For many years at 826 Valencia and McSweeney’s, we’ve collected the startlingly great publications of youth writing centers form around the world. But there has never been a physical space where they’re displayed, and we thought there should be such a space. When the storefront here at 849 opened up, we saw an opportunity for a pop-up demonstration of this concept.

Welcome to The International Library of Youth Writing, where the collected work of young people from all over the globe, ages 6-18, finds its first home. There are anthologies, chapbooks, graphic novels, and all kinds of other books here, including full-length novels written by middle schoolers. They’re displayed according to their location and sponsoring nonprofit. Chapter 510, for example, is a writing center in Oakland, and they’ve generously donated a bunch of copies of their books, all written by authors under age 18. There are books by students from Italy, Australia, Louisville, Sacramento, Dublin, Stockholm, and dozens of cities in between.

Please know that right now, this library is an experiment, and will be evolving. There are dozens of youth writing centers not represented here, so when those books come in, we’ll put them on display; every time you come by, the space will have changed a bit.

At the moment, these books in our library are not for sale and can’t be checked out. In the future, we hope to have copies for sale, and even a way to check out certain books. For now, though, we hope you’ll enjoy browsing and that you’ll be astounded by the breadth of work created by young writers, and the exceptional quality of these publications.

About that quality: When we started 826 Valencia back in 2002, we made a conscious decision to publish student work in high-quality paperbacks and even hardcover editions. In this way, we believed—and still believe—we can better honor the writing of young people. We also help students create chapbooks and easier-to-make publications, but our concentration has always been on holding students to professional standards and publishing their work in a professional way.

The human chorus is incomplete without the voices of young people, and this library is a step toward making sure these voices are heard and honored, and even when these authors grow up, that what they thought and felt and believed as young authors is never forgotten.

DAVE EGGERS & NÍNIVE CALEGARI, co-founders of 826 Valencia

BITA NAZARIAN, executive director of 826 Valencia

AMANDA UHLE, former executive director of 826 Michigan and publisher of McSweeney’s

JADE HOWE, curator of the International Library of Youth Voices