Our chapbook from Benjamin Banneker

This June we held two book launches / readings for our youth workshops at Benjamin Banneker Academy (BBA) and Brooklyn East Collegiate Middle School (BEAST).

Our workshop at Benjamin Banneker Academy just published their 4th chapbook, To the Allies: Poetry + Prose by GUMBO. For 4 years in a row we have been collaborating with the incredible folks at Apogee Journal at this workshop. It was a more intimate affair where the contributors, and their friends, read in front of one another. Introducing each other with such positivity and admiration. There was even a mini-workshop session as well, further celebrating their spectacular writing.

At our workshop at Brooklyn East Collegiate Middle School, they celebrated their 3rd chapbook, My Ancestors Told Me…: Writing from the Students at Brooklyn East Collegiate Middle School with a school assembly where they took the stage and read in front of an auditorium of their own peers. We couldn’t be prouder of them getting up in front of so many and being cheered on.

Our chapbook from Brooklyn East Collegiate Middle School

Thank you so much to our workshop leaders: Chris Prioleau at BBA, and Shanté Cozier and Carla Jeanpierre at BEAST. Also a big thanks to Cecca Ochoa and Joey De Jesus from Apogee for all they’ve done at the workshop at BBA.

To see more photos from the book launch at BBA, click here. Click here to see photos from the event at BEAST. We would also like to take the time to thank council member Laurie Cumbo & the NY Council on the Arts for making both workshops possible through the funding we get from their arts initiatives.

If you would like to order a copy of either chapbook (or both), please email us at info@nywriterscoalition.org. By ordering directly through us, all proceeds will go directly to funding our workshops throughout the city. You can also directly donate to our youth writers program by clicking here.

Another reminder, we do have numerous free public creative writing workshop for youth and adults. If you’re interested, check out all that’s being offered this summer, here. We hope to see you there with something to write with in tow. You never know, you just might see your name and work in our next chapbook! 

Here’s an excerpt from To the Allies:

Between by Adetiloro Ibitoye

Between a rock and the spiny place / Being crushed between heaven and other place / Between life and death ghosts a cohorts / Between a bottle and the gun / nursing something I knew never did know / Between government and helping hand / Reusing grease for the pan’s battery / Between a revolving door / a peasant. and a queen / My royal skirt, a pair of dungarees / Between a lung and the puncture of the lunge / Drowning in someone’s blood / or my own never did know which one / Between the horrible clap of thunder before the lightning / Never knowing when it will be then / Between a verb and a noun / Making myself something while being nothing / Between a bell and a press / Trying to be a bigger sound / But / I know now / It’s all the same / It’s all the same

Here’s an excerpt from My Ancestors Told Me…:

Magic by Amelia DeVerteuil

Did you believe in magic? Because it doesn’t look so. You haven’t changed our world. There is still criticism and by that, I mean discrimination. They haven’t changed at all. We cannot repeat history, where white was said to be pure and black was only ominous. When can it be equal? Why must they be privileged, while we hope for change? Why is it about skin? We must act sooner now. Do you believe in magic?

The start of NYWC’s Fort Greene Summer Youth Program* is right around the corner-and we’re in our 14th year! The program is a fun-filled six-week series of Saturday morning creative writing workshops, in Fort Greene Park, for kids and teens around New York City. The workshops serve 6-12 year olds and teens in separate, dynamic and innovative writing groups designed to create a safe space for young writers to explore their imaginations and dive into different genres of writing.

There is also a reading circle for parents/guardians-we consider this the lowest pressure “book club” you’ll ever be a part of. You’ll have a chance to read, examine and discuss numerous short stories-all while the kids and teens are nearby writing.

On the following Saturday, August 18th, we will hold our 14th Annual Fort Greene Park Summer Literary Festival (LitFest). Yes, we’re back this year and the festival will take place in a new venue, Roulette (509 Atlantic Ave). LitFest is our culmination event, where we celebrate the writing produced throughout the summer. The kids and teens will take the mic and read alongside some well-known and up-and-coming writers. 

The Summer Youth Program and Literary Festival provides a means for self-expression and creativity for the youth while increasing the accessibility to the Arts and Literature for all. We hope you and the young writers in your life will join us for this annual Brooklyn literary tradition. Find out even more HERE.

