What began as a center to honor Salinas’ native son, Nobel Prize-winning author and one of America’s most internationally recognized writers John Steinbeck, has turned into a community-driven educational hub that houses a unique archival collection and continues to impart his prolific works to 30,000 visitors a year from over 73 countries.

To date, our Award-winning Steinbeck Young Authors Program (SYA) has educated and inspired over 50,000 students (serving nearly 5,000 elementary, middle, and high school students annually) in Monterey County. We are broadening it to include a high school writing contest, and our summer writing camps—now called STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math)—are also expanding.

Testimonials from both teachers and students credit the enrichment experience provided by the program and improvement in both literacy and confidence levels of students gained because of its educational curriculum.