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Creative Writing Major at Arts Academy
One of America’s Best High Schools for Creative Writing
As you write to discover, understand, or grow, Interlochen Arts Academy will provide you with the guidance and resources you need to develop your unique voice. At Interlochen, you'll deepen your craft and prepare for your future as a writer and active participant in the literary scene. Develop your composition skill at Interlochen Arts Academy, grow beyond what other high schools provide, and become an accomplished creator of the literary arts.
What You'll Learn
As a creative writing major, you will receive hands-on and workshop-style instruction that will put you leaps and bounds beyond the typical high school writer at other high schools in terms of technique, versatility, and vocational know-how.
Our faculty of writer-educators will provide personalized mentorship within an intensive but nurturing workshop environment. You will learn to listen, read, and critique like writers. Interlochen's reputation as one of the best schools for creative writing stems in part from the strong mentorship provided by our writing faculty. These career professionals will help you create a strong portfolio to apply to top undergraduate literary studies programs or to adapt your learning to a broad range of pursuits.
The Next Step on Your Journey as a Creative Writer
As a student at our boarding school for creative writing, you will enjoy an academic experience far and above the offerings of general curriculum high schools. Interlochen Arts Academy provides you with focused creative writing studies and an individualized, hand-on learning experience.
- Craft an exciting body of work in diverse literary genres—including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, and forms you invent
- Develop an in-depth understanding of craft terminology and cutting-edge stylistic techniques
- Engage in professionalization opportunities—such as preparing portfolios for national high school creative writing contests and literary publications, interviewing visiting writers about their career paths, and attending workshops
- Prepare a portfolio for professional and educational submissions
- Collaborate in interdisciplinary contexts with artists from other majors on campus
The Creative Writing division offers a curriculum designed to help young writers cultivate their talents, develop their imaginations, learn to read like writers, and broaden their command of the writer’s craft at all levels.
Discover the Interlochen Arts Academy difference for high school arts education. Enroll in one of our nation’s best schools for creative writing today!
Creative Writing Scholarship Opportunity
Win a full-tuition scholarship to Interlochen Arts Academy with the Virginia B. Ball Creative Writing Competition.
Program Highlights
Student Publications
You'll have the opportunity to gain hands-on editorial experience by working on The Red Wheelbarrow, our in-house publication, and The Interlochen Review, our international, online literary journal, which is constructed and curated during the semester-long elective Literary Publications. Through this course, creative writing students strengthen their skills in visual design, converse with professional editors, and learn to use vital industry software.
Awards & Honors
Our students regularly receive regional and national recognition from contests like the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, YoungARTS, Bennington Young Writers Awards, Michigan State University’s Samet and Benvenuto contests, the Adroit Prizes for Poetry and Prose, and Princeton University’s Leonard L. Milberg ’53 High School Poetry Prize. Student work has recently appeared in such publications as Black Warrior Review, Quarterly West, Brevity, and The Texas Review, and we have to-date mentored twenty Presidential Scholars in the Arts.
Get to know Sabine
"At Interlochen, you are surrounded by a wealth of resources and people who are equally excited to be there as you are." — Sabine, Creative Writing
Interlochen was a dream of mine for much of my childhood, and, after four years at the Academy, I love it even more than I thought possible. With an Interlochen education comes the ability to mix artistic and academic learning, a community that fosters close friendships, and a constant array of opportunities, among other things.
Poppy Rose '20, Arts Academy (Creative Writing)
Guest Artists
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Tess Fontaine
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Ross Gay
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Garth Greenwell
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Tyehimba Jess
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Ilya Kaminsky
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Douglas Kearney
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Carmen Maria Machado
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Rebecca Makkai
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Adrian Matejka
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Jenny Offill
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Carl Phillips
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Elissa Washuta
Take a Tour of The Writing House
Creative writing courses take place in The Writing House, a facility in a Northwoods aesthetic designed to support the needs and development of young writers. The building offers both large communal spaces in the Great Room as well as more private learning spaces in the form of alcoves, reading rooms, one conference room, a big porch, and faculty offices.
College Matriculation
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Bard College
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Barnard College
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Bennington College
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Brown University
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Columbia University
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Davidson College
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Emerson College
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Harvard University
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Kenyon College
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Knox College
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Middlebury College
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Mount Holyoke College
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Oberlin College and Conservatory
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Princeton University
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Reed College
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Smith College
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University of Cambridge
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University of Southern California
Back Again
Learn how alumnae Megan Baxter (IAC 02, IAA 02-04) and Brittany Cavallaro (IAA 02-04) started their writing careers after Interlochen—and why they came back as faculty.
Thursday, February 13, 2025 - 7:30 p.m. ET
The Writing House FREE, no tickets required
Sunrise Nights an Evening with Brittany Cavallaro and Jeff Zentner
Friday, February 14, 2025 - 7:30 p.m. ET
The Alluvion All Tickets $28
Dive deeper into Interlochen Arts Academy with a free digital viewbook
In our free informational booklet, you'll learn more about:
- Each of our seven arts areas
- Renowned faculty
- College-preparatory academics
- Student resources
- How to apply and financial aid information
- And more