Winter 2012

February Night Owl Session

FROM IDEA TO SCREENPLAY:
How to convert the pictures in your head to film
February 2nd, 6:00-9:00pm

Currently at work on a screenplay, Melissa Coleman will share the techniques she's learned for turning an idea to script. In this three-hour workshop, you'll discuss how character, dialogue, setup, conflict, and resolution come together to create a compelling story, and look at the basics of formatting. You'll work in groups and independently to develop your main character and create an outline so you can go on to write a great screenplay.
More info and registration here.

New Workshops

Sportswriting
What many of us love about sports, when we're not playing them, has to do with story. Sports capture the human drama within a set of rules and traditions. There are winners and losers and sometimes those winners and losers are not who they seem to be. In this workshop, join Gibson Fay-LeBlanc to read great sportswriting and consider local and national sports to find our own stories inside the lines. More info here.

The Telling Room Movie

Filmmaker Daniel Stephens and his crew at GoodFocus made this beautiful movie for us last spring, capturing glimpses of our space, our staff, our exceptional students and the work we do within the Greater Portland community. Enjoy!

Imagination Intensive Community Award

The Maine Alliance for Arts Education, the Maine Department of Education, and the Maine Arts Commission have named The Telling Room Maine’s 2011 Imagination Intensive Community.

With funding this year from the Kennedy Center, the Maine Arts Commission, the Maine Department of Education, and Bangor Savings Bank, the Imagination Intensive Communities program is in its second year of identifying and celebrating, through an open application process, those Maine communities where schools and partnering organizations of all kinds invest in the imaginative development of children and youth. More here.

What's Happening

FEBRUARY SLANT
Join us February 10th at 7:00pm for the fifth installment of Slant, our live storytelling series at Space Gallery. The theme this time around is [sic], which we're hoping will be interpreted in a number of interesting ways. Stay tuned for more info about this session's storytellers.

THE 2012 STATEWIDE WRITING CONTEST
All the info you need to participate in our 2012 Writing Contest is available here. Submit before March 7th for a chance to see your work published in Maine Magazine, among other great prizes.

BLOGS
Check in with the TR's programs on Tumblr and stay current with the latest student submissions on our Widgery Wharf Blog.

WordPLAY
The TR is open to students for WordPLAY drop in hours from 1:30-4:30pm, Wednesdays throughout the school year. Bring a piece of writing you've been working on, some homework, or come to be inspired.

PLACES TO PUBLISH
Download and print this list of places for young adults to publish work. It's never too soon to share your stories!

VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION
All interested volunteers should join us at our next orientation, Wednesday, February 1st from 10:00–11:30am. Contact Molly Haley for more information.

NEW PODCAST EPISODE
The latest installment in our podcast series is now available. Episode nine was produced by Molly Haley with audio collected by Patty Wight. This episode features all six stories from our Slant event in October 2011. Subscribe to our feed or follow the podcast on iTunes.

THE TR STORE IS OPEN!
Buy our books, a t-shirt, or other Telling Room swag at our new online store.

Who We Are

The Telling Room is a nonprofit writing center in Portland, Maine, dedicated to the idea that children and young adults are natural storytellers. Focused on young writers ages 6 to 18, we seek to build confidence, strengthen literacy skills, and provide real audiences for our students’ stories. We believe that the power of creative expression can change our communities and prepare our youth for future success. View our 2011 annual report.

Join Us!

Join our mailing list to stay informed about upcoming events and workshops.

Donate

Impact the lives of thousands of Maine youth writers:

To contribute to the
Donald H Graves Fund, click here and please write "Graves Fund" in the designation field. Thank you so much!

Come see us at our Writing Center at 225 Commercial Street in downtown Portland. It is the hub for workshops, WordPLAY, and field trips. Come down anytime and check out what we're doing, and, as ever, all of our programming is free.

Links

 

Volunteer

Want to help us create an innovative and inspiring home for young writers and their stories? Click volunteer to learn how you can get involved.