Literary Mediator Application
Apply now to be part of the inaugural cohort of Salas de Libros Literary Mediators in your community!
APPLICATIONS DUE FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2025
Interested in building communities of readers in southern Arizona? Worlds of Words and the Southern Arizona Writing Project invite passionate readers and community members to apply to be a part of the inaugural cohort Literary Mediators in the Salas de Libros initiative.
Salas de Libros is a reading promotion program based on a highly successful initiative from Mexico called Salas de Lectura. “Salas” refers to spaces in houses, community centers, and public parks, where people gather in conversation around sofas, cushions, and comfortable chairs to build literate communities around books and civic engagement. Salas de Libros are intergenerational by design, engaging children, youth, and elders, led by community members known as literary mediators who establish meaningful bridges between books and readers to encourage immersion into reading and conversation. In these spaces, reading spurs personal development, social transformation, helps us understand ourselves and our identities, and works toward a more inclusive world.
We invite potential mediators to consider communities where they have connections and that might benefit from a sala as a space to encounter silenced or missing stories about their lives.
Interested mediators should be:
- avid readers,
- willing to promote a love of reading and literacy for social change,
- and live in Tucson or southern Arizona.
- Mediators are volunteers who will commit to establishing a Sala de Libros in their community which they will facilitate regularly.
The mediator sessions will be held Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19, 9am-2pm, at the Worlds of Words (University of Arizona, College of Education, 1430 E Second St, Rm 453, Tucson, AZ 85721). Breakfast and lunch will be provided. We will also have a kick-off social and reception, Friday, May 17, from 5-7pm on campus!
After attending the 2 mediator sessions, volunteers will receive:
- a certificate,
- access to mobile book libraries, interactive games, writing supplies, digital materials, and strategies for building communities of readers,
- and become part of a network of Literary Mediators and passionate readers
For questions, please email us or any of the project Co-Directors, Carol Brochin, Kathy Short or Leah Durán.