RIC is specifically geared towards Middle and High School age students. It is an open program, so teachers may incorporate it into their classroom curriculum, school clubs or students participating in after-school activities may participate, or individual students may participate on their own. The program is also open to Home-School or Alternative Education programs.

All elements of Read! Imagine! Create! are always completely free and always will be.

We can provide some art supplies to be used during the Visual Art Workshops. If you choose to purchase additional materials or supplies for your project, those are not covered by Write Out Loud.

June: Perusal copies available for educators for planning purposes. To request a perusal copy, please use THIS FORM.

July: Registration and Book Orders are open! Please use THIS FORM to register and order books. To guarantee book delivery, book orders for ALL your participating classes must be in by August 28th. This helps us take advantage of bulk order discounts. If needed, we will place a second order no later than December 15th, for January delivery. Use the RIC Registration Form.

September: Fall book shipment delivery/ pick up.

September – Mid February: Teachers and students may incorporate the program at any point during these seven months. Workshops are available at any point during these seven months. Please schedule workshops through the Registration Form. If you would like to schedule workshops after you have Registered, reach out to WOLRachael@gmail.com.

Projects may be turned in at any point during these seven months. Please use this page to submit projects: PROJECT SUBMISSION PAGE

December: Visual Art project pick-ups for Fall Semester.

March 4: Deadline for all projects to be turned in.

March: Visual Art project pick-up for Spring Semester.

March – April: Judging Occurs.

Mid-March – Early April: Notices will go out to students and teachers about projects displayed in Libraries and presented at Library Receptions.

Early April: Library Receptions. Visual Art projects not displayed will be returned to campus.

Late April: Celebration Ceremony.

Early May: Projects displayed at Libraries will be returned.

Write Out Loud – the organization that created and sponsors RIC every year – receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read to cover costs of book purchases, paying Teaching Artists, producing the annual Celebration Ceremony, and other administrative and operational costs. The NEA provides a list of titles eligible for funding. We select the book from this list.
Curious about the list? Find it here:
https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/NEA-BigRead-2024-2025-Books.pdf
See a title you like? Send us a suggestion!

Sometimes the book from the NEA Big Read list contains mature content. In these cases, we will select a second book that shares similar themes, plot points, and/or characters as an alternative option for younger students.

This is our goal, and is usually the case. Depending on funding and the cost of the book, we occasionally will offer class sets instead of individual copies.

Every year, free workshops are offered as an optional supplement to the program. Usually, there is a Literary Workshop and a Visual Art Workshop. Classes may have both or only one workshop. In one class-period, a Teaching Artist will lead a workshop that helps students brainstorm and begin (there is usually not time to complete) a project that they could develop into the project they submit to the contest. Workshops tend to shift each year, based on the book. For more information, please see Workshops.

Workshops are also offered through some library branches.

Please check back here for information as library workshops are scheduled!

We have four categories:

Visual Art – painting, sculpting, diorama, comic strip, graphic novel, illustrations, book jackets, fashion/costume designs, set designs, mixed media, photography, skateboard designs etc. Anything that you experience by looking at and is not meant to be experienced on a screen.

Literary Art – stories, poetry, monologue, dialogue, biography, plays, etc. Anything that is meant to be experienced by reading it.

Performance – music composition, dance, poetry recitation, opera, monologue or dialogue that is performed, etc. Anything that is meant to be experienced by an audience watching the performance in person in real time.

Media – film, video, animation, original video games, digital painting or illustration, etc. Anything that is meant to be experienced on a screen.

For examples of projects, please see the main RIC Page.

Please see the project-submissions

Yes. Each individual student may submit up to three projects per year in whatever categories they choose. A student may submit multiple projects per category (3 Visual Art, 2 Literary, etc), but the total number of projects per individual student must not exceed three.

Yes. Please be sure to fill out the appropriate Group Project submission form.

It depends on the type of project:

Visual Art projects are collected and stored in a secure facility where they are cataloged and displayed for the judges. Once judging is complete, as many projects as possible are then moved to a local library and displayed for the month of April for the public to enjoy. (See more FAQs about Visual Art projects below). Any projects that are not displayed are returned in the first half of April. Once the library displays come down in May, these projects are returned in the first half of May.

Literary, Media, and Performance projects are sent to a panel of judges who read and score projects.

We ask for a video of the performance to be submitted through the online form

For projects that contain more than one element, you may turn them in to multiple categories. So, if you write and illustrate a story, you may turn the text of the story in as a Literary project, and you may turn in the full book with the illustrated text as a Visual Art project. If you write a play and your friends perform it, then the script can be turned in as a Literary project, and the video of the performance can be turned in as a Performance project.

NOTE that we do not re-categorize projects! If a project is submitted under one category, then that is the category in which it is assessed. If you have questions about what category your project falls under, please contact the Education Coordinator at WOLRachael@gmail.com

No. We display as many Visual Art pieces as we can, but we always receive more projects than we have space for. We try to display as wide a range of projects, schools, and mediums as possible.

