Creative Writing Workshops

The heart of Denver Writes’ programming has always been weekend workshops where students can come together to write around a central theme. These workshops are three hours long and follow a structured, standardized lesson plan that combines creativity with education. Themes vary from writing about food to movie reviews to poetry and even songwriting. Workshops are $30 per student, but we offer discounted workshop bundles. Attendance varies but the average workshop size is 10 students, ages 7-15. We currently offer our workshops at The Bookies Bookstore in Denver.

Summer Camps

For the past seventeen years, Denver Writes has hosted yearly summer camps that explore one main writing theme more deeply than our weekend workshops. These camps contain standard lesson plans and may include guest speakers and field trips. This year we will feature camps at The Bookies Bookstore and the Nagel Art Studios (on the DU Campus) in the south Denver. We currently charge a $300 non-refundable fee per student for our four hour camps and $350 for our six hour camps, and host 15 students per camp. We offer scholarships and half price scholarships to to participants in our camps.

After School Programing

In 2018 we expanded our programing to include a weekly creative writing club that meet every Monday at Bookbar, a former Tennyson Street staple, that same group now meets on alternating weeks at Legacy Pie on Tennyson and BookGive Service Station around the corner in the Regis neighborhood. In 2019 we partnered with Denver Public Library and added a second group that meets Wednesdays alternating between the Smiley Branch in the Berkeley neighborhood and the Woodbury Branch in the Highlands neighborhood. In 2021 we added a third club at Second Star to the Right Books on Peal Street in the Platt Park neighborhood that meets every Thursday. And in 2024 we added our fourth group with meets every Tuesday at The Bookies Bookstore in Virginia Village. We also offer afterschool enrichment programs to schools in Denver and Jefferson Counties, previously we’ve offered programing at Cory Elementary, McGlone Academy, and Park Hill Elementary. We currently offer programing at Ryan Elementary in Westminster.

Who We Are!

Meet the Team at Denver Writes!

Kevin Peterson

Program Director

Kevin started with Denver Writes in 2014, first as a volunteer, then instructor, and then Program Director. He found out about Denver Writes the same way most people do, while on vacation in California, then worked his way backwards into the organization. Working in just about every creative field from a child extra in A Miracle on 34th Street to multiple years working at Casa Bonita, he managed to hone his writing skills and is somehow also able to be an illustrator, animator, poet, comic creator, and playwright. Over the years he’s had poems and writing published in literary journals, plays performed with theatre organizations in Colorado and New Mexico, and has had artwork appear a couple of television shows that are no longer on the air and you’ve probably never heard of them. And after all of that, being a part of Denver Writes is absolutely the most creatively rewarding experience of his life. He spends his time with his two cats, Mittens and Mister Widdles, and dog, Lyanna.

Arden

Intern

Arden isn’t real. Some people say they’ve seen him a few times, but it’s 50/50 whether they were talking about Arden or actually a very humanoid turtle. Turtles would scare Arden if he was real, but the last time he was seen was 1865 and disappeared.

Arden has been with Denver Writes for seven years and works on poetry and sonick scripts. Totally swagular bro.

Arden sounds like a pretty tubutastic guy, even if the last records of his questionable existence date back to almost 200 years ago (if he was real to begin with).

Rylan

Intern  (Owner and smartest person “king of all children”)

Rylan really likes helping the homeless,  babysitting orphan baby monkeys, donating parts of her millions of dollars to various charities that support those in need of dentures, and creating toupees for people who are bald (to name a few). Obviously she is a very kind member of the community (the king of the community actually) and takes time out of her busy schedule to land one of her many private jets to wherever Denver Writes is. She loves writing (specifically checks because she is LOADED (cah ching cat ching)) and loves helping other people write. Imagine. Wow I wish I could meet her.

On a more realistic note, Rylan has been volunteering and attending Denver Writes clubs and after school groups for about a year. She is really enthusiastic about writing all sorts of things, (like writing writing and writing writings and other writing sorta things) so Denver Writes is something she really enjoys doing. She does pottery and other ceramic related things in her free time (not including smashing plates or sculpting sculptures of strange things like orphan baby monkeys). She loves her family and younger brother- and fruit roll ups.

Charlie

Intern

Bio to Come!

Mary Baitinger

Volunteer

Debbie Vance

Volunteer/Instructor/Programing

Julie Cole

Instructor

Patty McCrystal

Instructor/Volunteer

Patty McCrystal is a published writer who grew up in Arvada, CO. She works as a writing instructor teaching comic memoirs to justice-impacted youth and adults. She lives with her husband, her dog Bandit, and her cat Ghost. She’s loved reading and writing scary stories since she was in fifth grade. She definitely believes in ghosts, thinks witches get a bad rap, and is on the fence for how she feels about vampires.

Elle Naef

Volunteer/Instructor

Elle Naef is a freelance journalist, content strategist, and former teacher who sneaks away into the world of spooky stories whenever she can. She believes kids are the ultimate storytellers – especially when it comes to ghosts, goblins, and imaginary creatures. Her hobbies include making oddly specific playlists and turning everyday walks around Denver into personal ghost tours.

