Words have the power to oppress and liberate people. NY Writers Coalition workshops aim to uplift and empower people disproportionately silenced in society to express themselves in a safe space. We denounce expressions of racism, classism, ableism, sexism, ageism, transphobia, homophobia, and other ideologies that marginalize and cause harm.
By attending this workshop, you agree to the following:
Any participant who decides to share their writing has the right to request that there be no discussion/response to it, no questions asked. (This goes hand-in-hand with the guidelines that allow other aspects of the workshop to be optional, such as sharing your work, giving feedback, following the prompt, and so on.)
We ask that if you write something that may act as a trigger to others, you be mindful and consider the impact on your fellow writers and allow that to determine whether or not you share. Examples of potentially triggering material include (but are not limited to) portrayals of excessive violence, stereotyping/generalizations about groups of people, and sexual or physical abuse. While we do believe in the freedom of expression, of paramount importance to us is the safety of the group.
Though we aim to have compassion for everyone, and we facilitate creative writing sessions that can often be therapeutic and cathartic, we are not a support or therapy group. Think carefully about what you share with others and your capacity to share. We encourage anyone who needs support for their mental health (that goes beyond the writing process) to seek it, but our staff, leaders, and other workshop participants are not qualified to provide that support.
Please do not share links to Zoom workshop rooms with anyone else, including others that you may have met through our workshops. Our registration system is in place for a reason, and it shouldn’t be bypassed.
If possible, please try to keep your camera on during the workshop’s opening and during the reading and response time. This helps us all stay focused and connected and lets the leader know that you are present. Of course, you may turn off your camera when needed and may participate without a camera, but please keep this in mind.
Be mindful of your behavior on audio, video, and whenever conversing with other participants. Refrain from any behavior that might interfere with the workshop: No nudity, weapons, sexual activity, drugs, violence, harassment, and so on. Please also refrain from taking screenshots or photos of the workshop without the explicit permission of the workshop leader and/or staff.
Our workshop leaders may remove anyone from the workshop at any time if they believe that it is necessary to preserve the integrity and safety of the workshop space.
We reserve the right to deny access to our workshops to anyone we believe may be harming the safety, spirit, values, and/or integrity of the workshop and its participants. Our workshops are a service offered to the public, but they are a private space operated by our organization—we will always aim for full inclusivity, but we also won’t tolerate any deviation from these guidelines nor hesitate to exercise our judgment about who may and may not attend our groups.
I accept the following community agreements:
We’ll create space for each other to speak.
We’ll actively listen to each other. We’ll actively listen to ourselves and our bodies.
We’ll honor each other’s pronouns and gender identities.
We’ll be mindful of the power of language to oppress and liberate people. We aim to do the latter.
We’ll keep everything shared in this writing space (on the page and otherwise) confidential.