A WORKSHOP FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
What is Writer’s Nest?
Writer’s Nest is an exciting new workshop for high school students to root deeply, explore personal narrative, emerging identity, and discover a sense of place through the craft of writing. This workshop for young writers is for rising 9th – 11th grade high school students this fall! Participants will be guided through this process by a veteran writer of multiple formats with collegiate level experience, Meredith McCarroll. Participants can expect focused, dedicated sessions for creating content paired with fun on and off campus adventures. This combination builds community, making it easier to hatch their new creations, seek, and engage in feedback. Participants can expect to leave with a new set of writing wingmates, multiple pieces well on their way to completion, and strong groundwork laid for future writing such as academic work and essays for college.
These young writers will be “nested” in one of our summer camp cabins with experienced staff residents for supervision and support. They will have access to much of our campus, garden, trails, and open spaces. Outdoor Academy students, here for the fall semester, will also join participants at meals and in shared spaces.
DATES: October 3-5, 2025
GRADES: 9th-11th
TUITION: $750
LAST DAY TO REGISTER: Sep. 5th
WORKSHOP INSTRUCTOR
MEREDITH MCCARROLL
Meredith McCarroll was born and raised in Western North Carolina, where she grew deeply interested in the intersections of race and region. Meredith’s writing includes academic work on film and representation in Appalachia (Unwhite: Appalachia, Race, and Film, University of Georgia Press, 2018) and her co-edited collection Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy (West Virginia University Press) won the American Book Award in 2019. Her essays have appeared in Still, Bitter Southerner, Reckon Review, Cutleaf, Cleaver and elsewhere. Her most recent fiction was published at Salvation South. McCarroll teaches college writing at University of Southern Maine. She has taught First Year Writing, American Literature, Film, African-American Literature and Southern Literature at Bowdoin College, Clemson University, Northeastern University. She served as Director of Writing and Rhetoric for nearly a decade, is core faculty teaching nonfiction at West Virginia Wesleyan College’s MFA program, and frequently teaches courses with Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. She lives in Portland with her family, and still considers Waynesville home.
Who This Workshop is For:
- Young writers for the love of writing
- High schoolers wanting to build a portfolio (for applications to programs, scholarships, and a foundation for college essays)
- Students who thrive in or want to try an integrated experiential learning opportunity
- Students who want a chance to see what it’s like to be at Eagle’s Nest during the school year
Workshop Schedule (Subject to change):
10:00 AM – Arrival and cabin settle in
11:30 AM – Welcome, Overview, & Introductions
12:00 PM – Lunch
1:15 PM – Writing Session 1
3:00 PM – Tour campus and break
4:00 PM – Writing Session 2
5:30 PM – Break
6:15 PM – Dinner with The Outdoor Academy
7:30 PM – Writing Session 3
8:30 PM – Clean up / Showers / Snack
9:00 PM – Final evening circle before heading to cabins
10:00 PM – Lights Out
8:30 – Breakfast & Announcements
9:45 – 12:00: Writing Session 3 (on or off campus)
12:15 – 1:30: Lunch
1:45 – 4:00: Writing Session 4 (on or off campus)
4:15 – 5:30: Recreation Time
6:15 PM – Dinner
7:30 PM – Twilight Activity
8:30 PM – Clean up / Showers / Snack
9:00 PM – Final evening circle before heading to cabins
10:00 PM – Lights Out
8:30 – Breakfast with The Outdoor Academy
9:45 – 12:00: Final Session & Closing
12:15 – 1:30: Lunch
2:00: Departure