An “Epic” Reading!

Written by Malcolm Knowles, Associate Director of Specialty Programs “The reading was epic!” – Ethan, age 8 On a rainy Tuesday afternoon, many a Writopian and their parents gathered for our annual Fall trimester reading hosted at the St. Agnes Library. Writers of all ages stood upon the stage to share the fruits of their …

How to Support Your Writer

Dear Writopia parents, Many parents have asked us how they can best support their writers alongside us, so we put together a list of tips for you. The keys to supporting your writer are 1) trust-building, 2) celebration, and 3) deep engagement. TRUST-BUILDING   Be positive! Writing can make us feel both gratified and vulnerable …

Gratitude Poem 2025

Dear Writopia Friends and Family,  We are so grateful for our community that creates such beautiful poetry together in both the literary and social context. Thank you to all of the members of our community who contributed to this poem including young writers, parents, guardians, school teachers, Writopia instructors, staff, and more. And thank you …

YAB Think Tank and Flynn Kier’s Launch Party

Saturday, November 8th was a big day for Writopia Lab’s virtual space. The Youth Advisory Board first discussed the current reading crisis, and then, in a separate event, we celebrated one of our own’s publishing success! (High school junior from Montana, Flynn Kier and proud member of Writopia Lab’s Creative Portfolio program, published their first …

A Series of Small Gestures: Embracing Conversation and Storytelling in Our Spring Professional Development Sessions to Help Reframe the Way Kids Think About AI, Get Kids Excited About Reading, and Help Kids Shine Their Inner Light

By Matthew Jellison and the Instructors at Writopia Lab Each spring we hold a series of professional developments for our instructors that expands our resources and punches in on a specific element of our teaching practice. Last year, we focused on the hard skills and how we can fold grammar and mechanics into workshop holistically. …

Gala 2025 Takeaways

Written by Rebecca Wallace-Segall, Founder and CEO, Writopia Lab In April,  Writopia Lab held its 2025 Gala. A new dynamic on our Board of Directors allowed for new ideas to flow. My heart still feels full from the entire process. Here were some exciting details and takeaways: 1) For the first time in many years, …

Creative Portfolio Getaway in Philadelphia

Written by Léna Roy, Director of Teen Programs, and Rebecca Wallace-Segall, Founder and CEO A central tenet of our youth development work: in community, we shall be held up and thrive. This is what motivates us each year to make the CP Getaway happen! (CP is the acronym for Creative Portfolio.)  Over the last weekend in …

Scholastic Gold Medal Reading

Written by Elsa Bermúdez, Associate Director of Specialty Programs We had the honor of hosting the Scholastic Gold Medal winners Open Mic at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square on June 10th from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM. We loved connecting with winners before the event with some editing notes (to meet the 1-minute time …

Brooklyn Spring 2025 Reading

Written by Elsa Bermudez, Associate Director of Specialty Programs We had a beautiful end-of-trimester reading at the Brooklyn Public Library in Park Slope for our Brooklyn Lab writers on May 27th. For some of our readers, it was their first time sharing their work out loud for an audience. For others, they have read their …

DC End-of-Year Reading

Written by Rita Feinstein, DC Regional Manager Date: Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025Location: Tenley-Friendship Library We were blown away by the turnout for our End-of-Year Reading! We invited all our young writers to share an excerpt of their work with a supportive audience of friends, family, and fellow writers. Tara Prakash, a longtime Writopian and now …