CAREER DEVELOPMENT & LEADERSHIP TRAINING
We teach teen writers the business of being a writer.
Join our team! You are not too young to work in writing and publishing. Our organization provides highly collaborative and creative career development opportunities for teens to gain experience in leadership, life skill development, community service, and reading, writing, social, emotional, and cultural literacy.
We break cycles of generational poverty.
Our volunteers learn transferable skills including storytelling, smart decision-making, collaborating, prioritizing, active listening, interviewing, financial literacy, communications, career management, relationship-building, and engaging with the community.
We exist as a building block of support to help teen writers live successfully and independently using their skill, talent and creativity in a nontraditional career.
We exist as a building block of support to help teen writers live successfully and independently using their skill, talent and creativity in a nontraditional career.
Our 3 Focus Areas: Platform. Paycheck. Pipeline.
When teens leave this program, they will have a:
Platform (building visability): they will have opportunities to write and be published in a variety of ways and learned how to develop their storytelling style, adapt their writing to fit target audiences or employers, write across platforms, and access job leads as professional storytellers while still in high school.
Paycheck (getting paid for your work): the knowledge, skills, and access to effectively start a career as a writer, smoothly transition into adulthood, and turn employment challenges into executable, profitable plans are all part of how teens will be able to earn money as professional writers.
Pipeline (support for teens through adulthood): through our adult writing organization, publishing company, alumni program, and relationship building, we make sure we train and mentor young writers beyond their teens.
Platform (building visability): they will have opportunities to write and be published in a variety of ways and learned how to develop their storytelling style, adapt their writing to fit target audiences or employers, write across platforms, and access job leads as professional storytellers while still in high school.
Paycheck (getting paid for your work): the knowledge, skills, and access to effectively start a career as a writer, smoothly transition into adulthood, and turn employment challenges into executable, profitable plans are all part of how teens will be able to earn money as professional writers.
Pipeline (support for teens through adulthood): through our adult writing organization, publishing company, alumni program, and relationship building, we make sure we train and mentor young writers beyond their teens.
We help balance your narrative.
YOU'LL GET
- Experience: working, collaborating and leading with other teens and adults
- Letter of recommendation: when it's time to apply for college or work
- Free Access: to all our events or events we're hosting/presenting
- Volunteerism: verification of hours for community service
- Portfolio: help with your bio, resume and/or digital porfolio
- Promotion: win a contest? on the honor roll? got a new car? Tell us, we'll promote it
- Publication: your work will be published in our Lit Zine
- Community: network and connect with other like-minded teen writers
- Tenure: automatically become a member of our Alumni Network
WE NEED
- Time Management: can you juggle school, work, writing, home and your social life?
- Communication: can you be reached and respond easily and quickly?
- Accountability: can you commit to completing tasks or communicating issues?
- Enthusiasm: are you willing to learn and share skills, knowledge and responsibilities?
- Teamwork: can you work productively and professionally with other team members from around the world?
- Flexibility: are you flexible in a crunch, if necessary, to meet deadlines or help out?
“I am working with #TeenWritersProject because it’s the only space I’ve found that caters to my distinct interests while allowing me to steer the organization itself.” —Lakshmi, former #TWP Intern
📌MORE BENEFITS!⤵
High School-to-Hire Program
The High School-to-Hire (H2H) Program is your next step after the Editorial Board! Get real-world writing experience, mentorship, and even paid opportunities as you transition into the professional world.
- Freelance Writing Projects: work on paid and published content.
- Career Connections: learn from professionals in writing and publishing.
- Portfolio and Resume-building: gain experience that makes your work stand out.
How it Works?
- Start as a Teen Writers Project Editorial Board Member.
- Meet participation and skill benchmarks.
- Apply for paid writing opportunities through H2H.
Who Can Apply?
- Current Editorial Board members who want real-world writing experience, are looking to build a portfolio, and to obtain industry mentorships.
This work was made possible through the support of the Grantmakers for Girls of Color, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
