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Why YouthWrite?

Quite simply, we're the best... and we know what we're doing!

YouthWrite Society Canada - a proven track record since 1996

We offer residential and day camps that address and promote twenty-first century multiple literacies – that's why we have a multi-disciplinary approach to writing and creating!

We are inclusive and diverse! YouthWrite reaches out to participants who are on the margins, whether because of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or financial circumstances.

YouthWrite invites superbly talented and reputable instructors who represent the many facets of the performing, visual, musical, dance, film, and written arts.

We believe creative arts and creative writing are the foundation to critical and creative thinking, and our course/ curricular design reflects this.

We broaden young writers' global and environmental awareness.

We address multiple learning styles: linguistic, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial and visual, naturalistic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences.

We maintain archives—written and visual—and, as far as possible, connection with alumni, participants, instructors, and supervisors after their YouthWrite experience.

Through our social media channels, we encourage participants, instructors, supers, and alumni to stay connected and involved in YouthWrite.

We produce a fine quality print magazine, YouthWrite the Magazine with an ISSN number (so it is a legitimate publication credit for our participants).

We dream of taking YouthWrite beyond the borders of Alberta...

Testimonials From Camp!

Stacie Harrison For YouthWrite's Write 2 Film 2025	This past week I had the privilege of being an instructor at YouthWrite’s Write 2 Film camp. This was my first experience with YouthWrite but I hope it won’t be my last. When I was a teenager I longed to have an experience like the one this camp provides but opportunity and finances were not available to me at that time. My experience at Write 2 Film was very uplifting. The energy and enthusiasm of the organizers, supers and fellow instructors was unparalleled to any other camp I have ever taught at. Quite simply, we were all there because we were excited to be a part of the experience and the opportunity to engage young people in the art of filmmaking. The students’ desire to be there and participate was contagious. It was clear to me that their commitment to the camp and the process was so high because for many of them, the chance to be a part of something like this is not something they take lightly. The scholarships available mean that everyone gets to explore their interest in film regardless of their socioeconomic background. Not only were the students excited to learn about filmmaking, they were also at ease after being welcomed into such a safe space where they could be themselves. This brought about incredible creativity and expression, making for such a rewarding experience for students and instructors alike. Write 2 Film is an invaluable opportunity for young people to express their creativity and explore their interest in filmmaking and for instructors to reconnect to the world of filmmaking through their eyes. It was a pleasure to be a part of.
Natasha Deen For YouthWrite Highlands Experience 2025	This year, campers cut, coloured, and pasted their words with visual artist Elsa Robinson, smashed those words into people and creatures with novelist Natasha Deen, and sent their characters to the Battle Dome alongside illustrator Dan Schneider. Campers brought high stakes to DramaVille with improv artist Kelly Turner, found the quiet contemplation of words with Tolo Mollel’s Blue Pencil Café, and sang the epic story through music and rhythm with musician Moe Ahmed. Alongside the adventures, there were supers lighting up the week, the Leetle Show spotlighting the day, and instructors showcasing their talent at night. For five days, campers found their inner artist, made friends, discovered the strength of their creativity, and became the 2025 Highlands YouthWriters.
Bruce Thomas Miller: For Write2Film 2024	Instructing screenwriting at Calgary's Write 2 Film Program was a great honour. I had the privilege of guiding a group of enthusiastic storytellers, some of whom were not screenwriters, but all possessed a passion for storytelling. Their creativity inspired me to remain curious, bold, and true to myself as a creative individual. I trust that I was able to impart valuable knowledge about the art of screenwriting and filmmaking. Fostering the aspirations and talents of young individuals will undoubtedly yield positive outcomes. Write 2 Film is a much-needed program, not only for the students but for everyone involved in the process."
Cecilia Ortiz-Luna: For Elbow I Experience 2024	As a newbie instructor to YouthWrite for the Elbow I cohort, I came to understand why so many kids would want to spend their precious summer vacation time at this camp. Throughout the five days of Elbow I, the atmosphere sizzled with the static of frolic, positivity, creativity, friendship, but also an earnestness of purpose. The campers were serious about learning writing and writing-adjacent skills. The instructors rendered customized learning experiences that broadened the campers’ writing skills. The supers were called supers because of their superpowers – in looking after the needs of the campers, in assisting the instructors, and in ensuring that the camp delivered an exceptionally meaningful and enjoyable experience for every participant. YouthWrite rocks!
