Young Adult Writers Program
About YAWP
Grub Street throws open its doors one Saturday each month, offering FREE creative writing workshops to Boston-area teenagers, ages 14 to 18. We also host intensive paid teen writing camps and a Summer Teen Writing Fellowship, which immerses high school students in the writer's life of creative craft and publishing. Our summer fellows work with published authors on original prose and poetry, meet with literary agents and editors, take field trips to inspirational locales like the ICA, and much more. Free Saturday Sessions Summer Teen Fellowship Teen Writing CampsYAWP Email List
If you would like to join the YAWP email list and receive announcements about upcoming classes and events, email sean@grubstreet.org.Free Saturday Sessions
YAWP Saturday Sessions
Do you like to write poems, lyrics, stories, novels or screenplays? Join Grub Street’s Young Adult Writers Program (YAWP), a FREE creative writing workshop for Boston-area high schoolers.
Our students, age 13-18, come from schools as diverse and distant as Cambridge Rindge and Latin, John D. O'Bryant School of Math and Science in Roxbury, Noonan Business Academy in Dorchester, and high schools in Winchester and Framingham. After three great years YAWP has already been recognized by the Boston Globe as the hub for creative writing teenagers.
View and register for all YAWP sessions here.YAWP provides
- Small-group writing workshops in fiction, poetry, screenwriting, and nonfiction
- Feedback from experienced writers
- Snacks and refreshments
- Inspiration!
- The opportunity to perform your work for an audience
2013 YAWP Saturday Session Information
All students MUST register in advance.
We offer three sessions of classes each YAWP Saturday: from 12 PM to 3:30 PM, with a 30 minute break for socializing and lunch (we'll provide snacks, but you are encouraged to bring your own lunch), followed by an open-mic reading from 3:30 Pm to 4:00 PM.
YAWP dates for 2013 (all Saturdays):
- January 19th
- February 16th
- March 16th
- April 13th
Frequently Asked Questions About YAWP Saturdays
Who are YAWPers?
Our students come from schools all over the Greater Boston area, and we all have one thing in common: we love to read and write creatively. Our program gets teens writing and the results speak for themselves. Our alums have gone onto enroll college-level creative writing programs at such schools as Sarah Lawrence College and Brandeis University. YAWPer Melissa Saunders, besides running her own ‘zine, now has her own column in The Weekly Dig.
What’s expected of me?
We ask that you come to YAWP ready to participate, think creatively, and work hard. We ask that you also respect your peers’ and teachers’ ideas. If you’re shy, that’s okay — we don’t make students read work they don’t want to. You may attend all of our events or just one of them, though we have plenty of students who come every month for an entire school year.
What do I need to bring? (Pencils? Paper?)
We’ll give you composition books, pens, breakfast, and lunch. No homework. No need to bring a writing sample. Parents and guardians are always welcome to visit, though we ask them not to be in the classroom during writing. We especially welcome the families and friends of these talented writers to two open house readings that will take place in December and May!
I’m in the 8th grade, but I really want to be a part of YAWP. Am I definitely excluded?
Generally, YAWP is intended for high school students. If you are just about to enter high school and would like to be a part of YAWP, please contact us directly by e-mailing info@grubstreet.org, and we will see if an accommodation can be made.
Do I need to choose one genre to write for the entire year?
Absolutely not! We actually encourage our writers to try all the different genres offered throughout the year; we promise that it will make you a more well-rounded artist. Novelists interested in their narrator’s prose and characters’ dialogue have everything to gain from workshops in poetry or screenwriting. We only ask that students remain in a single genre for their afternoon at Grub—in other workshop, please don't switch genres mid-workshop.
Okay, I’m going! Err, how do I get there?
All of our monthly sessions are held at Grub Street Headquarters at 162 Boylston Street in Boston. Click here for directions.
Is YAWP any fun?
Don't ask us...ask our young writers.
- “I learned that a whole story can be written in one sentence … and that there are teens like me who love writing as much as I do, which is cool.” — Jacqui G.
- “Poetry can be anything.” — Anonymous
- “Hearing other people’s works = inspiring” — Theresa K.
- “I enjoy the whole experience – camaraderie, comedy, etc.” — Carter H.
- “I wanted to write a memoir before I came here, and I found a great way to start it!” — Mia O.
YAWP Saturday Sessions are made possible, in part, thanks to the generous support of the Boston Globe Foundation, Foley Hoag Foundation, Mount Washington Bank in South Boston, Clipper Ship Foundation, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and donors like you.
The 2013 YAWP Summer Teen Fellowship
Grub Street's Summer Teen Fellowship immerses high school students in the writers' life of creative craft and publishing. During three weeks at Grub Street, the teens work with published authors on original prose and poetry, meet with literary agents and editors, take field trips to inspirational locales like the ICA, and much more. In the spirit of writers' residencies for adults, all teens will receive a stipend for their commitment to the program and their time spent as working writers.
Program
The Summer Teen Fellowship is an intensive, three-week creative writing program for young writers. Through classes, workshops, and readings, students will generate new work, learn about the craft of writing, and gain knowledge of the writing/publishing world. In the tradition of adult writing fellowships, each student will receive a stipend of $300 upon completing the program. The YAWP Fellowship is by application only and only 18 students will be chosen to participate.
When: July 15th-August 1st, Monday-Thursday from 10:30am-3:30pm. Snacks are included each day.
Who: All incoming 9th-12th graders in the Boston area with an interest in creative writing.
Where: Grub Street World Headquarters, in our future location at 162 Boylston Street in Boston, MA 02116.
The program has these 3 elements:- Generative: Writing from exercises in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.
- Workshopping: Learning how a traditional workshop works, learning how to give and receive feedback.
- Learning About the Writing/Publishing World: Learning about opportunities for writers during and outside of college, as well as the world of agents, editors and the writing marketplace.
Payment
In the spirit of adult writers' residencies, teen participants will be paid a $300 stipend for their three-week commitment to learning about writing. Payment of the stipend is contingent on attending all or nearly all of the sessions.
How to Apply
In addition to completing the application form each student must include in their application a 5-10 page creative writing sample which can include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays, screenplays, cross-genre or experimental work. YAWP fellowship recipients may only attend the fellowship every other year, once as an incoming freshman/sophomore and once as an incoming junior/senior. We prefer email as the primary contact method for the program. If you would like to mail your application, though, please send your materials to 162 Boylston Street 5th Floor Boston, MA 02116. Please email sean@grubstreet.org with any questions. An electronic copy of the application can be printed out here. This along with your writing sample can be emailed to sean@grubstreet.org. Please note: NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER March 29th at 5pm. No changes can be made to submissions after they have been received. 18 students will be chosen to participate with a short list of alternates. All applicants will be notified via email by Friday, April 12th.
Teen Writing Camps
Are you a teen interested in writing poems and stories? Maybe you’re just beginning and want to try your hand at creative writing in a supportive but rigorous atmosphere, or maybe you’ve been filling notebooks with plays and rhymes for years. Either way, this is the class for you! Each week we will read and discuss published short stories and poems, do writing exercises, talk about craft (the tools and techniques in poetry and fiction), and the writing process. For writers age 13-18 ONLY. View and register for all Teen Writing Camps here. Scholarships are available for our Teen Writing Camps. If you qualify for a scholarship, please email sean@grubstreet.org for more information.YAWP Sponsorship
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Grub Street member Harry Steinman's novel Little Deadly Things pays for a YAWP scholarship. Click here to purchase your copy.