What is Noche de Letras, Latinx Book Fest?/¿Qué es Noche de Letras, Latinx Book Fest?

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What is Noche de Letras, Latinx Book Fest?

This event is a collaboration of more than 10 local organizations that aim to expand the celebration of the Texas Book Fair 2017, showcase Latinx writers, celebrate contemporary literature, present writing as a professional career, and strengthen bonds within local organizations that support literacy in the Latix community. On November 4th, 2017 we will showcase a book crawl for Latinx authors in various emblematic venues for the Latinx community in the city of Austin. The event is completely free in all venues. See below for more details:

¿Qué es Noche de Letras, Latinx Book Fest?

Este evento es una colaboración de más de 10 organizaciones locales con los objetivos de expandir la celebración de la Feria del Libro de Texas 2017 impulsando aún más a los escritores y escritoras Latinos, fomentando la literatura contemporánea, presentando la literatura como una opción viable de desarrollo profesional y fortaleciendo los lazos comunitarios entre organizaciones locales mientras conectamos a los escritores con el público. Este próximo 4 de noviembre se presentará el recorrido literario para escritores y escritoras Latinos en diferentes sedes emblemáticas para la comunidad Latina en Austin. Más detalles abajo:

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Barrio Writers

Empowering teens through creative writing…

Barrio Writers (BW) is a creative writing program founded by author Sarah Rafael García, which provides free college level writing workshops to teenagers in underserved communities. In the summer of 2009, thirty students came together to form the first Barrio Writers chapter in Santa Ana, California, a non-profit reading and writing program that aims to empower teens through creative writing, higher education, and cultural arts.

BW is a non-profit program that offers workshops and additional one-on-one tutor hours for one week. Participants receive college-level workshops to build skills in reading, grammar, creative writing, critical-thinking and freedom of expression through cultural arts. The session includes guest writers, who serve as role models in our neighborhoods and support youth aspirations.

The BW program thrives through its community collaboration. By aligning with universities, cultural centers, libraries and Resistencia Bookstore, BW participants are exposed to diverse activities provided in the surrounding areas while in turn give support to the local cultural arts and community resources. Most recently we partnered with the Guadalupe Cultural Art Center in San Antonio, the University of Texas at El Paso and Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Both chapters united to form a new community of BW along our long-standing chapters in Santa Ana, California and Austin, Texas and our additional chapters launched in Houston and Nacogdoches, Texas summer 2015.

The program strives to present alternative forms of expressions through cultural art collaboration in the community. The summer workshops culminate with a live reading, which allows Barrio Writers to present final pieces to our community and reach a wider audience by potential media coverage and book sales. The written works submitted by teens from the multiple chapters are published in an anthology collection. It is our goal to include all chapters in each annual edition to form a diverse youth community beyond the workshops.

BW participants are between the ages of 13 to 19 years old and reside in the surrounding area of the local chapters. By opening workshops to all levels of students from local schools and neighborhoods, Barrio Writers includes teenagers from diverse circumstances to participate and share their lives with our society. We also encourage for college and university students up to the age of 21 years old to participate as peers obtaining higher education.

One goal of the program is to publish an anthology collection of written works demonstrating the diverse backgrounds of teenagers that can be used in and out of the classroom. Barrio Writers is a collection of works by teens for teens, teachers and our communities. All profits from the book are returned to the Barrio Writers program for future years. The long-term goal is to publish a new edition each year with hopes that more neighborhoods will adopt the program and more teachers will use the BW book in the classroom. The Barrio Writers program and its annual anthology are designed to empower the teenage community while establishing a self-sufficient educational program that will represent community pride, perseverance, and endless possibilities for following generations.

Attend event at Resistencia Bookstore

If you would like to join the Barrio Writers at the Noche de Letras event at Resistencia Bookstore, get your FREE tickets here: