Write Rhode Island, the annual short fiction contest open to all Rhode Island students from seventh through 12th grade, is offering both virtual and in-person workshop opportunities this year. Special themed classes, like Ghost Stories or World Building, are being offered in partnership with local libraries across the state.

The Cranston Public Library is hosting Write Rhode Island Ghost Stories on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 4 p.m., free of charge. The goal of these fun workshops is to prepare students for the annual writing contest, which has a submission deadline of midnight on Dec. 12, but also to introduce students to published writers and other young writers across the state. 

“October is the perfect time of year to dive into all things spooky, and we have a lot of teens who enjoy creative writing,” said Alyssa Taft, teen librarian at Cranston Public Library. “Cranston Public Library can’t wait to have WriteRI come and teach our teens about writing scary stories!”

Interested students should contact Taft at (401) 943-9080, ext. 112 for registration, which is required for participation. 

Write Rhode Island is excited to be bringing these workshops to the community as well after a year of virtual learning. “We are thrilled to resume programming in libraries this year,” said coordinator Diana Champa. “We’ve developed some fun, creative workshops for teens to create their own stories and show us their perspective of Rhode Island and the larger world. We’re very excited to read the stories submitted.”

Write Rhode Island, co-created by School One and Goat Hill, was designed to promote and celebrate student writing by incorporating Rhode Island as a theme in a creative piece of prose. Each year, the contest receives over 150 submissions and publishes the top 20 stories in Rhode Island’s only print magazine dedicated to the fiction writing of Rhode Island students.

Write Rhode Island also partners with a number of local schools, libraries like Cranston Public, businesses, and community organizations to work with teens across the Ocean State. Support for these free workshops comes from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, and local businesses like BankRI. More information about the contest, including detailed rules, can be found at www.school-one.org.