Gillespie is an essayist, novelist, poet and reporter with twenty years of writing and editing experience. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, and many others and she is the author of two books. She writes regularly for National Geographic World Magazine for kids and she frequently gives writing workshops to AISD students.

At Use Your Words Writing Camp, Gillespie guides kids through writing projects that are extremely entertaining, strengthen reading and writing skills, and encourage a deep love of words. On-site "field trips" to different areas of the store offer a wealth of interesting and inspiring topics from travel to poetry to periodicals to biography. All students will receive a journal to write in and will be invited to participate in a public reading of their work at BookPeople.

All sessions are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. The cost for each session is $120 (session 5, July 4th week, is $100), $20 non-refundable deposits are due by May 27, balance due first day of class. Scholarships available.

For registration or questions, call 454-7010 or email WritingCamp@austin.rr.com

Session One, June 2 - 6: Poetry Camp ages 8 - 10

Session Two, June 9 - 13: Poetry Camp ages 11 - 14

Students learn to find inspiration all around them to create their own poetry. They are also introduced to poetry greats such as William Shakespeare and William Carlos Williams. With a "field trip" to the kids' section of BookPeople to explore works of children's poets including Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein. Trip to OfficeMax to make an anthology of the class's work.

Session Three, June 16 - 20: 'Zine Camp ages 11 - 14

Session Four, June 23 - 27: 'Zine Camp ages 11 - 14

Students learn how to create their own little magazine (aka 'zine) on the topic of their choice. They'll do the research, the writing, the cutting and the pasting. No convenient software program here- this is old school 'zine making at its finest. With trips to OfficeMax across the street to put the project together and make copies of the finished project.

Session Five, June 30 - July 4 (no class 4th): Journalism Camp ages 11 - 14

Session Six, July 7 - July 11: Journalism Camp ages 11 - 14

Students spend time in the extensive magazine section of BookPeople determining what types of journalism most appeal to them. Students write "celebrity profiles" of each other. Students take "exotic" trips to Whole Foods and different sections of BookPeople and report back in "travel" stories. Students learn to write first person commentary and to report on topics of interest to them. Trip to OfficeMax to make a finished periodical to be named by the class.

Session Seven, July 14 - July 18: Poetry Slam Camp ages 12 - 14

Session Eight, July 21 - July 25: Poetry Slam Camp ages 12 - 14

The art of "slamming" involves the creation of passionate, dramatic poetry that must be performed out loud in three minutes or less. Once time's up, judges in the audience score the poem Olympic style, with a maximum of five points for performance and five for content (for a total possible highest score of 10.) Students learn what makes a slam piece work and spend time creating several slam pieces. In class slams will be followed up with an evening of poetry slam at BookPeople where Session Seven poets compete with Session Eight poets.

Session Nine, July 28 - Aug 1: Creative Writing Camp 11 - 14

This session helps students explore different types of creative writing to help them find what styles they most prefer. Topics covered include: character study, dialogue (e.g. unlikely conversations between Abe Lincoln and Harry Potter), poetry, and creative non-fiction. Trip to OfficeMax to make an anthology of the class's work.