The Teachers as Writers program offers a supportive writing community defined by the needs of the participants. Typically the participating teachers represent various levels of experience as writers. Some are published authors who participate to develop a new manuscript or explore a different genre. Others are novices who hesitate to attempt publishing, but soon find the structure and encouragement they need to make progress toward that goal. In the end, all participants are encouraged to submit work to an OWP publication as well as to journals, literary magazines, and publishers.
The informal monthly meetings typically include several activities such as a review of books, dinner conversation, a presentation, writer response groups, and individual manuscript conferences. Each session features a visiting author who begins with a reading or mini-lesson and subsequently leads the group in writing exercises. Each author will target a particular genre: this year, Pete Shaheen will focus on professional writing, Beth Aviv Greenbaum on memoir, Rick Bailey on fiction, and Laura Roop on poetry.
Many choose to explore personal memories and family history, but the participants’ writing goes in many directions and assumes a myriad of forms. In the past writers have experimented in poetry, screenplays, picture books, short fiction, essays, academic articles, and novels. Many conversations and activities transfer to classroom practices, but the group focuses on the participants’ writing.
Participants in the past have found that Teachers as Writers can serve many purposes at once. Middle school teacher Catherine Connelly, who has been a member for three years, refers to the workshop as a “bountiful smorgasbord.” While she has been able to explore new strategies for teaching writing, as she originally intended, she also was surprised that she developed “a strong interest in growing the writer within.”