Writing Barn Youth returns Summer 2023 in an exciting new format, combining live classes with recorded lessons, author meet-n-greets, a book in the mail, and more! **Registration is now closed for this session. Check back for future sessions!**
Calling all young writers! The Writing Barn is thrilled to offer a program just for kids – a program that sparks creativity, deepens and broadens creative skills, and brings young people together in community.
How Our Youth Programming Has Evolved
When the pandemic hit, we reimagined all of our youth classes as virtual experiences. This allowed us to bring together kids with similar interests from all across the world, creating a community of young writers and readers that wasn’t bound by state or country lines.
It also allowed us to expand our instructor roster and to bring in incredible guest authors via Zoom. Over the last couple of years, our students have enjoyed meet-n’-greet sessions with Katherine Applegate, Erin Entrada Kelly, Sara Pennypacker, A.S. King, Rajani LaRocca, Mitali Perkins, Samantha M. Clark, Will Alexander, and more. Collectively, these authors boast just about every award in the industry, including multiple Newbery medals.
In 2022, our youth programming took an exciting new form: Writing Barn Youth!
What is Writing Barn Youth?
WRITING BARN YOUTH is a membership-based virtual writing club for kids ages 8-13, offering:
- rich creative writing curriculum
- all-star instructors + guest authors
- total flexibility
- the chance to plug into a global creative community
Why NOW? The world is opening back up, right? Let’s face it: Education has been turned on its head over the last few years. The pandemic forced many families to turn to online or home schooling. Meanwhile, arts programs are being cut from school budgets, leaving many creative kids without an outlet. In 2020, we moved our summer writing camps to a SOLD-OUT virtual experience, but we know family schedules are jam-packed and a live program isn’t right for everyone. That’s where Writing Barn Youth comes in: An adaptable, at-your-own-pace program that still offers the connection, community, and inspiration kids need now more than ever!
Writing Barn Youth INSTRUCTS and INSPIRES: An amazing lineup of faculty, all published authors and experienced teachers, will teach students the elements of writing, storytelling, and illustration. Kids will learn how to build stories out of character, plot, setting, theme; they’ll explore fun genres like fantasy and science-fiction; they’ll explore different forms of writing, from poetry and creative nonfiction to out-of-the-box forms like recipes and secret codes!
Writing Barn Youth is FLEXIBLE and ACCESSIBLE: Lessons are delivered as prerecorded videos. Watch lessons when it works best for YOU, in the order that works best for you! More interested in visual art? Focus on those lessons. More into story generation? Start with those! All live events are recorded for later viewing, too.
Writing Barn Youth offers COMMUNITY and CONNECTION: Live events bring students and teachers together for an evening of community, writing inspiration, and creative games. Meet peers from all across the country and around the world who have similar interests! Students can share their work with peers by submitting stories and art to be featured in the program newsletters, too–and the community is ongoing. Sign up for the next semester to continue to connect and learn!
How Does It Work?
Every couple of weeks during the semester, Writing Barn Youth families will receive a program newsletter. Each program newsletter includes:
- Brand new writing or craft lessons that kids can watch on their own time
- Curated lessons from the Writing Barn Youth Video Library archive
- A thoughtful book recommendation
- Fun writing prompts
- Student Spotlight: Each newsletter will feature a piece from a Writing Barn Youth student!
In addition to the program newsletters, there will be live events throughout the semester to bring kids and faculty together in community (all events will be recorded and viewable afterward, so you don’t have to attend live).
Writing Barn Youth students also get:
- Meet n’ greet virtual sessions with award-winning guest authors
- A personalized, signed copy of a guest author book in the mail (students outside the U.S. will receive a copy of a guest author book, but it won’t be signed/personalized)
- Access to a digital library of all the video lessons, added as they are released
- The chance to submit work to be featured in the program newsletter
- A digital certificate for completing the semester
- Free access to Writing Barn virtual book launch events
Learning Objectives
Writing Barn Youth students will:
- Learn the building blocks of fiction (character, setting, plot, theme, and more) and put them together to create original stories
- Learn writing craft skills (sensory details, literary devices, etc.) that will make creative and academic writing stronger
- Gain confidence in their work and gain valuable experience sharing work
- Learn more about themselves and their creativity by exploring lots of different forms and techniques
- Be inspired by a faculty of published authors and guest author visits
- Expand their reading horizons
- Plug into a creative community of peers
Scholarships Available
Scholarship funding is available for financial need and for BIPOC, LBGTQ+, disabled, and neurodiverse young writers: Scholarship Application Form
Learn More
Upcoming sessions of Writing Barn Youth will be listed here. Check back for updates!
You can also contact Youth Programming Specialist Evan Griffith at evan@thewritingbarn.com with questions about the program, or suggestions for how our youth programming can best serve your family’s needs!
School Visits + Teacher Development
Are you an Austin-area school looking for a writing/arts-based field trip for your students? Book your next field trip at the Writing Barn! Utilize the beautiful 7.5-acre wooded property and event spaces, and book writing and craft sessions with Writing Barn staff members. We also offer professional development opportunities for teachers. For more information, check out our School Visits Packet.