Thalia Book Club Camp @ Symphony Space is a unique camp geared for avid readers and writers ages 9 - 14 offering up-close interaction with favorite children's book authors and illustrators. Campers will meet with children's book authors, take part in book discussions, and go on book-related field trips around the city.
Author Guests
Author guests have included a diverse line-up of established writers and illustrators alongside emerging talents, each with a unique perspective on books and writing. Some of the highlights have included a rare visit with Norton Juster to discuss his classic The Phantom Tollbooth, intimate conversations with Award-winning authors R.J. Palacio (Wonder), Rachel Vail (Justin Case), Sarah Weeks (So B. It), Linda Sue Park (A Single Shard), Rebecca Stead (When You Reach Me), Jacqueline Woodson (Locomotion), and Lauren Oliver (Liesl and Po), bestselling authors Gail Carson Levine (Ella Enchanted), Pseudonymous Bosch (The Secret series), Tom Angleberger (The Strange Case of Origami Yoda), Wendy Mass (Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life) and Michael Buckley (The Sisters Grimm), as well as introductions to new writers such as Maile Meloy (The Apothecary), Ben Winters (The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman), C. Alexander London (An Accidental Adventure), Neela Vaswani (Same Sun Here) and Adam Gidwitz (A Tale Dark and Grimm). Campers have also met with illustrators including Chris Raschka (Seriously, Norman!) and Percy Jackson cover artist John Rocco who led a workshop on cover design. Other art related activities included a book making workshop with the Center for Book Arts, cartooning with graphic novelist Matt Phelan (The Storm in the Barn), and an exploration into comic books with Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy) and Raina Telgemaier (Drama).
Field Trips
Each week, we go on a couple of adventures around the city with our author guests. In the past four summers we got the chance to go on a top secret field trip with Brian Selznick (author/illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret) to the Queens Museum of Art to hear about Wonderstruck a year before the book was published, a reporting adventure with NY Times reporter Michael Winerip (Adam Canfield series), a Kiki-Strike-related field trip through the West Village with author Kirsten Miller, a visit to the Greek and Roman rooms at the Met with George O'Connor (The Olympians series), an afternoon at the Bronx Museum of Art with the 2010 National Book Award-nominee Rita Williams-Garcia (One Crazy Summer), and a trip to The Colbert Report to meet with a comedy writer. In addition campers visited with editors, designers and publicists at Random House Children's Books where they received a surprise visit from Christopher Paolini (Eragon), we also got a backstage tour of the Royal Shakespeare Company's reconstructed Stratford-upon-Avon theater at the Park Avenue Armory with Elise Broach (Shakespeare's Secret), explored the Ambrose Lightship at the South Street Seaport with writer and illustrator Brian Floca (Lightship; City of Light, City of Dark), visited the Trinity Cemetery with Matthew Cody (The Dead Gentleman), and took book related trips to the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, The Museum of the Moving Image, The Tenement Museum and the New York Hall of Science, among others.
In summer 2013 there will be four (different) one-week sessions (24 campers per week).
There are no longer spots available for 9-11 year olds and the August 5-9 session for 12 to 14 year olds is full as well. Please contact us at shorts@symphonyspace.org to join the waiting list.
Please note age groups are determined by week:
Ages 9-11
Monday-Friday, July 22-26 - full
Monday-Friday, July 29-August 2 - full
Ages 12-14
Monday-Friday, August 5-9 - full
Monday-Friday, August 12-16 - limited space available
Camp hours: 9am-4pm
General registration for summer 2013 is now open. For more information or to get on our email list please contact shorts@symphonyspace.org
Cost: $650 per session/$625 for Symphony Space members
Download the registration form. If you do not receive a confirmation of your registration within 3-4 days, please contact us at shorts@symphonyspace.org.
Campers' comments:
-"An awesome place to make friends, learn, have fun, and meet authors all at the same time!" - "An amazing camp where you use your imagination and have fun with people who understand you and your writing."
A parent's comments:
-"I felt that a lot of thought and care went into making the camp a quality experience. The books and authors were amazing. The counselors were enthusiastic and related well to the kids."
-"My daughter loved it! She was with people who love books as much as she does and she was challenged in a fun and creative way. The only camp she loved every day!"
If you have more questions, please check the Thalia Book Club Camp Frequently Asked Questions. If you still have questions, please contact Jennifer Brennan at jennifer.brennan@symphonyspace.org or 212-864-1414 x206
