Are you interested in becoming a Communal Pen facilitator? Sign up for one of our training sessions to learn the ins and outs of hosting a Communal Pen workshop. This training will cover topics like workshop theme and prompt creation, fostering a welcoming writing environment, and what to do after the workshop is over. We’re excited to welcome you to the team!
These training workshops are virtual and will occur twice monthly. For more dates and times, please view our events page. For a brief overview of the facilitator guide materials, feel free to take a look at our Facilitators Guide Slide Deck.
This training workshop will be lead 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 a writer based in South Carolina. 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 Prismatica LGBTQ Speculative Fiction Magazine, The Bellingham Review and others. 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.
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