About Us
A wonderful thing happens when we allow our creativity to come forth—when we lift our voices, our pens, and our hearts to share with the world. Even more so when we encourage young people to follow such a path. It sparks empowerment; it builds a chain of legacy.
That’s what Youth Writers Rock does. Each young person in this creative writing program becomes a link in this chain, inextricably tied together for a sole purpose: freedom.
Freedom to think. Freedom to create. Freedom to speak. Freedom to be.
Launched in 2017 under the 501(c)(3) community-based organization nonprofit, Youth Writers Challenge Inc. (YWC), YWR offers a space in this world for young writers to express themselves amongst their peers. Together, they collaborate to write books. Individually, they grow as students, leaders, people.
About Our Program
YWR is a six-month program that runs from January to June. Participants are students from challenged communities who attend elementary, middle, and high school in the Baltimore metro area. They attend weekly writing sessions as well as workshops and educational field trips. Students and volunteer instructors meet on Saturdays from 10 am to 1 pm in a branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Public Library. Snacks and beverages are provided for the students at every session.
During the sessions, students work with instructors to discuss, plan, write, and edit non-fiction or fictional stories. YWR is focused on producing stories that are authentic to each student. For this reason, we are focused on guiding them to dig deep to produce their own content. As the students walk through the program, they gradually learn the entire process of creating, marketing, and selling an original manuscript.
There are 24 YWR graduates. Collectively, these young writers have written seven Amazon best-seller books and released one short film that premiered at the Senator Theatre in 2018. YWR tuition is free. All students are sponsored thanks to donations and YWC fundraising efforts.
Meet the Founder
Patricia Johnson-Harris
Patricia Johnson-Harris is an advocate for writers of all ages. She’s a long-time supporter of authors, having created numerous events and platforms to promote traditionally-published and independent authors. She founded YWC in 2011 to open more doors for Baltimore-based youth through the power of writing. Through it, YWR was born.
As she presses toward reaching a fifteen-year milestone for the nonprofit in 2026, Mrs. Johnson-Harris is committed to increasing the number of young writers in YWR. She desires to impact the lives of more young people, offer increased educational opportunities to improve their communication skills, and seek more skilled volunteers to help them hone their craft.
What started out as a labor of love has become a mission to change lives, one young person at a time.
