Insideout Literary Arts

Since 1995, InsideOut Literary Arts has helped over 65,000 Detroit youth build their literary and academic skills through creative writing. By working with professional writers, students are inspired and equipped to think critically, create bravely and share their voices with the world. InsideOut is Detroit’s largest and oldest literary non-profit, serving more than 100 classrooms and community sites annually through a unique school-based Writer-in-Residence program and Citywide Poets, our award-winning afterschool program. From hosting a statewide youth poetry festival to partnering with celebrated cultural institutions like the Detroit Institute of Arts, InsideOut also provides young people opportunities to share their voices through community events. In recognition of our ability to foster and empower authentic youth voice, the White House awarded InsideOut the highest honor in youth arts programming, the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, presented by Michelle Obama in 2009. InsideOut is widely recognized as one of the nation’s premiere writers-in-the-schools programs and has been featured on PBS NewsHour and performed on the stage of the Kennedy Center.