What is NCoW? (See also an overview of NCoW's history.)

The National Conversation on Writing is a WPA Network for Media Action project that seeks to tell a bigger story.

NCoW researchers across the country are talking to people in everyday settings--libraries, coffee shops, public parks--about their writing experiences. Those stories, told through video and audio recordings, as well as in writing, will help us celebrate the many facets of writing in everyday life and help the public see how crucial, and how vibrant, writing remains.

Writing is a crucial human activity. Whether it's grocery lists, e-mails, IMs, academic essays, poems, raps, or business memos, everyone writes. But if you read about writing (or student writers) in mainstream media, the story about writing--who writes, what they write, and where, when, and why they write--is incomplete.

The National Conversation on Writing answers these question:

• What's the Story About Writing?
• How, where, and why do people write?
• What do people write?
• What do people like and not like to write?
• Who considers themselves a writer, who not, and why

Join the conversation. Learn about the various ways you can contribute.

Our vision

Public discussions about writing and writers rarely focus on the writing that people do, and read, in their everyday lives. Such incarnations of literacy, and the role of literacy education, get little attention beyond the sensationalist stories that tout why “Johnny Can’t Write.” As a result, many of the stories about writing and writers remain untold. This neglect affects not just the ways that writing is taught but has long-term implications for the future of literacy education. It also affects who is included in—and who is excluded from—the discourse of the American democracy.

For these reasons, we are particularly interested in contributions telling stories often left unheard. What about the reading and writing associated with video games? manual labor? church or religious organizations? Facebook or Myspace? What about stories from community literacy programs? elementary schools? middle schools? high schools? college? What about texting? vlogging? blogging? journaling? journalism?

If you have a story about writing or writers, we want to include it here at the National Conversation on Writing.

Mission Statement

NCoW provides resources and a public forum for conversations about writing and writers. By promoting public, ongoing conversations with real writers creating texts (broadly defined) in a variety of contexts and for a variety of purposes, we hope to change the national conversation about writing and writers in ways that more accurately reflect what people do as they write and read and why. We seek diversity in modalities, forums, contexts, languages, and contributions. In other words, we will not limit the conversation to academics and academic projects, school, or even the English language. We actively encourage contributions from community members in and beyond the schools.

So join us in telling these stories.

After all, everyone needs a voice and everyone is a writer.

If you have any questions about the suitability of a particular contributions, just ask. Contact information provided on the contact page.