My daughter, who usually makes quick decisions, is struggling with this one. She can attend EITHER the Sewanee Young Writers Conference or the Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop? Has anybody done both? Opinions would be GREATLY appreciated.
BUMP! Anybody have any knowledge of these programs?
My daughter attended the Kenyon program and enjoyed it very much. It’s a beautiful campus in a pretty remote location.
@hunt. Did all the students have to participate in all genres? My daughter is a fiction writer so she isn’t really looking to write a lot of poetry.
I’ll have to ask my daughter. My recollection is that they picked one or two genres, but I’m not sure.
My son was accepted to the Kenyon Young Writers Program in Session II this year, and he is VERY excited. I think it might depend where she plans to go to undergrad. My son is going to apply ED to Kenyon, so it was a no-brainer for us. I don’t know if this helps, but I would make my decision based on her college major and her location preferences. We already live in a very remote location in the Appalachian mountains, so Gambier is like a big city for us 
D’s classmate did the Sewanee program last summer and really enjoyed it. I think her experience was very similar to @Octaviablake 's. This student was a rising senior, and has been accepted to Columbia next year BTW.
@mountaincoco @midwestdad3 Thanks so much for your replies! My daughter usually makes decisions quickly - I have never seen her drag out a choice for so long, but she is seeing advantages and disadvantages to both programs. Partly she is wondering if maybe she shouldn’t just focus on “her genre” of fiction even though that’s what she likes best, because she is questioning whether she is too inexperienced to simply “pick fiction” - Kenyon will expose her to everything. In addition, she has asked three people (an author, a professor, and a friend of a friend) if they know the programs, and all three stated that they only knew Kenyon. That’s weird - since Sewanee is also very well-known, but I think those responses were just a function of whom she asked.
I can’t really help her - I’m not in that field and I don’t believe there is a “right” answer. Also, she isn’t planning on applying to either of those schools for undergraduate study.
@mountaincoco - I have heard that if you apply to Kenyon, you will be up for merit awards if you completed the summer program - that’s nice! Also, I laughed out loud when you stated that Gambeir is like a big city to you! That’s funny!
@midwestdad3 I think a lot of students who complete these programs are already fantastic writers, and many end up attending highly ranked colleges. (which is also nice) It appears that writing isn’t something these students usually do “to build their resume;” it’s more that they are driven by a real passion to write, and their accomplishments are a by-product of pursuing their interest. At least, that’s what it seems like to me.
I’ll write back when she gives me her final decision - hopefully today!
@desie1 I wish your D well with her decision! I know a bit about the literary world, and the Kenyon Review is one of the nation’s most prestigious literary journals; so besides the training that they offer, that is the reason why my son wanted to go. He wanted to see the world of writing from “the inside”, and since Kenyon has had a large hand in developing so many writers of this generation, we both felt that going there would be best!
Please let us know what you D decides! Best wishes to you guys!! (Oh, and where we live, there are only 150 people, so yes, Gambier is a bustling metropolis to us!)
My Daughter picked Sewanee - she liked the fact that they had different tracks for different disciplines and also liked their video more 
My daughter selected Kenyon… (and we lost $200 from our Sewanee deposit…oh well ) She really couldn’t decide, so I think she was influenced by the last few people we asked who raved about Kenyon, but didn’t know Sewanee well. I don’t believe there was a “wrong choice.”
Both programs seem great, just different.
@dutch18. The two reasons you stated are what what appealed to her about Sewanee. At first, she really just wanted to work on her genre. But now she’s seeing the benefits of exploring all different types of writing. And their video is certainly better! Hope your daughter has a wonderful time!
@mountaincoco My daughter will be attending session 1. I’ll try to update hope it is going.
How wonderful, Desie1! I hope she enjoys herself, and has a blast! My son will be at Session II, so they may not see each other, but I hope that have equally as much fun and learn a lot. Best wishes to her!