Focused on young writers ages 6 to 18, we seek to build confidence, strengthen literacy skills, and provide real audiences for our students. We believe that the power of creative expression can change our communities and prepare our youth for success both now and in the future.
If you are passionate about writing, join us! We have a number of great ways for you to meet other young writers, find mentors, and share your work with our community.
Do you have a young person in your life who loves storytelling, or maybe a student reluctant to write? Check out our different Telling Room program offerings to see what might be a good fit for the young authors in your life.
At The Telling Room, we do whatever we can to support those who are on the front lines teaching in classrooms across Maine and help your students engage with creative writing.
Volunteers are essential to our organization. Program volunteers sit with students, write with them, ask questions, and help them develop their stories or poems.
Our Young Writers and Leaders students were recently invited to have a special conversation with acclaimed author and renowned world leader President Barack Obama.
We are dedicated to prioritizing the health of our community. Please review our latest policies prior to joining us at The Telling Room to help keep everyone safe.
The Telling Room is delighted to welcome three new members to the Board of Directors this summer, and to announce new officers to the Board’s leadership team.
Hear what goes into the art of good storytelling—and the value of chronicling the different perspectives and experiences of people from all walks of life—including Rylan Hynes, Telling Room Communications & Editorial Director.
“How fortunate we are at The Telling Room that Tanuja found us, and for her sharing with us her authentic love of and pure belief in our mission. We cannot wait to see what she writes in her next chapter.”
“[It Rains Diamonds on Neptune], in its multigenerationality, its genre-blending, its urgency, showcases the range, depth, and variety of Maine voices…”
On May 22, Mechanics Hall in Portland shimmered with energy at the launch event of The Telling Room’s latest anthology of young writers’ works. It Rains Diamonds on Neptune was unveiled in celebration of The Telling Room’s 20th anniversary.
Many thanks to Samaa Abdurraqib of the Maine Humanities Council, Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, and the folks at Maine Public for this beautiful reading of Telling Room author Jo Ellis' poem, "Saltwater I."
The Telling Room is excited to announce a call for submissions of both writing and artwork by Maine youth for its forthcoming anthology of climate writing.
Khalil Kilani, of Portland, will pursue a graduate degree at Columbia University and go on to work at the U.S. Department of State.
The Telling Room was delighted to receive EqualityMaine’s Partner in Equality Award at their 40th anniversary gala this spring.
How does The Telling Room do it? Deep organizational planning underpins its important—often life-changing—work, and that planning most recently culminated in the team crafting a comprehensive theory of change.
“For Mo, storytelling isn’t just about fiction — it’s about shaping the way people see the world.”
“To anyone who reads Trainor’s work, they hope they remember to ‘be gentle with yourself and understand when you need to take a break and step back from something.’”
"This actually made me sit down and write, and it made me realize that I can, which is not something I thought was an option before."
Cameron Pinchbeck, of Hope, won the recognition for Knox County for "Granite Timbre." Waldo County's Annette McCue Hafford was recognized for "Me and My Introversion."
Molly Trainor, a student at John Bapst Memorial High School, is the grand prize winner of the18th Annual Statewide Writing Contest for their creative nonfiction essay, “Survival of the Flawed.”
"...I keep hearing how The Telling Room believes in these students. That the teachers don’t tell them they’ll be a writer one day, but that they are right now."
The Portland literary arts education nonprofit celebrated the anniversary at a fundraiser October 18th 2024.
Word Play, our free afterschool program for youth ages 7 - 10, is a fun and creative exploration of writing and storytelling.
Story Sleuths, our free afterschool program for youth ages 10 - 14, is designed for students who are looking for various creative ways into the writing process.
Works in Progress, a free afterschool program for youth ages 12 - 18, is designed for students working on a specific long-term writing project for which they'd like inspiration, creative space, and feedback.
Do you have a novel inside of you? A collection of poetry you’re bursting to share? Characters or stories that just won’t let you go? Each year, we work with four dedicated Maine teens to write, develop, and publish their own books through Young Emerging Authors, our fifteen month afterschool program for youth in grades 8 - 12.
Second Story is a free afterschool program for alumni of Telling Room programs ages 16 - 20, where they dig deeper into the writing process, develop their writing habits, and share their words with the world.
SWARM! (Student Writers and Readers Meet!), our free afterschool program for youth ages 11 - 16, is a network of youth writing and publishing groups across the State of Maine.
Publishing Workshop is a free afterschool program for youth in grades 6 - 12 where participants take the lead in youth publishing, learning about the book publishing industry through hands-on work.
Summer Camp Registration is Now Open! We're looking forward to another summer writing fiction and poetry, creating comics and little books with big ideas—and much more.
Young Writers & Leaders is a free, nine-month afterschool literary arts education program exclusively for high school students with international and multicultural backgrounds. We select 24 students a year through a competitive application and interview process to participate for nine months.
The Telling Room offers a college essay workshop led by our college essay expert, Program Director Nick Whiston. Each workshop offers four hours of small-group instruction and individual revising support.
Workshops are conveniently nestled between field trips and residencies as a medium length programming option, and we are able to host them at our writing center in Portland or travel to schools and other sites. Workshops typically last 4 to 10 hours over multiple visits.
As a teacher, there are times when it may not be possible for your class to visit us for a field trip, or you may have a whole classroom of students you want to immerse in the writer's world. Our writers and artists can come to you for an in-school residency.
Field trips are back for the school year! To arrange a visit for your students to come to The Telling Room, contact Program Director Nick Whiston at nick@tellingroom.org.
They may not have known Portland, but Portland wanted them
“When they told me I was coming here, I thought I was moving to Oregon,” one of the Hearts of Pine players said.
wrote poetry for it not to be heard
by the ears of my own species.
One day you won’t
be able to ignore me; you won’t
be able to trip me; you won’t
be able to point your fingers and laugh.
I am half the blood of gods; I’ll push your fists away effortlessly.
i want to call you out like a cold winter breeze full of ice and snow / but july cocoons
itself around you / flame and flame and smoke and mirrors / a wall i could never get
through /
17 and 20
Sisterhood
I see reminders of you everywhere.
This one
winter leaf,
alone in the dark,
there it lay
all cold and gray.
I hear you
Beating against the tempered glass
Your rhythmic melody
Tapping on the charcoal gray roof
It sounds like music
The “Orono Collection” comes from an eighth grade accelerated writing class in Orono, Maine, guided by Katie Quirk.
I jolted awake when my head hit the window, the cold flat surface making contact with my forehead. I opened my heavy eyelids, still drowsy. I looked outside and saw that we were still driving on a dirt road. Raindrops were racing down the window. The sun was just starting to peek through the trees in the woods. I looked up to the front of the car and groaned when I saw that it was only 5:03 a.m. “How much longer until we get there?” I asked, my voice still raspy from waking up.
The sign said, “You’re entering Maine’s largest wilderness.”
“Wait, what? Only now we’re entering Maine’s largest wilderness?” I joked as I strode proudly up Baxter State Park’s infamous Abol trail. This was one of the more challenging routes up Mount Katahdin with almost a four-and-a-half-mile ascent featuring a steep, rocky climb before a flat top. This hike was said to take ten hours, but I knew we could do it faster.
A Telling Room Anthology, Introduction by Presidential Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman
Christopher Gilbert
Sophia Tyutyunnyk