Hone your craft and connect with other writers at the first annual Camp Wordier Than Thou.
This evening summer camp for adults will take place Aug. 9-16. The week’s activities, which culminate in an optional weekend camping trip at the St. Petersburg/Madeira Beach KOA, include two-part workshops, seminars, and social events. All workshops and seminars will take place on the University of South Florida’s waterfront campus in St. Petersburg; social events will be held at various downtown bars and restaurants.
Writers can earn merit badges by taking classes in everything from comedy writing to nature writing, and the weekend camping trip will offer the best of both worlds: hot showers and a back-to-nature vibe coupled with intense writing workshops.
Wordier Than Thou, whose mission is to foster literary camaraderie and to support local authors, offers a variety of packages for every writing level and budget.
Campers can register online here.
Camp Wordier Than Thou is co-sponsored by USF St. Petersburg’s Department of Verbal and Visual Arts. Its programming includes an acclaimed Graphic Design Program, undergraduate tracks in the English major in literature and writing studies, an interdisciplinary Master of Liberal Arts, and an undergraduate creative writing certificate.
Wordier Than Thou hosts literary events throughout the state, predominantly in the Tampa Bay area. Events include monthly storytelling and prose open mics, Florida Bookstore Day, the Tampa Bay Book Fair, Broad Comedy, Banned Books Burlesque Revue, literary pub crawls and Fiction, LIVE!
Camp Wordier Than Thou Schedule
Sunday, August 9, 5 to 7 p.m.
Sawgrass Tiki Bar
2315 Central Ave., St. Petersburg
Cost: free
Meet fellow campers and instructors. Share personal camp memories, stories and letters during the camp-themed Teenage Wasteland open mic. Sign up for workshops and seminars if you haven’t already.
Monday, August 10, 9 to 10 p.m.
Venue TBA
Cost: $5; free with select packages
Camp Wordier Than Thou instructors will share their work with campers, camp staff and other attendees.
Tuesday, August 11, 9 to 10 p.m.
Sawgrass Tiki Bar
2315 Central Ave., St. Petersburg
Performer Mayven Missbehavin will provide a sneak preview of our upcoming Sept. 26 Banned Books Burlesque show. Tickets for the September show will be available for purchase at a discounted price.
Wednesday, August 12, 8:45 to 10:15 p.m.
Venue TBA
Cost: $7 in advance; $10 at the door
Network with industry professionals and other writers in a speed-dating style format. For an updated list of confirmed attendees visit: www.facebook.com/events/768479609939642
Thursday, August 13, 8:45 p.m.
Venue TBA
Cost: $5; free with select packages
Share work you’ve written during camp or in your own time at this open mic. Carrie Boucher of NOMAD Art Bus will guide attendees through a fun, literary-themed craft.
Intensive Two-Part Workshops
Monday, August 10 – Thursday, August 13
USF - St. Petersburg campus
Harbor Hall, second floor
1000 3rd St. S., St. Petersburg
• Driven by Desire: a fiction workshop with Sheree Greer (Monday, Aug. 10 and Wednesday, Aug. 12, 6 to 7:15 p.m.)
• Playwriting workshop with Heather Jones (Monday, Aug. 10 and Wednesday, Aug. 12, 6 to 7:15 p.m.)
• Poetry workshop with Cole Bellamy (Tuesday, Aug. 11 and Thursday, Aug. 13, 6 to 7:15 p.m.)
• You Had to Be There: Creative Nonfiction and the Art of Telling True Stories with Lisa Lanser Rose (Tuesday, Aug. 11 and Thursday, Aug. 13, 6 to 7:15 p.m.)
Seminars
Monday, August 10 – Thursday, August 13
USF - St. Petersburg campus
Harbor Hall, second floor
1000 3rd St. S., St. Petersburg
• Writing Concisely with Juliana Torres (Monday, Aug. 10, 7:20 to 8:30 p.m.)
• The Art of Storytelling with Michael Soviero (Monday, Aug. 10, 7:20 to 8:30 p.m.)
• Jumpstarting Your Memoir with Barbara Riddle (Tuesday, Aug. 11, 7:20 to 8:30 p.m.)
• Travel Writing: A Sense of Place with Cathy Salustri (Tuesday, Aug. 11, 7:20 to 8:30 p.m.)
• Jokemasters: a comedy writing seminar with Robin Savage (Tuesday, Aug. 11, 7:20 to 8:30 p.m.)
• Weird Characters, Strange Places, and Tough Times: Writing NEW Southern Gothic Fiction with Darlyn Finch Kuhn (Wednesday, Aug. 12, 7:20 to 8:30 p.m.)
• The Emotional Query with Lorin Oberweger (Wednesday, Aug. 12, 7:20 to 8:30 p.m.)
• The Mercenary's Pen: Pitching Stories with David Z. Morris (Wednesday, Aug. 12, 7:20 to 8:30 p.m.)
• Beginnings: How to Invite Readers into Your Story and Not Let Them Leave with Lynn Waddell (Thursday, Aug. 13, 7:20 to 8:30 p.m.)
• Selling Your Nonfiction Manuscript: The Proposal with Lisa Kirchner (Thursday, Aug. 13, 7:20 to 8:30 p.m.)
• Sketchy Plans: A Primer on Storyboarding for Comics and Other Forms of Visual Storytelling with J.R. Miller (Thursday, Aug. 13, 7:20 to 8:30 p.m.)
Cost: $10 per seminar ahead of time with specially priced packages available; $15 day of event
St. Petersburg/Madeira Beach KOA
5400 95th St. N.
St. Petersburg
Check-in: Friday, August 14, 3 p.m.
Workshops: Saturday, August 15
Mindful Writing with Anda Peterson (Time TBA)
Nature Writing: Not Just for Bartram with Cathy Salustri (Time TBA)
Myths, Legends and Lore: a Storytelling Workshop around the Campfire with Ross Tarr
Workshop begins at 7:30 p.m. followed by a story swap around the campfire
Check-out: Sunday, August 16, 11 a.m.
Cost: Camping packages start at $50