Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA) believes every person has an essential and unique voice.
We believe every person is a writer. AWA does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, gender, social status/situation, immigration status, religion or spirituality, physical ability, health status, or any aspect of personal intersectionality. We are committed to racial, social, and economic justice for all people. We strive to maintain workshops that inspire creative freedom and uphold diversity, equity, and inclusiveness.
Diversity: AWA’s diversity is reflected in our Board of Directors, certified workshop facilitators, and workshop participants. Membership and program participation allow writers from any economic or experience level to share in our programs. The broad range of our writing workshops reflect the diversity of our facilitators who attract writers from all walks of life to their programs. Several workshops are offered in Spanish and efforts to expand accessibility to other languages are underway.
Equity: Affinity groups provide significant opportunities for those whose voices have been marginalized, traumatized, or historically silenced. Writing together in a sanctuary environment provides a safe and accepting space to gain the confidence to share deeply hidden words that offer a gift to the writer and larger community. Workshops exist for specific ethnic or cultural groups, those with disabilities, impacted by trauma, various age groups, the incarcerated or formally incarcerated, and other specialty areas. We encourage our trained facilitators to make certain their doors and workshops are open to all and support those writers with unique and/or special needs. The AWA Literary Journal, Peregrine, periodically features writings from specific affinity groups, adding new stories to the circle of humanity.
Inclusiveness: AWA continually assesses its efforts to ensure inclusiveness to all levels of AWA from the Board of Directors, certified facilitators, to workshop participants. Our trained facilitators and AWA offer virtual and in-person workshops across the United States and in several international locations and work to make writing groups available in various languages and levels of accessibility. A scholarship program for the certification training is available for people of historically oppressed backgrounds.
By honoring the uniqueness of our participants, AWA promotes alliance among and between those with differing and unique life experiences, and who share the power of their stories together.