Position Description:

Writers in the Schools (WITS), a literary arts education program of Seattle Arts & Lectures (SAL), places professional local writers in public K-12 schools throughout the Puget Sound region, as well as Seattle Children’s Hospital, for extended creative writing residencies during the school day. WITS empowers young people to discover and develop their authentic writing and performance voices as they build skills and self-confidence. Through WITS, students become the authors of their own lives.

For the coming 2025-26 school year, we are hiring two paid WITS Writer Apprentices. Apprentices are practicing writers in the community who will observe and work alongside two experienced WITS Writers-in-Residence who will serve as WITS Mentors. We welcome applications from writers of diverse mediums; we are looking for poets, prose writers, playwrights, cartoonists/graphic novelists, and memoirists.

We especially encourage Black writers, Indigenous writers, writers of color, writers from the LGBTQ+ community, multilingual writers, and writers from interdisciplinary backgrounds to apply. WITS Writer Apprentices must show a demonstrated commitment to anti-racist pedagogy and practice.

By providing ongoing mentorship from an experienced WITS Writer-in-Residence, from SAL staff, and through professional development opportunities with the WITS cohort throughout the year, this program aims to provide meaningful on-the-job training to emerging writers and teaching artists in our community. A successful WITS Apprentice will have preferred consideration as a WITS Writer-in-Residence in the 2026-27 school year hiring process.

Writers in the Schools (WITS) has four primary goals:

Learn more about the program and current WITS Writers at: lectures.org/youth-programs/wits/

Job duties and schedule:

September 2025

October – December 2025

December 2025

January – April 2026

WITS Apprentices are also expected to attend all Writer Cohort Meetings on November 8, January 20, March 17, May 19 (all online, from 4-5:30pm).

Requirements:

Expectations:

Compensation & Opportunities:

To apply, please submit ALL documents below:

1. A cover letter including why you are interested in being a WITS Apprentice and what you hope to get out of participating in the program.
2. A resume.
3. An idea for a pairing of a mentor text (a poem, one-page work of prose, or comic by a writer you admire) and a suggested writing prompt inspired by that piece.
4. Your general availability/schedule for the upcoming school year, and/or any school placement preferences you might have (grade level, geography, etc.).
5. A 1-page creative writing sample of your own writing.

Note: Please save all application materials as one PDF and label it Firstname.Lastname_WITSApprentice2025-26

Send application materials to: salhr@lectures.org, subject line: WITS 2025-26 Apprentice Program

Hiring Timeline & Process