Workshops will take place Saturdays at 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM in Fort Greene Park.

Here are the following dates the program will meet:

• July 7th — START OF PROGRAM
• July 14th
• July 21st
• July 28th
• August 4th
• August 11th — END OF PROGRAM
• August 18th — FORT GREENE PARK SUMMER LITERARY FESTIVAL 2018

REGISTER NOW!

*NOTE: There is a $25 registration fee per child. Email us at info@nywriterscoalition.org regarding any questions.

Young Readers from our 2016 Fort Greene Summer Literary Festival

We’re excited to welcome our Spring 2018 cohort to NYWC’s workshop leader community: Cata Elena Elisabeth, James Peele, Cory Schneider, Anthony Vasquez, Sasha Warner-Berry, & Kip Zegers.

After an extensive interview process, these talented writers and activists were chosen for NYWC’s spring training and are already getting to work facilitating our signature creative writing workshops in New York City. Meet NYWC’s Spring 2018 Workshop Leader Cohort:

CATA ELENA ELISABETH is a mixed-race xicana queer from L.A., California. As a cultural producer, writer, and artist–Cata believes in the power of visionary fiction, as described by Walidah Imarisha, to change our world by challenging ourselves to create the world we want to see. Cata is also a passionate girls empowerment activist through a bike education group they launched called BiCi, which currently operates in Bushwick, NY.

JAMES PEELE has been a writer for over 10 years. He was a participant of NYWC workshops for six years before becoming a workshop leader himself. The author of After an Eon, a collection of short stories, James is currently working on the second part: After an Eon and Beyond. He is also working on a cookbook with his sister and is collaborating with a fellow Andrew Heiskell Library participant on an action novel. As a visually impaired writer James believes that if he can do it, everyone can. He considers himself an enigma wrapped in a riddle, as an author who cannot read or write. James lives in Brooklyn, NY.

CORY SCHNEIDER is a teacher and writer living in Brooklyn. By day, he teaches middle school English in Manhattan. By night (or weekends…or whenever), he writes short fiction and personal essays. He’s worked in the social justice space of education for several years, developing programming that helps students and schools build partnerships with nonprofit organizations. In a previous life, he worked in publishing. Since then, he realized he’s better off writing books and not editing others’.

ANTHONY VASQUEZ is a Brooklyn native and self-employed dog walker. When he isn’t busy spending time with his furry pals, he enjoys a good brisket sandwich, writing poetry, and trying the latest DIY project.

SASHA WARNER-BERRY is a poet and fiction writer from Cambridge, MA. She has a background in community organizing and adult education, and currently works in hospitality. She lives in Brooklyn, NY. 

KIP ZEGERS is from Chicago, educated at John Carroll University and Northwestern University. He was a VISTA volunteer living and working in Central Harlem from 1966-67 and then attended Union Theological Seminary, applied for and received Conscientious Objector status.He has published four full length volumes and six chapbooks, most recently The Poet of Schools, Dos Madres Press, 2013 and The Pond in Room 318, Dos Madres, 2015. He taught at Hunter College H. S., a public high school for gifted students, for 33 years, and his work continues to grow out of New York City, school, and kids.

Think you’d like to join NYWC’s ranks as a Workshop Leader?
Learn more about the position here – and sign up for our newsletter
to receive updates and alerts about NYWC’s upcoming Fall 2018 Workshop Leader Trainings.

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Greetings NYWCers!

Over the next four weeks of our Spring Membership Drive, we’ll be introducing you to a range of writers with different connections to our work. This includes workshop members, leaders, and NYWC donors, all of whom will be speaking on how NY Writers Coalition has impacted their lives. We’re also going to tell you how you can best support NYWC and our community during this incredibly vital time. We need your continued support to keep our programs going.

We’re asking for recurring donations to keep hearts and pages full all across the city. Any amount will do — even as little as $5 or $10 a month helps. Because of our small size and large reach, each and every donation to NYWC goes a long way in helping to fulfill our mission.

Check out our community spotlights!

