Summer Conferences
Does your dream summer include meeting living writers or investigating history beyond the printed word? If so, you have come to the right place!
Know what you are looking for?
Choose the Summer Program topic that interests you! Our Summer Conferences are open to students entering their sophomore, junior, and senior year of high school.
Presented by faculty and staff at the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.
Programming by the faculty and staff that support the Rose O’Neill Literary House
and nationally renowned guest authors.
Cherry Tree Young Writers’ Conference
Cherry Tree Young Writers’ Conference
Program Dates: July 15-18, 2025
The Cherry Tree Young Writers’ Conference is a vibrant literary gathering that helps rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors build their skills and identity as writers.
Scholarship Application Deadline: June 17, 2025
Registration Closes: June 25, 2025
Cost: $849 (includes workshop tuition, room and board, the “Writing a Successful College Admissions Essay” workshop, a letterpress demonstration, a copy of the latest issue of Cherry Tree: A National Literary Journal at Washington College, and snacks and drinks at all events); a limited number of full scholarships are available!
Our motto is “Write Your Truth,” and while writing is often a solitary art, it needn't be a lonely one. The conference takes place at Washington College, a thriving community where aspiring poets, novelists, and journalists study with prize-winning authors to hone their craft. The college is also home to the famous Sophie Kerr Prize, the world’s largest undergraduate creative writing award, worth more than $70,000.
At the Cherry Tree Young Writers’ Conference, students take intensive creative writing workshops with nationally renowned authors in one of three genres (poetry, fiction, or journalism), discuss literature with English faculty, and attend professional readings and craft panels. They explore the world of literary internships and grants in publishing, writing, and editing. Additionally, they learn what it’s like to work at college publications such as Cherry Tree, Washington College’s national literary journal.
This summer, our 10th annual literary extravaganza takes place July 15-18. The cost is $849 per participant, which includes our "Writing a Successful College Admissions Essay" workshop. We offer a number of merit, regional, and/or genre scholarships that cover the full cost of the conference.
You can find more information here.
Young Historians’ Conference
Young Historians’ Conference
History Off the Page: Making the Past Present
Program Dates: July 16-19, 2024
Registration Closes: June 15, 2024 or when at capacity
Cost: $200 (including room and board); limited scholarships available
Number of Young Historians: Space is limited - only 14 spots this year!
The Young Historians’ Conference gives high school students a backstage look into the many ways we make history — and a chance to make history themselves. This year’s theme, History Off the Page: Making the Past Present, is an introduction to the many ways we can investigate history beyond the printed page. (But don’t get us wrong — we still love books, too!)
Together with Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, you’ll do hands-on work with original centuries-old archival documents and artifacts, conduct oral history interviews with civil rights activists, explore historic buildings and neighborhoods, and view the Chesapeake region's landscape from the deck of a boat. We’ll travel to Washington, D.C., for behind-the-scenes tours at the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress. Check out these photos from the 2021 Young Historians' Conference.
You’ll have unique opportunities to learn from Washington College faculty mentors and nationally acclaimed authors, as well as history undergrads who are following their intellectual passions on an array of historical topics. Throughout the program, you’ll be living on the campus of the first American college established after the Revolutionary War, under the personal patronage of George Washington himself.
The Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience is housed in the original, colonial-era riverfront Custom House of Chestertown and features a Public Humanities Lab filled with state-of-the-art technology to create digital archives and exhibitions. Our interest in history goes far beyond our college’s namesake. From Frederick Douglass to the Freedom Riders, Maryland’s Eastern Shore is an ideal place to study four centuries of African American history, a topic of special focus at the Starr Center. No matter what your interest in history is, you will find a place in our community of young scholars.
Registration Information:
- The conference is limited to a maximum of 14 participants. Registrations are accepted on a rolling basis. Registration will close as soon as the program is full or on June 15, 2024.
- Please submit a 250-500 word statement describing your interest in the “History Off the Page” program. It doesn’t need to be a formal essay — just tell us why you’d be excited to join!
- If you wish to be considered for one of the scholarships, you or your parent(s) or guardian(s) may also include a short statement describing any relevant circumstances. (Requesting a scholarship will not affect your chances of being admitted to the program.) We would ask you not to apply for a scholarship if you do not have financial need so that we can help all those students who would not be able to participate without a scholarship.
Registration Open Date: January 1, 2024
Registration Close Date: June 15, 2024
Conference Leaders: Adam Goodheart and Vicki Barnett-Woods