The Know (formerly The Knowledge Project), a literacy and mentoring organization that has developed a network of schools across the United States, launched I Write NY on Dec. 1. The initiative aims to motivate young writers to write and submit stories in response to online topical challenges. The goal is to find, acknowledge, and support the newest generation of talented, young writers through mentoring and classes and potentially get their writing published.
I Write NY offers writing classes on Saturdays and Sundays for middle and high school students, with plans to offer 90-minute sessions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays after school at various locations beginning in the new year.
The Know's mentors and coaches are authors and writing experts who aim to help young people find their personal voice and encourage them to use it in writing. The sessions will tackle different types of writing, and the strongest work will be published or read aloud at a publicized reading by an actor or performer who will present the piece.
“[Imagination] is inherent in all of us,” says Meg Hunnewell, who runs The Know. “Sometimes it gets tucked away if you have a very rigorous, structured kind of childhood. However, children innately have imaginations, imagine ‘what if,’ and are curious. That’s a part of our lives we should never lose. That allows us to pull ourselves up from when we’ve had a failure, pull ourselves up when we’re having a rough time emotionally, pull ourselves up in terms of a situation where we’re not really sure how to advance but we can use our imagination to think of the what if’s, the possibilities.”
I Write NY invites young people to ask questions, see stories everywhere, craft characters, and keep a journal and the program walks them through the methodology of doing so. With time and practice, they will find their voice, says Hunnewell.
“It’s a really wonderful thing when they find their passion for something. They really go to town with it and take it even further than the coach thinks they were going to be able to,” says Hunnewell.
The Know is currently getting an online makeover, and a new website with its new name will be live soon.
Main Image: Sue Trott, world class copywriter of Boscia-Trott Studio guides an AdWorks creative team of young writers.
Courtesy The Know
