What a wild week it has been! Our young writers started out as shy
strangers on Monday and are leaving the workshop as strong storytellers only four days later, and we cannot express our pride at how much progress the writers made throughout the week. Our staff would like to thank those who made the Young Writers’ Workshop possible along with anyone who supported our young writers. Without your help, it wouldn’t be possible to continue creating a community of young writers who aren’t afraid to pursue their imagination and passion.
Today the writers prepared for their readings at 2pm. However, they managed to sneak in a treasure hunt between editing and writing for their final pieces. Trekking across K-State’s gorgeous campus, the writers split up into their small groups to find local landmarks: the bell by Bluemont, the Martin Luther King Jr. bust near Ahearn, and the power cat statue at the Alumni Center to mention a few. It was an opportunity for the writers to interact with the campus and get to know it beyond the Beach Museum. Judging from the pictures below, it appears like they had a blast!
T-Minus 7
Underrated Uranium
Local Dreamers
Since fun was the treasure hunt’s main objective, everyone came back to lunch as a winner. The day ended at the Beach Museum of Art where each writer revised their pieces before presenting them in front of family and friends.
Local Dreamers
T-Minus 7
Underrated Uranium
Parents, guardians, siblings, friends, K-State professors and staff, and alumni of the program began arriving at 2pm to hear the young writers’ works. It was awesome to see the love and support filling the Beach Museum as the applause echoed throughout the gallery.
Dr. Katy Karlin gave an introductory speech wherein she thanked those who made the Young Writers’ Workshop possible: The Beach Museum, the English Department at Kansas State, Dr. Karin Westman (our department head), and Helen and Duke Dupre, our generous donors and K-State alumni. Without further delay, the writers each took the podium for four minutes to share the INCREDIBLE work they have compiled throughout the week.
Abby
Aidan
Annabelle
Brylee
Darleen
Enrique
Hannah
Isaiah
Jackson
Julianna
Katya
Kayla
Sahana
Sierra
Tawana
Tina
Tyler
Young Writers’ Workshop 2018
And just as abruptly as it began, the 2018 Young Writers’ Workshop is over. While I write this last blog post with a heavy heart, I know this week will be one of my fondest memories of summer 2018. Thanks to all the readers, staff members, and donors who made this Workshop possible! I am forever grateful to have been this year’s program assistant.
— Adrianna Gordey
K-State Young Writers' Workshop 
Perhaps the greatest day of my life. I often reminisce about those five halcyon days of creative energy and enthusiasm, brought about by the generosity of those who comprehend the power of words. In those five days I made a cadre of new friends, met people from an ocean away, indulged myself in the eternal pleasure of creating something with my own two hands. It was a blessing, really, as someone confined to a community that does not value creativity in words, to find myself writing stories alongside a dozen other people who were just like me. They held the same love as I did of the written word. I have never, and likely will never, recreate the euphoria that came over me as I realized I was living out the best days of my life. I cannot put into words the rainbow of emotions that slapped me across the face as I read aloud my Magnum Opus (a wonderful little piece called “The Doom That Came To Wigwamia”) to a sizable group of adults, some of which were the parents of the friends I had just made four days prior. Anxiety. Worry. Humor. Embarrassment. Joy. It was not something that can be reconstructed, it is a moment which has burnt itself into the recesses of my mind that will always remain till the day I depart this world. There is simply no end to the praise I have for Katy Karlin and her fantastic workshop. From this experience, I was granted not just a whole slew of enlightening advice, but a handful of days where I was overflowing with palpable excitement and joy from the moment I awoke to the second I drifted off to sleep, ready for the next day to take me away for another leg if the journey. When that journey concluded, I looked back and said, “That was, truly, the greatest way to spend my time.” Thank you to Adrianna, Kenan, Gavin, Zian, Katy, all of our guests, and of course, my fellow attendees of the 2018 Kansas Young Writer’s Workshop for giving me the happiest days of my life. I loved it more than that I could ever possibly put into words.
LikeLike