Heung Creative Writing Workshop

(Above image is a screen from that one scene in Hero (2002) where the calligraphers are besieged by arrows but continue to practice writing anyway.)

The workshop meets every Saturday at 6 pm EST to workshop submitted pieces, make space for generative write-ins, and host teach-ins on craft and form. We also aim to facilitate sessions exploring forms outside of the written word based on community members’ interests. Sessions usually alternate each week between workshops and write-ins/other types of meetings, although this is subject to people’s particular needs.

Why Workshop?

First and foremost, the workshop is a space to be in community with other writers. A supportive community is not epiphenomenal to refining the production of aesthetic forms but an indispensable foundation for creative and technical growth. Instead of a typical academic workshop that offers a singular mode of engagement–cutting criticism contingent on largely uninterrogated notions of craft, reading/reception, and culture–our workshop attends to the social, political, and material conditions that shape our work and our lives as marginalized writers. Following Joy Castro, Matthew Salesses, and others, we understand that craft is politically and socially informed.

Moreover, our workshop is a space to grow not just as writers but also as readers. Seriously and generously engaging with others’ work is necessary for attending to their complexities, mechanics, and potentialities, and we accordingly aim to provide members with discerning and supportive feedback. We strive for the workshop to serve as a way to celebrate each other’s work and lives.

Finally, each workshop session prioritizes the particular needs of the author and their piece. While our base guidelines ensure ample time and space for works to be properly considered by all members, they have (hopefully!) been built porously enough to accommodate all kinds of writers and works. Please review them below:

Workshop Guidelines

Please accompany workshop submissions with brief comments defining your particular feedback needs and any critical context for workshoppers (e.g. I am submitting this piece to a lit mag next week so I would like critiques, I wrote this piece for myself and would like to discuss its theme, etc.)
Provide content warnings for extreme graphic content. While we aim to fully attend to the complexities of challenging content, participants will engage at their discretion.
Submit/upload your piece the Wednesday before workshop.
Written feedback is welcome, whether in addition to verbal feedback during the workshop or in lieu of in-person attendance.
Please limit submissions to no more than 30 pages, double-spaced.
While we always encourage people to submit their work, we try to prioritize those who have not gone in a while.