• Click here to read post #1 w/ a community spotlight on NYWC Donor, Donna Tallent!
• Click here to read post #2 w/ a community spotlight on our workshop for teens at Benjamin Banneker Academy!
• Click here to read post #3 w/ a community spotlight on our workshop for patients undergoing opiate treatment at the Port Morris Wellness Center!
• Click here to read post #4 w/ a community spotlight on NYWC Workshop Leader, Rhonda Zangwill!

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Development Manager (P/T)

Application Deadline: June 4th, 2018

Application Start Date: June 27th, 2018

Position Overview

This is a part-time (18 hours/week) position. The Development Manager plays a key role in supporting all of NY Writers Coalition’s fundraising activities, including maintaining individual donors/major gifts, planning and implementing fundraising events, and growing our funding base.

You will be joining a staff of 5 who are deeply dedicated to our mission. We have a working environment that matches our philosophy of creating a positive space where people can be at their best. That being said, our organization provides extensive programming on a very limited budget so you will be asked to juggle many different duties, most likely including new responsibilities as needed. Thus, you will develop a wide range of skills.

This job is an opportunity to have an enormous impact on the work we do, and will help make NYC a more inclusive and just city. You will help expand our resources so we can serve even more people in our empowering and enriching creative writing programs.

Organization Overview

NY Writers Coalition Inc. (NYWC) empowers and enriches the lives of New Yorkers of all backgrounds and experiences through the art of creative writing. We are one of the largest community writing organizations in the country. In 2017, NYWC served more than 1,600 people in about 1,100 workshop session at 40 locations around New York City.

Participants in our free and low-cost writing workshops in New York City become part of a community of peers, present their work publicly through NYWC’s readings and publications, and connect with broader audiences. Our workshops are particularly targeted toward underserved people, including youth, seniors, women, LGBTQ communities, people living with disabilities, people who are incarcerated or have been incarcerated, and others from traditionally silenced groups.

Writing and sharing their work with others in a safe atmosphere of respect and acceptance, NYWC’s writers discover the power of their own stories, gain confidence and a stronger sense of self, and become part of a creative and socially conscious community. We encourage creative writing as a long-term practice in the lives of our constituents, developing an audience and recognition of individuals’ artistic and personal value. We believe that everyone has a voice and a story and that the world is a better place when we respect, deeply listen to, and honor all of its citizens.

We believe:

• Everyone is a writer, regardless of prior writing experience and formal education.
• Through encouragement and support, people grow as writers and artists.
• In the value of the uniqueness of every individual’s voice.
• Each person’s experiences are a source of strength and power as a writer and an artist.
• In creating and maintaining a non-judgmental, open and respectful community where everyone is encouraged to support and listen to each other and to take risks and grow as writers.
• Each person, through writing, can shape and influence the lives of others.
• We can achieve social change by providing access and opportunity for all writers, regardless of race, ethnicity, class, age, gender, sexual orientation and physical ability.

Position Responsibilites:

• Plan and execute year-end, major donor and other fundraising campaigns
• Manage all fundraising events, including an annual cocktail party, art auction, and the NYWC Write-A-Thon
• Process and record gifts, including monthly recurring gifts
• Manage transition from Donor Perfect donor database to Little Green Light
• Maintain ongoing relationships with donors
• Generate acknowledgement letters to donors
• Create lists and run reports of donors and donor prospects as directed
• Support NYWC volunteers, Board, and staff members in their fundraising efforts
• Write and proofread documents; ensure accuracy of distributed content
• Oversee Grants Calendar of application and report deadlines
• Prepare written grant reports and proposals
• Assisting with and representing NYWC at programmatic events, including readings and our annual Fort Greene Summer Literary Festival
• Gather and organize data for NYWC’s Annual Report
• Update NYWC website, Firstgiving page, and presence on other online platforms as needed
• Maintain NYWC online accounts with government and other funders
• Perform other general administrative duties and tasks as assigned

Essential Skills and Education/Expierence:

