Story Planet

What We Do and Why We Do it

Story Planet inspires kids to develop their unique voice & to make it powerful using the written word, visual arts & digital media.

We offer great free workshops led by writers, artists and fantastic volunteers who help kids develop the skills and confidence to become fearless creative communicators. Our workshops take place in schools, community centres and, in the near future, our own space!

We’re proud of our relationship with Scadding Court where we do weekly field trip workshops – Alpha – for schools

UNESCO, Statement for the United Nations Literacy Decade, 2003–2012 Literacy is about more than reading or writing – it is about how we communicate in society. It is about social practices and relationships, about knowledge, language and culture.  Those who use literacy take it for granted – but those who cannot use it are excluded from much communication in today’s world. Indeed, it is the excluded who can best appreciate the notion of “literacy as freedom”.

Our New Space
We’re opening a brand-spanking-new writing centre on Bloor Street west between Dovercourt and Landsdowne.  This dynamic Space will give kids and youth the opportunity to hang out and learn from some of Canada’s finest writers, artists and digital storymakers. We’ll also have an exciting shop where you can get everything for the traveling alien including some tantalizing reading!

This new, innovative centre for kids and youth is inspired by two successfully operating models, Dave Egger’s 826 National in San Francisco (which oversees eight centres in the US) and Roddy Doyle’s, Fighting Words in Dublin, Ireland. Both of these organizations are  involved in supporting Story Planet through ongoing mentorship, consultation and the sharing of resources.

Why is all this important? Because, in Canada 48% of all adults over the age of 16 have low prose literacy skills, meaning that they have difficulty reading, understanding and functioning effectively with written material, according to the OECD’s International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS). We’d like to help change that.

LIZ HAINES, alien chieftess. Liz’s extensive background in children’s entertainment began at TVOntario as a creator, producer and director for TVO Kids. Since then Liz has produced award winning series, most recently The Ocean Room which won a Gemini award for Best Preschool Series in November of 2010.  Liz feels passionately about encouraging kids to tell their own stories, in writing and in film and started Story Planet in 2009. She believes reading and writing is challenging and a lot of work for many kids and so is invested in opening doors to literacy through mentorship and workshops that inspire and excite!

the driving force