Today, I am excited to welcome authors Alison Green Myers and Alexandra Villasante, who both work at Boyds Mills, formerly known as the Highlights Foundation—a space synonymous with craft workshops for children’s book writers and illustrators since 1985. They will tell us about the 2026 offerings—both online and in person at the retreat center in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, as well as scholarship opportunities.
2025 marked the 40th anniversary of the Highlights Foundation, and in 2026, you launched a new name. Can you tell us a little about this change and what it means for your mission to “amplify the voices of storytellers who inform, educate, and inspire children to become their best selves?”
Alison: Thanks for the chance to talk about this important change. Yes, the Highlights Foundation was founded in 1985 with the purpose to support children’s book creatives. Kent Brown, the founder and longtime executive director, believed, like his grandparents who started Highlights Magazine, that children are the world’s most important people. And, as the most important people in the world, they deserve great stories. Kent’s mission was to bring together the best teachers of writing and illustration with those starting out in children’s books. The mission grew as the foundation grew– expanding to creatives at any stage in their journey.
We especially love seeing those who have come as students return as faculty (Alex would be just one of many examples of this kind of “full circle” celebration.) The retreat center has always been the heart of the foundation, and when the opportunity arose in late 2025 to rename the choice was clear: We are Boyds Mills. It is a name that connects to our founder, Kent Brown, and it is a place that has offered space to storytellers since before Kent and his family started creating Highlights Magazine here for kids. I love that we’ll be able to use Boyds Mills as the next chapter of our non-profit, leaning in even more to our care for storytellers, and of course the mission to amplify their voices. George Brown will tell us more about the name change and this next adventure, please click here.
Alex Villasante: My journey with Boyds Mills went from being a student at Summer Camp before being published to working here and being faculty for many workshops and classes. That 360 view of Boyds Mills gives me a lot of insight into how all the members of this community work (and play and create) together. It’s an ecosystem of artists, writers, organizers, nurturers, cooks, servers and more who are committed to the mission. When I think about how this community works to support children’s book creators to make their best work, I truly believe the best is yet to come.
How does working at Boyds Mills impact you as creatives?
Alison Green Myers: Both Alex and I would say the same thing: the absolute best part of working at Boyds Mills is the people! The relationships that have been built thanks to this organization. I adore the humans who do the daily work–we laugh together and cry together and work in a way that is unique to the non-profit mentality. And then there are the faculty and students. I may not be a writer at Boyds Mills, but I am inspired endlessly by the people who come to teach and learn about creating. That inspiration stays with me when it does come time for me to sit down and write. And, this may seem like a weird thing but I want to make all of these people–my colleagues, the students, the founder, everyone at Boyds Mills–proud of the work that I create for kids. I want the words to honor their excellence and examples, and it matters to me that it would be the kind of work that they’d be happy to share with kids.
There is a cornucopia of offerings at Boyds Mills: in-person and online workshops, un-workshops plus custom and community retreats. Could you tell us more about these programs?
Alison Green Myers: Such a challenge to talk about a few of the offerings… like picking out “one” book! Hard to be done, but I’ll highlight three on campus and have Alex share a few from online.
First, we’re always eager to talk about Summer Camps. (That’s the first time Alex and I got to write together!) The Summer Camp program is a favorite because it is a taste of all of the offerings at Boyds Mills– 1:1 mentorship, small group discussions about your work, small group generative writing activities, and whole group lectures– all with supportive faculty, rich opportunities to connect with fellow creatives, and yummy summer-fresh foods!
Another perennial offering is our Whole Novel Retreat. \We offer this retreat in August and October (and online). It is a little different because there is an application process for this program, unlike many of our other offerings. Writers need to have a completed (or near completed) novel to make the most out of this retreat, along with the willingness (perhaps, desire?) to do a deep dive into their draft and a serious revision. The feedback letter helps shape the week, along with Brain Trust sessions to share ideas, fears, and needs you have for your revision. There’s such a delightful vibe to this program that really can’t be pinned to the page in words.
Okay, I said three… Now to pick one more! How about a celebration? The Asian and Asian American Voices is one of our in-community retreats, hosted and centering Asian and Asian American stories for children. This year marks the fifth retreat at Boyds Mills, and in honor of this milestone, Grace Lin and Debbi Michiko Florence will host two retreats (one in May and one in August!) For a full list of in-community retreats, along with all of this year’s retreats, please visit our website.