• Bachelor’s degree and at least 2 years of professional experience in an office environment, preferably with non-profit events and/or individual giving
• A high level of computer proficiency, and comfortable working with a wide range of applications (MS office, WordPress, social media, etc.)
• Donor Perfect, Little Green Light, or other donor database experience highly preferred.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Attention to detail and accuracy
• Ability to handle multiple tasks in an effective and professional manner
• Ability to work independently and as part of a small staff
• Enthusiasm about NYWC’s mission and programs and a belief in social justice and equity

Ideal Candidate: 

An ideal candidate will have a genuine enthusiasm for NYWC’s mission and beliefs, have a connection to social justice and racial equity issues, will be familiar with nonprofit settings, will relate to people in a positive and friendly manner, and will welcome being a part of a close-knit community of writers and activists. Excellent organization skills, attention to detail, and ability to multi-task and prioritize under pressure are highly valued.

NYWC has an ongoing commitment to the principles and practices of equity, diversity, and inclusiveness throughout our community and strongly encourages applications from candidates who would enhance NYWC’s diversity.

Salary
Approximately $22,000/year. Benefits include paid sick/vacation time and a flexible spending account.

How to Apply
To apply, send cover letter, resume, and (1) professional writing sample to aaron@nywriterscoalition.org, using the SUBJECT LINE: Development Manager

Application Deadline: Monday, June 4 but applications will be considered on a rolling basis, so it benefits you to apply as soon as possible.

Join us as we come together and Write Aloud

Created by NY Writers Coalition in 2003, our Writing Aloud Reading Series is a free event that unites NYWC’s community of writers and activists with prominent literary figures to share prose, poetry, and other writings in safe and inspiring places. Here’s how it works:

1. Listen and watch a performance by this month’s special guest, Chris Lilley
2. Receive a writing prompt from our guest writer.
3. WRITE.
4. Hit the mic!–if you want to. Feel free to just sit back and listen, too!

Monday, May 21st, at 5:00 PM at NYPL Morningside Heights (2900 Broadway, Manhattan)

This event is free and open to the public. All are welcome to write and share in this safe space.

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This month’s featured guest artist is Chris Lilley, a poet, spoken word artist, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.

Chris has performed as a featured artist in several famed venues across the country including the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, the Bowery Poetry Club, Union Square Slam, among others. He seeks to fuse music and poetry to create well-rounded and engaging stories with a focus on bringing mental health awareness to black, Christian, and otherwise marginalized communities.

He is a member of the Brooklyn Slam Team that placed second in the nation at the 2017 National Poetry Slam in Denver, Colorado.

His writing most often reflects his love for God, his love for blackness, and his love for the hurting. He says that his writing seeks to encompass everything that he is in its entirety. When he is not writing, he teaches music and voice lessons in inner city schools. His work has been featured in Artifact Nouveau, HoneyBeNatural Magazine, Rigorous Magazine, and the Chagrin River Review.

Chris is the author of The Quiet Way, as well as one chapbook entitled je suis noir [i am black], available now on Amazon.

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HOSTED BY

The New York Public Library

This event is FREE, wheelchair accessible and open to the public. All are welcome to write and share in this safe space. It will take place Monday, May 21st, @ 5:00 p.m. at NYPL Morningside Heights (2900 Broadway, Manhattan).

NYWC’s Fort Greene Summer Youth Program is now in it’s 14th year! It’s a fun, six-week series of free Saturday morning creative writing workshops for kids and teens around New York City. The workshops serve 6-12 year olds and teenagers in separate, dynamic and innovative writing groups designed to create a safe space for young writers to explore their imaginations and dive into different genres of writing. There is also a reading circle for parents/guardians where they will have a chance to read, examine and discuss numerous short stories-all while the kids and teens are nearby writing.

The following Saturday after the final writing workshop we will hold our 14th Annual Fort Greene Park Summer Literary Festival (LitFest). It will take place this year at Roulette. The festival is our culmination event, where we celebrate the writing produced throughout the summer. The kids and teens from the program will take the mic and read alongside some well-known and up-and-coming writers. 

The Summer Youth Program and Literary Festival provides a means for self-expression and creativity for the youth while increasing the accessibility to the Arts and Literature for all. We hope you and the young writers in your life will join us for this annual Brooklyn literary tradition. Find out even more HERE.

Workshops will take place Saturdays at 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM in Fort Greene Park.

