Léna Roy
Chief of Education and Program Innovation
Léna has been part of the Writopia world since 2009 and has been working with kids and teens in New York City's northern suburbs since 2010. In 2018, she launched our pre-college program for teens, Creative Portfolio, which became national in 2020. From 2014 to present, Léna has been recognized by the Scholastic Awards "as an outstanding educator whose dedication, commitment, and guidance are represented by student work selected for national honors." Léna earned her BA from Barnard and her MA in Drama Therapy from NYU. Mentoring has long been the connective tissue in Léna's life, whether through her work with at-risk adolescents as a creative arts therapist; or through her own writing discipline, as fostered by her late grandmother, author Madeleine L'Engle, teaching her to transform the solitary nature of writing into a sacred sense of community, where her art and the art of others can flourish. Léna is the author of Edges (FSG), and several essays and books including co-authoring Becoming Madeleine, a Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters.
Justin Allen
Instructor
Justin Allen is excited to be an instructor at Writopia Lab. Justin is the author of two novels, Slaves of the Shinar and Year of the Horse. He is also the author of three plays. Murder at the Masque: The Casebook of Edgar Allen Poe and Gilbert and Sullivan, The Ballet! were both commissioned and produced by Dances Patrelle. The Beatitudes was commissioned by Eidolon Ballet in Concert and was produced for the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival. Justin is curently formulating a new script, which he wants to call Superhero: The Legend of the Lightning Defender. Justin earned his MFA at Columbia University and studied Comic Book Scripting at the Savannah College of Art and Design. He loves fantasy and science-fiction, mystery and alternate history, love stories and comic books, and he adores work that defies classification. He has taught writing as a part of the Columbia Writing Workshops at Bank Street College of Education, led a seminar focusing on graphic novels and comic books at Bethesda Academy, and spent years as a children's ballet master in New York City. He looks forward to reveling weekly in the work of the talented and creative young writers that make Writopia Lab a special place.
Joe Wallace
Volunteer Mentor
Joe, who will be joining Writopia Lab as a volunteer writing mentor, is the author of three novels; nonfiction books on science, natural history, and baseball; and a bunch of mystery short stories. He's also worked as a mentor for writing students (everything from middle schoolers through adults) for many years, and may love that part of his life the most. He lives in Westchester with his family, which currently includes two kittens and a patient old dog.
Ivory Butler
Instructor
Ivory Butler is delighted to be on the Writopia Lab team! Ivory first discovered her love of writing in elementary school when she was tasked with writing a short story that soon evolved into a 50-page novella, and she has adored writing ever since. Throughout her teenage years, Ivory took workshops at Writopia Lab and won golden keys for her poetry in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a B.A. in Creative Writing and Literature and an M.A. in Child and Adolescent Development. Currently, Ivory is represented by Brent Taylor of Triada Literary Agency and her young adult murder mystery novel is on submission to publishers. Her master's thesis on sensory processing disorder and her undergraduate conference paper on mother-infant attachment can be found on Sarah Lawrence College’s Digital Commons. Ivory loves to help young writers feel more confident in themselves and in their writing. She hopes to help young writers at Writopia Lab find joy in the written word.
Michael Kozlowsky
Instructor
Michael Paul Kozlowsky is thrilled to be a part of Writopia Lab. He is the author of Scarecrow Has a Gun. His children's novels, written as M.P. Kozlowsky, include Juniper Berry and The Dyerville Tales from HarperCollins, and Frost and Rose Coffin from Scholastic Press. His writing has appeared on The No Sleep Podcast, and in Passages North, Pulp Lit, Miracle Monocle, and The Inquisitive Eater, among others. He hopes to instill his love and passion for all forms of literature in the next generation of writers at Writopia Lab.
Fletcher Weiss
Instructor
Fletcher Weiss is psyched to be joining the Writopia Team! Fletcher is a writer and educator from Providence, Rhode Island. There, he worked as a school librarian and ran an after-school creative writing program before relocating to New York to pursue an MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Sarah Lawrence College. His work has appeared in Stranger Stories, Various Places, and Dispatches From the End of the World.
Just For Fun
Have a birthday? Party with us! Have your very own Writopia Lab Birthday Party.
Check out our online store and take a piece of Writopia Lab home with you!
What's Hot?
Writopia Lab's 2026 Gala!
- Join us on April 20th for our annual gala!
School Year Programs
- Enroll now in Winter Trimester and Spring Trimester workshops.
- Register for Half-Day workshops during school breaks.
Summer Programs
Join the Team!
If you love writing and want to share that love with young writers, apply today to join Writopia Lab! Click here to learn more!
Enroll Now!
Weekly Trimester-Long Workshops
Check out the Weekly Trimester-Long Schedule.
Holiday & School Break Workshops
Check out the Half-Day and Full-Day schedules.