Summer Residency Information

Low-Residency MFA in writing for children and young adult students should check this web page often for the most current information regarding the residency. What is a residency?
Not an admitted student? Click here for Residency Events open to the public.

Monday, July 7* - Friday, July 18, 2008
*Newly admitted students should plan to attend orientation on Monday, July 7. Returning students, opening activities are scheduled to begin in the morning on Tuesday, July 8. 
           

July 2008 Residency:

Schedule of Events 

Visiting Writers & Guests

Housing Information

Dining Information

Graduation Ceremony

NEW! "Common Books" for the July residency:

• Dark Sons, Nikki Grimes
• Freedom's Children, Ellen Levine
• Gershon's Monster, Eric Kimmel
• Come on Rain, Karen Hess

Please make sure you have read these books before the start of the residency.  What are common books?

Schedule of Events: 

• FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS   (updated 6/27)
  
  Graduation Recognition Ceremony: Thursday, July 17th in
  Sundin Hall. 3:30 pm.  

Visiting Writers:
 

Virginia Buckley has been an editor at Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin, since 1997.  Formerly editor-in-chief at Lodestar Books, she has acquired and edited books in all genres from picture books to fiction and nonfiction for young adults.  She has been award-winning author Katherine Paterson’s editor for thirty years.  She is also the editor for Gary Schmidt.

Andrea Cascardi has more than twenty years experience as an editor and publisher of children’s and young adult books, having worked with Scholastic, Knopf, Crown/Random House, Hyperion, and Houghton Mifflin.  Currently she is working as a literary agent in the USA office of Transatlantic Literary Agency, Inc.  Her authors include Mary Casanova, Faith Ringgold, Karen Hesse, John Coy, Julia Alvarez, Tim Burton, Raffi, and Wendy Wasserstein. 

Nikki Grimes is the recipient of the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children.  Her many award-winning books for children and young adults include the novels Bronx Masquerade, winner of the 2003 Coretta Scott King Author Award; Jazmin’s Notebook, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book and Bank Street College Book of the Year; Dark Sons and The Road to Paris, both Coretta Scott King Honor Books; and the popular poetry collection Meet Danitra Brown.  Her numerous other awards include a Parents’ Choice Gold Award, an ALA Notable Book, and the Horn Book Fanfare Book Award.  She lives in Corona, California.  http://www.nikkigrimes.com/

Amanda M. Jenkins is the award-winning author of six novels for young adults.  Her most recent novel, Night Road, was awarded a PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship.  The novel Repossessed, published by HarperCollins in 2007, was a Michael L. Printz Honor Book.  Her books have won the Golden Spur Award, the Bulletin Blue Ribbon, and the California Young Reader Medal, and have made multiple “best” lists, including ALA Best Books for Young Readers and Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults, and New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age.  In addition to her novels, she has published numerous scripts for Reader’s Theater.  She lives in Benbrook, Texas, with her three sons.

Brian Malloy is the author of three novels, two of them crossover novels and the most recent, Twelve Long Months, written expressly for young adults.  His first novel, The Year of Ice, won the American Library Association's Alex Award, and his second, Brendan Wolf, was just named a finalist for the Ferro-Grumley Award.  Brian teaches fiction in the MFA programs at Hamline University and the University of Minnesota and is the Education Director for the Loft Literary Center. http://www.malloywriter.com/

Raymond Singer is an actor, screenwriter, editor, and director.  He has written screenplays for Disney, Dreamworks, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, TNT, USA, and HBO.  Several have been made into successful films, including Disney’s Mulan, winner of an Annie Award; Dreamworks’ Joseph: King of Dreams; and HBO’s Iron-Jawed Angels, nominated for an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a Humanitas Prize.  He has edited feature films and documentaries; created music videos and films for non-profits; and directed award-winning plays in both L.A. and New York. 

> Click here for full-time faculty biographies

Housing Information

July Residency: on-campus, apartment-style living.

• Housing registration form

Summer housing information:

Staying on campus during the summer residency is both very affordable and convenient. This year the cost for 11 nights is only $325 (10 days is $300). We encourage students stay on campus if at all possible.  Besides the convenience of staying onsite, it helps to involve the student more rewardingly in the low-residency community.  However, students may certainly elect to commute or to make their own housing arrangements.

