Graduation – See You Next Year

by newerawriters

And so the YouNiversity draws to a close. This experiment has grown in ways neither Chris nor myself ever expected, and we look forward to the year ahead as we put together the YouNiversity 2016. Next year we will focus on Latino writers, and we hope that you see this blog and see the work we have done and decide to participate in future projects. But don’t take our word for how this program has been a success, we recently asked our students for their feedback on the program and here is what they had to say:

“I was both surprised and delighted by how involved everyone in the program was, from the mentors to the participants to the guest speakers. I feel more able to go after my dreams of publishing poetry because of all of the knowledge I have gained from this program. Whereas before I felt overwhelmed by the prospect of receiving my undergraduate degree and then moving away from my contacts in the writing world (my professors and classmates), I now feel more secure in having begun to build a network of helpful and encouraging people.” –Emma Mayhood

“This is an outstanding program. I consider it a privilege of the highest order to be involved with the YouNiversity. It was a detailed and comprehensive full-spectrum introduction to the ins and outs of the publishing process. My initial thoughts were that this was more directly related to actual writing. I think it is fair to describe the program as a mentorship on the business of writing more so than generating creative content. In that regard, it is more valuable than a writing internship. What I mean by that is there are any number of top quality opportunities to learn how to write better. Whereas it seems the “school” for learning the publishing industry is the school of hard knocks with all its attendant mishaps, ripoffs, anxiety, and depression. The value comes from the rarity of what you are doing. Also, we all know if the writing is brilliant but your business skills suck, it effectively cancels the writing.” –Yma Johnson