Although different models exist, across all Dickens Day of Writing events high school students come together for a communal writing experience where they all write a critical or creative essay about Charles Dickens’s short essay “Night Walks.” Mentors help the students revise and prepare their essays for publication, and the students have the joy of seeing their final edited essays in print in our annual anthology. Financial support will be provided to teachers to host the event.

During the Dickens Day of Writing, students will study and write about Charles Dickens’s “Night Walks,” a short piece of investigative journalism that explores urban houselessness in Victorian London. The retreat seeks to cultivate the students’ awareness of current social justice issues, including homelessness, in the local community.

An annotated edition of “Night Walks,” in English and Spanish, is available for download and as a printed booklet.