Here are the following workshop dates:

• July 7th
• July 14th
• July 21st
• July 28th
• August 4th
• August 11th
• August 18th — FORT GREENE PARK SUMMER LITERARY FESTIVAL 2018

Registration will start this June … Stay tuned!

This April, we held our latest book launch at Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library for the chapbook, From Page to Page: Writing from Brooklyn Public Library Writing Workshops. The chapbook features poetry and prose from over 20 participants from our two ongoing workshops at the Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library and our past workshop at the Cortelyou Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.

Thank you so much to all who read and to our three amazing workshop leaders, Miguel Angeles, Ben Dolnick & Anna Pettus, for leading these workshops and really building a sense of community with your participants/published authors. To see more photos from the event, please click here.

Contact us at info@nywriterscoalition.org to order a copy directly from us. By directly ordering from us, all proceeds will go towards funding our creative writing workshops throughout the city. You can also order a copy through Amazon by clicking here. To read the book online for free, click here to do so.

Just a reminder we have various writing workshops happening every week throughout the city that are free and open to the public. Click here if you are interested in attending one. We hope to see you there with something to write with in tow. You never know, you just might see your name and work in our next chapbook!

We’re collaborating with Apogee Journal and with the generous support of the Brooklyn Arts Council, with a six week craft based writing and editing workshops: Writing Resistance 2.0. The workshops will be led by Apogee editors and contributors: t’ai freedom ford, Dennis Norris II, Yin Q, Raquel Salas Rivera, NYWC Program Director Timothy DuWhite, Joey De Jesus and Alexandra Watson. Staying true to Apogee’s mission of creating accessible and social engaging programming, these workshops will be affordable, inclusive, and attentive to the ways identity informs reading and writing practices. 

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES*

• Wednesday 5/2, 7:00 – 9:00 PM – t’ai freedom ford (From Process to Progress–A Poetry Writing Workshop)
• Saturday 5/5, 3:00 – 5:00 PM – Dennis Norris II (Style is Substance: A Fiction Writing Workshop)
• Wednesday 5/9, 7:00 – 9:00 PM – Yin Q (Writing as Spellcasting)
• Saturday 5/12, 2:00 – 4:00 PM – Raquel Salas Rivera (Decoloniality as Metaphor and Praxis)
• Wednesday 5/16, 7:00 – 9:00 PM – Timothy DuWhite (It’s A Family Affair: Preserving Ancestral Inheritance)
• Saturday 5/19, 2:00 – 4:00 PM – Joey De Jesus & Alexandra Watson (Radical Reaction)

*All classes will take place at our Conference Room in the 4th floor at 80 Hanson Pl, Brooklyn.

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND

Cost per class: $25

Scholarships are still available to attend individual classes. Click on the link below to fill out a form.

To register and find out more about each class and the incredible work Apogee does…

CLICK HERE

“We will know we have died when we can no longer make a fist.”
—Naomi Shihab Nye, Poet

Write to witness. Write to remember. Write to liberate. The writing hand is a fist formed to harness the power of creative potential. Incorporating a variety of healing practices and writing prompts, we will gather to cultivate community and celebrate our resilience, healing, and survival. Join us in Making a Fist, a self-care oriented writing workshop for people of color (POC).

This workshop is FREE and open to writers of all genres and experience levels. To ensure the safety of this space, please tell us a little about yourself via this pre-workshop survey. Upon completion, you will be contacted via email with the address of this Brooklyn workshop location and/or if NYWC staff has any questions about your registration form.

*****

Sára Abdullah

Making a Fist is led by NYWC Workshop Leader Sára Abdullah, an indigenous SWANA/Filipinx non-binary femme Muslima descended from nomadic dreamweavers, kitchen witches, tricksters, and storytellers. She honors those who came before and those who gather with her in circle through a life’s work in plant medicine, healing, magic, writing, and nurturing the creative spirit in herself and others. As a poet, storyteller, cultural organizer, and healing artist, she is committed to uplifting radical tenderness, (re)membering embodied knowledge, and building collective liberation.

Registration for this workshop is currently OPEN.

Please email our Program Director Timothy DuWhite at timothy@nywriterscoalition.org regarding any questions.