Loren Specter: For YouthWrite Elbow I Experience 2023	On the first day at YouthWrite, campers enter my class chattering excitedly about how great the previous class was – the enthusiasm is contagious. We start with introductions, and they’re so excited because someone from their other class, or someone from their dorm room, or someone they sat with at breakfast is in this class, too. Even the shyest kids are eager and friendly and can’t wait for class to start.In my curriculum, we illustrate text generated elsewhere, so they’re pulling from their journals or favourite song lyrics, lines from their favourite poem, or things that they’ve written in other YouthWrite classes. They’re openly sharing ideas; it’s heartwarming and inspiring. By the second day, the shyness is gone, and campers are all so supportive of each other and their work. By the third day, they’re getting more confident, and I heard one camper say, “this is the one week of the year when I can really be myself. “By the fourth day, they’ve become creative geniuses, scrambling to finish what they’ve started and to connect meanings in their images and texts. On the fifth day, they often arrive with eyes red from crying because they realize it’s their last day at camp, and they don’t want to leave. They’ll say things like, “We’ll be friends, forever,” and an experienced camper will say, “Yes, absolutely, you will.” An experienced camper will tell the first-timers how they stay in touch with the YouthWrite community and will explain how YouthWriters share their work with each other online throughout the year and receive support, feedback and encouragement, all because of the bonds made at camp.It really does give me goosebumps to see. And I am grateful to be a part of this community.
Phil Mozejko: For YouthWrite Peak I & II Experience 2021	Since being fortunate enough to be involved with this wonderful organization, I’ve not only become a better co-worker and professional, but I’ve become more confident in who I am as a person finding his way in the fray, and YouthWrite has been a catalyst in the most recent chapter of my transformation. Built from the ground up and carefully fostered over time, YouthWrite creates an environment where people are appreciated for who they are. The result is that people are empowered and infused with real courage to overcome their fears. This is what YouthWrite means to me… to speak of what it does for campers, well… What YouthWrite does for participants is remarkable—magic, really. In simple terms, YouthWrite causes adults. But not the boring, narcissistic, cynical, jaded or cantankerous individuals we sometimes encounter today; rather, it promotes hope, wit, strength and courage, kindness and love, altruism, and a spirit of collaboration in those who attend, creating the kinds of grown-ups that contribute to and care about the world. YouthWriters are exceptional in their own rights, their skills and imaginations having largely been cultivated before they even make it here. YouthWrite offers a space for the campers to explore themselves, meet likeminded individuals and build community while also developing different aspects of themselves as thinkers, writers, and artists. It offers a respite from the rigours of society, and provides a safer, kinder, more patient alternative to what occurs on the outside. YouthWrite facilitates personal growth. It provides a haven for people—often those at the margins, or who struggle with identity—to come together, experiment, take risks… but most importantly gives a place where you can be yourself free from judgment, prejudice, or persecution. We need more love, kindness, support, and courage in this world, and YouthWrite offers it all in spades. 10/10 would YouthWrite again!
Eli Belyea For YouthWrite Zooms Online 2021	I was so grateful to get to spend a week of my July in the company of Youthwrite’s incredible crew of campers, supervisors, and world-class instructors. During our time together, a number of my students reflected on how incredible that we could all be laughing, writing, and creating together, despite the space between us (we had folks joining us from literally coast to coast)! My class, Eye Say, is all about developing a character over the course of the week by eating, sleeping, writing, and improvising as them, and boy, did these students produce a wild cast of characters (from bloodthirsty cockroaches to fitness influencers to steak enthusiasts from space to vengeful pineapples)! When I was in High School, I remember feeling very isolated, and desperate to find other people like me (other weirdos, honestly), who dreamed of being an artist when they grew up. A decade later, Youthwrite has given me more friends, collaborators, and mentors than I can count. Without exaggeration, Youthwrite has changed my life for the better many times over, and I’m over the moon that by offering this new, dynamic iteration of Youthwrite Zooms online, this irreplaceable camp now has the capacity to reach even more students, and change even more lives.
Tania Gigliotti For Youthwrite Zooms Online and RV I & II	Picture it, Edmonton Spring 2021. I’ve been hired on to work at YouthWrite as Communications Manager as the amazing organization has worked to bring my youth comic book camps (Drawn to Write) under their umbrella after an incredibly hard pandemic year. Then Gail Sobat, known for believing in people and throwing them into situations she knows they can handle (even if they themselves aren’t so sure) says “Tania, you’ll be coordinating the YouthWrite Zooms Online camp and being a Super for River Valley I and II.” So my first year at YouthWrite has been busy, is what I’m saying. It is difficult to explain exactly what this first camp experience at YouthWrite means to me. Words that come to mind: immersive, inclusive, creative, challenging, inspiring, and to be honest, exhausting (though that doesn’t set in until after camp is done). But the biggest take away I’ve had is the sense of community building, from watching the YouthWriters find a safe space with us and with each other, to the great bonds I’ve formed with the other Supers and Instructors. YouthWriters online wrote about how they never would have been able to find this community without us holding it over Zoom as they joined from across the country. A young YouthWriter at River Valley told me we should change our tagline to “YouthWrite: Where introverts come to be extraverts.” Being long-winded is in my nature, but to try to sum it all up, my first year at YouthWrite allowed me into a community that provides strength, support, and hope to everyone the organization encounters. In a normal year, all of this would make me grateful. After the year+ we’ve all had, my gratitude is overwhelming.