Hi! I'm Shawna, a Durham-based writer who practices and instructs classes focused on writing through trauma to truth. My teaching and writing are equally informed by indoctrinated heterosexuality, racial, gender-based and religious violence, and identity. I am driven to write on difficult topics that support others in recognizing their own marginalizations in order to break free from societally imposed limitations wherever possible.
My bylines have appeared in Verywell Mind, Survivor Lit, HuffPost, [wherever] magazine, The Archipelago and The Manifest-Station, Heart and Humanity Magazine, Equally Wed and the Center for Creative Writing website, among other places. For a more comprehensive list, visit my publications page.
I teach in six-week cycles for the Center for Creative Writing where you can work with me whether your focus be navigating trauma on the page, beginning blogging, generative writing or breaking through blocks by "writing the wave."
I also lead courses for nonprofits and community-driven organizations by invitation, or privately upon request. Feel free to use my contact form below to get in touch!
Here at The Honeyed Quill, you will find announcements of my upcoming online and in-person workshops and classes, publications and more. I hope you will find this to be a safe and nurturing space where you will come to write with me. Welcome to my home.