Lighthouse's Young Writers Program connects children and teens to writing, new friends, and their own artistic voices. Our workshops, whether at Lighthouse or at one of our dozens of partnering sites, are taught by published and award-winning authors and are designed to foster creativity and self-expression, and to empower youth to find their voices through creative writing.
Check out the 2026/2027 School Year calendar to plan ahead for all events.
Write at the Museum
Dungeons and Dragons After-school Club
Fall Cozy Writing Marathon for ages 7+
Thrills and Chills Halloween Day
Youth Workshops
At Lighthouse, we offer a variety of in-person and virtual creative writing workshops, in all genres, on weekends, after school, and during school-closure days, including the Young Authors Collective for teens, summer camps, and more
School Programs
Interested in coming to Lighthouse with your students or having us come to you? We can customize workshops to fit individual classroom or program goals and needs. We provide hour-long presentations, one-day or week-long intensives, after-school programs, multi-week sessions, or longer-term workshops culminating in public readings or published anthologies (or both), depending on the needs of the school or program and its young writers.
Summer Camps
Lighthouse offers a wide array of full and half-day summer camps from June through August for young writers ages seven to 18.
Young Authors Collective
The Young Authors Collective, or YAC, is a group of talented, word-obsessed high school writers dedicated to experimenting with new creative forms, collaborating with other arts organizations, and writing a ton. Our two cohorts, YAC—Denver and YAC—Online meet once a week to generate new pieces, give friendly feedback, and work towards publication.
Tuition is $550 per semester; full and partial financial aid is available. Please apply first and request financial aid after you are accepted. Applications open each summer; stay tuned for details about the 2027/28 session.
Homeschooling
Lighthouse is thrilled to partner with Colorado Homeschool Enrichment (CHE) to offer a tuition-free, year-long program for homeschoolers ages 7 to 18! Learn more about homeschool options for creative writing classes.
YWP Anthology
The Lighthouse Young Writers Program publishes an annual anthology of students' writing, And We Created Worlds, from participants in community engagement and in-house programs. Submissions are now open for our 2025-206 Anthology!