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Highlights Foundation Campus

392 Boyds Mills Road
Milanville, PA 18443 United States Get Directions
570-253-1192

When we began offering Foundation workshops, we knew we had a unique situation: a campus tucked away in the picturesque northeastern Pennsylvania Pocono Mountains, with the solitude writers and artists need to produce their best work. See some photos and videos here, and you can also see what some of our attendees have to say about the Highlights Foundation workshop experience.

Today

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Middle Grade Writers: A Generative Retreat Experience

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 4-Day/3-Night Workshop and Retreat To write for children, we need to reconnect with the clever, imaginative, and curious core of our childhood selves. Join celebrated middle-grade authors Erin Entrada Kelly and Laurel Snyder for a four-day retreat focused on generative writing inspired by the sleepaway camps of our youths. Write, wander, and connect […]

$1199

Photo of the Lodge on the Highlights Foundation Campus

Native Creatives: An In-Community Retreat

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 4-Day/3-Night, In-Community Retreat “Time with fellow Native creatives helps sustain me along this author’s journey. I look forward to a weekend together to share our stories, write, create art, and talk practically about how we navigate the publishing industry.” —Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation) This in-community retreat is for Native writers and illustrators with host Traci Sorell and special guests, author […]

$799

PJ Library Logo with colorful background

PJ Library: Summer Camp for Writers and Illustrators of Jewish Picture Books

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview PJ Library invites writers and writer/illustrators of Jewish-themed picture books to apply for our 2023 Picture Book Summer Camp for five days of inspiration, mentorship, fun, and creativity on the beautiful campus of the Highlights Foundation. A majority of the spaces are reserved for emerging creatives (unpublished, or no more than one published picture […]

Picture Book Writers and Illustrators: A Working Retreat

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 4-Day/3-Night Working Retreat Picture book writers and illustrators: set aside time to focus on your picture book project! Here is a special retreat just for you. A “Working Retreat” is lightly structured with one lecture each day, one consultation, one guided manuscript workshopping of a picture book, and informal conversations held fireside. This […]

$999
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Whole Novel Workshop: An In-Person Retreat for Novelists (August)

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 6-Day/5-Night Workshop and Retreat with a Full Novel Critique Included This intensive Whole Novel Workshop offers writers the rare opportunity to have the entire draft (up to 80,000 words*) of a novel read by faculty, with detailed written feedback and two private consultations provided. Attention in an intimate setting makes this program one that guarantees […]

$2799

Writing and Illustrating Science & Nature for Kids and Teens

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 5-Day/4-Night Workshop and Retreat Mentorship, hands-on activities, presentations, and ample time for retreating will help you on your path to energizing readers through science and nature-themed fiction or nonfiction. This is an in-person workshop at our Retreat Center with ample time to relax, retreat, and work on your own writing. Lodging and meals are included. There […]

$1399

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Summer Camp in Nonfiction: Explore, Engage, and Inspire

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 5-Day/4-Night Workshop and Retreat Get away for five days at our Summer Camp in Nonfiction for inspiration, guidance, mentorship, community, fun, creativity, and growth. At the Highlights Foundation, “summer camp” is different than s’mores by the fire and hiking in the woods. (Though we do that, too.) Our summer camp is a time […]

$1649
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Summer Camp in Illustration: Intensive Artistic Inspiration

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 4-Day/3-Night Workshop and Retreat Get away for four days at our Summer Camp in Illustration for inspiration, guidance, support, community, fun, creativity, and growth. At the Highlights Foundation, “summer camp” is different than s’mores by the fire and hiking in the woods. (Though we do that, too.) Our summer camp is a time […]

$1549
Sold Out; Join the Waitlist

Summer Camp in Fiction: Explore, Play, and Inspire

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 5-Day/4-Night Workshop and Retreat Get away for five days at our Summer Camp in Fiction for inspiration, guidance, mentorship, community, fun, creativity, and growth. At the Highlights Foundation, “summer camp” is different than s’mores by the fire and hiking in the woods. (Though we do that, too.) Our summer camp is a time […]

