Hollins offers summer M.A. and M.F.A. programs exclusively in the study and writing of children's literature. One of the few in the country to offer humanities graduate degrees in children's literature, we are, we believe, the only one to offer them in the study and writing of children's literature.

Graduate students complete either an M.A. or an M.F.A. degree in the study and writing of children’s and young adult literature over a period of three to five summers. The concurrent programs offer a uniquely diverse community of writers and scholars learning from each other, visits from a nationally known writer in residence, and the chance to participate in an annual student organized children’s literature conference. The programs are closely associated with the Hollins creative writing program, and faculty are drawn from the ranks of Hollins writers and professors and other leading scholars from the field of children’s literature. At Hollins you will have the opportunity to be part of a uniquely diverse group of scholars, writers, and teachers. In between you will live on Hollins' historic and beautiful campus, minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Trail.

M.F.A. students will ground their creative work in the scholarly study of children's literature. M.A. students may concentrate solely on the study of children's literature as a genre which has received far too little scholarly attention in the past, or may take up to half their credits in creative writing. It is Hollins' firm belief that any scholar of literature benefits from the experience of writing, and any serious student of writing must study closely the best works of others.

The study of children’s literature as a scholarly experience was initiated at Hollins in 1973 by the major American poet and children’s poet William Jay Smith. Possibly the most widely known and read alumna of the college is Margaret Wise Brown, a 1932 graduate, among whose many books for children are the classics Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. Among the many other Hollins students who have written for children
are Katharine Boling, Joan Carris, John Hay, Betty Hicks, Hillary Homzie, Robin D. Jones, A. LaFaye, Katie Letcher Lyle, Marilyn MacGregor, William Miller, Patricia Mills, Lee Robinson, Karen Adams Sulkin, Eve Tal, Michelle Taylor, Sylvia Wilkinson, and Willie Wilson.

You will hear lectures by visiting speakers who in the past have included Perry Nodelman, Nancy Willard, Lucille Clifton, Jack Zipes, Eleanor Cameron, and Alison Lurie. You will have the opportunity to participate each summer in the annual Francelia Butler Children's Literature Conference, an entirely student-led event showcasing both creative and scholarly work from students in the program.

Photo above: "The Silver Wood" by Ruth Sanderson is from her book Twelve Dancing Princesses. Limited edition signed prints are available through her Web site: www.ruthsanderson.com. Sanderson has taught and lectured in the Children's Literature program. In 1997, she was writer in residence.

ChLA 2011: "Revolt, Rebellion, Protest: Change and Insurrection in Children’s Literature:" June 23-25, 2011

The Children's Literature Association Conference in 2011 will be hosted by Hollins University on its historic 475-acre campus in Roanoke, Virginia, with easy access to a regional airport, the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, the Appalachian Trail, and Roanoke’s historic downtown and City Market, offering shops, galleries and multi-ethnic restaurants. Founded in 1842, Hollins enrolls undergraduate women and students in seven coed graduate programs, including M.A. and M.F.A. degrees in Children’s Literature. The library possesses many original papers and manuscripts of Margaret Wise Brown '32, possibly Hollins' most widely known and read alumna.

The conference theme will be "Revolt, Rebellion, Protest: Change and Insurrection in Children’s Literature," reflecting the cultural changes that have swept over the world in repeating cycles since civilization began. We will look at the way and speed at which our world is changing, and has changed in the past, through the lens of children’s literature, considering how children’s literature institutes change, transgresses the norm, and protests (or attempts to protect) the status quo.

Julia Mickenberg and Philip Nel, co-editors of the anthology Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children's Literature, will deliver the Francelia Butler Lecture.

2011 summer writer-in-residence Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman, co-authors of The Fall of the Kings, will also give a joint keynote speech on fantasy, traditionally a genre of change and protest.

For more information and conference updates: http://www.hollins.edu/chla2011.

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