The Loft's Access Fund Pool is open for programming taking place in June 2024 - August 2025.  The Loft's Access Fund model allows you to submit a single online application to join the Pool and learn about Loft programs as they become available. The following programs are eligible for Loft Access Funds:

• Adult and youth education classes and workshops
• Lit!Series craft talks, pitches and consultations, and events
• Lit!Commons program
• Year-Long Writing Project (separate application)

These opportunities are meant to reduce financial barriers to participation in Loft classes and are available to individuals who are experiencing financial hardship and to whom the cost of tuition is a barrier to participation. Once accepted, available seats are emailed out as they become available, about 1-2 times a month. These email alerts will give you access to a list of offerings that are access fund viable. If you are interested in any of these offerings, you will need to follow the given instructions to request a seat in the class. Seats for most offerings are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. If a seat is available, you will be given a promo code (applied during checkout) that will provide a 95% reduction in tuition for a class. The access fund recipient is responsible for the remaining 5% cost, which will vary depending on the regular price of the class. 

The Loft is committed to equity in our programming by creating opportunities for folks who face barriers to participation in artistic career development. While Loft class access funds are focused on reducing financial barriers, we want to strongly encourage individuals from historically marginalized communities to apply, including, but not limited to, Black and Indigenous people and people of color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, as well as low income individuals.

It is not mandatory to provide proof of financial hardship, but if you would like to provide documentation**, please submit documentation that includes: 1) Your name & address 2) Public assistance program name**  3) A recent date. Then, use your mobile phone's camera, scanner, or good old snail mail to send us your documentation after, or along with your online application below.

More questions? Read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). 

**Optional documentation, if provided, should include 1) Your name & address 2) Public assistance program name**  3) A recent date. Then, use your mobile phone's camera, scanner, or good old snail mail to send us your documentation after, or along with your online application. 

Examples of Accepted Public Assistance Programs:

• TANF
• MFIP
• General Assistance
• WIC
• Medicaid,  Medical Assistance, or Minnesota Care
• SSI (Disability, Not Retirement)
• Food Stamps
• Unemployment
• Section 8 Housing
• Free or Reduced Price School Meals

The Loft’s Young Writers’ Program offers year-round, high-quality, enrichment-based creative writing instruction across genres, to all levels, for kids and teens ages 6-18. Many classes are taught by award-winning, published writers. Loft classes are process based, rather than product based, and seek to support children and teens as they become excited, engaged writers and readers.

The Loft's Young Writers' Program publishes an annual anthology of students' writing in the Loft Young Writers Anthology from youth participants in community programs and in-house programs. Our goal is to provide a safe space for youth to express themselves, regardless of their experience, background, ethnicity, and/or identity, and elevate their voices and unique perspectives.

Eligible students may submit up to 3 double-spaced pages. Work must have been written, started, or revised in a Loft workshop or class between September 2024 to September 2025. Submissions close on September 8, 2025 at 11:59 PM.

Please note that we do not accept any submissions or publish work that contains hateful language, bigotry, homophobia, or violate the Loft's Code of Conduct policy or Strategic Framework. If your work contains any sensitive or difficult topics, please include a content warning with your submission.

The Loft’s Summer Youth Writing Intensives

📚 Calling all young writers! Join the Loft's Summer Youth Writing Intensives at Open Book for a one-of-a-kind opportunity for campers to immerse themselves in a creative writing community with their peers. Led by published, award-winning writers, each camp fosters creativity, self-expression, and a love of writing. Over the course of four days, campers will work closely with teaching artists across a variety of genres, complete at least one polished piece, and leave with fresh ideas for future work and countless new memories with new friends.

The camp culminates in a public reading where students can share their writing (participation optional). Plus, there’s an opportunity for all Loft Young Writers to contribute to our professionally-produced youth anthology. All experience levels are welcome—we seek campers excited to write and connect with a community of young writers.

Camp Details:

📍 Location: The Loft at Open Book
  📅 Ages 10-13: July 22-25, 2025
  📅 Ages 14-18: July 29-August 1, 2025
  ⏰ Hours: 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM (lunch break included)
  💰 Cost: $550 (Access Funds available to help offset costs if tuition is a barrier!)

Note: This is NOT an overnight camp. Campers should bring lunch, a water bottle, and writing materials.

What to Expect:

• Full-day workshops with published teaching artists
• A focus on craft, creativity, and community
• Opportunities for free-writing, rooftop hangs, friendship-bracelet-making, and new friendships
• A professionally published anthology featuring student work
• An Anthology Release Party on December 4, 2025, at Open Book

Admissions Policy:

We accept applications starting January 2025 on a rolling basis. Prospective campers will need to fill out a short application and submit a short writing sample (no more than 1,000 words) to help us gauge student fit and placement. Campers will hear back within two weeks of applying. If a camp fills, a waitlist will be created, and we’ll notify campers if spots open up. Availability will be updated on our website.

What We’re Looking For:

We welcome campers who:
  ✨ Show a passion for writing
  ✨ Are curious, creative, and eager to explore new ideas
  ✨ Respect peers and teaching artists
  ✨ Come from diverse backgrounds and have varied interests

Whether you’ve written a novel or simply want to try something new, this summer writing intensive is for you! Financial need will not affect acceptance. There is space in the application to apply for Access Funds if tuition is a barrier for you.

Payment & Access Funds:

💳 Camp Fee: $550 (includes a copy of the summer anthology)
  📚 Anthology Release Party: December 5, 2025, at Open Book

Once accepted, payment is required to secure your spot. You can register online, call to pay by phone, or send a check. For cancellations, refer to our cancellation policy.

💵 Access Funds: We offer Access Funds for fully-funded seats for families in need. To request assistance, complete the Access Fund section of the application form. We’ll contact you about aid options upon acceptance.

Ready to immerse yourself in a supportive writing community and bring your stories to life? Apply now!

Thank you for your interest in teaching with the Loft! This proposal form is accepting applications on a rolling basis while this project is live.

On our website, we have resources and FAQs to assist you in submitting proposals. Before contacting Program Manager of Education Marianne Manzler <mmanzler@loft.org> with questions, please review the following:

• Reference Guide for Teaching Artists
• Inclusion, Equity, and Antiracism
• Loft Code of Conduct
• Submittable Guide

We offer optional office hours for proposal-related questions or application feedback to answer any questions. RSVP here for an upcoming teaching artist information session. Book a 15-minute feedback session with one of our education associates.

Loft’s Mission & Vision

The Loft advances the power of writers and readers to craft and share stories, to create and celebrate connections, and to build just, life-sustaining communities.

We envision a world where the power of the word liberates minds, deepens relationships, and inspires movements for people and planet. As an antiracist organization, the Loft develops literary experiences for writers, readers, and storytellers because racism dehumanizes people, and poetry and stories deepen our connection to our shared humanity. Recognizing the relationship between race, power, and resources, we prioritize the engagement of BIPOC/marginalized  communities and work for the equitable distribution of our power and resources.The Loft is dedicated to offering classes that are imaginative, multicultural, and responsive. We seek reading lists, class content, and approaches to discussions on craft that are inclusive and diverse, as well as timely, contemporary and accessible (readily available online, not out of print).

Teaching Statement

You must include a strong, considered statement on how your class plan and teaching strategies will align with the Loft’s goal to be equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist in its classrooms and with its programming. Here are some suggested resources—especially if you need help leading and navigating classroom discussions of student work as they relate to these topics:

• How to Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
• A Good Time for the Truth, edited by Sun Yung Shin
• Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses
• Anti-Racism Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom by Felicia Rose Chavez
• Appropriate: A Provocation by Paisley Rekdal

Online Learning Resources:

For an idea of how the Loft continues to build knowledge and capacity on this, please visit Team Dynamics.com and IDIInventory.com National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) ASDICircle.org. These are just a few of the many resources available on creating an inclusive learning environment in your classroom; if you are unsure of how to do this, or don't understand how to articulate how your lesson plan and teaching strategies will create this kind of environment in your classroom, feel free to connect with the Loft's Education Manager before you propose your class - Marianne Manzler <mmanzler@loft.org>.

The Loft will deliver classes in two formats for the winter/spring term 2025 and summer term 2025:

• In-Person Classes take place at Open Book, in downtown Minneapolis, in a Loft classroom space.
• Online/Zoom Classes via Zoom. Multi-week Online/Zoom classes also come with the optional Google Classroom supplement to make materials available to students.
• Asynchronous Classes via Thinkific (TBD on when this will be ready for implementation with teaching artists)

What We're Looking For

Short stories, speculative nonfiction, children's literature and young adult, poetry, digital storytelling; youth classes

Classes that address the Loft Theme: TBD

Strong and flexible lesson plans. Loft classes give writers opportunities to engage with their teaching artist and one another, while also providing instruction on craft, engaging discussion, and in-class writing activities, as well as writing prompts students can work on between class meetings. Teaching artists are encouraged to give their students a syllabus or overview of the class on day one, as that gives them a sense of what to expect.

6-Week Asynchronous Class. What kinds of class topics would be a good fit for an asynchronous learning environment? Check out Lit!Commons to get a sense for the platform and style.

Single Session Classes. If this is your first time teaching a class with the Loft (or if you haven't taught a class with the Loft in the last five years), please only propose a single, 3-hour or 4-hour class. From there, we will gauge audience interest and can work together to see if a multi-week format is right for your class. Thank you!

Please refer to the Loft’s Teacher Guide to see if your class might be a fit.
 

What we are not looking for

We have not had success with classes that feel academic in nature (e.g., assigning academic writing texts, theoretical texts, reading lists that are too long, reading workshops built around classics) or are too niche (e.g., somatic writing, writing in translation). Please get to know our catalog and current offerings to see what we do at loft.org.

Fall Class Proposal Timeline

Fall class proposals accepted until mid-May.

May 16, 2024 | Fall Proposals Due 

May - June 2024 | Education team selects classes and selection notification begins

June 28, 2024 | Fall Registration Opens Online

September 17, 2024 - December 12, 2024 | Fall Session
 

Winter/Spring Proposal Timeline

Winter/spring class proposals accepted until early September.

September - November | Education team reviews classes and selection notification begins

November | Winter registration opens online

Winter/spring session: January 21 - April 19

FY 24-25 | Access Funds pool is open and accepts applications on a rolling basis

Summer Proposal Timeline

Summer class proposals accepted until early March.

March - April | Education team reviews classes and selection notification begins

April | Summer registration opens online

Winter/spring session: June 18 - August 20

FY 24-25 | Access Funds pool is open and accepts applications on a rolling basis

Thanks for your interest in volunteering with the Loft! Volunteers work closely with staff, author/personalities, and the literary community to execute Loft programming and events. The Loft primarily seeks volunteers interested in helping with literary events and occasional administrative projects. Please complete this form to tell us about yourself and what activities you'd be most interested in supporting as a volunteer.