WritersCorps is holding our first ever Pen Pal Meetup and Open Mic. Students from our sites have been writing letters to each other this fall to get to know youth who go to different schools. The meetup will feature a variety of activities, including a hip hop writing workshop, a holiday card making workshop, and the chance to read their work during our open mic hour. There will be prizes and refreshments. And you don’t even need a pen pal to attend.

When: December 6, 2011, 3:30-5:30 p.m.

Where: San Francisco Public Library, 100 Larkin Street (at Grove), Children’s Creative Center, 2nd Floor

Cost: Free

Public Transit: Civic Center BART and Muni Metro J, K, L, M, and N lines

Local illusionist Christian Cagigal, photo by Julie Michelle.

Teens are in for an exciting evening at the Contemporary Jewish Museum from 6 to 8 p.m. on November 22! In conjunction with their Houdini: Art and Magic exhibit, they are putting on this special event especially for young people. Youth can step into the gallery to witness original artifacts from Houdini’s death-defying stunts and the legacy he inspired. Then they’ll experience the dark fables and close-up magic of Obscura, an interactive show full of mystery and illusion brought to you by local illusionist Christian Cagigal. Or you can chill in the lounge while watching acrobats and enjoying popcorn and cotton candy. For more information, go here.

Young people, take note! Teenquake 2011 is right around the corner and this year they are co-hosting a writing competition with Figment.com for 13 to 18 year olds in the Bay Area. Teenquake will be running contests in four different categories — fiction, fantasy, poetry, and mystery. Entrants can submit writing for one, two, three, or all of the categories. There will be twenty finalists in total (5 for each category), and first, second, and third place winners will be chosen for each category by our fabulous author guest judges, and those authors will present the winners with awards and prizes at the Teenquake Awards Ceremony on October 14 in San Francisco.

This contest is moving fast – you only have until 7pm EST on September 18^th to enter, so don’t delay! More details can be found here.

Cover of "By Heart: Poetry, Prison, and Two Lives," by Spoon Jackson and Judith Tannenbaum

As part of Litquake 2011’s opening, this event is facilitated by WritersCorps training coordinator Judith Tannenbaum (and co-author of the recent memoir “By Heart: Poetry, Prison, and Two Lives”). This panel features books by four men serving long sentences in California prisons:

Kenneth E. Hartman’s “Mother California” (read by Alia Hartman)

Spoon Jackson’s “By Heart: Poetry, Prison, and Two Lives” (on DVD)

Jarvis Master’s “That Bird Has My Wings” (read by Susan Moon)

Boston Woodard’s “Inside the Broken California Prison System” (read by Jon Sievert)

The panel will include readings from each of the four books, plus time for audience sharing.

When: October 8, 2011, 12 noon

Where: Variety Preview Room
582 Market St., First Floor

Cost: Free

Join WritersCorps at San Francisco’s annual literary extravaganza, Litquake. Now in its 12th year, the festival runs October 7 to 15 this year with more than 550 authors at events. WritersCorps will be participating in the legendary Lit Crawl through the Mission district on Saturday, October 15. Our teaching artists and students will be reading about city and place.

WHAT: WritersCorps: Writers and Their Students Explore San Francisco

WHO: WritersCorps teaching artists Anhvu Buchanan, Rick D’Elia, Minna Dubin, Roseli Ilano, Carrie Leilam Love, and harold terezón, along with WritersCorps students.

WHEN & WHERE: Phase 2 of Lit Crawl: Saturday, October 15, 2011, 7:15 to 8:00 p.m.
Serendipity, 803 Valencia St, (near 19th St)

Cost: Free!

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