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Community Collaborations
For many years Wordcraft operated as a National membership organization, connecting Native writers and storytellers throughout North America. As we move into our next decade, we look to redefine our membership structure by focusing on our local communities. In this project, we will work toward developing local community collaborations, wherein local Native writers and storytellers can come together within their community and generate creative work on a local level. Wordcraft will look to support the efforts of the Collaboratives by providing technical assistance and fiscal oversight. As each Collaborative is developed, we will strive toward making each self-suficient and self-sustaining, so that the community will have the chance to define what is most important to them in regards to ensuring our stories continue.
WC Reads
An initiative by former National Director and current Vice-President, Dr. Kimberly Roppolo, WC Reads is a project to help with literacy and spreading the works of Native writers throughout North America. As we all know, the more you read, the better you write, so we are working with publishers and authors to donate their books which we will distribute to local Native communities (schools, groups, collaboratives, etc). Communities can sign up online to receive book donations from Wordcraft and the WC Reads Project. We will also work with Native writers and storytellers to do readings in the communities selected to receive donations.
Electric tellings
A project long in the planning, Wordcraft will be working on collecting stories from Native people throughout North America, from traditional to contemporary to everything in-between, to archive and store in a digital library and clearinghouse. We will work with communities and youth to help record the stories, which can then be uploaded to our digital storage site. We hope to become a central repository for the voices of Native and Indigenous people.
Youth Writing Workshops
An ongoing project - we will continue to work with schools and libraries throughout the country to host youth writing workshops. As is evident by, not only, test scores, but essays and ongoing contests, our Native young people are having a difficult time with writing. We hope to help them become stronger writers and storytellers by working with them in two areas: mechanics and expression. The Mechanics workshop will focus on grammar and structure, while the Expression workshop will focus on creativity and production. We look to recruit local writers to help in their communities throughout the school year and into the summers.
Creative Writing Scholarships
For the first time ever, Wordcraft is hoping to offer scholarships to Native high-school and college students looking to pursue a degree in Creative Writing. Your support will help us achieve this goal and you can add to this by donating HERE.
Native Realities Press
For years, Native Realities served as the online journal of Wordcraft Circle and now we have a press. In order to continue to help promote the work of Native writers and storytellers, the Press will selected a few authors per year to publish and distribute their work. Not to be confused with the Native Realities Online Store (they sell stuff), the Press is dedicated to fostering continued excellence for Native literature!
Upcoming Wordcraft Projects
Online Community (TBA)
Returing the Gift & Gatherings (TBA)
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