Overview

Attention all writers. Do you love kids? Are you excited by the idea of helping kids express themselves and explore their world through creative writing? Writopia Lab, an award-winning 501(c)3 nonprofit that runs writing workshops for kids ages 7 to 18, is looking for creative writing workshop instructors for our location in the Tenleytown area in Washington, DC.

Since its formation in New York City in 2007, Writopia Lab has grown into a nationwide community of young writers. Our mission is to foster joy, literacy, and critical thinking in children and teens from all backgrounds through creative writing. We create a safe and engaging space for kids and teens at all stages of the writing process, and we aim to provide the creative inspiration, individual attention, and intellectual environment that may not be available to them at school.

What Writing Instructors Do

We are hiring for our fall programs! Instructors lead after-school and weekend workshops and private sessions for kids and teens. Workshops are age-based, small groups of kids and teens who are challenged to set and achieve writing goals in a fun and engaging way. Private sessions are scheduled times where instructors engage with kids and teens individually. A balance between fun, engaging literary games, focused writing time, and constant feedback from the instructor, our workshops and private sessions seek to engage young writers from all backgrounds and help them tell the stories that matter to them most.

We are looking for experienced instructors to lead creative and essay writing workshops with warmth, humor, curiosity, and insight. We train instructors extensively in our method and are looking for published authors, preferably of fiction and/or poetry, or produced plays.

During the school year, workshops meet after school and on weekends in weekly 90 minute sessions; during the summer, workshops are week-long and meet for three hours a day. School-year sessions typically meet Monday through Friday after school and throughout the day on the weekends.

Responsibilities

• Lead in-person writing workshops for small groups of kids
• Engage with young writers on a group and individual basis; encourage setting and achieving writing goals in a fun and productive way
• Foster a supportive, collaborative, safe workshop environment where writers feel comfortable expressing themselves
• Navigate workshop dynamics ensuring writers of different abilities, strengths, and affinities feel included and inspired
• Provide strength-based feedback to writers regularly in workshop and complete end-of-trimester written feedback for families
• Perform other tasks as assigned

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree; MFA preferred
• Ability to reliably and consistently commute to workshop locations
• Enthusiasm for and experience working with youth
• Experience mentoring youth and teens in creative writing required
• Additional experience mentoring youth and teens in essay writing formats is a plus
• Published fiction and/or poetry and/or produced plays preferred
• Must be fully vaccinated against COVID 19 including at least one booster

Schedule, Location, and Pay

Instructors generally work 3-10 hours per week (weekend availability is preferred), with the possibility of additional hours based on availability and program need.

This is primarily an in-person position, with some possible online work. Instructors will work primarily in-person at our location in Tenleytown in Washington, DC.

Hourly Pay: $25-$40 per hour for instructing (commensurate with experience); $17.50 per hour for administrative tasks. Most hours will be paid at the instructing rate.

How to Apply

If you are excited by the idea of joining a community of writers and helping children and teens learn to strengthen their writing skills, please apply! (Don’t forget to attach your resume, cover letter, and answer the question “Why do you want to work at Writopia?”)

To find out more information regarding who we are and what we do here at Writopia Lab, please visit our website at www.writopialab.org.

Writopia Lab uses E-Verify to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States.

Writopia Lab is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Writopia Lab does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status, or on any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.

No phone calls, emails, or drop ins, please.