Why When Duty Calls is so powerful—and why you’ll want to hear from three of the middle-schooler authors next week.
826DC students are among the most innovative contemporary authors in DC. These writers craft poetry and prose that is gorgeous and sticks with you long after you’ve closed the book. Three of those young writers, Kaiya, Amiah, and Demetrius, are getting ready to speak at 826DC’s Story Soiree gala on September 24th, and you’ll want to be there.
Writers on the Rise
Kaiya, Amiah, Demetrius, and their fellow seventh-grade Brookland Middle School classmates published When Duty Calls with 826DC last spring.
They did it through 826DC’s Young Authors’ Book Project, aka YABP. YABP is a year-long writing residency, and it shows. These students’ months of hard work are evident in their craftsmanship and thought. Working closely with 826DC staff and a host of volunteers, they created an impressive story collection about original hero and warrior characters.
Answering the Call
In preparation for writing this book, the students tackled some big questions. What makes a hero and a warrior? What does it mean to be one or the other?
The students used those archetypes to create unique characters taking on all kinds of challenges, all informed by what the students face in their everyday lives. In bringing in aspects of themselves and their own experiences, they brought a real truth to these fictional situations.
You don’t have to be a trainee spy, an artist with a hidden backstory, or a ninja to relate to the problems they encounter. You don’t need a nemesis or a secret weapon. What these writers did with their YABP was to turn the fantastic into the relatable and to compel us to consider what we’d do in seemingly impossible situations.
That takes guts, serious writing skills, and creativity. No wonder our students knocked it out of the park!
Authors, Assemble
YABP is a meaningful experience for many reasons. The students get hands-on practice with all aspects of writing, editing, and publishing a book. They get better at giving and receiving feedback. They emerge as published authors. Another perk we don’t often talk about, though, is how 826DC also uses this program to connect students with established, grown-up writers.
Past guest teaching artists include Regie Cabico (known as the “Lady Gaga of Poetry”), Shawna Thomas (currently the executive producer of CBS News’ “CBS Mornings,” then the DC Bureau Chief of VICE News), and Chioma Urama (poet and instructor at the University of New Orleans).
Most recently, the When Duty Calls authors worked with journalist and author Kat Chow, who also wrote the foreword for their book.
Just a few months ago at the MLK branch of the DC Public Library, several of the When Duty Calls authors also spoke on a panel with Ron Charles (book critic at The Washington Post) as their moderator. Now, at the Story Soiree, Kaiya, Amiah, and Demetrius will share the stage with NYT-bestselling author Dolen Perkins-Valdez.
When 826DC brings these literary luminaries into classrooms or onto youth panels, we’re not just giving students access to craft insights that they wouldn’t otherwise get. We’re also sending a powerful message: These artists are your peers on a shared creative path. Not only is there room for you on this journey, but we are also truly excited to have you with us.
That message can be life-changing for a young person. It’s also one that you can help drive home at the Story Soiree.
Help Cheer On Kaiya, Amiah, and Demetrius
We hope you’ll join us at 826DC’s Story Soiree (September 24th, 6-8 PM at Woolly Mammoth Theatre) to learn from and support Kaiya, Amiah, and Demetrius. You can also help more students just like them by donating here.
Page by page, we’re bringing DC’s youngest voices out into the spotlight.