As the Center grows, we continue to offer more and more programs to benefit students and the community. Below are definitions that will help guide you through our offerings. Stay tuned to our website for up-to-date happenings at the Center and sign up for our mailing list to be the first to know about upcoming events and exciting opportunities.

Author Presentations
The author reads from his or her book or speaks about his or her work, addressing questions from the audience. Sometimes the writer lectures on a topic of relevance to his or her work. Author presentations and lectures are open to the public.

Residencies
The author spends one to six weeks in residence at Miami Dade College. He or she teaches a course, lectures, reads and otherwise presents his or her work to the public and students in a class or symposium at Miami Dade College.

Class Visits
The author visits a high school or college class for approximately one hour to discuss some aspect of his or her work with students, afterward addressing their questions.

Reading Initiatives
One of the Center's goals is to get everybody reading. The Center's literacy projects target children of all ages -- from kindergarten to high school -- as well as college students and adults. As part of its reading campaigns, the Center gives away books, hosts readings by authors, and organizes activities to get everyone in South Florida excited about books.

Community Education Creative Writing Instruction
The Center offers multi-week creative writing courses, as well as one-day and three and four-day intensives. Most of these are conducted as workshops (click for more information about  the workshop process), but some are lecture-based. In all instances, an instructor meets with participants to discuss writing and/or publishing according to his or her experience. Often the instructor is a published writer or publishing industry professional. In workshop style classes, the instructor and the members of the class discuss participants’ manuscripts, providing valuable feedback and constructive criticism, thus helping all students achieve their writing goals. In lecture-based classes, the instructor teaches techniques and might assign writing exercises, but the examination of student work is not central to the class. All Center-sponsored creative writing instruction is non-credit. Anyone can register, but pre-registration is required.

Classroom Collaborations
Miami Dade College instructors design curricula for classes that explore special topics. The Center works alongside them to choose authors whose books are appropriate for the class, then brings those writers into the classroom for one week residencies. These classes can be taken for credit by students seeking degrees at Miami Dade College, or can be audited by persons in the community who are interested in the topics.

Publications
The Center has published collections in Spanish and English that feature the fiction, nonfiction and poetry of writers who have participated in Center activities. Two collections are in Spanish and feature the work of Miami artists and writers who participate in the yearly multiarts evening, Rebambaramba. The Center is also the publisher of Beginnings, a literary journal that showcases the poetry, fiction and non-fiction of South Floridians who are beginning to write, including students in Miami-Dade public and private schools and colleges. After more than 15 years as a printed magazine, Beginnings will soon make its debut as an interactive, Web-based publication.