Summer Workshop
In the summer of 2019 we began a new project—the Summer Writers Workshop. The workshop runs for three weeks in July; four days a week, for three hours a day, our tutors meet in an NYU classroom with a group of fifteen or so New York City public high school students. The program is completely free for students, our goal is accessibility. During class we talk through techniques of fiction, non-fiction and poetry; the students work with tutors, and with one another on writing exercises, gradually building up their skills so that by the third week they are prepared to write, and re-write and re-re-write, a story or essay or poem that will be published in our annual magazine, The Moody New Yorker. We also spend some time talking through practical writing tools; how to write a resume, how to write a cover letter, how to prep for an interview, and college essay writing tips.
Student Testimonials
Chloe Lathrop
Brooklyn Collaborative School ↗
In the dead of July, being granted the opportunity to spend time in a room with people my age who have such a passion for writing was nothing short of a cathartic experience. It wasn’t until after this program that I am now able to refer to myself as a self-proclaimed poet. I was able to expand my horizons by receiving feedback and insight that lives inside of me to this day, only ever escaping my heart when I am in front of a sheet of paper. I learned that all great art comes from looking inwards, the internal world, and not the other way around. Thank you, you bright minds!
Annemarie Alms
iSchool ↗
I don't think that I've ever encountered so many kindred spirits as I have in the rooms where, every summer, WriteNYC happened to unfold. I came to this workshop during its inaugural year as a painfully insecure sixteen-year-old and left without ever truly leaving. After graduating high school, and no longer eligible to enroll as a student, I was promptly invited to help teach it instead. A daunting suggestion. I was barely in college, barely able to raise my voice loud enough to command attention, and only older than these students by one or two years. But this experience was an enormous gift, perhaps the greatest one I've received from the program. I found that the connections I had made here would follow me long after each lesson in narrative craft and nurture my sense of self, far beyond just my writing. WriteNYC's most profound strength is its ability to trust and indulge the unique talents, perspectives, and interests of their students.
Claire Weng
Townsend Harris ↗
I simply cannot stress how important my two summers at PEN America were to my development, both as a writer and as a human being. My time there has pushed me out of my comfort zone and boosted my confidence in my writing and myself. It was a program that I took for granted at first, however, it has become a crucial memory and experience for me. Here, I was faced with instructors who offered me feedback to further strengthen my writing as well as peers who shared similar interes but different perspectives than me. It was a lot different from what I was used to. What really aided in my growth was the fact that it seemed as though the instructors expected something great from all of us and they were there for us in every step we took. It truly was an unforgettable program to me.
The Moody New Yorker
The Moody New Yorker is our annually published literary magazine. Students submit their best work from the summer–whether it be fiction, nonfiction or poetry. We have a launch party in the fall and the magazine is distributed to every student, their schools, their families, and NYU leadership, as well as being published on our website.
