The Toronto Writers Collective was founded in 2012 by Susan Turk, a certified Amherst Writers and Artist facilitator to encourage voice and illuminate undiscovered strength in Toronto’s most vulnerable communities.

“What happens in a TWC workshop? Magic is the word we often hear, as words from those who are surprised by the depth of their creativity seem to spring from an unknown source. Poets are discovered, buried voices, long without vitality, return to life, dreams are conceived and often lost individuals connect, deeply. Perspectives shift as the barrier of difference is broken. We recognize the common humanity that bonds us all. Each workshop is profound in its way, as writers, often coming from harsh lived histories, experience the power of seeing and being seen by others. It is this source, once discovered, acknowledged, and possessed that creates the positive transformation we see again and again. It is writing together and so much more. There is great empowerment when one unlocks that reservoir of inspiration and strength. A pen and paper is the simple key.

Week after week in the Toronto Writers Collective’s creative writing workshops, I have the privilege to see and hear writers who were once invisible and silenced tell their incredible personal stories. I see the human connection and experience the celebration of value and dignity for all of our writers, and the sheer life changing magic of writing… the simplicity and power of voice. I witness the profound healing of words touching the most sensitive and wounded places and reaching the most exalted places too, bridging differences, seeing hope and not despair. All of this happens within our forum, not once, but dependably, week after week.”