Information for Parents
Dear Parents,
If your child is showing you this letter, it means he or she is interested in attending the fifth annual Alpha Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Workshop for Young Writers from July 16-25, 2008 at the University of Pittsburgh, Greensburg.
You could wonder what you ever did to deserve such a kid, or you could find out what a science fiction writer's workshop and convention are all about and view your son or daughter's prospects of attending the Alpha workshop as educational, possible, safe, and enjoyable.
Let us help.
What is the Alpha Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Workshop for Young Writers?
It is the seventh annual residential writers' workshop designed for teenagers who enjoy writing science fiction, fantasy and/or horror. Like residential writers workshop for adults, it will feature a number of professional writers who will work with the teenaged writers. This workshop will run for ten days and will be open to students between the ages of 14 and 20. The students will be kept busy the entire time, writing, researching, critiquing, listening to presentations by authors, and giving public readings of their own work.
There are many issues to address in order to allay any concerns you may have. Expense. Housing. Meals. Travel. Safety. As parents, we understand. Let's go through them one by one.
Expense
The ten-day workshop fee for 2008 is $950, which includes a single, furnished dorm room, three meals a day (dinner on Wednesday, July 16th through lunch on Friday, July 25th), Confluence membership, transportation to evening events and to Confluence on Friday afternoon. Not included: transportation to and from Pittsburgh, Friday and Saturday hotel nights at the post-workshop convention hotel (Sheraton Four Points, Pittsburgh) and Confluence weekend meals. Tailoring of fees and some scholarships are available. Students can share contact information before the workshop, so joint travel to and from Pittsburgh, and housing arrangements at the conference can possibly be combined.
Confluence is a small, literary conference hosting about fifty authors, artists, musicians and scientists as program participants and nearly 300 members. Confluence is not part of the workshop itself, but it is strongly encouraged -- it is the brilliant gem at the end of a hard week. Attending literary science fiction conferences is a wonderful way for young writers to meet published writers. We've arranged some special activities at the conference for all Alpha workshop members, including a chance to sit down and talk some of the attending authors.
Housing
The price of the workshop includes a private room (with door lock and key) in an air-conditioned suite containing four bedrooms, two baths, a fully-equipped kitchen and living room. Two computers will be available per suite for workshop use, but students are encouraged to bring their own laptop computer, if possible. Female and male students will be housed in separate areas. There are coin-op washers and dryers in each dorm. Each room is carpeted, and has a desk, chair, bureau, closet, twin bed and a window. Linens (towels, sheets, blankets) will be provided. The dorms are two stories tall and fairly new; one suite per dorm is equipped for the handicapped, and all buildings are handicap accessible. If your child plans to attend Confluence, all meal and housing expenses after lunch on Friday, July 25th are extra. Last year, we worked out room sharing at the con so, even though the con hotel rate is $95.00 per night, the per student expense was much less. After the conference, we'll see that each student gets directly to their transportation home.
Meals
Meals during the workshop week will mainly be taken at the college cafeteria which has an extensive selection of food and drink, in an all-you-can-eat style: daily selections, which we can suggest to the cook for our workshop, and stationary set-ups including a pasta bar, a salad bar, a pizza station, dessert cart and Belgian waffle/ice cream station. Vegetarian students won't have difficulty finding a healthy diet.
Travel
The branch campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Greensburg is over an hour away from the Pittsburgh International Airport. A University of Pittsburgh shuttle service will bring the students from the airport out to Greensburg. Departure should be from Greater Pittsburgh International Airport. Students who take a bus or train to downtown Pittsburgh, Monroeville or Greensburg will be met and driven to the University of Pittsburgh branch campus. Free on-campus parking is available.
Safety Issues
Electronic walkie-talkies, beepers and cell phones are encouraged on the premises, so you can keep in touch with your teen at all times. No smoking is allowed in the dormitories. The drinking age in Pennsylvania is twenty-one, and is rigorously observed. The Greensburg branch campus is situated in a secluded rural housing neighborhood, away from commercial districts. Staff members will be on hand at all times, as well as a number of local parents who will be available to help supervise throughout the workshop week. Several older teens, who have been through the workshop previously, are now on staff, too.
If we've raised more questions than we've answered, at least we've got you thinking! Consider this a dialogue. Let's work together to squeeze the most "sense of wonder" out of this experience for our young adults.
If you have unanswered questions, please contact us at alpha@spellcaster.org.