Olivia

Instructor/Volunteer

Olivia is a teacher and writer who has worked with Denver Writes since 2023. She’s had fiction and poetry published in a variety of literary magazines and has won some awards for her screenwriting. She is a full-time middle school English teacher who loves helping students to bring their creative ideas to life. Outside of Denver Writes, she can be found making theatre, cooking, and obnoxiously singing around her apartment.

J.E. Thomas

Instructor/Volunteer

J.E. Thomas is the author of the middle grade novels, Control Freaks and The AI Incident.
She grew up in Colorado and began writing full-time in 2021 following a long career in corporate and independent school communications.
J.E. loves speaking with school-age readers and teaching creative writing seminars for aspiring authors. She lives in Colorado with her husband. She is learning Portuguese and trying to master guitar in her free time.
Control Freaks is a Sunshine State Young Readers Award list selection, People Summer Must-Read, Kirkus Sizzling Summer Read, Colorado Authors Guild Gold Award winner, and a BCALA 2024 Best of the Best choice.
The AI Incident was published on July 8, 2025 and is J.E.’s second book. She’s currently working on an adult cozy sci-fi novel, a middle grade horror novel, and an audio drama.

Emily

Instructor/Volunteer

Emily is a secondary educator, curriculum designer, and writer based in Denver who works with young writers to help them take risks on the page and trust their instincts. Her background includes teaching language arts and creative writing in public, charter, and private schools, as well as designing humanities curriculum. She is especially interested in flash fiction and poetry and loves being part of Denver Writes to stay connected to the joy and creativity of young writers.

Sydney

Instructor/Volunteer

Sydney has loved reading and writing since she could talk, always gathering inspiration from books, everyday stories and a running catalog of images she pulls from the world around her. Becoming part of Denver Writes felt only natural.

She graduated from CU Boulder where she earned a minor in creative writing, and is always looking for ways to share her passion for literacy with students. She’s still deciding whether she wants to become a teacher, a journalist, an electric guitarist, a color expert, a winter keeper or whether she wants to pursue world domination. Stay tuned.

Melissa Taylor

Instructor/Volunteer

Melissa Taylor, M.Ed., is a former teacher and literacy trainer as well as a mother of two, blogger, children’s book expert, freelance writer, and author consultant. She created and writes the popular blog Imagination Soup and recently launched Imagination Soup Consulting where she supports authors and illustrators with publicity and school visit coaching.

Annabelle

Volunteer

Annabelle was born on 10, March 2025 when she joined Denver Writes for the first time. Somehow since then she has been able to get published for her opinions on the gendered dynamics of baking via thisisgendered.org , have her work appear in Regis University’s literary magazines Thirty-Three Thirty-Three and Loophole for both non-fiction and poetry, and graduate from Regis with a minor in creative writing. During her time at Denver Writes (where she was born) she has collaborated on some very unhinged projects where she often interjects herself as a voice of mystery.

Erica Hoffmeister

Instructor/Volunteer

Erica Hoffmeister is a writer, pop culture scholar, and educator who teaches writing to all ages across the Denver metro area—from college students, to formerly incarcerated adults, to young writers, and anyone else interested in telling a story. She has three books of poetry published, but writes in all genres and still wants to be a novelist when she grows up (spooky stories are her favorite!). Born and raised in the fragrant orange groves of inland Southern California, she’s been chasing that elusive concept of home since she witnessed the vast, east Texan sky bloom on her very first cross-country road trip at the age of seven. Since then, she’s driven to all the lower forty-eight states and thinks just about anything can be fixed with a good book and a long drive. 

Jen Walden

Board Tresurer

Jen’s passion for writing took off at age 7 when her story about a ski adventure was published and submitted in a young authors competition. Fast forward many years, a BS in Communication and Psychology, an MS in Criminology, a stint in Corporate America, three years as a flight attendant collecting priceless experiences, and a first novel, and she finally lands at Denver Writes!
With her heart being drawn to opportunities with youth, Jen is now focusing on education through work in high schools, teaching 4th graders about Colorado at the History Colorado Center, and her dedication to the creative young writers who flourish because of Denver Writes. Jen loves being able to give back to this writing community knowing the sense of accomplishment each kid experiences is nothing short of amazing!

 

Jenny Hekkers

Board Secretary

Jenny Hekkers is a teacher, a mother to two middle schoolers (!!!), a music lover, a supporter of ethical fashion, and an excited reader. She especially loves memoirs and hopes to write her own one day. For the last 7 years, she’s been a reading intervention teacher at Park Hill Elementary, and before that, a 4th and 5th grade classroom teacher. She also works a few shifts at Dona Forta, an ethical women’s clothing boutique in the Berkeley neighborhood. She believes strongly that young people have a lot to say and should be supported to speak their truth, and she strongly supports the mission of Denver Writes. While not teaching, reading memoirs, or working at Dona Forta, you’ll find her trying to convince her kids to go on a hike, or dreaming of travelling the world, or learning to play the guitar.

 

Jason Kellermeyer

Board Director

Jason is a founding board member of what is now Denver Writes. He has a hard time writing meaningful, factual information about himself. But , he will unabashedly drone on about his adventures if you meet him in person.