Holiday Hangout

Communal Pen workshops are at the heart of what we do. Each workshop has a facilitator team and thoughtful prompts with the goal of creating community connection. Read more of our details below of this workshop.

Follow this link to register for the event

Write to celebrate and explore our connections to place, community, and traditions. This special Communal Pen workshop will welcome old friends and new around the table. Take a break and mark your thoughts and traditions for yourself and future generations. Holiday Hangout is a way to connect through stories with one another, to feel less blue, and to reflect and share. Grab your favorite holiday morning beverage, and join us to share stories as a quick respite for the season.

This workshop will be held virtually. The event is free, but registration is required.

This workshop will be facilitated by Communal Pen Project Leads Shyanne Bellamy and Lilith Yurkin

Lead Facilitator

Shyanne Bellamy (she/her) is a Grant Assistant with the Athenaeum Press, where she serves as a liaison between the Press’s Communal Pen and Foodways initiatives. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a concentration in Interactive Journalism, a Master of Arts in Communications and a minor in Creative Writing.  She has had the opportunity to present her work with the Foodways initiative at the Indigenous Food Policy Summit in New York City, where she explored the intersections of Gullah Geechee culture, land displacement, heirs’ property, and the importance of seed preservation. Shyanne has also through her work with the Why We Gather Partnership and Communal Pen, has traveled nationally to collect and document stories from rural communities across the country. Her academic and professional work reflects her passion for storytelling and community engagement. 

Lead Facilitator

Lilith Yurkin (they/he) is the project manager for the Athenaeum Press. They received their MA in Writing from Coastal Carolina University, during which they served as a fiction editor for the 27th edition of Waccamaw Literary Arts Journal. Their work has been previously published in The Bellingham Review, citizen trans*, and elsewhere. Lilith has been with the Athenaeum Press for two years. He works primarily with the Communal Pen team through workshop management and facilitation, publication editing and processing, and task oversight. Alongside these efforts, Lilith is committed to maintaining digital accessibility and sustainable archival preservation. 

Event Details

Date:
December 12, 2026 12:00 pm

Duration:
1 hour

How:
Virtual

Location:
on Zoom

Follow this link to register for the event

Stories from this Collection


  • I enjoyed this experience very much. I enjoyed meeting people and other writers and being able to hear their stories. This is a great opportunity to cold write and get something done off the cuff and, in many ways, has helped me reconnect to writing.

    Rob McManus

  • I appreciate the freedom of expression, the community, the sharing, and the encouragement the Communal Pen offers. It goes beyond just the individual writing or putting things down on paper… it allows you to be inventive and to see things in a different way.

    Janice Johnson

  • The facilitators really cared about what everyone had to say. They really cared, and I feel like that was unique. They give everyone space to share their stories from our community. The black culture is so strong in tying stories together and handing things down over the generations, and I am excited that this workshop seems to share that goal. Connecting to a community that wants to listen to stories and share them like that is powerful.

    Patricia

  • I love folklore, and sharing stories of people’s families. The family stories that may or may not have been embellished over the years… it made me think back on my family stories. Hearing the stories of other attendees made me realize that we have such a rich history of folklore and stories in South Carolina. Listening to the stories gave you a wonderful front porch feeling. It was immediately so comfortable and welcoming.

    Eden

  • No matter what the topic is, the Communal Pen makes you go deeper and share the stories that inspire you. I loved going a little deeper with the other writers, then going deeper into what people see and think. There are no barriers to stop us from expressing ourselves. I learned how to relax and tell my stories to the people in my community.

    Sandy

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