$1649

Blackboard with question mark

Writing for the Educational Market

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 5-Day/4-Night Workshop and Retreat If the words “educational market” make you think only of workbooks and textbooks, it’s time to think again!  Today’s educational publishers are eager to see lively nonfiction, fast-paced fiction, poetry, video scripts, and more. This is an in-person workshop at our Retreat Center with lectures, writing exercises, and small group discussions. […]

$1399
The Barn on the Highlights Foundation Campus

In-Company: A Retreat for Experienced Authors and Illustrators

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 5-Day/4-Night Workshop and Retreat Join us in company to share, grow, and cultivate creativity when you’ve been working in the industry for a long time. Talk with your peers about your career, challenges, deadlines, and upcoming projects. Offer your wishes for pushing boundaries of your work, and the industry! This is an in-person workshop at our […]

$1399
Photo of the Lodge on the Highlights Foundation Campus

An Intersectional Lens: Awareness + Action for Representation in Kids’ Books, Libraries & Classrooms

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 4-Day/3-Night Retreat Professional & Personal Development for Educators, Librarians, Storytellers, & Publishing Professionals. Build the skills you need to analyze children’s books for meaningful representation, reader engagement, visual literacy, and more. This is an in-person workshop at our Retreat Center with presentations, implementation plans, book talks, and time to meet informally with fellow literary advocates and […]

$1199

Crafting Novels in Verse: Workshop and Retreat

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 4-Day/3-Night Workshop and Retreat From start to finish, the skills needed to craft a verse novel are unique– part poetry, part narrative, all heart. Join verse novelists Rajani LaRocca and Chris Baron, with special guest Cordelia Jensen, to explore this emotionally packed form of storytelling. We also include ample private retreat time so that you can […]

$1299
A picture of the Highlights Foundation barn patio at sunset.

Asian and Asian American Voices: An In-Community Retreat

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 4-Day/3-Night, In-Community Retreat This in-community retreat is for writers and illustrators from the Asian and Asian American Communities, with special hosts Grace Lin and Debbi Michiko Florence and their guests.  It is an informally structured retreat, where the focus is on your own projects.  We’ll also celebrate this diverse and talented community. An […]

$799

The Barn on the Highlights Foundation Campus

Creating Picture Books with Humor and Heart: A Working Retreat

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 4-Day/3-Night Workshop and Retreat Join editor and writer Sunita Apte (Reycraft Books/Benchmark) and award-winning, bestselling authors Emily Jenkins and Elise Broach for this writing retreat focused on creating funny and emotionally satisfying picture books. There will be three opportunities for feedback, and ample private retreat time so that you can write, wander, and […]

$1299

Poetry for Kids: A World of Publishing Possibilities

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview In-person 4-Day/3-Night Workshop and Retreat Poetry anthologies, stand alone poems, lyrical picture books, narrative picture books, and verse novels make up the colorful fabric of poetic offerings to children. Learn ways to weave words, sounds, and stories into engaging poems, and find new markets and opportunities in writing poetry for children. There will be […]

$1299
paintbrushes on a color background

Color, Light, Line, and Texture: Art Exploration and Play!

Highlights Foundation Campus 392 Boyds Mills Road, Milanville, PA

Overview Come play in paint, explore collage, and dive into the unexpected during this hands-on retreat weekend for everyone. Creativity will be front-and-center, and all are welcome: writers, artists, teachers, librarians, publishing professionals, and art lovers! NO previous art experience is required. This is an in-person workshop at our Retreat Center with hands-on explorations in […]

$1299

Workshops for Writers & Illustrators

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> In-Person
> On-Demand (Self-Paced Online)

New to the Highlights Foundation? Try these:

About Children's Publishing | The Whole Novel Workshop | Summer Camp

Upcoming Workshops

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Need help deciding on a workshop?  Ask an ambassador!

Visiting Our Campus

Our campus (The Barn at Boyds Mills) is tucked away in the foothills of the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.  It's a few hours from both New York City and Philadelphia, but worlds away from everyday life.

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Line drawing of the Barn at Boyds Mills

Our Mission in Action

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The Highlights Foundation positively impacts children by amplifying the voices of storytellers who inform, educate, and inspire children to become their best selves.  Learn more about our impact.

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