The Lighthouse Summer Writing Intensive is led by published and award-winning writers, and each workshop is designed to foster creativity, self-expression, and excitement about writing. During camp week, young writers will work at length with a number of published instructors in a variety of genres and will leave camp with new knowledge about the craft of writing, at least one completed piece of work, and enthusiasm about pieces-to-come. Campers will be invited, but not required, to share a piece of writing in a public reading at the end of the week. Writers of all experience are welcome to apply; we look for campers who are excited to write and spend a week as part of a writing community.        

This IN-PERSON camp is held at Lighthouse Writers Workshop at 3844 York Street, Denver, CO 80205. This is a NOT an overnight camp. Camp dates for 2025 are July 14-18 for middle school ages and July 21-25  for high school ages. Camp hours are 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM.      

Our full day camps include a lunch hour for eating (please bring your lunch), free-writing, hanging out with new friends, and lawn-cartwheeling. The camp culminates each year in a public reading, where students have the opportunity to showcase their work.

Each camper will have the opportunity to submit their writing to the annual youth anthology, And We Created Worlds, to be published. Each student that submits to the anthology will receive a copy of the professionally published anthology in December of 2025. 

ADMISSIONS POLICY

Lighthouse staff and faculty review each application, looking particularly at a student's expressed interest in writing and writing sample. Beginning in January 2025, we'll review and accept applications on a rolling basis. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance status within two weeks of submitting their application. If a camp fills, we'll create a waitlist. If any student declines or cancels their acceptance, we'll contact the next student on the waitlist. If a camp is full, we'll post that information on our website. Currently, space is available in all camps.     

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

We strive to fill our camp with students who show a passion for writing, a creative spark, a desire to explore new topics, and openness to discovering new things. Group dynamics are especially important in a camp as small as ours, so we expect that all applicants will be respectful of instructors and their peers, and motivated to write. We also welcome a diverse range of interests in our students—some are experienced writers with hundreds of pages under their belts, while others excel at sports, music, math, or science, but want to gain more experience in writing. We do not discriminate based on the need for financial aid.     

PAYMENT POLICY

The cost of the camp is $575.00. This cost includes a copy of a professionally published book after the camp weeks are completed for campers who submit work to be published. Payment is required to secure a spot once you have received an acceptance. After you’ve received an acceptance letter, please register online, call with payment, or send us a check. For cancellations and refunds, see our cancellation policy.      

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Lighthouse believes that all young people should have an opportunity to explore the world through creative writing. Therefore, we offer a sliding scale to families who need financial aid. To request financial assistance, please fill out the appropriate sections of the application form. We'll contact you about financial aid at the time of your acceptance to our camp.

Lit Fest features weeklong and weekend advanced workshops in novel, short story, and hybrid genres. Participation is by application only. Weeklong workshops meet five times, Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 11:30 AM MDT and include a one-on-one meeting with the instructor. The weekend workshop meets twice, Saturday and Sunday, from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM MDT or 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM MDT each day. All workshops are scheduled to be held in person in Denver.

Please use this form to apply for an advanced workshop in fiction with:

• Steve Almond, Mat Johnson, Elizabeth McCracken, Helen Phillips, Douglas Stuart, Tony Tulathimutte (Monday–Friday, June 9–13)
• Katie Kitamura (Saturday–Sunday, June 7–8)

Please remove all identifying information from your 10-page writing sample. You'll need to complete a separate application if you're applying for multiple workshops (which is not the same as listing alternate workshops if you don't get your first choice). Applicants for the Lit Fest Fellowship for Emerging Writers in fiction, Veterans Writing Award, and LARRK fellowship for writers with physical disabilities should also use this form. 

This year's judge for the emerging writer fellowship in fiction is novelist Megha Majumdar (A Burning).

Please see our website for the workshop descriptions and tuition information.

The priority deadline for applications is March 8. Applications after that date will be considered on a rolling basis, space permitting (all of the classes have filled in past years). No fellowship applications will be considered after March 8.

Lit Fest features weeklong and weekend advanced workshops in memoir, narrative nonfiction, hybrid genres, and essay. Participation is by application only, and courses are limited to 10 participants each. Weeklong workshops meet five times, Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 11:30 AM MDT, after which there's time for one-on-one meetings with the instructor. Weekend workshops meet twice, Saturday and Sunday, from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM each day. All workshops are scheduled to be held in person in Denver.

Please use this form to apply for an advanced workshop in nonfiction, memoir, or essay with:

• Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Alex Marzano-Lesnevitch, and Eileen Myles (Monday–Friday, June 9–13). You're also welcome to indicate a preference for Elizabeth McCracken.
• Nicole Chung and Claire Dederer (Saturday–Sunday, June 7–8)

Please remove all identifying information from your 10-page writing sample. You'll need to complete a separate application if you're applying for multiple workshops (which is not the same as listing alternate workshops if you don't get your first choice). Applicants for the Lit Fest Fellowship for Emerging Writers in Nonfiction, Veterans Writing Award, and LARRK Fellowship for Writers with Physical Disabilities should also use this form. 

The emerging writer fellowship for nonfiction will be judged this year by Mark Sundeen (Delusions + Grandeur,The Unsettlers, The Man Who Quit Money, The Making of Toro, and Car Camping). 

Please see our website for the workshop descriptions and tuition information.

The priority deadline for applications is March 8. Applications after that date will be considered on a rolling basis, space permitting (all of the classes have filled in past years). No fellowship applications will be accepted after March 8.

Lit Fest features weeklong and weekend advanced workshops in poetry. Participation is by application only, and each class is limited to 12 poets (14 for a generative workshop). Weeklong workshops meet five times, Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 11:30 AM MDT,  and include a one-on-one meeting with the instructor. Weekend workshops meet twice, Saturday and Sunday, from 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM MDT. All workshops are scheduled to be held in person in Denver.

Please use this form to apply for an advanced workshop in poetry with:

• Eduardo Corral (Monday–Friday, June 9–13)
• Solmaz Sharif (Saturday–Sunday, June 7–8)
• Matthew Zapruder (Sunday afternoon–Thursday morning, June 8–12)
• You can also list Eileen Myles's poetry/nonfiction hybrid workshop (Monday–Friday, June 9–13), here

Please remove all identifying information from your 3-to-5-poem writing sample. You'll need to complete a separate application if you're applying for multiple workshops (which is not the same as listing alternate workshops if you don't get your first choice). Applicants for the Lit Fest Fellowship for Emerging Writers in Poetry, Veterans Writing Award, and LARRK Fellowship for Writers with Physical Disabilities should also use this form. 

This year's fellowship judge for emerging writers in poetry is Rowan Ricardo Phillips (The Ground, Heaven, Living Weapon, Silver, When Blackness Rhymes with Blackness, andThe Circuit: A Tennis Odyssey). 

Please see our website for the workshop descriptions and tuition information.

The priority deadline for applications is March 8. Applications after that date will be considered on a rolling basis, space permitting (all of the classes have filled in past years). No fellowship applications will be accepted after March 8.