Mission

As Detroit's largest and oldest literary non-profit, InsideOut serves more than 100 classrooms and community sites annually. Our professional writers continue to help students experiment with words and learn that each unique voice matters - that there is power in "bringing the inside out."

Our Mission: to inspire students to think broadly, create bravely, and share their voices with the wider world.

What We Do

Writer-in-Residence Program
Our in-school creative writing program places professional Writers-in Residence in more than 20 elementary, middle, and high schools throughout Detroit to provide intensive weekly writing workshops. Every student is featured in a professionally published literary journal at every school, every single year.

Citywide Poets
InsideOut's award-winning after school program provides teens with weekly creative writing workshops, publication, and performance opportunities. In this rigorous and supportive literary community, teens learn their words are powerful and embrace creative expression as a tool for self-development and civic engagement.

In the Community
Through partnerships with celebrated cultural institutions like the Detroit Institute of Arts, MOCAD, the Detroit Zoological Society, and New Detroit, InsideOut provides young people with opportunities to share their voices and create community connections.