2023 Youth Essay Writing Conference:

A Celebration of Critical Thinking Across Disciplines

Writopia’s 2023 youth essay writing conference will be held both online and in-person.

Our in-person conferences will be held in New York City and Washington, DC on Sunday, February 12th, 2023 from 2 PM to 5 PM EST.

Our online conference will be held on Saturday, February 11th, 2023, from 1 PM to 4 PM EST/10 AM to 1 PM PST.

The Conference welcomes the next generation to share their ideas, passions, and research with their peers and the community at large.

Submissions for our 2023 conference are closed.

Featured Panels

Autonomy

Democracy, freedom, independence - these are terms that we hear often. They are ideals that have been, and continue to be, sought after. Now more than ever autonomy has come to the forefront of numerous discussions from the personal to the political. There is a point where we allow for governance and to self-govern, but what happens when there is disagreement? When should governing bodies and authority figures, including family and teachers, have agency and when should we have agency over ourselves? What is autonomy to you? How do you maintain autonomy? Are there situations where you should relinquish it?

Pop Culture/Fandom

Pop culture unites society in our joy for entertainment through music, television, film, video games, the internet, and social media. It’s part of our everyday conversations, elicits interpersonal connections, shows us how the world reacts to new ideas, and influences trends. In what ways do you think society has benefited from, or has been hindered by, pop culture influences? How does pop culture influence government, politics, education, and art? Is pop culture art? What can we learn from pop culture influence and the way the world interacts through pop culture?

Other Panels

The themes are formed organically from a pool of critical essays we have received from writers from all over the country. Some of our past panels and panels we hope to host during our 2023 conference are listed below:

• Literature/Film/Media/Music/The Arts
• Science/Technology
• Philosophy/Religion
• Current Events
• History
• Race/Culture/Gender
• Call to Action!
• Traditions and Rituals
• and more!