FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

We saw many familiar faces at The Telling Room this year, as youth who join us for one program often come back again and again. Youth meet us through in-school residencies or workshops, then return for a week of camp or afterschool programs. Some attend Works in Progress and then write a full-length novel with us in Young Emerging Authors. Or take our Publishing Workshop veterans, who together have made multiple anthologies connecting young writers throughout the state.

And this connection can start as early as elementary school. This year we worked with so many elementary schools in communities across the state. We hope to welcome these students back and be part of their next chapter.

To see how time with The Telling Room transforms and empowers youth, we invite you to take a look at our newly developed Theory of Change, which charts ‘The Telling Room magic’ and the long-term impacts it has on our students, partners, and communities. 

We look towards the new year continually inspired by the power of youth and their voices, and to all of you for your support.

Kristina Powell
Telling Room Executive Director

Excerpt from “Survival of the Flawed” by Molly Trainor

I have trouble throwing things away. Inanimate objects that no longer function, food that falls to the floor, things that logically have no reason to be retained are difficult to discard. I find myself personifying the blueberry that I accidentally dropped. I feel sorry for the old laptop that will never work again. But when I start to malfunction, that compassion gets thrown to the wind. 

Sometimes I am inclined to write a strongly worded letter to my manufacturer and complain about how impractically I was made. I am like a dishwasher that stopped working two months after it was bought. “They just don’t make ‘em like they used to.” It feels like I was built to break. A piece of machinery made to be meddled with, to be fiddled and fought until it is certain that I am broken. At which point I am to be discarded. Or at least, my vessel is. 

The flaw lies in the fact that I forget I am not a machine. I am not composed of wiring and code meant to function pristinely. I am a messy miracle, with bits and pieces of me working in tandem, existing the only way they know how. Their primary objective is to make sure I survive, but that is a monumental task. The least I can do is cut them some slack. 

Molly Trainor is a senior from Bangor, Maine, though they spent most of their life in Arizona. They wrote “Survival of the Flawed” in an effort to succinctly capture the complex nature of existence as they know it. When they aren’t writing, Molly enjoys exploring the art of theatrical and concert lighting, spending time with loved ones, and gardening (when weather permits). “Survival of the Flawed” also won the 2025 Maine Literary Award Youth Competition in Nonfiction. 

The Telling Room’s Statewide Writing Contest invites youth from all over Maine, ages 6 - 18, to show off their writing. A panel of professional writers and youth selects one grand prize winner, as well as a winner from each of Maine’s participating 16 counties.

Jonesport
Kennebunk
Kennebunkport 
Kittery
Leeds
Lewiston
Limestone
Lincolnville
Litchfield
Long Island
Millbridge
Naples
New Gloucester
Newburgh 
Newcastle
Nobleboro
North Haven
North Yarmouth
Orono
Orr's Island
Otis
Peaks Island
Portland
Pownal
Raymond
Readfield
Richmond
Rockland
Rockport
Sabattus
Saco
Saint Albans
Scarborough
Searsmont
Searsport

Skowhegan
South Berwick
South Portland
St. George
Stoneham
Stratton
Thomaston
Topsham
Trenton
Turner
Unity
Waldoboro
Wales
Waterville
Wells
West Bath
Westbrook
Westport Island
Windham
Yarmouth
York
Brooklyn, NY
Cambridge, MA
Clinton, NJ
Dover, NH
Glastonbury, CT
Nashua, NH
Oakwood, OH
Portsmouth, NH
Salem, MA
Teaneck, NJ
Washington, DC
Yukon, OK
Palm Bay, FL

Milbridge Elementary School
MSAD52
Mt. Ararat High School
Oceanside Middle School
Pond Cove Elementary School
Portland High School
Roots Academy
Sebago Elementary School
Shapleigh School
South Portland Middle School
Talbot Elementary School
Village Elementary School (Gorham)
Vinalhaven School
Wells Junior High School
Westbrook School District
York High School

RESIDENCIES

282 students served in 16 programs

Two schools new to us signed on for residencies this year, while four familiar partners returned to write, revise, and publish with us throughout the year. Author visits were a highlight for these students, such as being joined by Maryann Cocca-Leffler, author illustrator of Clams All Year and Bus Route to Boston, and Gibson Fay-LeBlanc, poet and Executive Director of the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. Meeting working authors made all the difference to some students, inspiring them to take themselves seriously as writers while bringing their poetry and prose to the next level.

