The mission of the Emerging Voices Program, a year long workshop series at the heart of the Border Book Festival, is to give voice to our youth and community members who might not otherwise have an opportunity to explore their stories and experiences in writing. In a series of workshops with local and area writers, and with nationally recognized Featured Visiting Writers, participants discover the strength of their unique and powerful voices.

The Emerging Voices Program began in 1996 as a pilot project at the Border Book Festival involving one workshop, sixty students, and a great selection of writers including Joy Harjo, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Demetria Martínez, and Juan Contreras. In 1997, Emerging Voices expanded to become a year-round program with workshops at 6 sites (3 high schools and 3 community centers) involving over 100 community members and students. The program also published a powerful literary magazine, Voces: An Altar of Stories, developed a college scholarship fund for excellence in writing, and sponsored readings at the Border Book Festival. The participants, the local and area writers, and the national visiting writer all shared their voices in presentations at the Border Book Festival. Additionally, Emerging Voices writers have had the opportunity to present their work at various events and venues throughout the year, from libraries to community centers and schools.

Emerging Voices 2002-2003 will work specifically with the festival theme, The Divine Frontier/La Frontera Divina. The festival theme covers border issues of all types, from geography to architecture to human rights as well as a broad range of concerns at the heart of our borderland communities.

Our expanded goal is to provide continuity and consistency in the series thereby creating an even more enriched and meaningful experience for all of our participants as they work with the same workshop leader and in the same setting over a period of time.