The Iowa Youth Writing Project (IYWP) aims to join Iowa City’s unique literary heritage with its community, empowering and inspiring the children and teens of Iowa through language arts and creative thinking. It provides writing, tutoring, mentoring, and publishing opportunities to Iowa’s youth. To make sure that ALL youth have access to these opportunities, programs and events are provided on a free, "pay what you can," or affordable basis through the volunteer work of Iowa City’s literary community and partnerships with local programs, organizations, and institutions. The IYWP is particularly focused on serving at-risk youth and youth whose voices might otherwise be marginalized. The IYWP is an outreach endeavor under the non-profit umbrella of the community-building organization The James Gang.