Our Mission
Story Planet is devoted to amplifying the voices of children and young people in Toronto’s equity-deserving communities.
Our writing programs inspire kids to imagine and write stories while building creativity, confidence, and literacy.
Since 2011, we’ve occupied a unique place at the intersection of the arts, social justice, and education.
Our History
Story Planet was started in 2009 by Liz Haines, who remains our executive director today. While producing, directing, and writing shows for children’s TV, she became curious about the kinds of stories kids themselves tell. That fall, she ran a workshop at her children’s school and quickly realized that her heart was in developing and running writing workshops for many more children!
Story Planet became a registered charity in 2011 with the mission of bringing free creative writing programming to equity-deserving communities in Toronto. In 2012 we opened our first space, the Intergalactic Travel Authority, a travel market with a writing and art centre that children accessed through a secret portal.
Since then, we’ve grown into a thriving nonprofit that runs more than 90 programs a year serving hundreds of children, and into a family of writers, illustrators, actors, social workers, and more folks who are passionate about our mission.
Story Planet now occupies a storefront on Bathurst called the Alien Art Market, where we work and host public programs, as well as sell books and gifts. We continue to explore new and exciting partnerships and ventures, reach more schools and children, and help more stories and voices get out into the world.
