Armida Yee-Muñoz
Lostintheletters’ has begun its brick-and-mortar journey, and the first month proved that writers need studios for their work. As Atlanta continues to grow as a national artistic hub, so does the need for spaces like LITL. With their membership-based model now continuing into their third month, we’re beginning to see an increase in interest – and a waitlist has begun!
On November 4, I had the opportunity to attend and work in the space during their membership hours and learn how to manage the studio for our community. Scott, internship director, joked that preparing the space mirrors working in retail and managing the opening shift. But more than that, it’s making sure that members feel comfortable, motivated, and relaxed in the space in order to perform their best work. With amenities like free coffee and snacks, basic free Wi-Fi, reader copies, and more, the studio becomes a “third space” for our members – not necessarily work, but not necessarily home. At LITL, we hope our writers can begin to feel that Atlanta is the place to be for the writing community.
Now, I’m happy to say I’m in the studio every Tuesday and Friday morning, opening the space for our writers and being the “mini manager” during those membership hours. 😀 As Scott jokes, it’s like opening up the retail store you work at – except this job at LITL is much better.
With the membership days going by relatively smoothly, Scott and I are continuously working through the preparation of the Young Writers Studio 2026, the cost-free, high-level, creative writing program for high school students. For our first open house, which took place on November 8, I assisted in creating the itinerary for the 90-minute event to maximize our information delivery and engagement with students. I’ve created info flyers on the instructors who will be mentoring the students, laid out basic FAQ’s for parents on logistics and outcomes for their children, and created creative writing prompts that are representative of a typical lesson for YWS. Our main goals for the open houses are to 1) ensure that all questions are answered from both students and parents, 2) give students a genuine taste of the studio space, and 3) create excitement about joining YWS! Now, we’re preparing for our second open house on December 12 and are expecting double the attendance from the last successful open house!
And to end off on the highest note: I was able to help out during LITL’s “Letters Festival!” The Letters Festival is the organization’s culminating event of the year that celebrates all things creative writing and includes live readings, generative writing workshops, performances, and dialogues, featuring some of the country’s most exciting contemporary authors and artists. See the attached photos from some author performances! It was such an exciting event that energized me (and surely, lots of people) to become more active in the writing community in Atlanta. Such an incredible time.
So if there’s anything I’m taking away from this internship, is that space matters. I kind of get what that interviewer was telling Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo during the Wicked interview about “holding space.” Ideas, stories, art, and imagination thrive in spaces that are held for them and nourish the creativity behind them. It’s amazing to be a part of a writing studio that holds this to be true and works towards this mission in everything that they do. Lostintheletters is truly a first of its kind for Atlanta, but hopefully won’t be the last.
