The Writer's Garret is a non-profit organization serving the literary and educational communities of the Dallas and surrounding area. 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. 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. Stone Soup peer critique work groups meet 5 times each month in 3 different venues to offer writers a relaxed, welcoming environment to share and receive feedback on their work. The Garret hosts and sponsors a variety of literary events and workshops, including the monthly poetry series Inner Moonlight, the quarterly panel on the craft of writing LitTalk and  a variety of donation-based classes, workshops and panels.
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. In partnership with Big Thought, Summer Soars camps bring social/emotional learning to kids in two neighborhoods during the summer break. And Rail Writers, our signature summer program unlike any other, takes kids into the city via the DART light rail for a journey of imagination and exploration.
Community Partnerships
Write To Heal is a collaborative effort utilizing 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. As a part of Write To Heal, Writing Over War focuses especially on lives affected by armed conflict, including veterans and their families.
The Writer's Garret is currently looking to add two additional members to its board of trustees, with a strong need in marketing and publicity, as well as strategic growth. We are also looking for volunteers to assist with Dallas Is Lit! 2024, as well as engage a volunteer for light office admin tasks 2-3 times a week in person at our office in Oak Cliff.
The Garret connects people through the power of language.
In twenty-eight years, The Garret has connected over 2 million readers and audience members with thousands of writers, from iconic novelists to emerging poets, from Pulitzer-winners to Slam champions. We believe in a literary community that is welcoming, inclusive, and diverse, celebrating the myriad of perspectives that help create a more thoughtful and empathetic world.
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, Culture & Humanities, Education - K-12, Youth & Children
Operating Budget
$100,000 - $249,999
Counties Served
Dallas, Tarrant
Equity Statement
Equity Statement
Address
215 S Tyler Street