You will need to answer the following questions about the manuscript you will work on for the duration of the retreat:

1. Describe the idea you’d like to share with readers of About Campus.  What is innovative and thought-provoking about your idea? (Consider how your article relates to recent articles you’ve read. How is your idea different, and what gap does it fill?). What is your purpose (to inform, call to action, inspire, etc.)?  Please be specific!
2. The best About Campus articles often use compelling narratives to hook and connect with readers. What will be your strategy to capture the reader’s attention—hook them and reel them in—immediately in your opening sentence and paragraph? Successful hooks make the reader curious; some strong ones include anecdotes, thought-provoking quotes, and startling statistics or facts. Please be specific!  For example, is there an important interaction or experience you’ve had with a student that may help set the scene for readers?
3. How will your idea engage a broad readership, including faculty across disciplines, student-affairs educators, and policymakers? For example, if your article is about residence life or another department in student affairs, what will a faculty member in English or engineering or a dean/department head find compelling about your idea?  What will they learn about students and the student-learning experience? How can each of these groups use the information you provide? Share applicable suggestions, models, or specific recommendations that could be implemented.

Please compose a statement of interest (max 500 words) answering the following questions:

• What appeals to you about writing with About Campus?
• Why do you want to attend the Writers Retreat? What do you hope to learn or gain?

Before applying, please ensure that you will be able to attend June 10^th-14th, factoring in travel time to Blacksburg, VA. We will maintain a list of alternates in case an emergency causes a selected participant to be unable to attend.