The Loft Literary Center Submission Manager

Young Writers Program - Class Proposals - Winter/Spring Youth 2027

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This form is for Winter/Spring Youth 2027.

Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis while this project is live. Want to get immediate feedback on your class proposal? Email edu@loft.org if you have any question about the proposal process.

On our website, we have resources and FAQs to assist you in submitting proposals. Before contacting Program Manager Jack Harris (jharris@loft.org) with questions, please review the following:

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).

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. If you need time to understand what the Loft means by this, or are simply curious for more information, 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) and 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 Program Manager before you propose your class.

In order to teach online, Loft teaching artists must have a reliable and high speed internet connection and a computer, as well as basic knowledge of computer use, Zoom and Google Classroom. The Loft can not provide you with a computer or internet access.

What We're Looking For:

Reading lists and class content that are inclusive and diverse. Please ensure one perspective is not centered on a monolithic approach to experience and expression.

Classes across genre. We are looking to offer at least one class in each major genre (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc.)) According to our surveys of youth students, horror, fantasy, and sci-fi are our most requested subgenres.

Strong and flexible lesson plans. Loft classes give young 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.

Suggestions for Winter/Spring 2027:

Themed youth classes around holidays - Fall/nature writing, Halloween/writing scary stories, winter/snowflakes, etc.

Writing groups and clubs across age ranges - These after-school classes are meant to build community, provide opportunities to meet and connect other writers, get feedback, get prompts, and share ideas. These are generic, multi-genre, and more “informal” classes with a main goal of connecting young writers with each other.

Saturday, single session programming in-person - Single session, three-hour classes on Saturdays. These classes will take place in-person at Open Book

Winter Youth Timeline

Proposal Period: August 25 - September 29, 2026:
Craft team proposal reviews proposals and schedules classes with teaching artists: October 2026
Winter Young Writers registration opens: October 29, 2026
Winter Young Writers season: January 2027 - April 2027

Compensation

You’ll be paid $7.00 per student per contact hour based on enrollment for your second class meeting (students may drop the class during the first week). For example, if you are teaching a 6-week class (meeting 2 hours per week for 6 weeks) with an enrollment of 14 students, your compensation will be $1,176. Youth classes are also paid on a flat-fee basis of $50/hr. Minimum enrollment is 4 students, maximum enrollment is 17 students (you are paid for a minimum of 7 students for enrollment-based classes). If this is a flat fee class, you are paid $50/hr.

Please contact Program Jack Harris (jharris@loft.org) with any questions.

FY26-27 Loft's Access Fund Pool (Adult and Youth)

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The Loft's Access Fund Pool is open for programming taking place in June 2025 - August 2027. 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
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 75% or 90% reduction in tuition for a class. The access fund recipient is responsible for the remaining 25% or 10% 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

Volunteer Prospects

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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.

Adult Classes - Teaching Artist Proposal Form

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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.

For top consideration for Winter/Spring 2027 classes, please submit by September 8, 2026.

On our website, we have resources and FAQs to assist you in submitting proposals. Before contacting the Education Manager Jack Harris (jharris@loft.org) with questions, please review the following:

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. Email edu@loft.org with any questions about the proposal process.

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 delivers classes in two formats:

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.

What We're Looking For

Some of the offerings in high demand (or specific offerings we’ve been asked for) are:

Memoir/personal essay workshops and work-generating classes
Intermediate & Advanced/workshopping classes in all genres, but especially Poetry
Playwriting
Genre writing, but especially romance and horror
Writing accountability groups
Writing for lapsed writers/non-creative writers
Afro-futurism
As usual, classes across all genres, skill levels, and lengths

If your class idea is not represented in the above list, please still send it my way. I’m always happy to talk via Zoom or email about what you’d like to teach and how it can fit into our programming and organizational artistic vision.

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.

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!

Multi-week (4 week, 8 week, or 12 week) genre workshops that focus on craft and readings, generative writing exercises, community-building opportunities, and feedback-based workshops with written and verbal feedback and participation. Core values to emphasize: curiosity and creativity.

