Archetypes and Echoes: Writing Through Imitation

This writing workshop offers a space to engage with writing as a dialogue—with literary influences, the subconscious, and the collective imagination. Participants are invited to bring a favourite passage from a beloved author, a memorable scene, or a snippet from their dream journal. Through imitation, they will explore pathways to originality, while archetypal imagery serves as a bridge to universal storytelling.

About Avni Doshi
Avni Doshi was born in New Jersey and lives in Dubai. She has a BA in art history from Barnard College in New York and a Masters in history of art from University College London. She was awarded the Tibor Jones South Asia Prize in 2013 and a Charles Pick Fellowship in 2014. Her writing has appeared in British Vogue, Granta and The Sunday Times. Her first novel, Burnt Sugar, was originally released in India under the title Girl in White Cotton, where it won the 2021 Sushila Devi Award and was longlisted for the 2019 Tata First Novel Prize. Upon publication in the UK, Burnt Sugar was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize. Named a 2020 Book of the Year by the Guardian, Economist, Spectator and NPR, it is being published in 26 languages. In 2021, it was longlisted for the Women’s Prize and selected as one of The New York Times Book Review’s 100 Notable Books of the year. In 2022, it was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Avni’s second novel, Imago, will be published in 2026.

Image: Leonora Carrington, And Then We Saw the Daughter of the Minotaur (1953)

Host or Publisher Alserkal Arts Foundation