Who Gets to Write Fiction?

The current curricular emphasis on analytical writing can make it feel risky to teach creative writing in classrooms. But the opportunity to write fiction in school opens many doors for young people: doors the author argues are critical to the development of our students, our education system and even our democracy. In Who Gets to Write Fiction?, English teacher Ariel Sacks shows how writing fiction not only bolsters critical academic skills but also engages students’ attention and imagination; shifts power dynamics; creates empathy; and provides a creative outlet for students’ personal identity development—or even a means to heal trauma. In a teacher-to-teacher narrative that folds in practical details about how to design lessons and meet standards, Sacks presents a powerful argument that the writing of fiction should be treated not as a luxury for some children but as a centre of the curriculum for all children.