About Me, About You: a writing workshop by and for women of color, led by Roohi Choudhry

“I write to record what others erase when I speak, to rewrite the stories others have miswritten about me, about you.” – Gloria Anzaldúa

This generative writing workshop will bring together women and gender-expansive folk of color from diverse backgrounds to write creative prose (fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid forms) rooted in personal experience. Participants will generate new work based on the group’s discussions and reflections on lineage, tradition, and faith. In doing so, the workshop seeks to expand limiting narratives about women of color and gender-expansive folk both within their faith traditions and in American culture broadly. We will gather every day to discuss craft and the creative path, write together based on guided exercises and respond to one another’s work. Part of each day will be set aside for participants to write on their own and some evenings will feature community-building activities.

Plan for the Week

Day 1 – Travel Day. Introductions.
Day 2 – Interrogating place and community.
Day 3 – Stories of my faith, stories of me.
Day 4 – Guest artist presentation.
Day 5 – Individual vs. collective storytelling.
Day 6 – Writing from the margins.
Day 7 – Travel Day.

The Collegeville Institute will cover all workshop fees, room and board, as well as most travel expenses to and from the workshop within the continental United States. International travel costs, and travel from Hawaii and Alaska, may be shared between the Collegeville Institute and the workshop participant. Those who join the workshop will be expected to reside at the Collegeville Institute throughout the entire workshop.

Leader bio

Roohi Choudhry was born in Pakistan, grew up in southern Africa and now calls Brooklyn, NY, home. She is the author of the novel, Outside Women (University Press of Kentucky, 2025), described as “riveting… an incisive story of how change happens” by Publishers’ Weekly. An alum of the Collegeville Institute resident scholar program, she holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan and is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship as well as residencies at Hedgebrook and Djerassi. Her stories and essays have appeared in Ploughshares, Adi Magazine, Longreads, Poets & Writers, and the Kenyon Review, among others. She has a background in criminal justice reform, urban placemaking, public health, and international development and has taught workshops at schools, libraries, and community organizations. As a teaching artist, she works primarily within immigrant and BIPOC communities, focusing her generative writing workshops on excavating stories of migration, diaspora, generational memory and on the intersection between art and activism. Find out more at roohichoudhry.com.

Who May Apply?

• Self-identifying women and gender-expansive folk of color, creative writers (primarily prose) of all levels.
• This workshop is limited to 6 participants.

Application Process: The application deadline for this workshop has passed.