The Writer's Garret is a non-profit organization serving the literary and educational communities of Dallas and surrounding area. Host of the Dallas Is Lit! literary festival and recipient the 2023 Dallas City of Learning Superintendent Award, the organization provides workshops, classes and residencies to young people and adults from every walk of life, from local poets to veterans, in classrooms and on DART trains.
Our programs fall into 3 main categories:
Support for the Literary Community The Writer's Garret is committed to meaningfully supporting local writers and using its resources to promote and elevate existing local literary activities. Poetry In Place, the organization's newest project, invites community members to document their relationship to the Trinity river through poetry. The Dallas Is Lit! literary festival takes an expansive understanding of what is literary and who gets to participate in the literary community. The Common Language Project is an annual community-centered poetry competition resulting in publication in an anthology and a public reading. Cake & Prose and the Lyceum Series are just two examples of Garret programming throughout the year, featuring workshops, discussions, readings and performances. And at the heart of The Garret's mission are our free Stone Soup peer critique work groups, which meet 5 times each month in 3 different venues, to offer writers a relaxed, welcoming environment to share and receive feedback on their work.
Youth & Family
Writers In Neighborhoods & Schools (or WINS) sends local writers into classrooms and community centers as teaching artists to unlock imaginations and foster excitement for reading and creative writing. Rail Writers, our immersive summer youth program unlike any other, takes kids onto the DART light rail and into the city for a journey of exploration, writing and sharing.
Community Partnerships
Write To Heal partners with organizations like Cancer Support Community, Challenge America Veterans and the Wesley Rankin Community Center to provide workshops and residencies to use expressive writing and the art of crafting language as a tool for coping with physical or psychological adversity, as well as systemic disadvantage, with the goal of building a more vibrant, wholly healthful community.
The Writer’s Garret connects people through the imaginative power of language, envisioning a literary culture which acknowledges the intrinsic creativity of all people, welcomes and encourages diverse perspectives and lived experiences, and recognizes Dallas as an emerging leader in state, regional, and national literary conversations.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025, The Garret has connected countless writers, readers and literary enthusiasts, from iconic novelists to emerging poets, from Pulitzer-winners to Slam champions. No matter who you are or how you #getliterary, The Writer's Garret has a place for you.
The Writer's Garret is currently looking for general volunteers and up to 3 additional board members, with specific needs in corporate fundraising and sponsorships, publicity and media relations, and strong connections within the Oak Cliff community. Leadership opportunities are available; please connect with us via the information below.
The Writer's Garret is also looking for 2 interns, 1 in the fall and 1 in spring, to assist with social media, publicity and introductory project management.
For more information regarding either of the listed needs, please contact Executive Director Aaron Glover at aaron@writersgarret.org.
Implicit in our mission is the desire, and even the need, to work closely with diverse partners, individuals, and suppliers, who provide immediate access to the many communities in our service area. The Writer's Garret values diversity in the variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences in culture and circumstance. The Writer's Garret does not discriminate based on such differences, including race, color, national origin, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or veteran status.
Organization name
The Writer's Garret
Causes
Arts & Humanities
Operating Budget
$250,000 - $499,999
Counties Served
Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, Rockwall, Tarrant
BIPOC Leadership
Neither/None
Address
215 S Tyler Street