Our Supporters

Do you have something you care way too much about? Or an unforgettable story you love telling people? A moment that went a little (or very) wrong? Maybe it’s how you got that scar on your shoulder, or a weird adventure that began when you got lost at a concert, or how you first fell in love with anime. This workshop is about turning those moments into personal essays that readers can’t put down.

Personal essays are rooted in real life — your obsessions, your accidents, your “why did I do that?” stories. In this workshop, we’ll learn how to take a real experience or passion and shape it into a compelling narrative with a clear voice, strong structure, and a clear sense of meaning. Essays can be funny, uncomfortable, emotional, or all three, but the goal is always the same: tell a true story that takes the reader somewhere and leaves them thinking.

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.

Welcome to Zine Machine! We’re a self-publishing group of rebels spreading the word on things we think you should know. Obscure cat breeds? Survival tips for a zombie apocalypse? Favorite board games? All must-read zines.

In this workshop, we only have one rule: we’re all analog all the time. Think collage, hand-drawn images, markers, and glue. Once you lay out your first edition, we’ll use the time-honored way of mass-producing your Zine: the photocopier. Zines may sound like a simple idea, but they have started revolutions and educated the masses. Be loud, be crafty, and tell the world what it needs to know!