826 Valencia was started in San Francisco by famed writer and editor Dave Eggers. Have you heard of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius or McSweeney’s? Well, he’s behind both. Anyway, a few years back he decided to start a non-profit organization that focused on mentoring kids in creative writing. Founded by Ann Arbor writer Steven Gillis, 826michigan is a chapter of that national non-profit organization. In case you don’t believe us you will notice the official 826National seal on the bottom of our homepage. Through afterschool, drop-in tutoring, field trips, workshops, writing rooms, and various other means, 826’s main goal is to inspire young people and foster their creativity. We take kids very seriously in an often not-so-serious way. Programs are free of charge. We are not responsible for how overwhelmingly creative or thoughtfully energized any young person may be upon leaving 826. We should note that we are the world-renowned Monster Union Local 826. We bet that intrigues you, and therefore, we’re going to be coy and tell you that details on that are forthcoming. (That’s called narrative tension.)
Tutoring starts this fall!