The Young Authors Academy is an in-person creative writing camp for kids hosted at USM every summer. The camp includes interactive writing activities, daily on-campus walking field trips, a printed anthology featuring the work of each camper, and a showcase reading on the last day of camp that is open to all family and friends.
The 2025 Young Authors Academy will take place June 16-20 from 1:00-5:00 pm on USM’s campus. The camp is open to ages 9-14 and costs $200.
The 2025 summer camp is fully enrolled. If you’d like to be put on a waitlist, email usmyoungauthorsacademy@gmail.com.
Summer 2025
Camp Coordinator
Rachael Fowler earned her PhD in Creative Writing (Fiction) from USM, where she currently serves as Editor of Mississippi Review and Assistant Teaching Professor of English. Her writing is published in The Literary Review, North American Review’s Open Space, Southern Humanities Review, Deep South Magazine, Prime Number Magazine, and Fugue. In addition, she has been awarded artist residencies with Vermont Studio Center, Nocefresca, Yaddo, and The Studios at MASS MoCA. This is her fourth year coordinating the Young Authors Academy.
Summer 2025 Staff
Camp Counselor
Bekah Broussard just completed her first year of USM’s PhD program in Creative Writing (Fiction). She holds an MFA from Old Dominion University and a BS in Secondary English Education from Northwestern State University. Between degrees, Bekah worked for four years as a high school English teacher in Central Louisiana. If you read her writing, you’ll find topics like Cajun identity, cooking, gardening, faith, and self-discovery in genres like autofiction, creative nonfiction, Biblical retellings, Southern Gothic, and even science fiction.
Camp Counselor
Katie McKenzie received her MFA in Poetry at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and is currently a PhD candidate at USM. As a graduate student instructor at USM, she has taught a range of classes including Composition and Creative Writing. In addition, her poetry is published in many esteemed journals including Gulf Coast, Denver Quarterly, The McNeese Review, and BOOTH.