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 April - May.

June - July | Education team selects classes and selection notification begins

July | Fall Registration Opens Online

Early September - mid December | Fall Session

Winter Proposal Timeline

Winter class proposals accepted June - August.

August-October | Education team reviews classes and selection notification begins

November | Winter registration opens online

Winter session: Late January 21 - mid April

Access Funds pool is open and accepts applications on a rolling basis

Summer Proposal Timeline

Summer class proposals accepted Jan - March.

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

April | Summer registration opens online

Summer session: mid June - late August

Access Funds pool is open and accepts applications on a rolling basis

2025-2026 Loft Young Writers' Anthology

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Submit

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 Loft education 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 2025 to September 2026. Submissions close on September 8, 2026 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.

Young Writers Program - Class Proposals - Fall Youth 2026

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Submit

This form is for a Youth Class for Fall 2026. Winter Youth 2027 proposals can be submitted here.

Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis while this project is live. Want to get immediate feedback on your class proposal? Email edu@loft.org if you have any question about the proposal process.

On our website, we have resources and FAQs to assist you in submitting proposals. Before contacting Program Manager Jack Harris (jharris@loft.org) with questions, please review the following:

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:

What We're Looking For:

Reading lists and class content that are inclusive and diverse. Please ensure one perspective is not centered on a monolithic approach to experience and expression.

Classes across genre. We will note though that as of late, classes in fiction and screenwriting fill quickest. According to our surveys of youth students, horror, fantasy, and sci-fi are our most requested subgenres.

Special Needs for Fall Youth 2026:

Themed youth classes around holidays - Fall/nature writing, Halloween/writing scary stories, winter/snowflakes, etc.

Writing Groups/Creative Writing Workshop classes across age ranges - These classes are meant to build community, provide opportunities to meet and connect other writers, get feedback, get prompts, and share ideas. These are generic, multi-genre, and more “informal” classes with a main goal of connecting young writers with each other.

Saturday, single session programming in-person - This Fall we will be scheduling single session, three-hour classes on Saturdays. These classes will take place in-person at Open Book

Fall Youth Timeline

Proposal Period: April 1, 2026 - May 23, 2026
Craft team reviews proposals and schedules classes with teaching artists: May 2026 - June 2026
Fall Young Writers registration opens: Week of June 16, 2026
Fall Young Writers season: September 15, 2026 - December 12, 2026
Young Writers Anthology Release Party: December 3, 2026 in OBPH, 6-7:30 PM

Winter Youth Timeline

Proposal Period: August 25 - September 29, 2026:
Craft team proposal reviews proposals and schedules classes with teaching artists: October 2026
Winter Young Writers registration opens: October 29, 2026
Winter Young Writers season: January 2027 - April 2027

Compensation

Please contact Program Jack Harris (jharris@loft.org) with any questions.

Minneapolis Poet Laureate 2027 - 2028 Application

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Submit

INTRODUCTION AND PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Poet Laureate of Minneapolis is an official ambassador of the city’s literary culture, connecting our community through the art of poetry. The Poet Laureate is committed to promoting poetry and the literary arts in the city, and uplifts the city through their art form.

As an advocate for poetry in Minneapolis, the Poet Laureate engages the community in meaningful, impactful, and innovative projects. The Poet Laureate has a commitment to sharing the transformative art of poetry through educational opportunities. The Poet Laureate takes part in civic ceremonies in conjunction with the city, creating a unique literary legacy.

The incoming Poet Laureate of Minneapolis will serve for a two year term, January 1, 2027 - December 31, 2028. The Poet Laureate is designated by the City of Minneapolis and the Poet Laureate program is a partnership with The Loft Literary Center.

EXPECTATIONS & DUTIES

The Minneapolis Poet Laureate will have several responsibilities during their tenure, including:

Writing an official poem for the City of Minneapolis reflecting on a current moment in the City of Minneapolis
Celebrating the City of Minneapolis through public service engagements, including addresses at official City events per term
Leading public events that features the sharing of poetry and community conversation per term
Teaching courses through The Loft Literary Center that promotes poetry as an opportunity for connection.
Advancing the art form of poetry in the City of Minneapolis as an avenue for deep engagement in our community.

