Salt Lake Young Writers & Anthology
The Salt Lake Young Writers program is a series of intensive writing workshops to help middle and high school aged teens develop their skills and passion for creative writing.
Teens entering grades 7-12 this fall are eligible to participate in different cohorts, workshops, and programs throughout the year.
The next middle school cohort will meet for After School Scary Stories, a 1-part workshop on Wednesday, October 2, 4-6 pm at the CWC. The next high school cohort will meet Saturday, October 12, 9:30 am -1:30 pm for Fantasy and Horror for Young Writers.
There will be other intensive workshop series throughout the academic year. Participants in each cohort will work together and individually to create amazing works of writing and engage in their creative passions. Teens are welcome to participate in multiple Young Writers events throughout the year.
We encourage all teens 11-19 years old in the Salt Lake Valley to submit their poetry, short stories, short memoirs, personal essays, photography, artwork, etc. for publication in our Salt Lake Young Writers Anthology.
Meeting Times For Writing Cohorts
After School Scary Stories
1-part workshop
Wednesday, October 2, 4-6 pm
Calling all middle schoolers! Get into the Halloween spirit and join us for an after-school workshop all about horror and spooky fantasy. We’ll discuss monsters, magic, and different strategies for giving your readers goosebumps. You’ll have a chance to start writing your own fantasy or horror story and submit to our Salt Lake Young Writers Anthology. Ages 12-14.
Cost: Free. Registration is required.
Location: CWC, 210 East 400 South #8
Register for After School Scary Stories
Fantasy and Horror for Young Writers
1-part workshop
Saturday, October 12, 9:30-1:30 pm
What makes something “spooky?” Join the Community Writing Center for a morning discussing the spooky and fantastical. This workshop focuses on writing horror and fantasy. Come learn about the undead, the eldritch, and the otherworldly, and explore different ways to add fright and suspense to your writing. You’ll also have some time to workshop your own horror stories to submit the Salt Lake Young Writers Anthology. Ages 15-18, registration required.
Cost: Free. Registration is required.
Location: CWC, 210 East 400 South #8
SALT LAKE YOUNG WRITERS ANTHOLOGY
Participants in all cohorts and all teen writers have the opportunity to submit their work to a Salt Lake Young Writers anthology that is published at the end of the year. All of the writing cohorts will come together to collaborate on this anthology publication.
We encourage all teens 11-19 years old in the Salt Lake Valley to submit their poetry, short stories, short memoirs, personal essays, photography, artwork, etc. for publication in our Salt Lake Young Writers Anthology.
Original written and visual art are accepted, including photography and photos of three-dimensional art.
Written submissions can be up to 2,500 words and may not contain hate speech. All Utah-based individuals in junior high, middle school, and high school are welcome to submit.
Submissions due Saturday October 26, 2024 at 11:59 p.m.
Submit to the 2024 Young Writers Anthology
The SLCC Community Writing Center will celebrate the Salt Lake Youth Anthology 2024 at the launch and Gala on Thursday December 12, from 6:30-7:30 pm at the CWC.
Participant Experiences
“Having only had a public education setting for my English instruction so far, it sounded like heaven when our teacher told us about an opportunity to get connected with a personal writing mentor! Working with someone one-on-one has been extremely valuable to me. I love being able to bounce ideas and brainstorm with someone. Going over what I’ve written so far has been so helpful. Right now we are working on flash fiction and short stories, and I am focusing on how to create better imagery and engage the reader more fully. I love the freedom of subject I have here! In school our writing is so restricted and regimented; on our own it’s really difficult to find anyone to help you. I feel like this program has really given me the opportunity to grow so much more than I would have otherwise.”
“My Language Arts teacher told me that I should participate in Salt Lake Teens Write because it will help me become a better writer. I learned a lot in this program so far because I have such a great mentor; I learned how to write a scholarship essay and a resume. So far it is a good experience. Writing together is great because I have developed a lot of cool, awesome tools to be creative. The most rewarding thing about this program is working with my mentor and just having the opportunity to learn new writing skills.”
Featured Works from Salt Lake Teens Write
Lighthouse
Eszter Vizhanyo
Meet me at the lighthouse
And stand with me at its peak,
Where we look one way and see the ocean
And another to see the cliffs…
Meet me at the lighthouse:
Salt-chewed ship, tattered flag, weary sailors
Or high horse carrying wounded traveler…
Meet me at the lighthouse
When come a blindness over your eyes,
Hands reached out in front of you to find home,
When come fog and high tide and screaming wind,
You will see its light and make it there, at least…
Meet me at the lighthouse
And see the lonely soldier from far away,
Staring down with crown of twirling light…
Meet me at the lighthouse,
Find solace from the dangerous world
Of frothing hills and rolling waves,
From where you can look out and see the cliffs,
See my path and yours…
Come meet me at the lighthouse
And find your way home.
Teapot With Me
Kellen Hunnicutt
Sit here
On the burner with me
Feel the fire or defeat
Feel your porcelain redden
Breath heavy
Politely try
So desperately
To stand out
With handmade
Stalks of lavender
And sunflowers
And deep green trees
With a shine-gold
Edge
Still overflowing
With liquid so
Scorching
Over steeping
Intended to be still
Gravity calls and we
Could all cackle
And crack to the
Floor shatter like
Nothing at all
But a scream.
Advice to Self
Ilaisa Folau
Don’t waste your time with terrible friends
When you know that they won’t get you far
Don’t try to be what they want and instead,
Try to figure out who you are
Even though things have gone way different than planned
And it’s easy to feel alone
Everyone is in lockdown and they all understand
Especially people at home
When it comes to journey’s end
I’ll find my missing peace
Then the puzzle will finally mend,
A part of life’s great masterpiece
Happiness is not in the past
True joy is in the present
This is the only thing that lasts
Don’t waste it because the time goes fast
Cloud of Nostalgia
Calvin Jeppesen
Brooding over things not done,
Now’s a simpler day than you know;
It feels as though you have not won,
Mind set on things long ago.
Threw your body on the bike,
Cycled streaks of steel,
Arrived to pluck strings as you like,
But was it ever truly real?
The memory that you cling,
The possibilities you entertain;
Those summer nights you’d sing
Were never free from pain.
For a wet step through the door
Soaring countless states afar;
Lands in a place not seen before,
One to make sweet memories once more.