Support Queer Youth
Partner with us to bring LGBTQ+ authors and books into K-12 schools
LGBTQ Writers in Schools is a virtual and in-person program that brings reading to life by connecting K-12 students with working LGBTQ+ authors. Since 2015, Lambda Literary’s LGBTQ Writers in Schools program and the NYC Department of Education have partnered to provide LGBTQ+ students with an experience that creates critically necessary, safe spaces for students to talk about great books and how to thrive as an LGBTQ+ person. Through curricular and extra-curricular visits, mini-poetry workshops, and writing workshops, this program:
- validates and affirms LGBTQ+ students through reading and writing
- helps educators and students to realize that LGBTQ literature is relevant and important for all students
- allows students to make connections between literature and contemporary issues in students lives
Exposure to LGBTQ literature and its writers has the ability to normalize, validate, and celebrate LGBTQ lives and can help reduce bullying. Schools that support LGBTQ+ Inclusive Curriculum see LGBTQ+ students have fewer missed days, higher GPAs, and a greater sense of safety and belonging among their peers.
Our passionate and committed community of writers values the impact of students finding LGBTQ+ voices in books. They strive to create stories that reflect the positivity and vibrancy of LGBTQ+ lived experiences. This rich representation of the multiple voices of the LGBTQ community also serves to build empathy among all students. For all students, direct contact with writers and receiving personal, signed copies of their books can spark a lifetime love of reading with its enrichment of heart, mind, and imagination.
“Our students are entitled to diverse, enriching literature that teaches them the importance of acceptance and compassion. The Writers in Schools Program plays a critical role in developing a robust education, allowing students to learn about the experiences of the authors as well as those around them. The LGBTQ+ community has so much to offer, and it’s time our students expand their library of books while educators learn the power of inclusivity.”
Marjorie Velazquez
Council Member, District 13, NYC
Connect with Us!
We’d love to keep you informed about LGBTQ Writers in Schools. We send occasional updates about our work including visit pictures, program progress, positive moments, application information, and book recommendations. Don’t worry, the program news updates are sent on a quarterly basis so we won’t be overloading your inbox. Looking forward to welcoming you to our community to support LGBTQ+ students!
Are you a district leader, school administrator, school counselor, or parent wanting to learn more about our program and how you can support LGBTQ+ students? Are you an educator or school librarian interested in bringing our program to your school? As we look towards bringing this successful program to schools and districts across the nation, we’d love to hear from you! If you’re interested in working with us, contact us so we can continue the conversation!
E-BOOK AVAILABLE NOW!
LGBTQ Writers in Schools provides a safe, necessary space for LGBTQ+ high school students to express themselves through creative writing. Through our 6-week writing workshops, young LGBTQ+ writers learn the craft of writing taught by queer and trans teaching artists using illustrative texts by contemporary LGBTQ+ authors. With a nurturing space and intimate mentorship, these LGBTQ+ student voices speak through their words in the writing they created. They can be themselves, be seen, and have their words heard.
Representation
“I have participated in this program for the last 4 years, and each experience tops the last. The reality is that being LGBTQ in the community (primarily black, and Caribbean), intersects with a multitude of complexities, and it’s really important to me that my students are able to see themselves as successful adults. Participating in this program has always allowed us to create additional space for the kids here at the school, and each visit has been so profoundly meaningful.”
Affirming
“I’ve been collaborating the Writers in Schools program for the past three years. It has and will impact our school community in many ways. I’ve had more students feel safe enough and respected enough to come out as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender in the past two years than I ever have. My LGBTQ+ identified students have felt more respected and celebrated by their peers and even by their teachers. Last year, I started the very first GSA at 303! I think this program that been essential in the culture shift in my community.”
Needed Now More Than Ever
“LGBTQ Writers in Schools needs to be in every school in the country.”
A Vital Life Line
“Being given the opportunity to hear students’ stories of heartbreak, bullying, and not being accepted by family members, helped me see that though there has been change, there’s still so much more that needs to be done.”
Changing School Cultures
“This program has truly helped to change the whole culture of our school into one that is more inclusive and accepting.”
Impact
Since 2015, the LGBTQ Writers in Schools program has brought LGBTQ books and authors to thousands of students in New York City.
18600
Students reached
630
Schools across every borough
130
Visiting authors
K-12
Serving all grade levels
