At Kaya, publishing is people. We recognize that traditional industry models can’t protect or propel the stories we champion, so we are re-envisioning our architecture to build a resilient, independent foundation for the future. As part of our commitment to collective possibility, we are launching our first-ever online workshop series, Creative Contagion. Featuring Kaya writers, translators, editors, and community members, we seek to create an accessible and open space to experiment, generate new work, and sow the seeds of new possibilities. 

We are excited to announce our spring workshops–with more to be added throughout the year. 

Creative Contagion will kick off with author André Dao who will be teaching “Writing With/Through Our Ghosts” on Thursday, April 23rd from 4-6 PM PST. 

Workshop Description:

In this two-hour workshop, we will explore writing with and through our ghosts—literary, political, and familial. We will engage with generative prompts in conversation with excerpts from Viet Thanh Nguyen, Saidiya Hartman, Anne Carson, Seamus Heaney, Edward Said, and others. This workshop is ideal for writers of poetry or prose at any level. Please be prepared to write with a text that haunts you in some way—it may be a document related to personal or family history, an essay you can’t stop thinking about, an excerpt from a writer whose voice keeps returning, etc.

In May, we’ve got a two-part workshop with Jason Magabo Perez who will be teaching “Poetics of Radical Openness: A Critical Ethnic Studies Approach” on Saturday, May 23rd and Saturday, May 30th (date and time TBC). 

Workshops will be hosted on Zoom and are open to writers and readers of all experience levels. Sliding scale of $60-100. Sign up via our website and email info@kaya.com with any questions. We can’t wait to create with you!

Sign up for André Dao’s workshop below!

Sign up for Jason Magabo Perez’s workshop below!