Writopia Teens, Published!

Congratulations: Visala Alagappan (14), Carmel Bendit-Shtull (12), Noa Bendit-Shtull (17) Louis Evans (18), Lily Gellman (15), Dan Ross (16), Ena Selmanovic (14), Rachel Sobelsohn (14), Yael Weisenfeld (17), Lena Beckenstein (16), and Jessica Zalph (15)!

Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser, the editors of the New York Times Best-Seller, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure, have published their third anthology, I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure...and they have chosen to publish 11 Writopia memoirists within the new book.

Come hear our six-word memoirists read their short pieces and more at our fall and winter readings series or at events run by Smith and Fershleiser. Email us for more information.

Read more!

Scholastic Awards Deadline Moved to December 18th, 2009

In previous years, our writers had until early January to submit their pieces. This year, the deadline has been moved forward a few weeks, meaning that you'll have to finish your pieces before winter break.

Writopia teachers are committed to working with all passionate Writopia writers. (Writers must be in 7th-12th grades to submit.) Please e-mail me to set up private sessions as soon as possible! During these sessions, a teacher will read through the writer's pieces, ask questions, offer feedback, make sure the pieces are prepared according to Scholastic's guidelines, and walk the writer through the submissions process.

Fall Workshoppers: These sessions are included in the fall workshopping fee.

Writopia Community: We ask for $95 per hour for these sessions. However, honor-based sliding scale fee options and full scholarships are available as usual.

Writopia Lab is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that operates with limited resources, relying heavily on support from the community to sustain our programs. The fee applied to this session can be claimed as a donation on your taxes. Our nonprofit tax ID number is 26-0835350.

Last year 86 Writopia students submitted over 125 pieces, and this year we have almost three times as many young writers, so don't wait until December to set up an appointment! Read more!

Courtney and Writopia Writers in Publishers Weekly!

The following blurb appears this week in Publishers Weekly! Yay, Courtney!

Thinking ‘Positive’

On the other side of the river, the launch party for author Courtney Sheinmel’s new novel, Positively (S&S, Sept.), was also held last Sunday, at Books of Wonder in Manhattan. Positively tells the story of Emmy, an HIV-positive 13-year-old who has just lost her mother to AIDS; Sheinmel is donating a portion of proceeds from the book to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Sheinmel read from and signed copies of Positively at the event, which also featured a performance by 13-year-old singer/songwriter Jessarae. Here, Sheinmel signs copies of her book for a group of her students from the Writopia Lab, where she teaches fiction writing to aspiring authors.

And here is the rest of it.

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Writopia Lab Fall News!

We had a wonderful summer of workshopping and are gearing up for the fall. Some important, exciting news:

Fall Schedule
The Fall Workshop schedule is posted online. Workshops begin Monday, September 21st!! Kids join throughout the semester but register soon to make sure there is a spot for your child!

New Conveniences
You can register and pay for workshops online! If you haven't ever mailed up a registration form or registered online, please fill out our new online registration form at www.writopialab.org/sign-up.html. While checks are still preferred, you can now use your credit card or PayPal account to pay for all workshops and memberships at .

New Tax Benefits
We obtained our 501(c)3 status! This means that the amount paid for a workshop above $175 can be claimed as a tax deduction. For example, if you pay $525, you can claim $350 as a donation. This applies to all workshops you've taken in the past, too, and yes, you can file for the deduction retroactively! For our tax ID, please e-mail Jeremy.

New Forms of Writing Support
Writopia teachers will be available to work privately with 8th graders, helping them prepare for the essay component of high school tests. They will also be available to help high school seniors prepare their college essays. And we are thrilled to announce that Writopia Fellow, Courtney Zoffness, who taught at Yale through spring 2009, and currently is a professor of creative writing at Allegheny College, will serve as an adviser (free of charge) to Writopia alumni and Writopia high school seniors transitioning to the college writing and publishing scene.

New Location
We are in the process of negotiating a lease for our new, permanent Upper West Side location. If all goes well, workshops this year will be held on West 81st Street, between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues. (We may also run a few workshops at our summer location, 550 West 110th street. Please inquire.)

New Challenges
Like everyone else, we were hit hard by this recession. We are growing in numbers, but but more and more families are choosing to pay reduced fees. If you can, please help us get through this challenging time by making a tax-deductible donation to Writopia Lab. Thank you so much.

Let Us Hear From You!
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or any special requests. Read more!

Summer 2009 Comes to an End....

And here is the rest of it.

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And here is the rest of it.

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This Saturday: Writopia Hosts an Open Mic at Morningside Heights Library!

Writopia Lab will be running a three-hour intensive workshop this Saturday,

August 8th from 12:30pm-3:30pm and an open mic from 3:30pm-4:30pm at Morningside Heights Public Library at 113th Street and Broadway !

This event is free and open to the public! Come write and read with us!

Please email Jeremy@WritopiaLab.org to RSVP or for more information.

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Celebrating Writopia Out-of-Towners!

Last week, in celebration of three kids--Gabi Hoberman, Gaby Font, and Nick Hornedo--who came respectively from Georgia, Texas, and Indiana to workshop with us, we held a special summer reading at Writopia 550! All of their workshop peers were also invited to read excerpts from their pieces to an audience of friends and family. Congratulations to all who participated in workshops, and especially to chose who reached their workshop goals! It was an amazing week of action-packed thrillers and poetic fables...

And here is the rest of it.

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