Alex Villasante: We started offering online programming during the pandemic for obvious reasons, but we soon saw that it was a wonderful way of bringing the Boyds Mills magic to people who may not have access to our retreat center. Through the online classrooms and mini workshops, we offer, we’re able to extend the learning to suit the different ways people learn. We’ve learned a lot about delivering content and resources to people (and are still learning!), and the folks who come to Boyds Mills are able to build connections online and in person throughout the year.
We have so many online offerings this year! I’m really excited about our Whole Novel Online Workshop. We have a Spring and Fall session, and the faculty are incredible. I also, selfishly, love hosting the peer-to-peer sessions for Whole Novel as I get to help students dig into their shared words. It’s such a treat!
I’m also looking forward to some of our new mini-workshop offerings, like Embrace Your Inner Intuitive Writer to Fuel Your Writing for writers who lead with vibes rather than plot and Publicity and Marketing for Storytellers because that’s a topic that is good for every creative at every stage. Knowing how to market yourself in this changing digital landscape is key.
At Boyds Mills, how have you created space for diverse and marginalized writers and illustrators?
Alex Villasante: Before I started working for Boyds Mills, way back in 2019, Mia Garcia and I went to Alison with a proposal to host an in-community retreat for Latinx authors and illustrators. This would be a place where we could go beyond what I call the 101 talking points—the marginalization of Latine authors and stories, the lack of representation, the tendency of publishing to want stories that fit a narrow stereotype, usually about immigration. We wanted a retreat where we could go deeper into our intersecting identities, the issues we have in our many varied communities, to celebrate what brings us together and untangle the challenges that keep us apart.
Needless to say, Alison said yes. Alison was already working hard on programs like the Diversity Fellowship, the Muslim Storytellers Fellowship, the Rainbow Retreat, the Jewish Symposium and other in-community programming, both on campus and online. The Asian and Asian American Storytellers Collective founded a scholarship and cabin following their in-community retreat. Boyds Mills will continue the essential work of creating spaces for communities to share their work, connect, and make stories for kids.
As a past recipient of one of your scholarships, I know Boyds Mills offers a robust scholarship program. Could you tell us about the different scholarships available and what the application process entails?
Alison Green Myers: Our 2026 Scholarship Application window is currently open. Please check the information here and apply! We offer both named and general scholarships, all rooted in the same purpose: supporting writers and illustrators with space and financial resources so they can take time with their stories. In our scholarship process, applicants share pieces of their creative work alongside personal narratives about who they are, what they hope to create, and why their voice is needed for today’s readers. Reviewing these applications is often moving and always a reminder of why this work matters. A special committee of children’s book writers, illustrators, agents, editors, and booksellers read each and every application that comes in during the scholarship window. The review process is time-intensive as the committee offers each application at least two reviews. By the time awards are selected, an application has probably spent time with 15 – 20 different people from our staff to the review committee to donors. Then, we get to visit with all of the awardees as they take their courses and do the good work of creating for kids.
For a small sampling of the success stories, click here! (Fun fact: both Alex and I have been recipients of scholarship funds from Boyds Mills before starting our work at the organization!)
What future direction is Boyds Mills charting as it celebrates a glorious presence at this facility nestled in nature on contemporary and traditional land of the Lenni Lenape Nation?
Alison Green Myers: Just a few weeks ago, I was at work late and left my office to a dark, snowy parking lot. I realized then that I had parked my car up the driveway at the Barn, rather than down by the “general store” where our offices are housed. At first (and I hope people will relate) I was not happy.
I was cold, and tired, and already wanted my drive home to be over, let alone having a below freezing walk through the snow to my car. Then, just as I rounded the bend in the driveway near the farmhouse, the fields came into view, white with snow, they glowed. It was December 4th and the Cold Moon was as round, and felt as near as any moon I’d seen on campus. I stopped in my tracks and took just a moment to look at the way the light hit the barn’s wood, and illuminate the stately Eastern pines, and welcome the fence posts that would lead me to my car. It wasn’t the first time that nature at Boyds Mills had stopped me in my tracks, made me recalibrate myself. Made me pause for an unexpected dose of blessings.
One August, I recall standing out in the word garden with Lesléa Newman and she read a poem to the moon. One July, I was listening to Rob Costello talk about community when a bobcat crossed the bluestone patio. One June, I was leaving the barn after a ferocious storm, to find fog in a thick layer above the rock wall, and a double rainbow shooting across the sky.
