Here's a description of the program:

Shared Worlds, an innovative two week workshop in fantasy and science fiction worldbuilding is currently seeking applications for attendance from students grade eight to twelve who have an interest in creative writing and fantasy worldbuilding.

The program is held from July 19 through August 1 on the campus of Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC, and offers an intensely creative atmosphere in which students learn all aspects of building their own fictional world through instruction in creative writing, history, art, philosophy and physics and then apply that knowledge by creating fiction, games and more.

This year's instructors include assistant director and two time World Fantasy Award winning author Jeff VanderMeer, Weird Tales fiction editor Ann VanderMeer, role playing game designer Will Hindmarch, Spiderwick Chronicles creator Holly Black and New York Times bestselling author Tobias Buckell, plus Wofford College's own Dr. Christine Dinkins, philosophy professor, and Jeremy Jones, lecturer and camp director.

Although the emphasis of this think tank for teens is on fantasy, according to Jeff VanderMeer the things that the participants learn will be very useful in real life.

"This really is a unique opportunity for talented teens to mix having fun and flexing their imaginations with developing skills that will serve them well no matter what they decide to do with their lives."

Tuition is $2,250 and includes room, board, instruction and all needed program material. Students who pay in full before May 1st will receive a discount of $250. A limited number of partial scholarships ($500) are available.

Find out more here. Hurry up and enroll now!

Program director Jones said:

Take a minute to imagine this: you're fourteen years old. You spend all your free time reading books. Suddenly, you find yourself sitting in a college classroom with a bunch of other people who like to read science fiction and fantasy, too. There's a philosophy professor and a college theater major sitting off to the side. A two-time World Fantasy Award winning author is over in the corner taking notes and pitching in every now and then. The girl to your left is drawing a walking plant and the guy to your right is trying to explain how you can't have an ovular-shaped planet because of gravity. Someone else is explaining how the energy force "leaking" into your world from another dimension has altered the shape of the planet, defied gravity, and encouraged the plants to evolve into sentient and mobile creatures. Sounds exhilarating, doesn't it?

And VanderMeer added:

These kids worked their butts off the entire time and just did a phenomenal job. I mean, create a world in one week? And then write about it? A huge challenge, and yet they seemed to enjoy it so much they didn’t want to leave. One thing I really liked doing was bringing twenty “artifacts” from our house, ranging from an old Romanian medal to an Egyptian-looking statue to a jewelry box with a tiny boat in it, and giving them out on the first day. Then, as they created their worlds they had to figure out how that artifact fit in—who owned it, who made it, what was the story behind the piece. Some had a bigger challenge than others, but the next week when we sat down and they told me what their artifact was, they all had created amazing stories. All kinds of subtle motivation, ingenious solutions. It was very satisfying, and they had a lot of fun—and were happy they got to keep their artifacts afterwards.

Find out more on the SharedWorlds site.

Jeff sent over a description of the program that reads, in part:

Guided by course instructors and guest authors, students will design their own imaginary worlds, learning the art of creative writing in a dynamic "hands on" fashion. In addition to helping oversee the program, VanderMeer will also teach during the two-week period. "As far as I can tell," said VanderMeer, "this is one of the only programs of its type in the country. It's an exciting catalyst for energizing young people to use their imaginations in a creative and mind-expanding ways. Director Jeremy Jones has put together a really wonderful program that's also a lot of fun, and I expect to learn a lot from the students, as well."

There are still slots open, and you can find out more about signing up at the link below.

Shared Worlds [via Wofford College]