Writing & Performance Workshops are the heart of Youth Speaks. We come together weekly with an amazing poet mentor to imagine, write, share, and rehearse. Sign up today!
SF Youth Poet Laureate Cohort
Are you a young poet, writer, or performer representing artistic excellence in San Francisco (13-19 years old?) Youth Speaks and 826 Valencia are launching San Francisco's first Youth Poet Laureate program with the goal of selecting 10-15 young writers to participate in an advanced workshop series this fall (September 2025 - February 2026).
Participants will receive a scholarship stipend of $700 through K2C college savings account for attending workshops every 2 weeks in San Francisco. After the Fall Sessions, two cohort members will be selected as San Francisco's first Youth Poet Laureate and Vice Youth Poet Laureate to represent the city through their work. The entire cohort will be invited to apply to the statewide and national youth poet laureate submissions and will receive application advisory sessions. The cohort will also be published in 826 Valencia's SF Youth Poet Laureate Anthology and be featured at SF performance opportunities in the Spring of 2026.
February - June 2025
Wednesdays 5pm-7pm
Pull up for Youth Speaks Wednesday After School Writing Workshops. Young folks across the bay can pull up to Youth Speaks Office (SF) or Chapter 510 (OAK) for 4 new themed After School Writing Workshops.
*$500 Stipends are available for participants who attend 10 out of the 12 workshops offered. Stipends are limited.
1st Wednesdays @ Chapter 510: Breaking Form
- A Space dedicated to exploring form poetry with rules, writing with them, and breaking them!
2nd Wednesdays @ Youth Speaks Office: Revolutionary Rhythms
- Poetry workshop series that merges the soulful power of R&B music with the transformative potential of poetry.
3rd Wednesdays @ Chapter 510: Black to the Future
- A workshop series studying & celebrating black poets and writing about the future.
4th Wednesdays @ Youth Speaks Office: Da Kick Back
- A chill creative space dedicated to building community and vibing.
RARE 5th Wednesdays @ Youth Speaks Office: Dungeons & Dragons - Collaborative Storytelling
- Come create a character and play through an interactive world of storytelling with other young imaginers.
Youth Speaks Office | 265 Shotwell St., San Francisco
Chapter 510 | 546 9th St., Oakland
