The Telling Room
At The Telling Room, they work to empower youth through writing and share their voices with the world. As a literary arts education organization focused on young writers ages 6 to 18, they seek to build confidence, strengthen literacy skills, and provide real audiences for their students. They believe that the power of creative expression can change communities and prepare youth for success both now and in the future. Their fun, innovative writing and publishing programs support and encourage young people in the art of writing and self-expression. They provide school-based and afterschool writing enrichment programs year-round and statewide, offer professional development for educators, host acclaimed writers to give public readings and work with students, publish bestselling anthologies of student work, and carry out community-wide writing projects and events. Their skilled staff, volunteers, mentors, interns, ambassadors, and teaching artists—including celebrated writers, artists, and professionals—lend their curriculum the added weight of experience and real-world expertise. And they now look more and more to students and alumni to lend their insights to their work, even as they seek more ways to connect them to the wider world. Their diverse programs ignite young minds, spark community conversations, and make a positive impact on Maine youth, the adults who teach and care for them, and the community we all share.
The Telling Room has a press as well as classes, events, and mentorship for young writers - how would you describe The Telling Room's mission to someone learning about the organization for the first time?
At The Telling Room, we empower youth through writing and share their voices with the world. Our mission comes alive in many ways. A student might write a single poem in one of our in-school residencies, or a full-length novel in our after school programs. No matter the length of the work, we believe it’s never too early to uplift someone as a writer or support their growth as they find their voice and build their confidence. Publishing a young person’s writing in a tangible book is the next key step in what we do — which is to share those stories and voices — and creates an opportunity for those young writers to become authors and see their words in print. Alumni of our programs use the skills and courage they’ve developed at The Telling Room to make lasting, positive change, strengthening the communities where they live and learn.
We think our students say it best though, so here’s what one of our recent alums had to say about their time with us: “[The Telling Room] has helped me to use my voice for issues that matter. . . It helped me to understand that young people can accomplish big things and they’re never too young to succeed or be heard.” We couldn’t agree more.
What is the most exciting project currently underway?
Youth aren’t just who we publish, they also make editorial decisions throughout the publication process on our books. Right now our Publishing Workshop participants are in the midst of creating Stepping Stones, an anthology of writing by young authors ages 6 - 11 from across Maine. Youth led the way in our outreach (which yielded tremendous results!) and now they are selecting which pieces to include in the final book. We received over 200 submissions of stories and poems from writers from 45 different towns throughout Maine, and we are so excited to share this imaginative collection with readers, students, educators, librarians, and the young authors featured in the book when it is released in summer 2022.
Your organization and your students have been honored with some of the highest honors for nonprofits and publications. What are some of the accomplishments you're most proud of?
We’re so grateful that The Telling Room, our books, and students have received so much support over the years from far and wide! We couldn’t do what we do without the partnership of our arts community and Maine’s writers. Most recently, we’ve been energized by the reach of our books and how many schools, libraries, and readers have been putting Telling Room authors on the shelves. Our 2020 best-of poetry anthology, A New Land, features writing from the first fifteen years of The Telling Room’s programming, and was selected by the Maine Humanities Council’s East Coast Center for the Book as the summer 2021 Route One Reads pick. Our poets were recognized and celebrated up and down the east coast alongside writers like Tracy K. Smith, Tyree Daye, and Adrienne Su. By far what brings us the most joy though is when we hear from alumni and educators about the impact that their experiences with The Telling Room have had on their writing and their lives. When someone says to us, “Thank you for waking the writer in me” then we know we’re making a difference.
Over the past 16 years you've published over 175 books - What does your publication process look like?
Our publications process is backed by a team of creative local artists, editors, designers, and printers, and it is centered on youth. Maine’s young writers create stories and poems in our programs, which are considered for publication in our anthologies as well as standalone titles. Others around the state submit writing through calls for submission, and then young editors in our Publishing Workshop help put our annual anthology together. Youth are part of the design process, often choosing their book titles, trim sizes, and cover design. We are also driven by what they want to see on the bookshelves–what are they reading now? And we consider how youth see themselves out in the community as authors–what events and awards do they want to be part of? Telling Room authors are consistent Maine Literary Award finalists and award winners, and it means a tremendous amount to them to know that their own state and its local writers believe in their work. We also always make sure to get Telling Room books into local bookstores, who are incredible partners and often display Maine’s youth authors prominently on their bookshelves. Maine Humanities Council and the Maine Department of Education also help our authors send their stories out beyond their own towns and cities and into schools and libraries throughout the state.
Is there an event, publication, or any kind of change happening in the next year that you are particularly excited about and would like to share?
One upside of adapting our programming and operations to be remote during the pandemic is that we’ve expanded our reach by creating hybrid and virtual options for students and educators to work with The Telling Room. We’ve learned so much over the past few years, and one of the lessons we’re carrying with us is how important it is to listen to youth voices from all over Maine. As we reopen our doors to in-person programming, we’ll still continue to offer virtual options and are excited by the possibilities that technology creates for writers and classrooms to join us that may not be located near our writing studio in downtown Portland. We look forward to building on our connections with communities in every corner of the state so that young writers from across Maine can get involved with The Telling Room. So, stay tuned for Stepping Stones and our 2022 annual anthology, which will feature some of this amazing talent!
The Telling Room
225 Commercial St #201
Portland, ME 04101
www.tellingroom.org