Teaching writing for: 18+ years
My areas of expertise: personal essays, longfor m nonfiction, short stories, giving the silenced a voice, reframing challenging narratives
My “hot take” on teaching/mentoring: The practice of writing requires learning to be in conversation with ourselves. I believe we need to cultivate our voices in order to witness our core truths. My approach to mentoring is to provide a safe container for unrefined authenticity and then supporting the writer in crafting their own container so they can begin (or continue) processing.
My strengths as a mentor: My curiosity drives the deep connections I make with writers and their work. I come from a history of judgment. I have been shamed, silenced and violenced. As a mentor, I work to support you in removing the barriers you are experiencing.
Why I should be your writing mentor: I believe your story, whether fact or fiction, is worth telling.
The best part of this job: Witnessing writers step into their power by reclaiming their voice.
My favorite things to read: I’m excited for the unexpected twists and turns–when a writer splashes what they’ve never risked before on the page because they were told it wasn’t worth it or didn’t consider it of value. I believe every voice is essential, even when we are writing for ourselves. When I am allowed to witness a story’s birth, I’m ready for every messy part of it.
My favorite things to write: My Substack, Survive Your Story, focuses on breaking imposed barriers and grappling with grief. Survivorship is critical to who I am and how I came to teach, but also the core of how I became a writer.
The official writer bio: Shawna Ayoub is a brown, queer, Durham-based writer and instructor whose work prioritizes the engagement of difficult topics. After recognizing the personal benefits of writing for release and recovery, she has made her practice public for the last 15 years, offering courses independently and mentoring through the Center for Creative Writing. Her work has appeared in Verywell Mind, Survivor Lit, Exit 7, [wherever], The Archipelago, and The Manifest-Station. Shawna currently serves as Director of Programs for Literary Liberation.
Shawna created a safe “container” that enabled me to feel safe and take risks to write about aspects of my experience. Shawna’s facilitation style was consistent, warm, affirming, sensitive, responsive, and relational. As the sessions continued, I felt my curiosity growing and my playfulness in writing re-emerged. My love of creative writing was reignited after 45 years of lying dormant. As a trauma psychologist, I can fully endorse the tremendous value of writing as a healing modality and Shawna’s facilitation is well attuned to this. -Dr. Margaret Jordan, Ph.D.