The Telling Room

The Telling Room At The Telling Room, we empower youth through writing and share their voices with the world.

Focused on young writers ages 6 to 18, we seek to build confidence, strengthen literacy skills, and provide real audiences for our students. Our fun, innovative programs enlist the support of local writers, artists, teachers, and community groups. At our downtown writing center we offer free afterschool workshops and tutoring, and host field trips for school groups from all over Maine. We also lea

d workshops at local schools and community organizations; bring acclaimed writers to Maine to give public readings and work with small groups of students; publish bestselling anthologies of student work; and carry out community-wide storytelling projects and events. We serve those who are reluctant to write as well as those who already identify as writers, including: children and young adults who are a part of Maine’s growing community of immigrants and refugees, those with emotional and behavioral challenges, students struggling in mainstream classrooms, homeschoolers enthusiastic to join a creative community, and passionate young writers who need additional support beyond what their schools are able to provide.

Adults: join us on June 10th to learn how to bind your own book and start to fill it with writing and art! We'll use a v...
06/01/2026

Adults: join us on June 10th to learn how to bind your own book and start to fill it with writing and art! We'll use a variety of papers and materials to create our own simple signature books, then play around with Telling Room prompts to generate some writing and art inside. All materials provided; no experience needed. To register now, visit: https://www.hisawyer.com/the-telling-room/schedules/activity-set/1906208?source=camps

If you are still searching for your amazing summer plans, look no further! There are still few remaining spots open in o...
05/31/2026

If you are still searching for your amazing summer plans, look no further! There are still few remaining spots open in our exciting creative writing camps Big Ideas, Little Books and Rock Paper Paper. You won't want to miss them! To register now, visit: https://www.tellingroom.org/programs/camps

Due to some unexpected cancellations, spots just opened up in a few of our most popular camps - Character Creation, Word...
05/30/2026

Due to some unexpected cancellations, spots just opened up in a few of our most popular camps - Character Creation, Word by Word, and Pride Camp. There is only 1 spot left in each camp so grab it fast! To register now, visit: https://www.tellingroom.org/programs/camps

05/30/2026

What a powerful feeling it was to hear our whole community chant the words "I was destined to have a vast and creative mind" along with poet and alum Sophia Kapita at Paint the Town Read! We're so grateful to everyone who came out and braved the rain to join us, building momentum as we aim to raise $150,000 by June 30th. Today, we’re 76% to our goal, with $36,000 remaining to be raised.

Every gift we receive through the end of June is being matched up to $60,000 thanks to a group of generous Telling Room donors. Right now, we're less than $6,000 away from receiving the full match—but we need your help to reach this milestone. To make a donation today, visit: https://www.tellingroom.org/donate

And thank you to videographer Chris Tucker for capturing some of the highlights from our annual celebration of The Telling Room and its impact in this video here.

05/29/2026

🎉 What a night! We were delighted to cheer on the many Telling Room authors who were finalists for the Maine Literary Awards this year. Our youth winners are:

Youth Fiction — Nela Parker for “Have You Seen Sofia?”
Youth Nonfiction — Caroline Chong for “At Halmonie’s Table”
Youth Poetry — Albertina Dos Santos for “To Love a Country”

And, we’re so excited to share that our 20th anniversary anthology, IT RAINS DIAMONDS ON NEPTUNE, took home the prize for Excellence in Publishing. So much gratitude to the many contributors and collaborators who made this book possible, including illustrator Otto Wolyniec and the team at Pink Eraser Press. Thank you to the jurors and the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance for this honor!

Congrats once again to all of the finalists and awardees—we hope you’ll read their work and continue to support Maine’s writing community. For more info on all of the nominees, visit: https://www.mainewriters.org/maine-literary-awards

05/28/2026

What does it mean to be part of The Telling Room? The answer lies here, in this beautiful poem by Young Writers & Leaders alum Evana Wakati, written about her time in our program and adapted for film by David Meiklejohn.

Experiences like these are possible thanks to support from our community, which has also helped us make incredible strides towards our ambitious and necessary goal of raising $150,000 by June 30th, 2026. Thanks to a group of generous Telling Room donors, every gift we receive through the end of June is being matched up to $60,000. Telling Room supporters have donated over $50,000 so far and we now have $9,500 remaining to be matched—you can help make it happen!

With $39,000 left to be raised by June 30th, we’re now nearly 75% to our $150,000 goal. To make a gift, visit: https://www.tellingroom.org/donate

"This drumbeat belonged. It was home." Today at 4:30pm is your last chance to catch the amazing Young Writers & Leaders ...
05/27/2026

"This drumbeat belonged. It was home."

Today at 4:30pm is your last chance to catch the amazing Young Writers & Leaders reading from their chapbook, FREEDOM WITHOUT DIRECTION! Join us at the Portland Museum of Art in the Bernard Osher Auditorium as our Wednesday group of writers takes the stage and shares the mic, telling stories of home, identity, friendship, faith, and courage. This event is free and open to the public, and we hope to see you there! To learn more, visit: https://www.tellingroom.org/upcoming-events/ywl-book-launch-and-reading

Thank you all who joined us last night for our Young Writers & Leaders Book Launch & Reading at the Portland Museum of A...
05/27/2026

Thank you all who joined us last night for our Young Writers & Leaders Book Launch & Reading at the Portland Museum of Art. The fun isn't over yet — we can't to do it again tonight! Join us for this free event from 4:30pm to 6pm as we celebrate our young and impressive authors and their new book. To learn more, visit: https://www.tellingroom.org/upcoming-events/ywl-book-launch-and-reading

⏰️ There are only three days until we celebrate our Young Writers & Leaders at their upcoming Book Launch and Reading at...
05/24/2026

⏰️ There are only three days until we celebrate our Young Writers & Leaders at their upcoming Book Launch and Reading at the Portland Museum of Art! Join us Tuesday May 26th and Wednesday May 27th from 4:30pm to 6pm for an evening of stories, learning, and inspiration. To learn more, visit: https://www.tellingroom.org/upcoming-events/ywl-book-launch-and-reading

Address

225 Commercial Street , Suite 201
Portland, ME
04101

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+12077746064

Website

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