Tag: DC

Abby White

Instructor Abby White is thrilled to work with young writers through Writopia Lab in Washington, DC. Her debut novel, D.J. Rosenblum Becomes the G.O.A.T., earned the 2026 Sydney Taylor Book Award for young adult literature, plus praise from the Rick Riordan. (She hopes Annabeth, one of her heroes, would be proud.) She is currently and…
Aiden Kaplan

Instructor Aiden Kaplan is excited to get to work with Writopia Lab as a Game Leader! Aiden has been playing and running tabletop role-playing games for the past twelve years. He has worked extensively with kids of all ages running games, teaching creative writing, and all sorts of other activities at YMCA Camp Takodah in…
Allie Hoback

Instructor Allie Hoback joined Writopia Lab as an instructor in December 2024 and loves helping young writers hone their craft. Allie is a poet and essayist from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Syracuse University. Allie has served as editorial staff for several literary journals, including…
Bailey Blumenstock

Instructor Bailey is delighted to join the Washington, DC Writopia Lab team as an Instructor! She is the author of the poetry collection published by Cathexis Northwest Press, 2025, and her work has appeared in numerous literary journals, including Poet Lore, Nimrod International Journal, The Main Review, Cathexis Northwest Press, Little Patuxent Review, The Northern…
Emily Duru

Instructor Emily Duru is new to Writopia Lab and is overjoyed to be joining as an instructor! Emily is a third-year PhD student in the department of Literature and Writing at Howard University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of Black womanist thought, hip hop studies, and the digital humanities. Prior to beginning her…
Kellie Watkins

Instructor Kellie Watkins is a writer and co-owner of Jahphut, a small publishing company. She is the author of If These Shoes Could Talk: The Awakening and Savvy Diva’s Take On…44 Days of Random Thoughts & Observations, under her pen name, Jahzara the Savvy Diva. Kellie possesses her MFA in Creative Writing from Full Sail…
Leah Ly

Game Leader Leah Ly is just delighted to be starting a new adventure with Writopia Lab as a Game Leader. After graduating from Rowan University with a BA in Radio/Television/Film with a Creative Writing concentration, she has spent a decade professionally entrenched in nerdy and creative spaces. For the past few years, tabletop roleplaying games…
Lillie Lainoff

Instructor Lillie Lainoff is excited to join Writopia Lab as an instructor! She is a fencer, coach, and the founder of Disabled Kidlit Writers. Her short stories are featured in The Los Angeles Review, the YA anthology These Bodies Ain’t Broken, and the upcoming MG anthology, Boundless, and her non-fiction published in The Washington Post…
Lisa Latouche

Instructor Lisa is elated to join Writopia Lab as a writing instructor! She holds a degree in Business Management from the University of Leicester and an MFA from the University of Maryland, College Park. She taught academic and creative writing at Trinity Washington University and at the University of Maryland. She’s received several awards and…
Liz Lawson

Instructor Liz Lawson is thrilled to be joining Writopia’s DC lab as an instructor! She is the New York Times bestselling author of The Agathas, The Night In Question: An Agathas Mystery (with Kathleen Glasgow) and The Lucky Ones. Her books have been featured by the Today show, People, Buzzfeed, Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble,…
Lydia Wei

Instructor Lydia is so thrilled to be joining Writopia Lab as an instructor! She’s long been part of the Writopia family; she first started attending workshops during middle school, and volunteered with Writopia throughout high school. She loves Writopia’s friendly and supportive community and fun writing games—her favorite has always been Hot Laptop! She’s a…
Madeline Arcaro

Administrative Associate and Assistant Instructor Madeline Arcaro joined Writopia Lab as an intern in Summer 2025, and has since been working as an assistant instructor and administrative associate. She is a senior at the University of Maryland studying English Language and Literature with a concentration in Literary and Cultural Studies, and is finishing two minors…
Matthew Picht

Game Leader Matthew Picht joined Writopia Lab in 2025 as a part-time Game Leader. He has been telling stories with tabletop games since high school, and is eager to introduce these games to a new generation of storytellers. After graduating from the University of Tulsa in 2013 with an English degree, Matt worked as a…
Melanie Howard

Instructor Melanie Howard is excited to join Writopia Lab as an instructor in the Greater Washington DC area. Melanie is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared online and in print in Time.com, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, SELF, Seventeen, Parenting, Good Housekeeping and other major publications. She is the co-author of the satirical novel, Queen of the…
Peter Quinn-Jacobs

Associate Director of Operations Peter Quinn-Jacobs started at Writopia Lab as a game leader in 2020. Now as Associate Director of Operations, Peter designs and manages Writopia’s database, leads the operations team for events like WriCampia, and now manages Writopia’s team of game leaders in delivering high-quality programming. Based out of the Washington, D.C., he…
Rita Feinstein

Associate Director of Program InnovationDC Regional Manager Rita has been a part of the Writopia Lab team since 2015. She received her MFA from Oregon State University, where she taught composition and creative writing. Her work has appeared in Willow Springs, Salamander Magazine, and Beloit Poetry Journal, among other publications, and has been nominated for Best of the…
Zoe Becker

Instructor Zoe is thrilled to be joining Writopia Lab as an instructor! She’s a longtime Writopian, having attended workshops in middle school and been part of Creative Portfolio all throughout high school. Zoe is also a proud alum of Writopia’s inaugural Connecting Across Cultures program. Zoe’s an incoming freshman at Harvard University, where she plans…