SUPPORT THE NEBRASKA WRITERS COLLECTIVE

Help us foster creativity and inclusivity in our community

The NWC works to make writing and performance poetry accessible art forms for people across Nebraska and Iowa. We encourage our team to stay in the heartland by offering performance opportunities and paying work to writers, fostering their connection to a broader arts community.

Donate

Emcee onstage at an All Writes Reserved bout

Members of the audience at an All Writes Reserved bout

Participants on stage at All Writes Reserved

Support our local writers

There are several programs within the collective, each making a long-lasting impact on the participants they serve and the artists that work with them.

Four poets performing on stage in an All Writes Reserved bout

All Writes Reserved

All Writes Reserved (AWR) is a program that reaches 500+ high school students each year, spanning 30+ schools across Nebraska and Southwest Iowa. The program provides free weekly poetry and performance workshops to students during the school year and builds toward the AWR Youth Spoken Word Festival that is free for the public to attend.

North Omaha Writers Workshop

North Omaha Writers Workshop (NOWW) is an initiative by the NWC to invest in writers of color across the Omaha Metro area, fostering community and elevating participants’ craft.

Aliyah American Horse, the Nebraska Youth Poet Laureate of 2023-2024, reading poetry outdoors

Nebraska Youth Poet Laureate

The NWC selects a new Nebraska Youth Poet Laureate (YPL) each year, providing one student, age 13-19, the opportunity to work with a creative and civic mentor (through a partnership with Civic Nebraska) and publish a chapbook. Additionally, the student is awarded a $1,000 prize and a $2,000 budget toward a civic-engagement project of their design.

Writers’ Block

Writers’ Block (WB) reaches incarcerated individuals in correctional facilities across the state, encouraging safe forms of self expression through writing, uplifting voices, spreading hope, and preparing participants with transferable skills.

How donations are used

Paying artists

The NWC is truly a collective of passionate writers who love to teach others. We believe in paying artists for their skills, knowledge, and time. We cannot function as an organization without them. Additionally, we provide them with paid Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion (DEAI) training to ensure learning environments are built for all.

Carving out spaces

As part of the NWC’s initiative to make an impact in the community, we host several free-to-attend public events including the AWR Youth Spoken Word Festival, the Visiting Writers Series, and monthly Omaha and Lincoln Poetry Slams. These require physical venues, performers, tech, and staffing.