FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Four authors will share their insights about their craft with teachers attending the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project’s Summer Invitational Institute beginning June 26 on the University of Arkansas campus.

The writing project sponsored by the UA College of Education and Health Professions encompasses the summer invitational in which eight outstanding teachers from the region were chosen to attend this year, along with two larger open sessions for adults and two sessions for children. Director Sam Totten, a UA professor of curriculum and instruction who brought the writing project to Fayetteville in 1997, said teachers selected to take part in the invitational that spans four weeks already are familiar with process writing and are committed to continuing as teacher consultants for the project in subsequent years.

Fellows of the invitational institute develop a network of colleagues committed to the goals of the writing project and upon successful completion become teacher consultants with a responsibility to share what they have learned in their schools and communities. The invitational takes place at Peabody Hall on campus.

“We look for the most outstanding teachers possible,” Totten explained.

The open sessions give additional teachers, regardless of their experience and knowledge of writing, an opportunity to improve their teaching skills during the nine-day workshops. The Fayetteville open sessions are scheduled for June 12-22 at Holcomb Elementary School in Fayetteville, and the Buffalo River open sessions are scheduled for June 15-27 at Skyline Heights Elementary School in Harrison.

Totten is pleased with the progress of the writing project as it marks its 10^th year of giving teachers a time to immerse themselves in the science and art of teaching writing. The project is part of the National Writing Project, an international program with headquarters at the University of California at Berkeley.

“It is definitely the most active National Writing Project site in Arkansas with more programs by far than others in the state,” Totten said.

Among the programs are the opens, three programs for children, three book projects and a mini-conference program.

Writing project teachers recently published the writing project’s first book: “Spark the Brain, Ignite the Pen: Quick Writes for Kindergarten Through High School Teachers and Beyond,” which was published by Information Age Publishing.

The teacher consultants also organized an “Evening with Writers” in April on the UA campus, during which 15 writing project members read from their work. Two local authors who took part in that event — Margaret Bolsterli and Bob Ford — also will join the invitational as guest writers this summer along with writer and storyteller Oda Mulloy and actor and playwright Mark Landon Smith, both of Fayetteville.

Bolsterli, the author of a memoir called “Born in the Delta,” is professor emerita of English at the university. “Born in the Delta,” published in 2000 by the University of Arkansas Press, is subtitled “Reflections on the Making of a Southern White Sensibility.” She also wrote “The Early Community at Bedford Park” (1977) and edited “Vinegar Pie and Chicken Bread” (1982) and “A Remembrance of Eden” (1993).

An early draft of Ford’s first published novel, “The Student Conductor,” was selected from among more than 700 manuscripts for a James Fellowship from the Heekin Group Foundation for most promising novel-in-progress. He is artistic director of the Arkansas Playwrights Workshop, author-in-residence at the Fayetteville Public Library and playwright-in-residence and co-founder of TheatreSquared.

Mulloy, a retired teacher and laboratory worker, is a member of “Teller of Tales,” an organization dedicated to keeping the art of storytelling alive and a regular contributor to KUAF, the National Public Radio affiliate on the UA campus.

Smith founded Ceramic Cow Productions, a professional theater, film and television company, with Julie Gabel. A film they produced, “Dupont, Mississippi, F5,” will be featured at the International Film Festival in Los Angeles in September. Smith has published seven plays, and his “Radio TBS” was produced off Broadway last year. He is artistic director for Arts Live Theater in Fayetteville.

The guest authors will speak at the invitational at Peabody Hall at 1 p.m. on the following days:

• Mulloy — Friday, June 30
• Bolsterli — Friday, July 7
• Smith — Thursday, July 13
• Ford — Tuesday, July 18

In their latest project, the teacher consultants are editing a cookbook that will compile recipes combined with stories about their origins, Totten said. The stories have been collected over the past eight years.

“The stories are moving, humorous and reflective of special times with friends and family,” Totten said.

The writing project also began a partnership in the past year with the Education Renewal Zone, a service unit of the College of Education and Health Professions created by the state legislature. The writing project will help the Education Renewal Zone offer staff development to public schools in northwest Arkansas, Totten said.

The children’s sessions on the UA campus are divided into Kidswrite I for children who have completed fourth through seventh grades, set for June 19-29, and Kidswrite II for children in eighth grade and above, set for July 17-21.

Lynette Terrell, Betsy Penix and Lacinda Files, all of whom teach in the Springdale School District, are the co-directors of Kidswrite I, while Penix and Terrell co-direct Kidswrite II.

This summer, the children taking part in Kidswrite will hear from guest speakers and go on field trips within walking distance of the ROTC building on Maple Street. They produce a daily newsletter, writing, editing and illustrating news of the camp to take home to their parents, and they wrap up the camp by creating an anthology of their writing.

The camp includes a final performance day when the short story writers read their work in Giffels Auditorium in Old Main, the playwrights perform at the Fayetteville Public Library and the poets host a slam at a local restaurant.

Kidswrite I is in its eighth year on the UA campus. Kidswrite II developed later as the children who participated grew older and wanted to continue the experience each summer.

“The older children do everything,” Terrell said. “They take over the week. They type, proofread, illustrate and do the binding for their final anthology project.”

To register or for more information on the Kidswrite sessions, call Terrell at 443-7637. The cost is $145 for Kidswrite I and $110 for Kidswrite II.