Harvesting Hermit Crab Essays & Short Stories: Writing as Craft (Workshop)

The Free Black Women's Library is a literary hub, social site, Black Feminist archive, and community care space that features over 5000 books by Black women and Black non-binary folks, as well as a wide range of free public programs, special events, and creative workshops, a free store, a period pantry, a backyard garden, a virtual reading club, and weekly book swap.
Each month we curate and create programs that explore specific themes and topics.
Our Theme for the months of October & November are Grief & Craft.

The Free Black Women's Library
presents
Harvesting Hermit Crabs: Finding New Shapes for Essays and Short Stories
A Writing Workshop Series led by Alisha Acquaye
Three Saturdays in November
11/2, 11/9, 11/16
3 PM - 5 PM
Through the Hermit Crab writing style, we find imaginative and exciting ways to turn familiar vessels into literary experiments. Think: essays and short stories written as recipes, text messages, how-to guides or special event invitations, to name a few examples. Hermit Crab writing inspires us to play and experiment on the page, to give our stories refreshing new lifelines. This both rejuvenates our writing and excites our readers.

In this creative writing workshop, Ali invite writers to create their own innovative Hermit Crab essays and stories, infusing elements of their lived experiences or snippets from the lives of characters they're building. We'll also read and discuss Hermit Crabs from Black gender expansive femme, nonbinary and women writers.
This workshop is open to any Black writer, whether they are new to the Hermit Crab writing style, been practicing it for years, or interested in finding a different angle to write a story idea they're stuck on.
Facilitator's Bio
Alisha Acquaye is a Black queer writer, workshop facilitator and self portrait artist from Brooklyn, NY. Their art embraces shapeshifting, myths, afrosurrealism and the elasticity of Black femme embodiment. Alisha’s writing is published in Carve Magazine, The Iowa Review, Plentitudes Journal, Allure, Teen Vogue, and more places. When Alisha isn't overanalyzing words and stories, she's listening to experimental jazz and neo soul, watching philosophical cartoons and daydreaming about the ocean.
These are donation based writing workshops with funds collected going towards paying the facilitator for their time and labor.
Participants are asked to give anywhere between $5 and $20 to help offset costs.
If you would like to attend and are not able to make a donation, please email us - [email protected] with the words Hermit Crab in the subject line and we will add you to the sign up list. Space is limited.

Host or Publisher The Free Black Women's Library