Embodied Narratives – A Decolonized, Anti-Racist Writing Workshop for Radical Storytelling
Storytelling is power. But too often, the systems that shape our voices—traditional MFA programs, hierarchical workshops, colonial critique models—fail to hold space for the lived experiences, truths, and identities of BIPOC, queer, disabled, and otherwise marginalized writers.
Enter Embodied Narratives, a revolutionary 13-week writing program guided by award-winning playwright, poet, and visionary Anya Pearson. Hosted by Urban Haiku, this course is not just a writing workshop. It’s a space for radical reimagining, deep healing, and collective liberation through story.
This is writing in community. This is the anti-MFA.
This is Embers — where your fire becomes fuel.
🔥 What is Embodied Narratives?
At its heart, Embodied Narratives fuses the core ethos of Where We Come From: Ethnoautobiography — a decolonized, anti-racist approach to writing from lived experience — and applies it to a supportive, intentionally crafted anti-traditional workshop for writers developing book-length works in progress.
Affectionately called "Embers," this program prioritizes community care over critique, storytelling over perfectionism, and liberation over literary elitism. It centers your truth, honors your voice, and holds space for your process.
🗓️ Workshop Structure: Flow, Not Force
13-week commitment
Wednesdays from 5:00–7:00 PM PST / 8:00–10:00 PM EST
Beginning May 21, 2025
Hosted via Zoom, with the option for recorded oral feedback
Each session begins with a week of introductions and co-working, followed by four rounds of two participants sharing thirty pages each week. Yes — thirty. Because this is about doing the work, not obsessing over perfection.
Every writer receives oral and written feedback from peers and Anya Pearson herself. Want your feedback recorded? We’ve got you. It's all about supporting your growth, your way.
💫 Who Is This For?
Writers working on a book-length manuscript (memoir, novel, nonfiction, hybrid works)
Individuals seeking a decolonized, anti-racist, non-hierarchical writing space
BIPOC folx ready to deepen into their stories in a safe, inclusive community
Writers burned out by institutional systems and looking for nurture instead of critique
Capacity is limited to 6 writers to ensure intimacy, depth, and authentic community engagement.
🌱 Meet Your Facilitator: Anya Pearson
Anya Pearson (she/her/we) is a powerhouse: an award-winning playwright, poet, screenwriter, producer, actress, activist, and creative visionary. A 2021–2022 Hodder Fellow at Princeton University, she’s currently juggling the creation of a poetry collection, a novel, three TV pilots, a feature film, and the launch of Urban Haiku Clothing, a wearable activism label.
Her plays have graced stages from Joe’s Pub in NYC to Portland’s finest theatres. She’s a spoonie, a survivor, a single mother, and a multidimensional voice living at the intersection of resilience and resistance.
Anya brings not only craft mastery but deep compassion, lived experience, and radical vision to Embodied Narratives — making her the guide you didn’t know you needed.
📍 More about Anya:
www.anyapearson.com | urbanhaikuclothing.com
IG: @iamanyapearson | @urbanhaikuclothing
💬 Justice-Based Pricing: Pay What You Can, Support One Another
This program runs on a sliding scale to ensure equity and access. We invite you to pay according to your resources:
TierDescription$1,750Financially secure. You have steady income, savings, and can spend recreationally. Your contribution helps sponsor others.$1,500You may have some debt or expenses that strain your budget, but you’re generally financially stable.$1,250You’re managing debt or hardship, but can afford some discretionary spending. You may need additional support.
Need another option? We welcome conversations around payment plans, trades, and work-exchange opportunities. Just reach out. We’re here for community, not capitalism.
✨ Access & Inclusion at the Center
Embodied Narratives prioritizes BIPOC writers and holds space explicitly for those historically marginalized by traditional literary systems. Our goal is to foster an environment of safety, honesty, healing, and growth.
We don’t believe in gatekeeping. We believe in creating brave, inclusive containers where your story can rise — just as it is.
📝 How to Apply
To honor the integrity of the space and match intention with readiness, we ask interested writers to submit a short application. This helps us ensure alignment and give you the most impactful experience possible.
🌟 Conclusion: Reignite Your Voice. Write Your Truth.
Embodied Narratives isn’t just a writing program. It’s a reclamation of voice, power, and possibility. It’s the fire beneath the surface, the community you’ve longed for, and the words waiting to be set free.
Join us. Come sit around the fire. Let’s burn through the noise and write from the embers.
🖋️ Apply today to join the next cohort
FAQs
1. Is this workshop only for BIPOC writers?
While all are welcome to apply, priority is given to BIPOC-identifying writers to ensure a safe, representative space.
2. Do I need to have a completed manuscript to join?
No. This program is designed for writers in progress — you’ll be submitting pages and building your work throughout.
3. Is this an MFA alternative?
Yes — intentionally. Embodied Narratives offers what traditional workshops often lack: inclusivity, decolonized practices, embodied community, and trauma-informed guidance.
4. What if I can’t afford the full cost?
Reach out! We’re open to flexible payment plans, trades, and creative exchanges that honor your capacity.
5. What kind of writing is accepted?
All genres are welcome — memoir, fiction, hybrid forms, creative nonfiction — as long as it’s a book-length work in progress.
