about uS
#TeenWritersProject creates space where young people can write boldly, think critically, and discover the power of storytelling to shape their future.
our mission. our promise.
Our mission is to provide a collaborative and engaging space for high school teens to write, be published, and get paid.
Platform
Every teen deserves a place to share their story with local, national, and global audiences. We've built that platform.
Published
We do more than celebrate teen voices. We publish creative writing and journalism in print, online, and through digital media.
Paycheck
Teen voices have economic value. We hire teens and we compensate contributors because we believe in what they create.
Pipeline
Writing is a career. Through workforce development, mentorship, internships, and alumni, we build pathways that last beyond high school.
AT #TWP, WE HAVE BUILT A 4P LITERARY ECOSYSTEM.
every story startS somewhere
#TeenWritersProject began with a 17-year-old girl who wanted to be a writer really bad but she did not have a platform, access, or permission to pursue her dream. That girl was our founder, delmetria millener.
Thirty years later, in the middle of her successfuly writing career, she decided to become a high school English teacher and soon found out that nothing had changed. Teens still didn’t have a platform, access, or opportunities to write!
So, in 2019, #TeenWritersProject became her promise to the next generation of storytellers: if they wanted to use their voices, she would be their microphone. Today, #TeenWritersProject is more than a nonprofit. It is a movement.
Hear from the teens and the founder behind #TeenWritersProject.
see the movement in motion
meet delmetria millener
delmetria millener is the founder and Executive Director of #TeenWritersProject. A professional writer, journalist, copywriter, and editor with more than three decades of experience, she has also spent more than 14 years teaching high school English, including AP and IB, and OnRamps Rhetoric through The University of Texas at Austin. She is also an instructor at Dallas College.
She serves as Executive Director of The Writer’s Block, Inc. and is the founder of 3rd Person Press, an independent publishing imprint committed to publishing teen writers.
delmetria was selected as a 2025–26 United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Social Innovation Accelerator Fellow. Her work has been featured by The Dallas Morning News, CBS Texas, Book Riot, and New America. She continues to teach because the classroom is where this work started, and she has never stopped believing that it is where change happens.
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“The future of our workforce depends on highly skilled writers and storytellers who can communicate across generations, cultures, and industries.”
— delmetria millener
Finance Manager
Shankrelyn Combs-Walker
Digital Content Editor
Shunta Spencer
Program Director
Dr. Kaevyn Lei Maple
Copy Editor
Azure Arther
Executive Director
delmetria millener
Board Member
Shunta Spencer
Board Chairman
Jiles King II
Board Member
Afi George
literary activists
#TeenWritersProject is powered by a collaborative mastermind team of educators, researchers, writers, creatives, editors, mentors, and community advocates. Our programs are co-led by the teens and emerging adults we serve.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
staff
ADVISORS
Bert Adams, TheBarbersBrand
Program Development
Ann Fields, The Writer's Block, Inc.
President Emeritus
Risha Grant, Risha Grant, LLC
Business Development
Michelle Singer, Stir Media
Strategy and Commercial Viability
Our Editorial Board
Our Editorial Board brings together High School-to-Hire teens ages 14–19, College-to-Career emerging adults ages 20–29, and volunteers. Together, they help produce #TWP publications, journalism, media, and creative content through paid and volunteer opportunities.
IN THE PRESS
DALLAS DOING GOOD
#TeenWritersProject gears up for North Texas Giving Day and Dallas Doing Good helps get the word out - READ MORE.
UNITED WAY DALLAS
2026 Social Innovation Pitch Finalist and $25,000 grant recipient - HEAR THE PITCH.
dallas morning news
Inspiration meets innovation at United Way's The Pitch - READ MORE.
cbs news texas
Mesquite High School teacher keeps the art of writing alive: 11 Days of Giving - READ MORE.
