Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation
Nurturing Writers of Color Since 1999
Culture. Craft. Community. Change.
The premier multi-genre workshop for BIPOC Writers, VONA is a Home where writers of color come to hone their craft and be in community. VONA honors its writers' unique histories, traditions and aesthetics and provides a protected mentoring space for learning and fellowship. VONA fosters the development of personal and political writing and engages in the work of social justice as we build our global community of writers.
“Just existing as a writer of color is an act of resistance.”
— Tonesa Jones, VONA alumni
BIPOC Voices Must
Lead the Way
Stacie Evans, board member and four-time VONA alum, reflects on the value of VONA as the US moves from one administration to another and – she hopes – from one worldview to another.
Black Lives Matter:
VONA Writers Speak
VONA faculty and alumni support the movement for Black lives by sharing works they’ve written and wisdom from literary elders on issues of race, justice, and social change.
The reading features Elmaz Abinader, Faith Adiele, Wendy Angulo, Samiya Bashir, Nívea Castro, Tara Dorabji, Tananarive Due, Stacie Evans, M. Evelina Galang, Natalie Handal, Christian Howard, Kiese Laymon, David Mura, Willie Perdomo, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Lis Sipin, Marcus Smalls.
“That’s what I love about my work at VONA, helping younger writers of color dig more deeply into the truth of their own lives and their experiences and their communities.”
— David Mura, VONA Faculty & Board Member
“VONA helped to quiet the narrative that has told me my whole life that my stories don’t matter, that my ideas are trendy and temporary, that my being is an exotic dressing to the white standard. VONA helped me gain confidence in my writing, helped me understand and fight to tell the stories of this moment, and that dedicating myself to the craft is worth it—that my voice is worth it.”
— Vida James, VONA alumni