Pencil In is a writers’ group created to provide a supportive environment for writers to write alone, together! We at 421 love the idea of body-doubling (working near or around someone to help stay focused and engaged) when we are working, writing, and creating.

In these communal writing sessions, we invite you to polish your writing skills while receiving valuable feedback from experienced peer reviewers in English and/or Arabic, having active conversations with other like-minded writers, and enjoying a safe space to share personal texts and works.  Take part to enhance your skills as a writer, or just to write alone with little to no interruptions or judgments. Pencil In will be mentored by an artist or writer from the community.

These sessions are designed for writers to practice their craft without the pressures of producing a final outcome. Drop-ins are welcome.

Each session includes a free cup of coffee from Auro cafe for participating writers.

Open to ages 18 and above.

No prior experience is required, just a love for the written word!

About your peer reviewer

About Shamma Khoury:

Shamma Khoory holds a B.A in English Language & Literature from the American University of Sharjah. She is a passionate writer and photographer who loves capturing the mundane aspect of everyday life to construct narratives of seemingly insignificant moments. While her photographs are focused on the documentation of spaces and people, her writing aims to explore these subjects in closer detail. Follow her on instagram at @Shammako_ 

Specializations:

Free verse poetry, prose, and fiction. Shamma particularly enjoys sestinas, ekphrastic poems, and dramatic monologues.

About Sarah Afaneh:

Sarah Afaneh is a researcher and writer interested in decolonizing knowledge production. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Creative Writing from NYU Abu Dhabi, with a double major in Social Research and Public Policy and a minor in Political Science. Sarah's recent work has been dedicated to understanding the body as storage; a space where emotion, memory, and knowledge are hosted consciously or subconsciously.

Genres & Specializations

Academic/essay writing, class material, journalistic feature writing, creative writing