
Through writing assignments and comments by camp staff, as well as sessions on revision, students gain experience in finding ideas for writing and reviewing their own work. On the final day of the camp, students present a public reading of their poems and stories for parents, friends, staff, and members of the community. All activities are fully supervised by carefully selected staff and take place on the 21,000-student SWT campus. San Marcos is located in Central Texas along the scenic San Marcos River. Participants must arrange their own transportation to and from San Marcos.