Congratulations to our Graduates: The 2024 Teen Fellows

This September, The Muse Writers Center Teen Fellows attended the final fellowship event—the CNU Writing Conference, which included a 15-minute pitch session with the literary agent or editor of their choice. For the past eight months, each Fellow had prepared for this session by attending craft classes, workshops, meeting with published authors to complete their creative writing projects and query letters to present at the CNU conference. Finally, the big day had come.

The Fellows shined at the conference, networking with other writers and showcasing their talent during the open mic. Fellow Maggie Smith received an honorable mention in the CNU Writing Contest. All eight fellows went into their pitch sessions with confidence, and the agents and editors were impressed.

“I was blown away by two aspects of my meetings with the Muse Writers Center Teen Fellows: first, how very prepared they were; and second, how creative and inspiring their ideas were!” – Kerry D’Agostino, Literary Agent

“The teens from the Muse Writers Center…were poised beyond their years and came into the event with a wealth of professionalism that belied their youth. They (…) were all solid, grounded, professional writers.” -John Hartness, Publisher

Every fellow was grinning ear to ear as they received their graduation certificates. We can’t wait to see where the future takes these incredible young writers.

If you know a young writer who might be interested in this unique program for sophomores and juniors in the Tidewater area, please help spread the word: The 2025 Teen Writers Fellowship Application is open and waiting for future writers to apply!