We will send teachers a list of all projects that are on display. We will also send an email to the provided email contact on the submission form to let you know which branch your project is at, and the date of the Artist Reception for that branch.

No, display does not indicate receipt of recognition. We usually display between 200 – 300 projects, while we recognize about 30 Visual Art projects per year.

No, recognition does not guarantee display.

We try and display as wide a range as possible to demonstrate the extensive creativity of San Diego students. Factors such as space, size, and durability also come into play. The goal of the library displays and receptions is to include and celebrate as many students as possible.

This is an informal gathering where we provide snacks, treats, and beverages at the library and invite students, teachers, family, and friends to come and see the artwork. Depending on the year, there may also be readings of some literary projects, a short performance related to the book, or a brief presentation.

Roughly one month, for the month of April. You may visit the libraries at any time during operating hours to view the displays.

First – we sincerely apologize for this. It is always our intention to respect and care for the projects while they are in our care. While it does not happen often, on occasion a project will be damaged or lost. Every case is different, but here are some things to consider:

Visual Art projects are transported a minimum of two times: School to Storage Facility, and Storage Facility to School.
If the project is displayed, it is transported three times: School to Storage Facility, Storage Facility to Library, Library to School.
This also means the project is being packed and repacked a minimum of 2 – 3 times. We try our very best to pack projects safely and protect them during transport, but most often, if damage happens, it happens during transportation with three-dimensional projects (diorama, sculpture, etc). Sometimes the vibration of the vehicle is enough to weaken particularly delicate elements of a project. If damage occurs while the project is in our care, we do our best to reach out to the teacher and/or student to let them know. If damage happens in transit back to the school, we may not know about it.

If a project is lost – this happens even less frequently – it could be that the Submission Form somehow became unattached from the project, or that the project was mistakenly delivered back to the wrong school. If this has happened to your project, feel free to reach out to the Education Coordinator at WOLRachael@gmail.com and we will investigate to try and track down what happened.

We are continually updating our cataloging and intake protocols in an effort to keep diligent records of all projects at all times. Please accept our earnest apologies, and know that every effort is made to care for all projects submitted to our program.

Something students, educators, and parents can do to help minimize these unfortunate anomalies is to follow submission instructions carefully, and to ensure that projects are sturdy and durable when submitted.

We recruit a panel of between 3 – 5 judges per category. All of our judges practice or work in the category that they are judging, and most also have some sort of connection to Education. Judges assess projects based on creativity, individualism, connection to the source text, and skill of execution. Any project that is selected by a Judge receives a Special Recognition. Of those selected by Judges, scores from Final Judges determine First, Second, or Third place prizes.

First place: $100 + Certificate
Second place: $50 + Certificate
Third place: $25 + Certificate
Special Recognition: Certificate

Once judging is complete, we reach out to teachers and to the contact email provided on the submission form to congratulate students whose projects are being recognized.

Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to contact students who are not being recognized.

This is a ceremony held annually at the end of April where prizes and special recognitions for projects in all four categories are awarded. We will play winning Media projects on a screen for all to see, winning literary projects will be read aloud, images of winning Visual Art projects will be projected, and winning performance projects will be performed live by the students (when available). This event is most often held at the Central Library in downtown. Exact time, location, and logistics will be sent out closer to the event to invited students and educators.

Students, family, and educators.
NOTE that we do need to restrict attendance, due to the capacity of the venue. We recognize about 100 students every year, which means we must limit the number of guests each student may bring (usually it’s 3 per student). Attendance is free, but registration for this event is required to ensure we do not go over capacity. More information on this will be sent out closer to the event to invited students and educators.

Individual students should contact the Education Coordinator at WOLRachael@gmail.com

Fill out this form: RIC REGISTRATION FORM

For Individual Students, Homeschool or alternative education educators requesting fewer than 12 books, no.

We highly recommend that you incorporate RIC into your curriculum but we leave how best to encourage your students to fully participate up to the teachers. Some teachers or school librarians use it as a text for the on-campus Book Club or for after-school enrichment programs. You may choose to offer it as extra credit. We purposefully keep the requirements as minimal as possible to enable as a wide a population as possible to participate. Teachers who do incorporate RIC into the classroom/curriculum typically report that their students get more out of the experience.

No. Students are not required to submit a project.

Yes, for both texts. See the RIC webpage and scroll down to Teacher Resources.

Two – Write Out Loud Artistic Director Veronica Murphy and Education Coordinator Rachael VanWormer. We rely on a network of dedicated volunteers to help us make this program possible every year.

Yes! We offer programs for all grade levels. For more information, see our Education Tab on the main Write Out Loud Website: https://writeoutloudsd.com

Past titles include:

• The works of Edgar Alan Poe by Edgar Alan Poe
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradburry
• Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link
• Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
• A Small Story About the Sky by Alberto Rios
• The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
• The Collected Works of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
• The Bear by Andrew Krivak

We believe that success and achievement can take a myriad of forms, and we hope to inspire young people to seek out avenues for their own success in their academic pursuits, as well as the experiences they will have over their lifetime outside of school.