We will celebrate this place and the people–that is a future I am certain of–and we will weather storms that come our way, because they are bound to. We will hold new books in our hands from new friends, and talk about lessons passed down through the generations of storytellers who have visited Boyds Mills. We will be messy, creative, passionate humans, and invite other messy, creative, passionate humans to join us in storytelling for kids. That is the future of Boyds Mills as far as I can see.
And lastly, for those creatives at the start of their writing/illustrating journeys, what craft and career advice could you share?
Alex Villasante: Wherever you are in your creative journey, building community is key. When you’re just starting, it’s possibly the most important thing. The road is long and can be lonely. The way we keep going is to create a sustainable writing life. That can include systems, habits and taking your creativity seriously. But it has to include other people who understand and support you.
Once you build that community, work on making it as healthy as you can. Offer and take feedback, share ideas and resources. Build community from a place of abundance.
You see a cool residency that’s taking applications? Great! Send it to your community. Don’t hoard resources because you feel like there’s only room for you. By sharing opportunities, I truly believe those opportunities multiply and spread. That’s how a community gets—and stays—strong.
Alison Green Myers: Alex’s words are always comforting. Community is key, yes. I’d also say, please leave room for the You in Your journey. There is no one pathway to a book. No one way to plot. No one way to untangle ideas into narratives. You have a unique perspective on the world that’s come from this lifetime (and, depending on your beliefs, other lifetimes or universes). Give yourself some trust in your storytelling intuition. Tell the story that only you can tell.
I’m a disaster when I’m trying to get my ideas out. Seriously, they are spaghetti noodles with Tic Tacs, and burnt popcorn, or something equally tangled and stinky. But I keep writing. I keep thinking about what I really want to talk to kids about because that’s what this is all about, the book as a conversation with kids. We have to let the messy stuff take shape in order to get to the part that kids can pick up and carry the rest of the way.
So, I guess if that were to be advice, I’d say, please don’t be too hard on yourself when it takes, as Alex said, a long, long time. Let it. With each passing year, and each experience you have, your story – You – grow, and that is reflected in your work.
Take a deep breath and take good care of yourself.
Cynsations Notes
Alison Green Myers is a passionate educator, novelist, and speaker. As the program director at Boyds Mills, Alison supports storytellers throughout their careers. Alison is the author of the Schneider Family Award-winning A Bird Will Soar, and the Junior Library Guild recognized This Way to Happy. A National Writing Project fellow and Bethel Woods’ teaching artist, Alison is always happy in the company of curious kids! Alison lives in the woods of Pennsylvania with two extraordinary humans and their two dear dogs.
Alexandra Villasante has always loved telling stories—though not always with words. She has a BFA in Painting and an MA in Combined Media (that’s art school speak for making work out of anything). Born in New Jersey to immigrant parents, Alex has the privilege of dreaming in both English and Spanish.
Her latest novel, Fireblooms, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and praise from Kirkus Reviews and Booklist. It was selected as one of NPR’s Books We Love 2025. Alex’s debut YA novel, The Grief Keeper, was a Fall 2019 Junior Library Guild Gold Selection and winner of the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Children’s Literature/Young Adult Fiction. She’s a contributor several young adult short story anthologies including, Our Shadows Have Claws, Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories and We Mostly Come Out at Night: 15 Queer Tales of Monsters Angels and Other Creatures. Alex is a co-founder of the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival and of the LKBF Latinx Storytellers Conference. When she’s not writing, planning or painting, Alex works for Boyds Mills.
Mitu Malhotra holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. A finalist for the 2024 Lee & Low New Visions Award and the winner of the 2021 Katherine Paterson Prize for Literature for Young Adults and Children, Mitu has won scholarships from the Highlights Foundation, Tin House, and a writing residency at the Djerassi Program. Her short story “Toxins” is part of ELA curriculum.
Her writing has appeared in Hunger Mountain, Thin Air Magazine and elsewhere. In previous avatars, Mitu was a textile and fashion designer, and she has taught in India, the Middle East and the U.S. Mitu is an active member of CBIG: Children’s Book Illustrators Group, NYC and NJ SCBWI. She currently interns with Cynthia Leitich Smith (author-curator of Heartdrum, a Native-focused imprint of HarperCollins) and interviews authors for the blog Cynsations and reviews books for Kirkus Reviews. In September 2025, her banner design was selected by the Kidlit 411 Blog website.