| Teachers & Writers Collaborative | |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1967 |
| Type | 501(c)(3) Non-profit |
| Purpose/focus | Education |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Location | New York City |
| Director | Amy Swauger |
| Website | twc.org |
Teachers & Writers Collaborative is a New York City-based organization that sends writers and other artists into schools. It was founded in 1967 by a group of writers and educators including Herbert Kohl, June Jordan, Muriel Rukeyser, Grace Paley, and Anne Sexton, who believed that writers could make a unique contribution to the teaching of writing.
A non-profit organization, T&W provides workshops for over 10,000 students per year in the New York tri-state region and publishes a catalogue of creative writing titles as well as a quarterly magazine. T&W also sponsors an educational radio show, free after-school programs and literacy initiatives.
Teachers & Writers administers the Bechtel Prize, endowed by the Cerimon Fund in honor of Louise Seaman Bechtel. The winning essay appears in Teachers & Writers magazine, and the author receives a $3,500 honorarium. Possible topics for Bechtel Prize submissions include contemporary issues in classroom teaching, innovative approaches to teaching literary forms and genres, and the intersection between literature and imaginative writing.
In 2005, it was among 406 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.[1][2]
Writers who have been a part of this organization include Robert B. Silvers, Wesley Brown, Sam Swope, Stephen O'Connor, Matthew Sharpe, Sarah Fay, Kenneth Koch, Phillip Lopate, Susan Mernit, Ron Padgett, Zoë Ryder White, Meredith Sue Willis, Bill Zavatsky, Steven Schrader and Lennox Raphael.[3]