Young Writers Society
The Young Writers Society (YWS) is an online writing community devoted to young writers ages 13 to 21. The site was one of Writer's Digest Best 101 Web Sites for Writers of 2006, and was the only young writers site included in the 2007 list. The site began on November 14, 2004 and is managed by Nate Caldwell along with several trusted users. It is extensively moderated, although the site has a policy against any literary censorship.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Young Writers Society is to promote and encourage creative writing as a pastime for teenagers and college-age students. To achieve this, the site provides a friendly, community atmosphere with a phpbb forum-based design.
Writing Community
The online writing community consists mainly of young writers ages 13 to 21. Members have access to a wide range of Literary forums, as well as General Discussion forums and user-created groups. The site also contains a knowledge base with articles on writing tips written by young writers, and a list of online resources for writing help.
Squills
Squills is the site-published e-zine released on a semi-monthly basis. YWS accepts submissions of flash fiction, poetry, writing tips, general interest, satire, and comic strips for the e-zine.
The site also has plans to release a quarterly young writers journal beginning early 2008. The journal will consist of short stories, novellas, art, and poetry written by young writers. YWS has received submissions and the editing process is underway, with the journal expected to be published in early 2008.
Policies
Due to the young age of many of its members, the Young Writers Society has an extensive moderating staff. Vulgar language, as well as netspeak, is not allowed outside of literary works. Members are also encouraged to write in-depth critiques through a points and star ranking system.