10/05/2026
Last week, CofC MFA Creative Writing Program writer Madelyn Stepski held a generative writing workshop with Burke High School juniors, kicking off a new partnership between Charleston Literary Festival and CofC’s MFA Program in Creative Writing. We’re so grateful to Sara Peck, Director of Next Generation Initiatives at Charleston Literary Festival, for connecting CofC MFA Creative Writing Program students with local high school students and building bridges between writers at different stages of their careers.
Charleston Literary Festival’s Young Writers Awards are open now for high school students currently enrolled in a Charleston, Berkeley, or Dorchester County public high school. Students can submit poems, short stories, or essays, and selected young authors will receive a cash prize, appear at a Festival event, and have their writing published on the Festival’s website. The Young Writers Awards seek to elevate teen voices and promote the transformative power of literature.
More Charleston Literary Festival x CofC MFA workshops are coming soon, at Burke, Waldo, and Allegro. Thanks to madelyn🌟 for knocking it out of the park—and thanks to the CofC MFA Creative Writing Program writers on deck to visit schools this week and next!