National Archives Hosts Free “Write” Stuff Festival June 2, 2018
Press Release · Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Washington, DC

Washington, DC —  The National Archives welcomes the start of summer break with its second-ever “Write” Stuff Festival for aspiring writers (target audience: 4th-8th graders and their families) on Saturday, June 2. Writers young and old, accomplished and novice, are invited to the National Archives to meet and learn from favorite authors and illustrators including Gennifer Choldenko, Christopher Paul Curtis, Jim Murphy, and Brian Floca. All authors will be available for book signings throughout the afternoon (and their books will be available for sale).

The“Write” Stuff Festival is free and open to the public.  Registration is requested for the morning author conversations.  Full event schedule, details, and registration online. “Write” Stuff Festival events will be held at the National Archives Museum’s William G. McGowan Theater and Boeing Learning Center. Attendees should use the Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue at 7th Street, NW.  The building is Metro accessible on the Yellow and Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter station.

Schedule highlights

• 11 am-12:30 pm, William G. McGowan Theater, YouTube, and Facebook Live - Award winning authors and illustrators will share their inspiration, research and writing, and illustration processes and then take questions. Zachery Clark, Executive Director of 826DC, will moderate.
• 1:30 pm, Boeing Learning Center - Story time and hands-on activities with the DC Public Library staff.  Listen, explore, and register for your DC Public Library card!
• 1:30-4 pm, Boeing Learning Center - featured authors from the morning event will lead activities, sign books, and hold spotlight “mini sessions” that could include a reading from their work or a workshop about how they use primary sources.  Chat with National Archives staff to learn more about research and primary sources with hands-on activities.

The Boeing Learning Center offers in-depth education programs for middle and high school students as well as workshops geared to the needs of parents and teachers. Programs and resources include a Learning Lab, Resource Room, Digital Classroom, and Primarily Teaching, a national professional development program for teachers. Boeing Learning Center staff train educators in the effective use of primary sources in the classroom with facsimile documents, instructional videos, sample lesson plans, and other tools. The staff offers hands-on activities to enhance civic literacy and promote an understanding of the American stories found in the records of the Federal government. Learn more online.

826DC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.  The organization offers writing education and publication opportunities to 3,000 students annually across the District of Columbia through drop-in tutoring, field trips, after-school workshops, in-school programs, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications.

The District of Columbia Public Library is a vibrant center of activity for residents and visitors in the nation’s capital. The library provides environments that invite reading, learning and community discussion and equips people to learn all their lives, to embrace diversity and to build a thriving city. The District of Columbia Public Library was created by an act of Congress in 1896 “to furnish books and other printed matter and information service convenient to the homes and offices of all residents of the District." The library system now includes 25 neighborhood libraries and one central library.