– Regionally Funded Introduction to Story Craft Workshop Opens New Chapter for Guyanese Writers

GUYANA’S literary landscape continues to grow, with more writers publishing more works than ever before, from award-winning books to captivating poetry gaining international recognition. That momentum has brought a new training opportunity through the Introduction to Story Craft Workshop, a fully funded five-week programme facilitated by award-winning Trinidadian writer, Celeste Mohammed.

The initiative aims to bring together beginner and emerging writers from across Guyana to strengthen their storytelling abilities under Mohammed’s guidance. Supported by the Creative Culture Fund, the programme combines guided exercises, small-group sessions and personalised mentorship, aimed at helping participants complete an original short story while developing long-term writing skills.

Five local writers selected

Following more than a month of applications, five young women were chosen from a pool of Guyanese writers. While applicants were not required to have prior experience, Makeda Braithwaite was among the more experienced of those selected.

Having already published work in magazines, blogs, and similar platforms, Braithwaite shared that she sought out the workshop to develop her skills as a short-story writer and to evolve into a professional writer.

“Workshops such as these are great fundamental tools to gear towards this goal. Seeing an award-winning fiction writer from the region attached is even more motivating, as the locale offers relatability for story development from our perspective for a wider international market. It is a career any emerging writer would hope to emulate.”

With the workshop slated to begin in the coming weeks, Braithwaite is looking forward to learning from Mohammed in what she calls a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She is particularly eager to engage in the skill-building activities and gain a stronger understanding of the structural requirements of writing, something she has been seeking in other mentored spaces.

Braithwaite aims to walk away a better writer than she walked in, with skills that will serve her long after the five weeks.

As she shared with the Pepperpot Magazine, “At the end of this workshop, I hope to have a well-crafted short story. I hope this workshop will give me the necessary tools to develop a well-thought-out story beyond the five weeks, letting me have transferable skills and discipline.”

Jonelle Tamara Gilbert, though she describes herself as a beginner, has long loved writing. An avid reader since childhood, that passion grew into a love for literature and creative writing over the years. Now, Gilbert hopes to turn that interest into real, grounded creative work.

“With this workshop, I hope to develop those interests into solid, recognisable work.”

This step also represents a shift from passion to practice, as she added, “I have been existing in the shadows of that dream far too long, and I desire to bring my ambition of writing professionally to life, to present my ideas, the characters that have lived inside my mind, or alongside me, for the past years, to life.”

Gilbert aims to give her characters a voice and bring to life the creativity that reflects her intent as a serious writer. She hopes to gain skills from published, recognised writers, and says she will use this opportunity to pursue writing intentionally.

As she told the Pepperpot Magazine, “What I hope to gain from this experience is guidance and mentorship that help me stay true to storytelling culture, and to acquire the knowledge and expertise from mentors that help me to hone this craft. Not just the assembly of words that shape a page, but what captures my intent as a writer, every character, in every moment, that will reflect what is meant to be conveyed,” she said.

Rickeisha Perreira has some experience in writing and is no stranger to Guyana’s literary community. A vibrant poet, she sees the workshop as a way to challenge herself by bringing the same creative vibrancy to an entirely new style of writing.

Speaking on this shift and the importance of workshops like this to Guyanese writers, she said, “I mostly write poetry, but I wanted to challenge myself in another genre of creative writing. I think creative writing workshops like these are important to Guyanese writers.”

While poetry remains Perreira’s first love, she is excited to explore how the two genres differ and overlap. She is equally excited about the community surrounding the workshop, saying that learning alongside established Caribbean writers and fellow participants is a unique opportunity.

As she added, “We have the privilege of learning from an established writer, and not only that, but also the encouragement and the sense of community, meeting other writers, engaging and learning together. That is important. I hope to walk away with what it offers: guidance and the opportunity to develop my story-writing skills, and hopefully have a finished story at the end of it. I’m willing to take up that challenge and put my best foot forward with the guidance and knowledge that will be shared with us.”

