Young Writers Studio is a program for young people in the Florida Keys who want to become better writers, learn about themselves and see their island home with fresh eyes.
Participants will spend five full days, June 22-26, exploring Key West and learning about great American authors who have lived and worked here, including Ernest Hemingway, Elizabeth Bishop, Wallace Stevens and James Merrill. The program emphasizes journaling, close observation and site-specific writing exercises, along with constructive feedback and group critique. Each afternoon includes a writing workshop led by a visiting writer. A special daylong excursion to Dry Tortugas National Park will conclude the week’s site-specific writing.
The theme of the program references James Merrill’s poem, “Island in the Works.” Written from his Elizabeth Street home in the 1980s, the poem is full of observed imagery, a relish for language and a sense of humor. The poem emerges from everyday life in the Keys.
This year marks the relaunch of the Key West Literary Seminar’s youth program, which operated in 2018 and 2019 but was paused during the restoration of the historic Elizabeth Bishop House & Garden. The house will provide a classroom space for the young writers.
The program is open to students of all levels in Monroe County who will be starting their sophomore, junior or senior year in the fall of 2026. Students who are homeschooled or from unconventional educational backgrounds are also encouraged to apply.More information is at kwls.org/young-writers.
