Every Find Your Voice creative writing program ends in celebration — it's built into the experience, an essential final step after twelve weeks of thinking, sharing, and growing as a group of writers. At the program’s culminating book release party, Inkers can hold their program’s professionally designed anthology and see their names printed inside: real-life authors, with a copyright notice and everything—this is the real deal.
Equally significant, these new authors can read their work for a room of parents and peers and walk back to their seat as applause surrounds them. But when 916 Ink transitioned to virtual learning in 2020, we were faced with new struggles: How could we continue this tradition when our workshops and anthologies now existed in a digital space? How could we bring young authors together while keeping them six feet apart?
After another semester of Zoom workshops due to COVID-19, 916 Ink answered these questions by throwing our first-ever drive-thru celebration, “Call to Adventure,” in March. The event posed challenges of its own, but it ultimately highlighted the joy of creativity, collaboration, and community among staff and students alike. Though separated by masks and tinted windows, the smiles from young authors shined through and reminded us of the importance of empowering youth and cheering on every story, even from afar.
After months of planning, collaborating, and delegating, we had four hours to celebrate over 90 youth authors from ten fall programs, and we wanted to transform our venue — the nondescript Maple Community Center parking lot — with as much whimsy as possible. Rolling with a tongue-in-cheek road trip theme, we welcomed every car-ful of authors with music, cheers, and an enthusiastic clanging of green cowbells before ushering them toward the unique destinations on their journey across the pavement...
First, make sure to grab your personal tote filled with writerly road trip goodies including a postcard prompt, writing passport, and printed zine filled with group stories from fall programs. Next, it’s time to drive to the DMV (Department of Meter and Verse, of course) and hop out of the car to take a photo for your very own Poetic License, which will be laminated and cut to fit in your wallet in case of any future writing emergency. After you’ve had your photo taken, drive to the cacti and retro gas pump at the Refueling Station to grab your mid-trip snacks, and then pull up to the tropical Souvenir Station to receive your 916 Ink T-shirt and certificate that you can show off to friends and family after your vacation. Finally, make sure to autograph the poster of your anthology to leave your mark before driving off into the sunset (i.e., balloon arch) — remember, your adventure with writing is just beginning!
Despite the silliness of inflatable palm trees and punny IDs, we witnessed authentic pride and excitement from fall writers (some new to Ink, some veteran authors) as they greeted their workshop facilitators in person for the very first time. Although 916 Ink has embraced virtual programming and the opportunities it provides — integrating multimodal elements into workshops and expanding our reach with new students from across the state and even country — forming relationships across a screen will always feel different than sharing smiles “irl,” where no one can turn off their camera or open a new tab. With every certificate grabbed through a car window and every poster autographed in metallic Sharpie, we saw youth from third grade all the way through high school transform from writers to authors before us, beaming with the self-confidence that difference makes.
The setting may have changed, but celebration continues at 916 Ink wherever we can create it.
