Creative Writing Workshops for Library Kids: From New York, NY to Norwalk, IA
This is a free, on-demand recording available to ALSC and YALSA members.
Description
In a world where children are often denied opportunities to use their voices, libraries can be the best possible space for them to express themselves—and how better to express oneself than through creative writing? In conversation with youth creative writing education nonprofit Cosmic Writers, librarians Joy Hariprasad from the NYPL and Catherine Shook from the Norwalk Easter Public Library will share their best practices for developing writing programming for their young patrons. The webinar will guide participants through the process of setting up creative writing programs for their libraries, from determining program structure to designing curriculum.
Learning Outcomes
- Participants will be able to assess their population and determine the creative writing workshop structure(s) and genre(s) that will best suit their needs.
- Participants will be able to design creative writing curriculum to engage young patrons.
About the Presenters
Rowana Miller: Rowana has a decade of experience working in writing education and writing young adult fiction. She is the founder and Executive Director of Cosmic Writers, a registered 501(c)(3) that provides children with the tools, knowledge, and opportunities to write creatively. Her debut novel, Secrets of the Blue Hand Girls, is forthcoming from Sourcebooks in Fall 2025. She writes about goblins, secret societies, and strange magic.
Joy Hariprasad: Coming from a psychology, education, and arts background, Joy started at the New York Public Library 7 years ago. At first she was a Page for the School Outreach team before moving into Children's Programming. Now her team supports all the Children's staff in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island (92 libraries!). Her team provides resources and tools for librarians and patrons alike, creating materials that are meaningful and flexible to meet the diverse needs of the many communities NYPL serves. Her favorite part of the work is being able to meet kids from all across the City, and getting to know a little bit about each neighborhood. She enjoys building and nurturing relationships with librarians who are part of each community's foundation. Outside of library work, Joy enjoys experimenting in the kitchen for hours, seeing live music, and getting together with friends.
Catherine Shook: Catherine Shook is the Teen Services Librarian for Norwalk Easter Public Library in Norwalk, Iowa. She received her Masters in Library and Information Studies from the University of Alabama and her undergraduate degree in English Literature, with a Creative Writing focus, from the University of Iowa. When not attempting to herd cats/manage chaos at work, she enjoys singing, studying Italian, baking, and finding poetry open mics to attend.