Vanisha Ramnauth is a self-published writer who says writing has never been simply a hobby for her, but rather how she makes sense of the world and offers something back to it.

The Guyanese author has released her debut novel, A River of Endless Grace, a work rooted in resilience, identity and the female experience, and is currently preparing it for traditional publishing, a process she says has taught her as much about craft as the writing itself.

Vanisha aims to leave the workshop not just inspired but technically stronger, developing craft skills in structure, pacing, point of view and the discipline of revision. She is also continuing work on her second novel, The Last Sun Over Guyana, a story that tackles race, identity and unity in Guyana through the eyes of a child.

As she told the Pepperpot Magazine, “Beyond technique, I hope to gain perspective, to sit alongside other writers, hear how they solve problems I have been circling alone, and understand how stories like mine can find their place in the wider literary world. I also carry my students with me into every room I enter. What I learn here will find its way back into my classroom, into the young writers I teach, and into the literary culture I am trying to help build in Guyana.”

Longlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, Natasha Williams says she is heading into the Storycraft Workshop to gain guidance and real-time feedback.

Describing a feeling all writers know too well, Williams says that learning among other writers will help her move past the creative wall she hits from time to time. Like the others, she is also seeking to sharpen her skills.

As she added, “Through this workshop, I hope to be able to see where my writing needs improvement, to see what isn’t working in my stories and how to fix that, and how to tell a story that carries a punch. I’d love to improve my writing and continue growing as a writer. After some time away from writing, I’ve started getting back into it, so I’m hoping this workshop helps me develop further,” she said.

Like her counterparts, Williams is also determined to become a fixture in Guyana’s creative space.

Supporting Guyana’s Talent in Literature

Speaking with the Pepperpot Magazine earlier this week, Workshop Facilitator and Award-Winning Trinidadian Author Celeste Mohammed told the Pepperpot Magazine, “Guyana has a tremendous literary past and, having been a Fiction Judge for the Guyana Prize for the last few years, I can say that the country has a fruitful literary present. The natural talent exists locally. What’s necessary is the training and mentorship to hone that talent. Hopefully, this introductory course will begin to build out that pipeline,” she said.

While training and mentorship have long been central to her work, Workshop Coordinator and Guyanese Author Jasmaine Payne sees this workshop as a way of fulfilling a commitment to capacity building for Guyanese writers.

“Since publishing my first novel, one of the commitments I have made is to bridge the gap in capacity building for Guyanese writers. Since finding the right resources at home is not always possible or affordable, we need to ensure that we capitalise on the resources and opportunities within our reach when we encounter them,” Payne said.

The workshop reflects the sustainable, collaborative literary community both writers would like to see in Guyana, with Payne expressing gratitude to Mohammed and the Creative Culture Fund for the financial support that made it possible.

About Celeste Mohammed

Trinidadian lawyer-turned-writer Celeste Mohammed is one of the voices bringing Caribbean stories to the international stage. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University and is the author of the novel-in-stories Pleasantview, which won the 2022 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature and the 2022 CLMP Firecracker Award for Fiction, while also being shortlisted for the UK Society of Authors’ McKitterick Prize.

Her short fiction has earned several prestigious accolades, including the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize, the Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction and the John D. Gardner Memorial Prize. In 2024, she was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

Mohammed’s more recent work includes her nonfiction debut, A Different Energy: Women in Caribbean Oil & Gas (2024), and her second novel-in-stories, Ever Since We Small, released in 2025 through Jacaranda Books. Most recently, in 2026, she won the international Hope Prize for her short story “Plenty Time”, further cementing her reputation as a major Caribbean literary voice.

Alongside her writing, Mohammed is a champion for Caribbean literary development. Immersed in Guyana’s literary field, she says the talent is present; what is needed is the training and mentorship to shape it.