Published = Public

Sometimes our young authors write pieces that deal with sensitive information about their personal lives. And that’s great! Deep is a place where these hard and sometimes scary stories can be explored in a safe environment, with loads of support from Writing Fellows and their peers. It’s our job as the adults in the room to make sure our authors understand the ramifications of putting these stories into print.

Publishing is an act of courage. Once something is in print, it’s permanent and public. People from all over Savannah and beyond will read it. It’s never possible to keep published work hidden from parents. Make sure your young writers understand this reality when they decide to put a sensitive piece in the book, especially if the content could come back to negatively affect the young writer or other named individuals.

To be clear, we at Deep love when our young people tell difficult, challenging stories that help them make sense of their worlds. And while they do that, we want to make sure that they’re safe and making informed choices.

• The best way to support is to get ahead of a sensitive piece’s publication and have these conversations during revision:
  • Maybe there are changes, small or large, that could be made to the piece to make the author feel safe for print.
  • How is this piece about a universal truth? Retain that truth without compromising the individual.
  • How can this piece evolve? Let’s tackle these challenges as artists and use fiction and creativity to share your message.
  • What kind of support do you need from me?If an author is reluctant to work on an important piece with potential, ask the question, “What would it take for you to be comfortable publishing this piece?”
• If a writer really wants to share, but is worried about serious repercussions: Offer to let your young writer publish the sensitive piece in its own section, either anonymously or with a pen name. Show them examples of other artists who did the same thing, like street artist Banksy and these eight famous authors. The writer should still publish at least one other piece under their own name.
  • (Please confer with Deep staff if you go this route so we can be sure to accommodate it in the book design.)
• If your writer chooses not to publish a sensitive piece at all: That’s totally okay! They were brave to write the piece in the first place and share it with you. Help them choose different pieces for the book.