YALDA stands for the Young Artists Language & Devotion Alliance and exists to provide young women writers, ages 12-19, with the guidance and support they deserve to develop and share their work. Each summer, YALDA holds an NYC-based week-long summer literary intensive and publishing program for young women writers ages 12-19.This June marks our inaugural session with our first cohort of four autho
rs. NYC literary landmark Poets House will host our chapbook launch reading and celebration, as well as two days of workshops and seminars, where students will write, explore their poetics of performance, and participate in a roundtable on publishing as young authors, receiving invaluable knowledge from visiting women artists who are leaders in their fields. Writers take a letterpress workshop with the wonderful nonprofit and independent publishing hero Ugly Duckling Presse, where they learn to design, print and bind their own chapbooks of poetry. Their manuscripts are the product of each student giving their work many months of professional, whole-hearted effort in conjunction with instructor support and mentorship. The writers immerse themselves in the city's trove of vibrant cultural institutions-- hearing readings, seeing art, meeting inspiring artists and exploring NYC together. This year YALDA is honored to welcome our first four authors, Malia Maxwell, Yovana Milosevic, Lulu Priddy, and Caroline Sasso, about whom you can learn more at www.yalda-web.com/authors.
