Rising seventh and eighth graders in Oak Park can spend a week writing fiction inside the house where Ernest Hemingway was born. The Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park is accepting enrollment for its Youth Fiction Writing Workshop at the Birthplace Museum, 339 N. Oak Park Ave., with spots for just 10 students per session at $250 each.

The weeklong workshops, labeled Sessions 3 and 4 on the foundation's programs page, target rising 7th and 8th graders. Specific session dates had not been posted to the foundation's website as of Wednesday, July 23; families should check hemingwaybirthplace.com/programs-events for scheduling updates.

Instructor Nat Holtzmann, a Chicago-based writer and lecturer at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, leads students through world-building, characterization, and plot. Her debut story collection, Slight (TEMPER Press, 2025), includes work nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best Small Fictions. Holtzmann holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute.

According to the foundation's program listing, students receive feedback on their creative work over the course of the week and build community with fellow writers. Previously written work is welcome but not required. Each session is standalone, so students who enroll in more than one may encounter some repeated material.

The foundation requires a minimum of eight students per session to run the workshop. If enrollment falls short, the session may be canceled and payments refunded.

The foundation also offers writing workshops for rising 6th graders and rising 9th-12th graders at the same $250 price point, all led by Holtzmann at the Birthplace Museum.

Walking tours

Families looking for a shorter commitment can book the foundation's "In Ernie's Footsteps" walking tour, a 90-minute outdoor route through young Hemingway's Oak Park. The tour visits six sites: the Birthplace Museum, the Boyhood Home, Oak Park & River Forest High School, Oak Park Public Library, Congregational Church, and the World War I memorial in Scoville Park.

Dr. Nancy Sindelar, a foundation board member and author of Influencing Hemingway: The People and Places That Shaped His Life and Work, leads the tours. Sindelar has presented at international Hemingway conferences and served as the 2021 Writer-in-Residence at Hemingway's home in Ketchum, Idaho. Each tour is capped at 15 participants and includes a copy of her book.

Upcoming tour dates are Sunday, August 30, 2026, and Sunday, September 27, 2026. Tour pricing was not listed on the foundation's website at publication; check hemingwaybirthplace.com for current rates. Advance reservations are required.

Registration details for both the workshops and walking tours are available at hemingwaybirthplace.com/programs-events.