Testimonials:

Deepam’s wonderful workshops, delivered using the AWA method, have transformed my writing practice and profoundly informed my teaching strategies. By directing attention to what is strong in a piece of writing, the AWA method cultivates both skill and confidence. Rather than aggravate students’ anxieties through premature criticism, the AWA method allows them to encourage each other’s strengths. This generous approach builds trust and strengthens bonds in the writing cohort. The AWA method is a good way to write and a great way to get feedback, but its strongest gift may be the way it encourages us as fellow writers to receive each other’s voices with generous attention, deepening our own listening.

Julian Gunn, Instructor, Department of English and Creative Writing, Camosun College, British Columbia, Canada

As soon as I started taking workshops with Deepam, I knew I had to change how I taught creative writing. I was demoralized by seeing my students struggle to figure out how to support each other as writers, and the critiquing methods I was using often left both writer and critiquer deflated. The AWA method as practiced in Deepam’s workshops provided me with an understanding of how to reshape my own instruction to be more supportive while also providing valuable critique to the students. I now ask my students to tell their classmates what is working in their writing and what they can learn from those parts to strengthen the parts that may need more work. There is rigour in their critique that starts with appreciation.

Kari Jones, Author & Instructor, Department of English and Creative Writing, Camosun College, British Columbia, Canada