Young people who want to strengthen their writing skills are getting a big new opportunity in Oakland.<\/p>\n
Expanding from its San Francisco outpost, Writopia Lab<\/a>, 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cOakland felt very vibrant in its art community that already exists here,\u201d Martin said. \u201cWe really liked OakStop; we liked the culture that they\u2019re trying to create there of this huge art building for the community. It felt aligned with our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, the public library\u2019s youth poet laureate program<\/a>, and Oakland School for the Arts a few blocks away.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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\u2019s literary magazines<\/a> and essay anthologies.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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 \u201clanguage play,\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEven 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 workshops,\u201d Martin told The Oaklandside. \u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019t afford it, Martin said.\u00a0<\/p>\n