The Diasporic Peoples Writing Collective (DPWC) is a San Jose State University (SJSU) student organization. We started as a handful of Creative Writing MFAs developing community through our shared interest in literary art.

Today we’re a much larger project, powered by student, alumni, academic, and ally activists helping us build-out a platform to foster equity for literary artists. We maintain work synergy by meeting monthly and sustaining a system of mutual support. We learn from one another as a group that is both diverse, inclusive, and intentional about our well established culture of belonging.

Writing can sometimes feel like a solitary endeavor, but it’s important to build community, network, and stay connected. This is essential to a writer’s professional development and perhaps sanity.

There’s a lot of talent in our collective: from writers with experience in Silicon Valley to artists who bring their broad expertise to our creative repertoire. We appreciate them and their willingness to share and/or give their time and more to our efforts.

The DPWC fosters symbiosis, learning, experimentation, and opportunities for underserved writers of color. We create space for topics, conversations, and stories that inform our writing, perspectives, and art. And we will exist as long as the literary art industry upholds the hegemony at the expense of diversity, and forces our work and advocacy to be relevant and urgent.

Our collective thrives on the help afforded us by our leadership team, and faculty advisor, Keenan Norris, PhD, professor of English and Comparative Literature; our alliance with Travis Boyce, PhD, chair of the African American Studies Department; and alliance with Michelle Hager, director of the SJSU Writing Center.

The DPWC meets the last Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m., on Zoom, until further notice. Explore our site and contact us to join.

The DPWC was inspired by Voices of Our Nations, VONA, a writing group with a workshop and publishing platform that seeks to raise the voices of literary artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color (BIPOC) and/or who identify as part of an underrepresented group.

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We are looking for impassioned SJSU students in good academic standing who would like to learn more about our open leadership positions. Let us know if you’d like to be part of the team.

Also, we have initiatives that require nothing but your passion and superpowers. Get involved with one of them by contacting us.

• Blog content and book reviews (writer+editor+strategist)
• Author interviews with a byline (writer+scheduler+journalist)
• Video/photography (pre- and post-production specialist)
• Talent (readers/voice talent)
• Social Media (brand strategist+book signings and giveaways)
• Media Management (PM+copywriter+social media curator)
• Administration (COO+relationship builder and manager)
• Finance (grant writer+account manager)
• WordPress (UX specialist)

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