Tuition-Free Young Writers Summer Conference

'Killing Bono' author Neil McCormick, July 26-28, Pittsburgh area

PITTSBURGH, May 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Aspiring writers aged 16-21 have until May 31 to apply for full scholarships to the Summer Writer's Conference and Workshops at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center near Pittsburgh. Patterned on the former Governor's School for the Arts, the 30 young writers accepted are to receive three days of world-class instruction from professional writers at no tuition or fees.

Artist-in-residence for the July 26-28 conference is "Killing Bono" author Neil McCormick, the British music journalist whose best-selling memoir about his youthful experiences with U2 band superstar Bono became a movie. McCormick lectured at Lincoln Park last spring as part of its annual literary arts festival.

"This event brings together young writers for three days of workshops, master classes, panel discussions and readings with accomplished professional writers," said Stephen Catanzarite, managing director of the center. Primary sponsors are the Center and Mizrahi Design Associates, a Pittsburgh-based marketing communications firm.

Application forms are posted on the center's website, www.lppac.org/workshops. Young writers should email a sample of their work along with their completed applications, said Catanzarite. Some 30 applicants are to be accepted, approximately 10 in each of three genres: poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. A panel of professional writers will review all submissions and notify applicants by email no later than June 15.

Those accepted will be responsible for their own transportation and meals, along with lodging if they do not live within daily commuting distance. There are no residency requirements for acceptance.

Workshop sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, with optional readings and other activities each evening. Evening readings will be open to the public. A full listing of instructors and guest artists are to be posted on the center's website in June.

"Those selected will receive full scholarships to the workshop thanks to the generous support of patrons and vendors," said Catanzarite. "The workshop will be very similar in quality to what Lincoln Park stepped up and did for students left stranded by the cancellation of the Governor's School of the Arts two years ago. There will be discussions on publishing and daily workshops on the art and science of creativity. It's going to be a very high-end, intense educational experience."

Catanzarite said McCormick has a new novel due out later this year. The movie version of "Killing Bono" has been released in the U.K. and is set for North American premiere in San Francisco in early June.

Catanzarite ("Achtung Baby: Meditations on Love in the Shadow of the Fall") and Dan LeRoy ("Paul's Boutique") are two of the authors in Continuum Books' popular 33 1/3 series who are to instruct and do readings during the conference.

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center is an educational, cultural and entertainment regional asset located in Midland, Pa., 30 minutes west of Pittsburgh. A $30 million facility opened in 2006, the center hosts the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School, a Pennsylvania public school providing pre-professional training in theater, dance, music, media arts, creative writing and health arts science. Some 525 students in grades 8-12 attend from 52 surrounding school districts.

Contact Fred Miller, communications coordinator, 724.777.5918 mobile, [email protected].

SOURCE Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center