Hamline Student Apartments: 
Air-conditioned apartment-style housing.  Single bedrooms, bathroom(s), living room and kitchen. Each bedroom has one single bed, dresser, desk and closet. There will be up to four adults of the same gender housed in each apartment.  Laundry facilities are located on each floor just outside the apartment.  In addition, kitchens are a part of the unit, but plates, silverware, pots/pans, etc. are not provided. Linens are provided and exchanged weekly. Other residents in the building during your stay will include Law, Graduate and upper-class undergraduate students. The building has 24-hour security card access.

Housing Costs

• 11 nights (for students arriving on Monday, July 7):  $325
• 10 nights (for students arriving on Tuesday, July 8): $300

The price includes:

• A single bedroom (within a 2-4 bedroom apartment).
• Full breakfast each morning of the residency.
• Linen Packet (sheets, towels, washcloth)

Additional information about the Hamline Apartments:

-We will match roommates as indicated or will work with the program coordinators to match roommates based on gender
-Linens include sheets, towels, washcloth, soap and glass.  Linens are exchanged weekly—towels available at desk daily.
-Housekeeping is not available; you are responsible for your own room cleaning.
-Desk services are available to assist with maintenance concerns.
-Each room is equipped with a phone for your use.  Calling cards are needed for long distance.
-Laundry facilities are available in all buildings and are free, you will need to provide soap.
-All buildings are smoke free – including bedrooms and bathrooms.
-Alcohol is allowed by individuals 21 and over in the privacy of their own room. 
-Alcohol is not permitted in lounges and open areas.
-Pets are not allowed.

* If you’d like to stay on campus, you need to complete and return the Housing Registration Form (.pdf).

Note: We may have limited housing to offer our students this summer.  We will accept requests on a first come, first serve basis. You can request up to 3 names of other students you’d like to share an apartment with. We will do our best to accommodate your requests. More information about check-in times and locations will be posted soon.

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Whether you are going to be living on campus during the residency or commuting each day, the university’s dining services provide a variety of food choices that are affordable and convenient. The only two required meals are the opening and closing banquet (for which you will be billed on your student account). One other special evening meal is included as part of the residency.

Summer Residency Dining
Meals during the Summer Residency are all served in Sorin Hall and purchased on a day-by-day basis paid directly to the cashier at the dining hall. (There are no meal plans available for students to purchase in the summer.) Students who have chosen to stay on campus will receive a continental breakfast each morning that is part of their housing cost.  Sorin Dining Hall offers an all-you-care-to-eat menu with a variety of food stations to select from. Also, a separate catering room has been reserved during the residency so that the group will be able to eat together. Meal costs this summer are as follows:

Hot breakfast: $5.25
Lunch: $6.75
Dinner: $7.75

For students living on campus, the cost of meals for the week would be approximately $115.
(Cost based on eating all lunches and dinners in Sorin Hall.)

There are also a number of restaurants in the area and a list will be provided at check-in.  Students sometimes choose to go out to dinner in small groups. There are several dining options within walking distance of campus.

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Graduation Ceremony
Each residency includes a formal graduation ceremony for students who are completing the program. Friends and family of graduates are invited to attend commencement and the celebration afterward. For this Summer Residency, the graduation ceremony will take place in the afternoon on Thursday, July 17th.

What is a Residency?

Each January and July, faculty and students in our program gather for an eleven-day residency of intensive – and exhilarating – lectures, workshops, seminars, and readings devoted exclusively to writing for children and young adults.  Faculty, visiting writers, and graduating students deliver lectures that examine a broad range of issues for writers in the field.  Workshops and seminars are led by faculty, visiting writers, and guest editors/publishers.  Readings allow students and faculty alike to share their latest creative work with attentive and enthusiastic audiences.  Events run from the morning into the evening.  All residency events will be held on the Hamline University campus. 

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Summer vs. Winter Residency
During the Summer Residency, students may choose to stay on the Hamline campus in university apartment housing.  Please keep in mind that you will be sharing bathroom and shower facilities with other same-sex students in your program.  Students will have access to campus facilities including computer labs, photo copiers, the library, workout facilities, laundry, and study areas.  Weather during the summer residency can vary from absolutely beautiful to hot and sunny to uncomfortably muggy... all within a few days!  Please pack a wardrobe adaptable to these possible weather conditions.

Because the university is in full session in January, we are not able to offer on-campus housing during the Winter Residency. We work with a nearby hotel to offer special rates and provide a shuttle-bus service to travel easily back and forth to the campus.  Weather during the Winter Residency is typically what you would expect for Minnesota in January...cold and snowy.  Please bring appropriate clothing. (Hats, gloves, a warm coat)

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