About the Course

Writing Workshop: Modern Fantasy

This course transports readers to magical worlds where animals speak, toys come to life, and eccentric characters perform seemingly impossible feats. Worlds turn upside down, and the familiar becomes the unknown. Explore classic and contemporary texts to learn the traits that characterize modern fantasy. Venture into extraordinary places like Narnia in C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and witness battles between good and evil, like those in Susan Cooper’s Over Sea, Under Stone. In this workshop-style course, read, discuss, and reflect upon what these whimsical worlds tell us about our own. Respond to modern fantasy texts in a variety of written assignments, including literary analysis and reflective writing. Armed with your newly developed understanding of the genre and an appreciation of its nuances, you will then craft your own works of fantasy.

Typical Class Size: 14-16
 

Course Overview

Summer Dates & Locations

Registration deadline:

Session One

Image of Mirman School
Mirman School
Los Angeles, California
-
Commuter cost: $3,599
Enroll
Image of the Quest Academy in Palatine, Illinois.
Quest Academy
Palatine, Illinois
-
Commuter cost: $3,099
Enroll
Speyer School
The Speyer School
New York, New York
-
Commuter cost: $3,599
Enroll

Session Two

Image of Mirman School
Mirman School
Los Angeles, California
-
Commuter cost: $3,599
Enroll
Speyer School
The Speyer School
New York, New York
-
Commuter cost: $3,599
Enroll

Testing and Prerequisites

  Math Verbal
Required Level Not required CTY-Level
Check your eligibility using existing test scores If you do not have existing test scores:

Students must achieve qualifying scores on an advanced assessment to be eligible for CTY programs. If you don’t have qualifying scores, you have several different testing options. We’ll help you find the right option for your situation.

Sign up for Testing Learn More

Cost and Financial Aid

  • Tuition
    • Varies
  • Application fee
    • Nonrefundable Application Fee - $50 (Waived for financial aid applicants)
    • Nonrefundable International Fee - $250 (outside US only)

Financial Aid is available

We are committed to serving all talented youth regardless of financial circumstances. Financial assistance is available based on need.

Learn More

Course Materials

Please acquire all course materials by the course start date, unless noted as perishable. Items marked as “perishable” should not be acquired until the student needs them in the course. If you have questions about these materials or difficulty locating them, please contact [email protected].
 

Sample Reading

These titles have been featured in past sessions of the course, and may be included this summer. CTY provides students with all texts; no purchase is required.

  • The Black Cauldron, Lloyd Alexander
  • The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman

About Language Arts at CTY

Explore storytelling

Want to have fun reading popular stories and writing your own tales of adventure? Pen your hero’s journey and explore a diverse range of books in Behind the Mask: Superheroes Revealed, or have fun shaping your prose and experimenting with different formats and styles in Fiction and Poetry.

Find your voice

Take your writing to the next level! In Writing and Imagination, you can build your vocabulary and gain the tools to write your own creative fiction. You’ll learn to craft compelling narratives about your own experiences at the college level in Crafting the Essay, and have fun learning new literary devices and figurative language in Writing Your World.

Meet our instructors and staff