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 a Doomed Planet: A Superhero Is Born
4 Wednesday sessions: February 29, March 7, 14, 21 (2012)
6-7:30pm
Taught by 826NYC
For ages 7-11
How did your friendly neighborhood superhero become the mask-wearing crime fighter he or she is today? Maybe he was sent to Earth to save us from an evil genius. Perhaps she had a run-in with some power-granting extraterrestrials. Or what if it all started with a rabbit bite? Over four sessions, we will explore the origins of superheroes and write an extraordinary back story for a vigilante of our own.
Publish the Greatest Story Never Told, 2012
5 Sunday sessions: January 29, February 12, 26, March 11, 25 (2012)
12-2pm
Taught by 826NYC
For high school students
New Yorker. High School Student. Published Author? At this workshop, you can be all three. Working side-by-side with professional writers, you'll explore your voice in an original short fiction or non-fiction work.
In these sessions you'll share your unique perspective on the life of an NYC student, and then see your story printed in a book. A real book, with an ISBN! No two stories are alike, and our final product will reflect the diverse experiences of people across the city.
The workshop is free and will meet in five sessions (with additional meetings to prepare our publication!). Each student must attend all sessions and complete any additional work required.
2012: A Time Odyssey
3 Wednesday sessions: January 11, 18, 25 (2012)
6-7:30pm
Taught by Susan Meyer and Susan Voelker
For ages 8-12
2012 doesn't seem that strange to us today, but imagine if you were a time traveler transported here from hundreds or thousands of years in the past or future. If you were a caveman, would you wonder if all the mammoths had been run over by taxis? Or if you were a businessman from 2213 would you question why everyone is walking around when they be teleporting? Help us develop a collection of stories that are about the past, present, and future all at once!
Dream Room: Extreme Makeover Edition
2 Sunday sessions: December 4, 11 (2011)
12-1:30pm
Taught by Gary Rudoren
For ages 6-9
Calling all budding (and seasoned) architects! This is the workshop you've been waiting for - a chance to re-imagine and re-construct the dreamiest version of your very own room. Want a bed made of chocolate for midnight snacking? Done! Want a bedroom whose corner is a real beach? Done! Want a robot to help you pick out your outfits each morning? Done!
In this workshop, you'll draw up with plans for the greatest room anyone could ever wish for. Better yet, your plans will come up with a super persuasive letter, which will convince the people in charge (your parents, the super, the mayor, the President?!) that this room *has* to happen. ASAP.
Every great room design starts with a great story. What's yours?
Please note that you must come to all sessions of this workshop.
Adaptation - With Puppets!
4 Tuesday sessions: November 30, December 6, 13, 20 (2011)
6-7:30pm
Taught by 826NYC
Calling all filmmakers, puppeteers, and storyboarders: We need you! Last month, students rewrote The Man in the Iron Mask. This month, we're adapting the story for the big screen! Join us to storyboard the screenplay, transform the characters into puppets, and film each scene. That's right: you'll play the roles of producer, director, and actor all at once!
Sign up now to bring this remade classic to life! Enrolled students are required to attend all four sessions of the workshop.
H. Mildew's Scary Story Factory
2 Sunday sessions: October 23, 30 (2011)
12-1:30pm
Taught by 826NYC
For ages 6-9
Have a scary or spooky story to tell? At this workshop, you'll get a chance to write it, publish it, and tell it - just in time for Halloween! We'll spend the first of two sessions writing scary, spooky, and creepy stories featuring brand new, original characters - maybe even ghosts!
By the end of this workshop, we'll have published our very own book. Just what will this latest, greatest, spooky, spectacular, Halloween-themed anthology hold? Sign up now to help us churn it out!