WORKSHOPS

627 students served in 39 programs

We traveled far and wide for Workshops this year, for example, heading up the coast to serve students from Camden, Rockland, Rockport, Thomaston, and Vinalhaven, with visits to all three elementary schools in the Milbridge area (MSAD #37). This was our second year at Milbridge Elementary School, and some students remembered us and were excited to dive back in. Our lessons were hands-on, starting with an object grab bag game and paint chips to explore sensory writing. For inspiration, we read a piece written by a nine year old published in Stepping Stones, which students loved. In total, we engaged with 138 students across eight different classes in Washington County, brainstorming ways into writing and putting pen to paper.

FIELD TRIPS

504 students served in 21 programs

Field Trips were a very popular option among our school partners this year, resulting in 42% more students coming into The Telling Room for field trips—a total of 150 students! Groups joined us from across the bridge in South Portland to as far north as Dexter and Turner to approach writing from a new angle. 

14 students served in 2 programs

How do you get youth ages seven to ten excited to write? Magnetic poetry, maps and collages, diving into a box of costumes, and lots, and lots of games! In both semesters of Word Play, we encouraged these young writers to engage with writing through play, coaxing even the shyest students to feel confident enough in their stories to share them at the mic. One parent shared that their child in Word Play is their fourth to come through The Telling Room; a testament to the power of our programs that families come back again and again.

31 students served in 2 programs

For our fall session, the majority of our writers were new to Story Sleuths—and many of them returned for the spring semester! They brought their love of sportswriting, poetry, and short stories, and were excited to write for extended periods of time after warming up with playful games at the beginning of each session. Students stepped up to help lead portions of the sessions this spring and it was a joy to watch their self confidence grow every week.

20 students served in 2 programs

The serious group of writers in Works in Progress sought a balance of community building and dedicated writing time each week as we made sure that each writer had a chance to share their work and receive feedback from the group. One writer who has been with us for four semesters took their writing in a whole new direction—and their powerful piece ended up in the annual anthology as a result of their hard work.

26 students served in 2 programs

SWARM! continues to help writers thrive from all across the State of Maine, and these authors come back for more, again and again. In the fall semester, three of our eight participants were returning members from previous Hives. We dug deep into craft, drawing inspiration from Stephen King’s premise for fiction that a situation drives a story. The resulting writing was excellent and fantastical—garnering one participant, Ellie Levine, the 2025 Founders Prize for their work. Spring semester was focused on poetry and its different forms, drawing eleven writers into our midst, seven of whom had written and published in previous Hives. It’s always a joy to see returning writers continue their writing journey with us semester after semester, whether it’s to pursue their favorite genre or develop their writing chops across genres–this online program speaks to their needs. 

Published In:

8 students served in 1 program

It was another lively and successful year in Second Story of writing with eight highly engaged students, including a returning Second Story participant and three writers from last year’s Young Emerging Authors Fellowship, looking for a way to sustain a connection to both The Telling Room and their cohort. Based on feedback from our alumni, we opened Second Story up to include recent high school graduates up to age twenty, to help bridge the gap that some alums have reported once they graduate and leave The Telling Room. A Young Writers & Leaders alum currently enrolled at the University of Southern Maine, returned, to participate alongside the high schoolers—as both an equal and mentor. 

A highlight from our time together was our partnership with Portland Ovations, through which we received free tickets to the Broadway tour of Hadestown. We then used the show and accompanying script to talk about ekphrastic writing and revision as we explored Anaïs Mitchell’s book, Working on a Song. It was an inspiring way to kick off the semester and provided the group with an invaluable opportunity to experience writing as a heightened art form..

4 students served in 1 program

An epicurean poet from Westbrook, a sci-fi writer from Portland, a poet with a naturalist’s eye from York, and a memoirist Orono: These were our Young Emerging Authors Fellows as we embarked on the first year of our fifteen-month fellowship timeline. Many of our fellows were veterans of other Telling Room programs and experiences, like SWARM!, our Statewide Writing Contest, or Works in Progress, giving them a solid foundation in their work from the start of the Fellowship. Our new timeline created more space for the writers to draft and play in the summer, build community in the fall, and dig deeper into revision with their mentors and second readers.

