2021 Summer Program Information & Registrations

Young Chicago Authors is proud to announce our Rooted & Radical Youth Poetry Festival, previously named Louder Than A Bomb. This newly imagined festival rethinks scoring and judging to empower participants and get back to the heart of creating a community for young people to share their stories in a non-competitive environment. Individual poets are given awards by voting from their peers. All participants are eligible for scholarships and special prizes.

To watch a replay of 2021’s showcase event visit the Rooted & Radical page.

Announcing The Roots Crew!

Young Chicago Authors is proud to announce our summer apprenticeship program “The Roots Crew” (previously titled BombSquad) that we will be hosting in-person and virtually via Zoom. This program is for Chicagoland high school students who are seeking to further develop their poetry pen game. Class of ‘22 graduates are welcome to apply.

We will be offering master poetry workshops in conjunction with four additional artistic pods in the areas of portfolio building, ekphrastic art, journalism/community stories, and music/songwriting. The goal of this paid apprenticeship is for each apprentice to walk away with an art portfolio that they can be proud of. The five-week program will meet Tuesdays – Fridays, 10am-3pm, from June 27th – July 30th. Applications are now closed. Please email emon@youngchicagoauthors.org with any questions about the application and/or program.