About the Workshop

In this workshop, the “non-negotiable me” refers to whatever defining set of core values, boundaries, and non-negotiable principles you refuse to compromise in your relationships, life, and work to protect your integrity and overall well-being. Together, we will engage in writing prompts to identify your non-negotiables, reflect on your personal truths, values, and past difficult decisions. All students will workshop one 1,500 word piece in class, written before arriving in Provincetown, and everyone will leave the workshop with a list of personalized prompts for their future development as a writer.

All students will need to prepare a personal essay of 3,000 words or less and should bring 12 copies to share at the first meet and greet, one for each person in class and the instructor. All essays should be double-spaced, 12 point font, and numbered on each page.

About the Instructor

Deborah Jackson Taffa’s Deborah Taffa’s Whiskey Tender was a 2024 National Book Award finalist, a 2025 Carnegie Medal longlisted title, and a top book of the year at The Atlantic, Time, Esquire, NPR and other outlets. A 2024 NEA Fellow, and a 2022 winner of the PEN/Jean Stein grant, Deborah has received fellowships from the University of Iowa and other places. She is the director of the MFACW program at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM.