Butler Bridge Program
Status
The Bridge Program is currently on hiatus (as of Fall 2023) with no scheduled programming. This includes the Booth Tarkington Writing Contest. We thank you for your patience as we determine what the next chapter may look like. Please check back for updates.
Past Program Offerings
Butler Bridge programs combine learning, laughter, and compassion to inspire young writers and readers. The programs connect bright, young people with talented mentors and like-minded peers to nurture intellectual and artistic discovery.
This learning-rich community rejects a narrow version of education, in which, too often, assessment structures learning. We reach for a goal that is harder to define: enhancing creativity, developing the imagination, finding our own voices. We help our students and campers be so engaged with the joys of the literary arts that they don’t even notice how much they are learning.
Beginning in 2021, all students who attended a Bridge program offering were eligible to submit material to our annual print anthology of student work. This anthology also features the winners and entries of the Booth Tarkington Prize for Young Writers.
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Meeting once a month on Saturdays, our writing club is housed at the Efroymson Center for Creative Writing. Each Saturday session includes Poetry, Fiction, and/or Creative Nonfiction lessons. Students meet with peers and a graduate student mentor who leads the workshop, engaging the students in thoughtful discussion about writing.
Note: This is not class! Workshops will offer a fun, energetic environment for growing creative writers. Writing Club sessions will be split into three age divisions: elementary, middle, and high school.
All sessions run from 1:00-3:00 PM and meet at the Efroymson Center for Creative Writing (530 W Hampton Dr):
Cost: $30 per session. Open to grades 3–12.
Dates
- Currently on hold
SPECIAL NOTE:
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all Bridge participants are required to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status. Please do not attend a Bridge event if you are experiencing symptoms or have been a close contact with someone with COVID-19.
The Butler Bridge Program reserves the right to transfer any in-person workshops and events to virtual ones for the safety of those involved. Any such transfers will be made in advance and well-publicized.
The Bridge program offers single-session workshops that engage students in specific writing skills, genres, or topics.
All sessions run from 1:00-3:00 PM and meet at the Efroymson Center for Creative Writing (530 W Hampton Dr):
Cost: $30 per session. Open to grades 3–12.
Dates
We are pleased to offer the following specialty workshops for the semester for a cost of $30 on the following dates:
- Currently on hold
Registration is required prior to attending.
The Booth Tarkington Prize for Young Writers celebrates excellence in poetry and prose in the works of students in grades 3-12.
We are pleased to be able to announce the 2022 winners of the Tarkington Prize for Young Writers!
Elementary
Poetry
Winner: Ellis Moy, “Wind”
Runner-Up: Anjali Fraser, “Pressure”
Prose
Winner: Ellis Moy, “Bird Whisperer”
Runner-Up: Finley Clayton, “Blue Flames and Why You Should Avoid Them”
Middle School
Poetry
Winner: Gregory Whitworth-Neufeld, “The Yellow Room”
Runner-Up: Lucia Moxey, “Wednesday Ponderings”
Prose
Winner: Miracle B. Carson, “Free”
Runners-Up: Izzy Abraham, “The Ghost of Dylan I. Emerson”
and
Prudence Peng, “3:08”
High School
Poetry
Winner: eros preston, “gravesite”
Runner-Up: Molly Brubaker, “Existing”
Prose
Winner: Katie Bolduc, “Imaginary”
Runner-Up: Avery Clayton, “Florence”
2022 Prize Submission Information
Submissions have now closed for the 2022 Booth Tarkington Prize for Young Writers and blueprints anthology. The contest is currently on hold.
Open to grades 3-12
Prizes are offered in Poetry and Prose for each division: elementary, middle school, high school.
Winners will receive a $25 gift card and have their work published on our blog. Winners, runners-up, and honorable mentions will all receive a certificate.
Beginning in 2021, we are happy to announce that we will be compiling the submissions into a print anthology in addition to publishing the winners on our blog. All submissions are eligible and will be considered for publication. Copies of the anthology will be available for purchase.
Additionally, all students who attend a Bridge workshop are eligible to submit additional material for the anthology.
Students may submit in the following categories:
Poetry (up to 3 poems)
Fiction (up to 3 pages, double-spaced)
Each submission must include:
- Student Name and Grade Level
- Contact Email
- Mailing Address
- Title(s) of piece(s) submitted
- Your consent for your work to be included in our print anthology.
Past winners and runners-up may be found on our blog site, with links to the published winning works:
http://blogs.butler.edu/butlerbridgeprogram/
blueprints Anthology
Copies of the 2021 and 2022 anthologies may be purchases here.