YOUNG AUTHORS ACADEMY
If you are in grades 6 through 12, and are interested in creative writing, the Young Authors Academy is the place for you. The YAA is the Downtown Writers Center's teen writing program, and as a member, you'll work with the same terrific writers who teach in the regular DWC workshops. We'll help you polish the fundamentals of writing poems and stories, and drive you to push your writing to the next level.
Tuition for YAA is free for students in the Syracuse City School District (as part of the Y-Arts Scholars program) and for YMCA of Central New York members. For complete details, call our Workshops Coordinator at (315) 474-6851 x380 or via e-mail dwcworkshops@ymcacny.org.
LEARN MORE: Download our FALL 2023 PDF brochure and registration form here!
Numberless Dreams: Online Writing Workshops for Teens with Disabilities.
Join us for a series of online creative writing workshops, especially for teens with disabilities, taught by professional writers who are themselves disabled. We're partnering with the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University and Nine Mile Press for these workshops, accessible via Zoom.
This program is made possible with the support of the Gifford Foundation, Onondaga County, and CNY Arts.
LEARN MORE: For complete details and registration information, click here!
Speaking Out: Online Creative Writing Workshops for LGBTQ+ & gender-nonconforming students and peer supporters
Join us for Zoom workshops focused on providing a space for LGBTQ+, gender-nonconforming, teen supporters and friends to examine writing by and about LGBTQ+ and gender-nonconforming communities, and engage in writing exercises related to the fixed, constructed, and mobile aspects of identity as writers and as people living in the world. These workshops will be facilitated by Gemma Cooper-Novack.
LEARN MORE: For complete details, download the brochure and registration form here!
TESTIMONIALS FROM YAA MEMBERS
"Here, passion is celebrated, and discussion occurs freely. Command of the language is not only encouraged, but demanded. And we teen wordsmiths have at last found a home."
-- Christopher Costello, YAA student
"YAA gives me the opportunity to have friends who are interested in the same things that I am. And this is not to mention how much the classes have helped to improve my writing abilities. Recently, I entered a story that I'd written in class into an international short story contest, sponsored by the New York Times bestselling author John Green, and the story is now published in an anthology. I don't think I could have done that without the help and guidance I've received from YAA."
-- Anni Clark, YAA student
Visiting poet Ocean Vuong stands with a group of current and former Young Authors Academy students.
We were pleased to be featured by WCNY as part of The Great American Read series!
Young writers who show promise and aptitude find their voice at this workshop series led by a professional author and poet. The YMCA hosts ongoing sessions where high school-aged writers are treated as artists – and taught advanced writing, comprehension and analytical skills. The leader and guest authors provide insight and feedback on the writing projects that the young writers are drafting. All participants are encouraged to share their ideas, their perspectives, their struggles, and triumphs with their mentors and each other – all in an attempt to help foster the next generation of great authors.