Creative Portfolio for Teen Writers

The Creative Portfolio program places an emphasis on understanding how writing in a variety of forms (narrative, poetry, memoir, script) enriches and informs every writer. These workshops challenge teen writers to set and achieve writing goals: completing multiple well-developed, polished pieces in different genres throughout the school year.

In-person and online options are available.

By building a community of teen writers connected via their literary passions and having lots of fun, we empower students as peer leaders, developing skills in writing, editing, analysis, and effective communication.

Application Only

• Please include a writer’s statement (500-650 words) demonstrating commitment and an eagerness to be challenged, a 5-page writing sample, and a teacher recommendation.
  

  Apply Here!

Participation in the school-year Creative Portfolio program includes:

• 33 weekly workshop sessions over the school year
• Six monthly online Master Classes on Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:30 PM Eastern Time, 4:00 to 5:30 PM Pacific Time (genres subject to change):
• October 5th, 2023: Nature Writing
• November 2nd, 2023: Food Writing
• January 11th, 2024: Fine-tuning Dialogue
• Feb 8th, 2024: Social Justice Roundtable led by our Turning the Page teens
• March 7th, 2024: Stand-up Comedy
• April 11th, 2024: Stories in Verse
• May 9th, 2024: Conversation with agent/editor/publishing professional
• One five-hour online Submissions Prep workshop
• We offer THREE Submission Prep workshops that your writer may choose from. If they’d like to attend more than one, they are able to register and pay the tuition for the other days. Choose from
• Scholastic Awards Submissions Prep workshops before the Scholastic deadline in early December, 2023
• Publishing Prep workshop in April, 2024
• Writers will learn about different avenues for publishing both short and long-form work. Attendees will work with our instructors in small groups on developing, deepening, and submitting their work to their chosen venues. There will also be informational Q&A sessions with professionals in the field.
• Two hours of one-on-one Portfolio Review sessions between the writer and their instructor to be taken at any point during the school year.
• A bound copy of the Creative Portfolio Yearbook — an anthology of writing curated by Creative Portfolio teens.
• Option (for an extra fee) to attend the Creative Portfolio Retreat in the Spring of 2024. Location TBD.

Creative Portfolio members will be expected to:

• Be challenged to explore new genres
• Attend peer community events
• Read weekly communications every Tuesday from Director of Teen Programs with relevant information, reminders, sign ups and planning
• Take the opportunity to complete an Internship — strongly recommended for Creative Portfolio Teens 10th grade and up
• Participants commit to completing at least one trimester-long assistant teaching internship during the school year under the supervision of a workshop instructor OR
• Join a committee for the school year, such as
• Turning the Page: a social justice committee that plans round tables and curates an anthology
• Editorial Internship: working with Writopia Lab’s lit mags
• Community and Literary Event Committee: meeting bi-weekly to help plan and organize regional in-person meetups and events including field trips
• Teen Writers Summit: helping organize a literary panel of professionals for teens in the fall
• Yearbook: organizing a Creative Portfolio yearbook as a spring project

Creative Portfolio Tuition

• Payment for this school-year-long commitment can be made one of two ways:
• Pay at the beginning of the school year (with a discount)
• For families who choose to pay in one sum for the whole school year, the fee is $2,550 (compared to a $2,800 value), and can be paid before we start in September.
• Pay at the beginning of every trimester
• For families who need to make payment once per trimester, or wish to use our sliding scale, please reach out to register@writopialab.org. Everyone is able to participate in Writopia Lab programs, despite economic constraints.

Make-Up Policy

Creative Portfolio writers are expected to commit to their workshop time throughout the school year and there are no make-ups for absences. However, as we are a national community and Creative Portfolio workshops are online, we are able to make some exceptions if you have a schedule change/conflict. If you have another extracurricular that will absent you from three or more workshop sessions, we can work with you if we are given ample notice.