Speak Up: Creative Writing + Performance (Spring 2026)
Saturdays, January 31-March 14, 2026
3 p.m.-4 p.m. EST
Join us online for Speak Up, a teen creative writing program supporting the artistic and professional growth of teens.
In this FREE virtual creative writing workshop mini-series, teens will partner with experienced teaching artists to empower the creative writing process, from drafting to performance to publishing, to boost literacy and empower youth in Miami through community-based writing activities.
The program is open to all teens (ages 13-19) and is as free of charge as it is free of homework. No previous experience necessary!
March 14:
Instructor: Alexandra Villasante
Alexandra Villasante has always loved telling stories—though not always with words. She has a BFA in Painting and an MA in Combined Media (that’s art school speak for making work out of anything). Born in New Jersey to immigrant parents, Alex has the privilegio of dreaming in both English and Spanish. Her latest novel, Fireblooms, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and praise from Kirkus and Booklist. It was selected as one of NPR’s Books We Love 2025. Alex’s debut YA novel, The Grief Keeper, was a Fall 2019 Junior Library Guild Gold Selection and winner of the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Children’s Literature/Young Adult Fiction. She’s a contributor several Young Adult short story anthologies including, Our Shadows Have Claws, Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories and We Mostly Come Out at Night: 15 Queer Tales of Monsters Angels and Other Creatures. Alex is a co-founder of the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival and of the LKBF Latinx Storytellers Conference. When she’s not writing or painting, Alex works for Boyds Mills, formerly known as the Highlights Foundation.
