Alaa Al Aswany is incredibly giving of his time and expertise in these small, customized workshops. The environment is completely welcoming while still providing constructive criticism. It’s been an absolute pleasure sharing my work in a community that can understand so many facets of what I do, and becoming this familiar and comfortable with a world-renowned author of his caliber. We read a variety of short texts, and present our work each week. There is a unique balanced achieved here—I find myself laughing, challenged, and educated. I find that my work is given new insight each week, and challenged in new and inspiring direction.