Hello Reader,

I talked a lot in October about how important subverting tropes and avoiding harmful stereotypes is to the work of world-building. Oftentimes, harmful stereotypes creep into our writing because of unconscious bias.

Learning to identify bias in our own work is key to writing for a universal audience that, more and more, does not default to the once-dominant worldview of the white cis/het man. Despite much conversation about shifting this worldview toward a more inclusive and representative one, the numbers show we still have work to do so that people of all races, religions, sexualities, genders, and abilities can see themselves accurately and empathically represented in stories.

When I walked into Dr. Stacie Walton's session on unconscious bias at a writing conference this past August, I knew I was meant to be there and meant to work with her.

Her talk was fresh and interesting, and she was so warm and approachable that I was brave enough to ask her if we could work together. We share the desire to teach writers not only how to identify unconscious bias in their work, but to work to become culturally competent so that their story worlds can reflect the beautiful reality of our ever-diversifying world.

Now I'm pleased to tell you about our first offering, a FREE 90-minute webinar, Becoming a Culturally Competent Writer on Monday, December 5 at 4 pm Pacific. In it, you'll learn:

• What it means to be a culturally competent writer.
• To define what culture is and what “diversity” means in the context of culture and writing.
• How each individual writer fits into the cultural context.
• How to write with an inclusivity/equity lens.
• How to write for a universal audience that does not default to the dominant worldview of the white cis/het man.

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Hope to see you there!

Warmly,

Julie