There is no fee to apply. Find application information for U.S.-based students here, and for international (non-U.S.-based) students here.

Participation for International Students is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The cost of attending the 2024 BTL Program for U.S.-based students was $2000 and included room and board, and access to all extracurricular summer program activities.

There is no penalty for canceling, but please don’t waste a spot! If you need to cancel, for a reason other than a last-minute illness, we request to hear from you no later than May 31 so we can invite a student to join from our alternate list. 

Once the application cycle is open, carefully review the application instructions. The application process is different depending on where you live. Find application information for U.S.-based students here, and for international (non-U.S.-based) students here. International applicants apply through the Cultural Affairs Office at the U.S./American embassy or consulate in their country. Embassy deadlines vary, so contact them sooner rather than later. We suggest perusing embassy Facebook pages, websites, and other social media for contact information and BTL application announcements.

We want applicants who are passionate about creative writing. In the writing samples we want to see what best represents you as a writer today. Given our belief that in order to write, you have to read, we expect you to be an avid reader as well. This doesn’t mean that you have to have straight As, or that you have to be able to quote classic literature from memory. Read with your heart open and your mind curious.

Since you will be spending a lot of time with fellow students, teachers, and staff from different countries and cultures, it's very important that you be open to learning about the many different ways people live in the world and willing to share your own life experiences and unique point of view. Our ultimate goal is to create a community of friends that will continue to support each other in their creative efforts long after the two-week program ends.

For all BTL sessions this summer, students must be between 15-18 years old by the time of the program. The IWP can make no exceptions to the rules regarding ages.

All students, both American and international, are required to be proficient in English in all forms (reading, writing, and speaking). Knowledge of another language—Russian, Arabic, or any other—is not required, but it is a definite plus, particularly if you are currently studying another language, or if you grew up in a home or community where different languages are regularly used. There will be a lot of cross-translation going on!

Each year the U.S. State Department, which funds BTL: Peace and the Writing Experience, determines which countries' U.S./American Embassies will be invited to submit nominees. Countries vary from year to year. Only citizens of those countries are allowed to apply, and they must apply via their country’s U.S./American embassy. That said, if you are a citizen of one of the countries listed, but you do not reside in that country, contact the U.S./American embassy in your country of citizenship to see if you qualify. BTL hopes to one day expand to additional countries.

No. Each work submitted should be original and in English.

No. Each work submitted should be original and untranslated.

If your blog entry contains original creative prose and/or poetry, then yes, it can be included. Academic essays, school newspaper articles, and book reports will not be accepted.

A committee reviews all applications and supplemental materials and determines the final group of students.

Applicants will be notified in May.

No.

With award-winning U.S. and international faculty as their mentors, participants spend 2–4 hours a day in creative writing workshops, world literature seminars, literary readings and Q&As with visiting authors, plus social opportunities for cultural exchange, group and individual writing assignments outside of class, and more. All programming is conducted in English.

Workshops are offered in English, but feel free to engage in cross-translation: there will be special workshops for thinking about language, intimacy, literature, and power designed for just this purpose.

Between the Lines carefully chooses writers who are also great teachers. See the past faculty page for details about instructors from previous years.