Badgerdog Creative Writing Programs

Taught by Austin’s talented working writers, our Badgerdog Creative Writing Program includes workshops for all ages, classroom-based lessons, and youth camps to inspire and guide our up-and-coming writers.

Badgerdog Creative Writing

Spring Break & Summer Camps

Badgerdog’s writing camps serve students in grades 3–12, offering immersive, arts-focused experiences that nurture creativity and confidence. In small, thoughtfully led groups, young writers explore poetry, fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, and screenwriting alongside Austin’s professional writers.

All our creative writing camps follow a simple teaching model: READ, WRITE, SHARE.

We READ the work of published writers to discover the strategies, and tools that make writing vivid and compelling.
We WRITE, practising the art of storytelling while using the skills we’ve learned.
We SHARE, reading our own work aloud in the classroom, performing in public, or having work published.

Download the Badgerdog app!

Sign-up to receive email updates on Badgerdog Creative Writing camps!

Summer Camps

All Badgerdog Creative Writing camps are capped at 16 students per workshop. Our traditional three-week and two-week summer camps include fun exercises in poetry, fiction, and other forms of creative writing.

At the end of the summer, all camp students will have their work published in one of two professionally produced anthologies: ‘Rise’ for elementary-aged writers, and ‘Emerge’ for middle- and high-school writers.

In the fall, Badgerdog hosts a Young Authors Reading & Anthology Launch where selected campers perform their work and celebrate the launch of the anthologies.

Summer Camps are organized according to the grade the students will be entering in the fall.

Lower Elementary School:

Campers who will be entering 3rd + 4th grade in the fall

Upper Elementary School:

Campers who will be entering 5th + 6th grade in the fall

Middle School:

Campers who will be entering 7th + 8th grade in the fall

High School:

Campers who will be entering 9th to 12th grade in the fall

Scholarships to Badgerdog summer camps are available to rising 3rd-12th graders who demonstrate financial need and a commitment to writing.

Free Workshops

Our Badgerdog program offers free writing workshops for youth and adults at branch libraries around Austin. Led by our professional teaching artists, these one-time workshops often focus on a specific writing genre — poetry, memoir, the personal essay, and more.

No registration required.
Bring paper, writing utensils, or a laptop.

Click on a workshop listing below for more information

Badgerdog in the Classroom

Each year, we send Austin’s professional writers into classrooms across Central Texas where they inspire students to embrace the challenge and beauty of writing. To best meet schools’ and teachers’ needs, all our Badgerdog teaching artists work with the classroom teachers to understand students’ skill levels, areas of difficulty, and language arts objectives.

See more about this workshop

During the creative writing course, students experience all stages of the writing process, from idea generation to revision and publication. We aim to provide every young writer with the opportunity to perform and publish his or her work, to bring it to life beyond the writing journal.

All school workshops culminate with a reading performance on campus, where each student shares an original piece before an audience of students, parents, and teachers. Student work is also published online or in a library-quality journal at the end of the year.

Badgerdog Creative Writing Workshop Options

Badgerdog workshops typically meet weekly, during the school day or after school, for approximately one hour and are scheduled according to teachers’ priorities. Workshop programs include:

For more information email badgerdog@austinlibrary.org

Teachers Talk About Badgerdog Youth Programs

“The students were really excited to have the Badgerdog instructor work with them. She was great at getting the students to participate. She is really getting them to think and write on the spot, which is just the motivation they need.”

– Ms. Cordova, second grade teacher at Brown Elementary

“The Badgerdog instructor was AMAZING, and the students really enjoyed everything he had to offer! We are very excited to produce more poetry.

– Ms. Garcia, second grade teacher at Brown Elementary

“I remember how successful my fourth grade class was the year we worked with Badgerdog. We actually had 100% of our students pass the state writing test, amazing!”

– Melissa Puga, fourth grade teacher at Harris Elementary

“The Badgerdog instructor is FABULOUS! I love the writing topics and genres she is teaching them. I can already see them blossoming! Thank you for this awesome opportunity.

– Ms. Barrera, fourth grade teacher at Pioneer Crossing Elementary

Badgerdog for Adults

Badgerdog offers creative writing workshops for adult writers of all ages and skill levels in libraries and community centers across Austin. Some classes offer a broad survey of literary genres and written forms, while others focus specifically on fiction, poetry, or nonfiction.

For more information email us at badgerdog@austinlibrary.org

Stay in Touch

Stay updated on our ongoing community programs and events, latest library news and more by signing up for our monthly newsletter