Young people who want to strengthen their writing skills are getting a big new opportunity in Oakland.
Expanding from its San Francisco outpost, Writopia Lab, a nonprofit run by published authors and produced playwrights, has moved into Oakstop at 1721 Broadway this summer. Enrollment is open now for summer and fall programming. Youth from ages 4 to 18 can attend workshops on creative writing, debate, college admissions essay writing, and poetry.
The expansion to Oakland comes after the organization paused programming in the Bay Area during the pandemic, said Shanille Martin, the San Francisco regional manager.
“Oakland felt very vibrant in its art community that already exists here,” Martin said. “We really liked OakStop; we liked the culture that they’re trying to create there of this huge art building for the community. It felt aligned with our mission.”
Oakstop is a coworking space with several locations in Oakland. In addition to hosting events, it also showcases work by local artists. With the move, Writopia is joining a robust creative youth literary arts scene in the Town that includes Chapter 510 in Old Oakland, the public library’s youth poet laureate program, and Oakland School for the Arts a few blocks away.
Writopia offers weeklong day camps during the summer and afterschool programs throughout the school year. Most of the workshop instructors are writers who have published short stories, poetry, and essays. Writopia workshop participants also have the opportunity to have their work published in the organization’s literary magazines and essay anthologies.
The workshops are small, with three to eight kids, and organized by age. The youngest writing group, for ages 4 to 6 years old, starts with a program the organization calls “language play,” which helps them with their motor skills and feeling more comfortable writing while learning the elements of a story. Older youth can choose from a range of programs and activities that include role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons and debate.
“Even though we do approach all of our programs through a creative lens, we do have more academic-based programs like college essay writing, and we also run political activism workshops,” Martin told The Oaklandside. “But the heart of what we do is creative writing. So even in debate, the kids have fun and creative games that they do to help prepare them for their speeches.”
Families must pay to enroll their kids in workshops, but Writopia accepts sliding scale rates and offers full or partial financial aid. No family will be turned away if they can’t afford it, Martin said.
To celebrate the organization’s opening in Oakland, Writopia Lab is offering 20 scholarships to East Bay youth ages 8 to 18, which will cover workshops for one full trimester. The deadline to apply is Friday, Sept. 4.
Correction: This story previously stated that the scholarship for East Bay residents would cover expenses of one school year. It will cover workshops for one trimester.
