Consultant, Books That Saved Me Workshop Leader

PEN America, a nonprofit organization working at the intersection of literature and human rights, seeks a Workshop Leader to design and lead a series of in-person poetry-based writing workshops with intergenerational participants affiliated with our Birmingham-based partner organization, The Magic City Acceptance Center. Books That Saved Me is a new initiative that will bring together twelve LGBTQ+ youth and community elders to generate original poetry about books that have impacted their lives. This is a six-month contract position, and reports to the Senior Manager of PEN Across America.

The Workshop Leader will work in consultation with PEN America and Magic City Acceptance Center staff to design and implement curriculum for an eight-week series of workshops over the summer of 2025. The successful/ideal candidate will be an organized, self-disciplined professional with experience in both teaching and writing poetry. The candidate will have facilitated writing workshops with participants who may have no formal training as writers. The individual will assist PEN America and Magic City Acceptance Center staff with identifying participants for the Books That Saved Me workshops, coaching participants toward the performance of a poem at two culminating events, developing an electronic zine, and evaluating the program and its results.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design curriculum for an eight-week series of poetry-writing workshops
• Assist in identifying 12 participants in the Books That Saved Me workshop series
• Lead eight two-hour workshops and MC two public performances of the poems generated and performed by participants
• Participate in weekly one-hour meetings with PEN and Magic City Acceptance Center staff from May to September
• Coordinate the composition of a zine in collaboration with PEN America staff
• Summarize and evaluate the workshop series

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience as a poetry instructor and writer, working with youth and adults who have little to no formal training as writers but are excited to learn
• Comfort with and expertise in facilitating dialogue across generations and topic areas, including identity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, class, and ability
• Proven track record in coaching inexperienced performers towards a live presentation of their writing
• Ability to collaborate with partners in curriculum design and the safe, successful implementation of a workshop series that feels successful for all participants

The consultancy fee will be $3,600 for a term of six months. The honoraria will be compensation for curriculum development, implementation over eight sessions, the editing and publication of the online zine, and two public performances. This payment would be distributed in two installments.

TO APPLY:

Please submit a complete application (including a cover letter, resume, and a writing sample of three short pieces, including at least one poem) via BambooHR. Only complete applications will be reviewed, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

PEN America is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in its hiring practices, and in order to build the strongest possible workforce, actively seeks a diverse applicant pool.

No phone calls or solicitations, please.

ABOUT PEN AMERICA:

PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible.