The Ithaca Writers Institute is a place where promising high school student writers come together to celebrate, study, and practice the creation of literature, laying the foundation for a successful life of writing. Taught by a distinguished faculty member of the College’s Department of Writing, with teaching assistance from the department’s most talented undergraduates, the curriculum mirrors the department’s own unique curriculum, giving aspiring young writers an immersive experience in an authentic college atmosphere.
Outside of the classroom, you are supported by Resident Advisors (or "RA's"), peer leaders who encourage community-building, peer-to-peer connection, and who provide regularly-scheduled social activities. Plan to arrive on campus to begin your summer college adventure on Sunday, July 06 with coursework occurring between Monday, July 07 through Friday, July 25, 2025.
Ithaca is a unique place to hone your writing skills. For the past century, a legion of famous writers have found their muses in Ithaca, so many that one of its downtown streets—Tioga—bears the nickname “Writer’s Block.” Pearl S. Buck, Junot Díaz, Mark Doty, Lorrie Moore, Toni Morrison, Vladimir Nabokov, Téa Obreht, Thomas Pynchon, Carl Sagan, Kurt Vonnegut, and E.B. White are just a few of the writers who have called Ithaca home. That rich literary history is alive today in Ithaca’s vibrant literary community, including a cooperative independent bookstore, Buffalo Street Books; a renowned M.F.A. program in creative writing at Cornell; a legendary biannual book sale, Friends of the Library; and a lively literary festival, Spring Writes. The Ithaca College writing department's Distinguished Visiting Writers Series has brought to campus Pulitzer Prize winners Jennifer Egan, Jeffrey Eugenides, and Rae Armantrout; National Book Critics Circle Award Winners Eula Biss, Philip Gourevitch, and C.K. Williams; and National Book Award winner Jean Valentine. Finally, Ithaca is home to publishers Cayuga Lake Books and Cornell University Press.