We empower young people to write their own stories. 

An exciting, challenging, and supportive community where young authors thrive

Based in Washington Heights, Uptown Stories offers after-school, weekend, and summer creative writing workshops for children ages 8-18, led by rockstar teachers, who are also professional authors and artists.

Students learn the art and craft of writing, how to revise their work, and how to give and receive constructive feedback. Each workshop ends with a celebratory reading at the Word Up Bookshop in Washington Heights, and the publication of a paperback anthology, so every student leaves our program as a published author.

To ensure our program is accessible to our ethnically and economically diverse community, our tuition is “Pay-What-You-Can.” Uptown Stories creates an exciting, challenging, and supportive community where young authors thrive.

Why Creative Writing?

We believe that writing is an essential tool for:

Developing
Communication Skills

Creative writing helps young people develop their communication skills.
By learning to express their thoughts and ideas in writing, they become better able to articulate their ideas verbally, which is beneficial in all areas of life.

Stimulating Imagination

Creative writing encourages young people to use their imaginations and think creatively. This helps them become more innovative and adaptable in their thinking, which is useful in many different contexts, from problem-solving  to artistic expression.

Enhancing
Self-Expression

Creative writing provides young people with a medium for self-expression. This can be especially important for those who struggle with expressing themselves verbally or who may feel misunderstood or marginalized in other areas of their lives.

Building Confidence

As young people develop their creative writing skills and see their work improve, they gain confidence in their abilities. This translates to other areas of their lives, such as academics or social situations, where confidence and self-assuredness can be valuable assets.

Promoting
Critical Thinking

Writing creatively requires young people to think critically and analyze their own work. This helps them develop their critical thinking skills, which is needed in a wide range of academic and professional pursuits.

Uptown Stories redefined "after school enrichment" for me. The kids were learning the fundamentals of good writing, but in a way that felt like a fun romp, rather than a two-hour slog through rules and thesis statements.

HK

Parent

I would not be the writer I am today without Uptown Stories.

Elias

Alumnus

I really appreciate the fact that every every student has a voice in their class. They trust each other and they listen to each other. All of this is happening because Uptown Stories has created a community of learners where everyone learns from each other.

Nina

Parent

My daughter’s writing has improved tremendously. She loves writing now. She can sit for hours and let her imagination fly.

Annie

Parent

I feel like if I hadn't taken Girls Rising, I wouldn't have become a better writer, and I wouldn't have met some friends who have changed my life.

Xanthe

Student

When it's Monday, I'm so excited for class to start! Favorite time of the week! Uptown Stories made me like writing even more.

Tallulah

Student

My daughter takes her writing seriously because Uptown Stories takes her seriously.

Kimberly

Parent

Writing used to be something that was just work; something we have to do at school. However, now it's a way for me to express different things, and it's much more enjoyable now that there is a place where everyone has the same passion for writing that I do.

Anna

Student

Ready to Join a Workshop?

Spoken Word

Lift your words off the page, and breathe life into them through rhythm, rhyme, and improvisation. In Spoken Word, everything you are is all that you need. Want to dance? Make your poetry move. Love to rap or write songs? Use your musical impulse. Your body, your voice, your beat — they are the story. 

Guided by poets past and present, we’ll find inspiration in the words of Mahogany L. Brown, Elizabeth Acevedo, Rudy Francisco, and many more. By combining the thoughtfulness of writing with the freedom of performance, after 12 weeks, you’ll know just how to bring your story to life on the mic. Join us! 

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Poetry Outside

Do you want to be wild and break out of the limitations that are always being set? Poetry is the answer. We’re strapping on our shoes, grabbing our pens, and meeting at the P.S. 187 school yard to go on a poet’s adventure! Poetry is a way of seeing things outside the boxes they are always being put in. We'll be rejuvenated by the nature of Ft. Tryon park and emboldened by our resilient neighborhood. We'll explore the wilds of language out in the world, allowing a stream of poetry to flow from the river of possibility.

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Historical Fiction

History isn’t just about dates and facts—it’s full of people, choices, resistance, survival, and change. In this workshop, writers will dive into the art of historical fiction, exploring how to bring the past to life.

Through guided exercises, research, and group discussions, writers will learn how to create rich settings and compelling characters, navigate sensitive topics, and explore themes that still resonate today. Whether you’re fascinated by ancient Egypt, the Harlem Renaissance, WWII, the Mongol empire, or even the more recent 1980s, this workshop will help you transport the reader to another time and place. We’ll also explore speculative fiction, where we ask “what if” history had turned out differently. Historical fiction isn’t just about the past -- it’s about understanding how we got here, who we are today, and who we might become.

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