What Is Alpha – The Young Writers Workshop?

Alpha is a twelve-day writing workshop for 14 to 19 year olds held in July each year at the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus**.

There are 20 students, 10 staff, and 4 author guests at the workshop. Past author guests include Tamora Pierce, N. K. Jemisin, Ellen Kushner, and Mark Oshiro. Each guest spends two days at the workshop, giving lectures on writing, eating meals with students, and leading writing exercises. Tuition is $1800*  and covers all meals and lodging on campus.

Scholarships are available for any students with financial need.

All students are expected to write an original science fiction, fantasy, or horror short story during the workshop (2000 words or more). During the workshop they learn how to generate ideas, turn those ideas into a complete draft, critique their own and other’s stories, how to attack revisions, and how to submit their work to professional, paying markets and think about a career in writing.

We also have resources available for students with technological limitations. We are also committed to meeting all accessibility needs. If you have any concerns (for example, if you require an ASL interpreter), please contact us at any time during the application or acceptance process.