These intrepid authors did not shy away from tackling challenging topics in their writing. Their work explores the agency of artificial intelligence, our complex and fraught food systems, reflections on transgender identity in a harsh environment, and one Ukrainian-American family’s journey from undocumented immigration status to citizenship. Our four bold fellows were up to the task, working through difficult questions, taking feedback in stride, and ultimately producing four incredible books ready for readers far and wide, already garnering attention and accolades.

58 students served in 5 programs

This year’s nine-month Young Writers & Leaders program served twenty-four students from six area high schools, and once again, our Young Writers & Leaders alumni played a key role in helping the new cohort reach their fullest potential. Alumni ambassador Johan Sifa, in her role in finance at a local banking institution, joined us for a financial literacy session with one cohort, and we collaborated for the first time with Junior Achievement of Maine and cPort Credit Union to coach our second cohort. 

Over the winter, alum and current Bowdoin student Askar Azeez served his Bowdoin winter internship with us and assisted by co-teaching. We also had six Young Writers & Leaders alumni return as writing coaches, taking time out of their busy day to day schedules as college students, educators, and medical professionals to help support our current cohort. 

This year’s Young Writers & Leaders cohort’s work reached a wide audience thanks to several community partnerships. SPACE Gallery featured Evana Wakati’s poem “The Hidden Heart of Words” on their Poetry Hotline, and the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance selected a poem by Caroline Chong for Maine Public Radio’s “Poems from Here” series. In addition to reaching audiences over the airwaves, our writers packed the house for their readings at Mayo Street Arts in the winter and our book launch for Through My Eyes at the Portland Museum of Art in the spring.

Published In:

18 students served in 2 programs

Publishing Workshop was once again filled with many returning participants who brought their skills and expertise to the editorial and publishing process alongside new workshop members. Many of our participants were alumni of other Telling Room programs who were eager to dive into the writing and publishing process from another angle. In the fall, our passionate group thoughtfully read and discussed over 330 pieces of writing submitted to our annual writing contest—and ultimately selected the winners—one from each of Maine’s sixteen counties. 

In the spring semester we curated our 2025 anthology, When Fish Walk, having important conversations about how to best represent a diverse range of voices, genres, themes, writing styles, and identities along the way. When Fish Walk includes poems, essays, and stories by forty-four authors from twenty-three towns across all of Maine’s sixteen counties. This year, the anthology includes many more of our youngest authors, who proudly took the mic at Big Night, our annual celebration of Telling Room authors, to share their writing.

Back Cove Books 
Bangor Public Library
BJ’s Wholesale Club
Bowdoin College
Briar Patch Books
Campfire Institute
Center for Arts and Ecology at the Desert of Maine
Chickadeeds
Costco Wholesale
cPort Credit Union
Cultivating Community
Dski Design
EqualityMaine
The Equality Community Center
FACE Foundation
Flatbread Pizza
Growing to Give
Gulf of Maine Books
Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Holocaust and Human Rights Center
Hurricane Island Outward Bound School
I’m Your Neighbor Books
Indigo Arts Alliance
Junior Achievement of Maine
Lucky Fox Books

Maine Arts Commission 
Maine Association for New Americans (MANA)
Maine Academy of Modern Music
Maine Association of Nonprofits
Maine Climate Action Now! 
Maine Climate Council
Maine Department of Education
Maine Family Planning
Maine Maritime Museum
Maine Public Radio
Maine Youth Leadership & Development Council
Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance
Make It Happen
Mayo Street Arts
Merrill Memorial Library
Nonesuch Books & More
Novel
The Opportunity Alliance
OUT Maine
Partners in Island Education
Pink Eraser Press
Portland Community Squash
Portland ConnectED
Portland High School
Portland Museum of Art
Prince Memorial Library
Portland Ovations

Portland Public Library
Portland Public Schools Summer Learning
Print: A Bookstore
Quiet City Books 
Queerly ME
Royal River Books
Scarborough Public Library 
Sherman’s Books & Stationery
SPACE
Speak About It
Stone Broke Bread & Books
Tempo Arts
The Writing Company
University of New England
University of Southern Maine
Walch Publishing, Inc.
WBFY 
Winky Lewis Photo
Yarmouth Clam Festival
Youth Leadership Advisory Team