Notable Programs

Creative Writing

~ Helen Parkhurst, Founder

The true business of school is not to chain the students to preconceived ideas, but to set them free to discover their own ideas and to help them bring all their powers to bear upon the problem of learning.
The English Department's elective program in creative writing is open to students in all grades, supporting young writers throughout their development with a progressive series of workshops. Students are encouraged to participate in the wider life of the writer, submitting their writing, editing Blue Flag, the school's literary magazine, and sharing their work at one of the program's many public readings.

Introduction to Creative Writing: Students write poetry and fiction, growing comfortable in a workshop setting as they learn how to discuss one another's work.

Advanced Workshops: Advanced Workshops focus increasingly on craft and technique. Advanced Writing Workshop allows students to continue experimenting with both fiction and poetry, while the other advanced classes are genre-based and much more focused. These include Advanced Poetry Writing, Advanced Fiction Writing: The Short Story and Advanced Fiction Writing: The Novella.

Senior Thesis Workshop: Second semester seniors work on a unique project with the support of the workshop and individual mentoring from the instructor. At the conclusion of the workshop, the writers read their work at the Annual Celebration of Creative Writing, and the theses are preserved in the Dalton Archives.

Read "The Pedagogy of the Creative Writing Workshop", published in the 2014 issue of the Parents League Review. Read "Alchemy: Creative Writing at Dalton", published in the Fall, 2011 issue of Dalton's Connections magazine. Read "The Gold Standard: Defending Creative Writing in the Classroom", published in the September-October, 2005 issue of Teachers & Writers.


Creative Writing News

List of 13 news stories.

Archived News

  • Spring Programs

  • Summer Programs

    • Bard College at Simon's Rock Young Writer's Workshop
      A three-week workshop on the beautiful Simon's Rock campus in the Berkshires.  Fantastic writing across all genres, great writing companions, incredible off-campus trips to plays and the Book Barn (a.k.a. the greatest bookstore ever.)  Molly W. went and had the best consecutive three weeks of her life.
    • Berkeley Summer Creative Writing Program
      Intended primarily for undergraduates, the Berkeley program offers high school students a rigorous and challenging six-week experience. If you want to dive into the deep end of the pool, this might be for you!
    • Bronx Loaf
      A spring course, Bronx Loaf offers a weekend length creative writing workshop just north of Dalton!
    • Center for Creative Youth
      A five-week course of study including creative writing on the campus of Wesleyan University.
    • Columbia Summer Writing Program
      Summer writing workshops for high school students available right here in NYC.
    • Interlochen Arts Camp
      Or not so far West. Three week creative writing workshops among the lakes of northern Michigan.
    • Idyllwild Arts Summer Writing Program
      Go West, young writer, go West. Two week residential workshops in the high desert of California.
    • Iowa Young Writer's Studio
      Two week workshop at the University of Iowa, home to the world’s best-known MFA program. Offers fiction, poetry, and a creative writing focus that lets you write in multiple genres.
    • Ithaca Young Writers Institute
      A two week workshop in early July, the Writers Institute combines creative and professional writing courses, with a focus on the business of writing that sets it apart from other programs.
    • The Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop
      Two week workshops at Kenyon College, which has a wonderful reputation for creative writing. Several Dalton Creative Writing Program alums are currently attending Kenyon!
    • Juniper Institute for Young Writers
      A one week residency at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with craft sessions, workshops and readings.
    • New York State Summer Young Writers Institute
      A one week workshop offered in June on the campus of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY.
    • Poets House Summer Intensive Workshop
      Poets House, right here in New York City, offers a marvelous range of opportunities, including this intensive one-week summer workshop for high school students.
    • Putney School Summer Creative Writing Workshops
      Three week sessions (or a six week session, for the brave-hearted) studying creative writing in beautiful Putney, Vermont. Added bonus: on your way up Kimball Hill through Putney look to the right for the white house behind a line of stately locust trees, Mr. Hood’s childhood home.
    • Pratt's Pre-College Summer Program
      An option for those who would like to do some summer study right here in NYC. Classes available at Pratt's Brooklyn and Manhattan campuses.
    • Reynolds Young Writers Workshop
      An intensive 8 day workshop in Ohio. Offered every year in June. A good way to kick-start your summer of writing!
    • Sarah Lawrence Summer Programs
      In Mr. Hood's Westchester town of Bronxville, Sarah Lawrence College offers summer programs that include creative writing options.
    • Sewanee Young Writers' Conference
      Two week intensive creative writing workshops at Sewanee, The University of the South. No promises during the summer, but during the year, students and faculty at Sewanee wear academic robes to classes. A graduate of the program wrote Beasts of the Southern Wild!
    • UVA Young Writers Workshop
      One of the first programs for high school students, the Young Writers Workshop takes place on the beautiful campus of the University of Virginia.
    • Your Word: Teen Creative Writing Residency
      An intensive twelve day writing residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts on the Florida coast. Mr. Hood has done a residency at ACA and loved the place!
(Grades K-3) 53 East 91st Street
New York, NY 10128
General: (212) 423-5200 | Admissions: (212) 423-5463
General: info@dalton.org | Admissions: fpadmissions@dalton.org

(Gr. 4 Dalton East & PE Center) 200 East 87th Street
New York, NY 10128
General: (212) 423-5200 | Admissions: (212) 423-5262
General: info@dalton.org | Admissions: admissionsmshs@dalton.org

(Grade 5-12) 108 East 89th Street
New York, NY 10128
General: (212) 423-5200 | Admissions: (212) 423-5262
General: info@dalton.org | Admissions: admissionsmshs@dalton.org