The Inside Out Storylab increases access to quality participation in artistic exchanges for people inside and out of the carceral system. One goal of this program is to promote reading amongst all incarcerated Alaskans by distributing locally sourced and global content to an incarcerated, information-deprived community, “who struggle to find resources to expand their minds” (Bartley). Join us in collecting stories that might spark connections in Fairbanks. Our long-term goal is to develop our own locally sourced, trauma-responsive story collections with a global reach.
The StoryLab creates focused collections and projects that include inside and outside readers and writers. Some of our projects include the Boundaries and Bridges and Science on the Move.
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One story begins in the middle of a pandemic with a group of educators who used the power of collaboration and an internet connection. We used our time to talk and listen to each other around our theme: Access. A bucket is way resources can be transported and shared. Bucket talk may have guided us as we became creative about exchanges, vending machines, and messages in bottles. Who knew we would eventually end up with a story box!
One day, after such a conversation, one of us did a simple google search: “Vending machine for writing” the first result was a New York Times article about the short form literary global publisher Short Edition. Learning about this new technology that matched our goals of increasing access and exchange we launched the Inside Out Storylab in summer 2021. A few memories of that summer are available on Instagram.
Find a story at the push of a button and help support an author: Find us at literacy-focused events like the Annual Literacy Council Spelling Bee or the Kids Literary Market at Noel Wien, or most days Monday-Friday during business hours inside the College of Liberal Arts Deans Office located just next to the elevators on the 4th floor of the Gruening Building. Join us as we learn together about how to provide trauma-informed feedback and build relationships through writing.
Be a Reader!
Access published stories in the Short Edition collections online. Help an author get paid!
Read and read and then share back with us a story you read that you think we should notice in our lab! We are looking for stories that do the important work of connection.
Be a creator!
Submit a short-form comic or story to Short Edition, and be read around the world and compensated!
Get involved with our local collection projects by signing up for our newsletter.
Be a workshop member!
A group of us meet up every week virtually and write personalized responses to stories shared from FCCand other story projects.
Contact Sarah Stanley for a current month’s agenda and where and how to show up.