Imagine having a designated time each week to step deeper into your voice, your creativity and your stories with support and in community. If you identify as Black, Indigenous and/or a Person of Colour (BIPOC) and you're looking to start a writing practice or commit to an existing one, I would love for you to join Our Stories, Our Voices (BIPOC Edition) starting Sunday, July 2nd at 10am PST/1pm EST. 

Once you sign up, you'll have given yourself time to step deeper into your voice, your creativity, your stories and your writing practice. Not only that, you'll get to do all of this from the comfort of your home, in community and with support. This 6-week online generative writing program only has 10 spots and it's more than half full so sign up soon! As a union member, you can use the code TWUC15 to get a $15 discount for the next three days (you can also share this code with friends)!

Details on poster: Our Stories Our Voices (BIPOC Edition) | July 2, 9, 16, 23 & August 13, 20 online via Zoom | 90 minute sessions | 10am PST / 1pm EST | PLUS a 20 minute one-on-one | Facilitated by Preeti Kaur Dhaliwal.

About the Facilitator

Preeti Kaur Dhaliwal (she/her) is a critical race feminist, writer, (former) lawyer, educator and facilitator who grew up on the traditional territories of the Semiahmoo, Katzie, Kwikwetlem, Kwantlen, Qayqayt, Tsawwassen and Musqueam First Nations (also known as Surrey and North Delta, British Columbia). With over 20 years of facilitation and teaching experience, Preeti is committed to arts-based methodologies as a source of personal and collective empowerment, transformation and community-building. She has taught creative writing at Guelph-Humber College, led arts-based workshops across Canada and the US in various institutions (including universities, law faculties, women's spaces and youth centres), and firmly believes that stories change the world by altering our ways of seeing, feeling and being with one another and the planet.

Preeti’s creative writing has appeared in PRISM international, Looseleaf, Humber Literary Review, We Were Not Alone: A Community Building Art Works Anthology, The New Quarterly, The Fiddlehead and alt. theatre, and numerous other publications. She is a two-time writer in residence at Voices of Our Nation (VONA), a Banff alumna, a Deer Lake Residency alumna, and a three-time recipient of Canada Council for the Arts grants. In her academic career (BA, LLB, BCL, LLM, MFA), Preeti has combined law, theatre, performance art and creative writing to investigate race, history and pedagogy. She has received over two dozen awards for academic excellence and community work, most recently the DF Forster Medal. She is currently working on a novel and a poetry collection.

Testimonials

• “I couldn't think of a better way to kick-start my day than writing with Preeti. She brings care and love to everything she touches. I left the workshop feeling energized and grateful for the opportunity to connect with my writing practice (and other writers!) in such a supportive space.” - Kai Fig Taddei, writer and Our Stories Our Voices participant

• "I felt more grounded and connected to myself and to the words that are inside me wanting to come out." - Write with Preeti workshop participant 

• "My writing has been limited to academic and expository formats for decades. I don't offer myself the time or permission to express emotions, be vulnerable, share lived and felt experiences or be creative in my writing. Preeti skillfully and thoughtfully creates a safe, respectful and inclusive space that honours my hesitant, cautious and self-edited voice, providing opportunities for deep reflection, exploration, curiosity and forgiveness." - Angela Ma Brown, Anti-racist Educator 

• “Working with Preeti is opening yourself up to compassion, kindness, a sense of belonging and deepening a relationship with yourself and your voice. What a gift to be in community with her and to be guided by her warm and generous spirit. She helped me see myself and others with kinder eyes, with a wider smile and to approach the page with courage.” - Heather, Our Stories, Our Voices writer-participant 

Accessibility Details

*Live transcription is available on Zoom, however this is only 60-80% accurate. Unfortunately, ASL interpretation is not available for this series. 

Contact

You can learn more about the workshop here. You can also find Preeti on Instagram @write.with.preeti and @jadooberry, or contact her via email at write.with.preeti@gmail.com (her TWUC profile is not yet set up but hopefully will be soon!)