We offer free evening and weekend workshops designed to foster creativity, strengthen writing skills, and provide students with a forum for executing projects they might not otherwise have the support to undertake. Workshops range from the playful to the practical, and all are taught by volunteer writers, artists, educators, and publishing professionals.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to increased demand, enrollment for workshops are now determined by lottery. Once you have signed up for a workshop, please look for an email from workshops@826nyc.org, verifying that we have received your request. If you have not heard from us after 48 hours, feel free to call.
Our workshops are limited enrollment and often generate wait lists. With this in mind, please only sign up if you can make every session of a workshop. Thank you!
From Trashy Pop Culture to Literary Short Fiction
3 Tuesday sessions: December 6, 13, 20
6-8pm
Taught by Merrill Feitell
Ages 14-18, limited to 8 students
From the pathos of People Magazine, to the glory stories of Rolling Stone, in this course, we will mine stories from popular consumer magazines and transform such grandiose instances of human drama into literary short fiction. Impossible? Not at all. With in-depth consideration of character, literary conflict can always be found--even in the celebrity spectacles of the season.
Puppetmasters: The Secret Life of Socks
3 Sunday sessions: December 4, 11, 18
12-2pm
Taught by Lindsey Moore, Anna Carey, Martha Mihalick, John Ness & Krista Overby
Ages 6-8, limited to 8 students
Sock it to me! Come transform a seemingly ordinary sock into an extraordinary puppet (no strings attached). In three weeks, we'll make our own sock puppets, write a puppet show, and perform it to an audience of our toughest critics (parents!). This workshop is guaranteed to knock your socks off.
Note to parents: Your presence will be requested on December 18th from 1:30-2:00 p.m.
Writing Blind
2 Tuesday sessions: November 22, 29
6-8pm
Taught by Porter Fox
Ages 14-18, limited to 6 students
This workshop will help writers access subconscious creativity. We will “action write” for up to ten minutes on descriptive and narrative themes, attempting to remove the filter between a writer’s mind and hand. Exercises include describing objects or colors, building a group story, and creating beginnings/endings for attendees to write toward. The point of this workshop is to make writers understand they don’t always have to know what they are writing about. It is possible to tap into a deeper source, let your pen go, write blind and see what happens—then perhaps shape the result into a story, poem or essay.
Other People's Music
3 Monday sessions: November 21, 28, December 5
6-8pm
Taught by 826NYC
Ages 10-14, limited to 10 students
Do you have better lyrics for your favorite song? If you know the secret meaning of a song better than the person who wrote it, this workshop is for you! We will take popular songs, and some that just need to be improved, and create new lyrics and meaning. No previous musical experience needed.
Who's Who Among Monsters, 2005
2 Sunday sessions: November 13, 20
12-2pm
Taught by 826NYC
Ages 6-9, limited to 8 students
Celebrate the year in monstrosity! Imagine the most imbecilic or fabricate the funkiest Monsters in this annual review! We will be honoring the cream of the crop in the field. Students will create profiles for creatures of their own design. Each profile will include likes, dislikes, a biography, and special facts or monster trivia. When the roster is complete, awards and honors will be bestowed to the scariest, grossest, or weirdest characters to come out of the deliberations. Come join us as we reminisce over which monsters made the year memorable.
Sticky Stories: Caramel Apples Come to Life
1 Sunday session: October 30
12-2pm
Taught by Krista Overby & Liz Coen
Ages 6-8, limited to 10 students
Do you like to sit at the dinner table turning your spaghetti and meatballs into boiling lava pits or your french fries into intrepid explorers? Do your parents tell you to stop playing with your food and start eating your vegetables? If so, then this workshop is for you!
We are looking for creative kids who can turn any meal into a blockbuster. We will start by making a favorite autumn treat, caramel apples. Then we will bring those apples to life and put into words a story that will knock your socks off.
