This week was the first ever Kids With Pens graphic novel camp, and we had a sensational time. The campers expressed emotions through color;

This group of goofballs was full of mischief and prodigious talent. When confronted with a writing prompt, they bounced with energy and enthusiasm. They never wanted to put down their pens. We heard about a colony of fried chicken sloths, a mariachi band of frogs and an owl, and a lonely toaster named Fred. I hope you enjoy their delightful work below. The Blue Stone By Evan Allbritton Soon, morning came. Timothy awoke and got out his beautiful stone. He still couldn’t compre

We had six amazing young writers in this camp. I kept having to extend the writing time because the girls wouldn't put down their pens! I heard about the continents being split and relocated in space, the ghost of a fire dancer, and a prince so hot that women who wanted to marry him would die of heat exhaustion. Please enjoy these stories. They are a small sample of the remarkable work that the campers created this week. _______________________________ Me and My Mom by Evan A

We had a small but talented group in Georgetown this June. These girls explored three act structure, metaphors, and how to create a dynamite opening. They wrote very serious and seriously funny pieces. I'm very proud of the work they produced in our five day workshop. My Name By Bridgette Barnard My name smells like the cool free air that rushes violently into the car when the windows are down. It smells like the cool rain in the fall, and the harsh heat in the summer. I inhe

The girls in our spring “Girls With Pens” workshops had been told they’d be writing, but they squealed with delight when I told them we’d be making up stories. Each week, they waited with bated breath until I gave them the next assignment and then they would scribble furiously until time was up. The only thing better than creating the work was sharing it. The girls constantly campaigned to be first. During our six weeks together, we learned about the fundamentals of fiction,

This spring was my first semester leading workshops at the Girls School of Austin. What a beautiful campus and what talented young writers! They wrote ghost stories, explored metaphors and created poems out of their own names. These are preternaturally gifted young women and I can't wait to see what they produce in the future. Dreams Are by Evan Allbritton Dreams are stringy like a little kid putting a puzzle together. Dreams are twisty like trying to figure out the plot to a

In collaboration with Badgerdog and the Austin Library Foundation, Girls With Pens spent this fall with members of the fourth grade at Perez Elementary. When I began working with these young writers, they had no idea what they were in for. They sat with me around a table in the library after school, pencils in hand, wondering what on earth I expected them to do. But within no time, they were writing stories about aliens, pigs, and what it would be like to take a tumble throug