HONORARIUM

The poet laureate will receive an honorarium of $16,000 ($8,000 per year) to be delivered quarterly across their two-year tenure, beginning on January 1, 2027. The poet laureate will be honored at an inaugural event, celebrating their induction in January at Open Book in downtown Minneapolis. In addition, the Minneapolis Poet Laureate is eligible to apply for the prestigious Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship $50,000 national award recognizing poets of exceptional literary merit who serve in civic leadership roles. The fellowship supports innovative public-facing projects that deepen community engagement through poetry. Of note, inaugural Minneapolis Poet Laureate Heid E. Erdrich was selected in 2025 as one of the 22 poet laureates nationwide to receive the fellowship, demonstrating the national recognition and impact of the City’s Poet Laureate program.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must be at least 21 years of age
Applicants must be active professional poet whose work has been published, performed, reviewed, and/or honored
Applicants must be Hennepin County residents and be able to work in-person throughout the term of their work on this program. Preference will be given to Minneapolis residents.
Applicants must have the ability to complete the mandated expectations and duties over the course of the term
Applicants must have a significant connection and commitment to the Minneapolis community.
Applicants must see poetry as an opportunity to engage, serve, and celebrate the Minneapolis community .
Loft board and staff members are ineligible.

APPLICATION

To be considered, all applications must include the following:

A curriculum vitae or résumé;

Five examples of work. These examples might include, but are not limited to, individual poems, recorded performance, or other multimedia projects. Examples of work are not required to be previously published, but do note any details of past publication as applicable.

An artist statement no longer than 1000 words describing the poet’s commitment and approach to the art form

A plan for a civic duty project no longer than 1000 words describing a project to engage and serve the Minneapolis community through poetry. This project should engage youth and/or addresses important statewide or local issues, and the statement should include the anticipated reach or impact.

All applications must be submitted via Submittable by October 7, 2026 11:59 PM CT.

SELECTION PROCESS

The Poet Laureate will be considered based on their eligibility and the content of their application. The selection panel is made up of members of the Minneapolis Arts Commission and other arts community representatives. The panel will be selected by the city of Minneapolis and the Loft Literary Center. The panel must come to a unanimous decision to select the Poet Laureate.

In addition to fulfilling the eligibility requirements, applicants will be reviewed based on this additional criteria:

The literary excellence of the poet’s work amidst the contemporary poetry landscape
The community impact of the poet on other artmakers in the city of Minneapolis
The feasibility of any proposed public engagement projects
The wider reputation of the poet and their work
Their works’ engagement with the city of Minneapolis

EQUITY STATEMENT

Please see the city's Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging statement to see more information about Minneapolis’s commitment to fair and just opportunities and outcomes for all people. Please see the Loft's Inclusion, Equity, and Antiracism statement to see more information about the Loft's commitment to fostering intentional community.

ADMINISTRATORS OF THE AWARD

The Arts & Cultural Aﬀairs Department (ACA) exists to advance, support, stimulate, and promote a diverse and active arts and cultural environment that recognizes and draws on the full potential of Minneapolis’ artists and arts organizations, reﬂects, and responds to civic concerns and aspirations, and enriches the lives of all people who live in, work in, and visit Minneapolis.

The Loft Literary Center 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 grow writers and build community by creating literary experiences that cultivate craft and connection.

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 and marginalized communities and work for the equitable distribution of our power and resources.

Our core values are creativity, connection, justice, care, courage, and curiosity.

QUESTIONS

If you have questions about your application, please contact Cristeta Boarini, Partnerships Program Manager at the Loft Literary Center at partnerships@loft.org or 612-215-2593. Please note that we are anticipating a high volume of applications, and may not be able to update you on the status of your application until December 2026.

The Loft Literary Center