On June 21, 2023, Vancouver’s writing community came together with the UBC School of Creative Writing and the Vancouver School Board to officially launch the 38th annual New Shoots Anthology!
This beautiful, professionally published book is a collection of 24 pieces of prose, poetry, and comics by high school students in the New Shoots creative writing mentorship program. The book also features 35 works of art, all created by VSB students and printed in full colour, including gorgeous cover artwork from Vancouver Technical Secondary student Olivia Dutton.
The launch event is not only a wonderful opportunity to gather, mingle, and celebrate our teen writers; it’s also a way to show them the true impact of their creativity. Several students gamely took the mic and read their published work for the audience—a sneak preview of a working author’s life! We also heard testimonials about the program’s impact and longevity from educators, mentors, UBC faculty, and guest author Wayde Compton, a former teen participant.
The Anthology is a New Shoots hallmark, and this event was the cap on another incredible year. Our mentorships, conducted by UBC graduate student writers and facilitated by VSB host teachers, show students that their stories have a place in this world. And, more simply, that writing can be fun!
New Shoots will return to participating VSB classrooms and clubs for the 2023-24 school year.
newshoots.ca 