Story Lines

WONDERWORKS and the DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON present a reading-intensive exploration of fiction plus films based on fiction, and creative writing.

16 June - 18 July 2025 | 10AM - 4PM, M-F | University of Houston

The house of fiction has in short not one window, but a million.

Henry James “Preface,” The Portrait of a Lady (New York Edition), 1908

Storytelling is inextricably linked to our DNA, and happily so. For millennia, we’ve entertained ourselves with all kinds of tales that, however conveyed and consumed, retold and remixed, drawn from life or fantastically imagined, manage to work their magic in every corner of the globe. This summer you’ll dive, head, eyes and heart first, into some of the most captivating stories ever to appear in print or on film, all in the air-conditioned comfort of Wonderworks’ digitally enhanced story cave just a hop, skip and a jump from the University of Houston’s Creative Writing Program, which helps keep us supplied with well-read, well-watched literary sherpas, year in and year out.

Each morning you’ll unpack the contents and meanings of a short story or two (or chapters from a novel) plus related commentary you’ve read – possibly even thrilled to – the night or weekend before, just like you would in a college seminar, only minus the anxiety of grades and papers. In the afternoons, you’ll give the same close attention to a film, thematically aligned with, though not necessarily adapted from, the readings in what amounts to a parallel “film studies” seminar (also anxiety-free). Most everything is taught from a writerly point of view, with an eye to what makes fiction work and resonate on page or screen.

Once you get into the flow, you may wish to try your hand at creative writing with some helpful coaching on the side. But when all is said and done and read and watched, you’ll have more than a handful of new stories in the memory bank and perhaps a few of your own in the offing. For avid readers (who may or may not be aspiring writers or critics) only!

Story Lines is open to high school students of special promise and ability who will be entering grades 10, 11, or 12 next fall or who will have just graduated from high school this spring. Admission is competitive – Wonderworks requires at least a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average plus a high level of achievement in relevant core subjects and commensurate scores on relevant sections of the PSAT/SAT or ACT.

Tuition and fees (not including parking) are $1000. Scholarships are available in the form of full-tuition waivers, but only for students demonstrating true financial need. Admissions are determined on a need-blind basis. No student will be prevented from participating in the program because of inability to pay tuition.

The program is held at the University of Houston Central Campus, Monday – Friday, except 19 June and 4 July. Story Lines is meant to be enjoyable, but is also challenging and requires focused effort and commitment.

Please apply online starting 1 January. To ensure full consideration, applications must be received by 1 June. Early applications are encouraged and will receive early decisions. Late applications will be considered only if space remains available.

If you have questions or need additional information, please e-mail info@wonderworkshouston.org.