The Inkwell is an entirely non-profit entity, so all of our workshops, publications, and readings are free and staffed by selected Inkwell members. These people make Inkwell function and help build an exceptional literary community in Shanghai. If you need to contact any of them, please send an email addressed to that particular Inkwell member at submissions@inkwell.asia.
Founder
General Director
Dr. Ryan Thorpe
Ryan is an associate teaching professor at the University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University and director of its writing program. He publishes regularly, and his book, Teaching Second Language Creative Writing, was published by Routledge in 2021. His trilogy of novels The Willows, Arcadian Midnight, and The Wardens was published in 2023 from Aethon Books.
Beijing
Mario
Guangzhou
Darcie Flansburg
Darcie Flansburg loves teaching rhetoric, writing, and the occasional yoga class. She is an English Language and Literature teacher with a fondness for writing poetry and memoirs. A former journalist and thespian she has published many news, arts, and academic articles, as well as poems in a few Lit Mags. She has an MA in English rhetoric, composition, and digital media studies, and hopes to eventually earn an MFA in nonfiction creative writing. You can find her on Wechat or Instagram @MsFlansburg
Guangzhou
Meriwether Falk
Meriwether Falk loves literature and languages. Originally from Oregon, she has traveled extensively and now resides in Guangzhou, China, where she teaches high school English. Easily distracted and full of ideas, she has several unfinished writing projects. For this reason, she is determined to finish her current project, a novel inspired by her experiences traveling around Vietnam.
Kuala Lumpur
Hussin Alkeder
Hussin Alkeder’s life journey spans Damascus, Dubai, and Shanghai, immersing him in diverse cultures. His quest for understanding led him to study Psychology in Kuala Lumpur, reflecting intellectual curiosity and a passion for exploring the human mind. His life’s odyssey promises to captivate readers with its rich cultural tapestry.
Kunming
Carolyn Johnson
Nanjing
Felix Campbell
Felix teaches advanced creative writing, critical thinking and psychology at Nanjing Foreign Language School. In writing, he enjoys learning and growing in writing skill in group settings, with fellow writers or with students. He loves wordplay, high fantasy, and emotive creativity. He is currently studying philosophy at Madingley Hall.
Ningbo
Dom Armstrong
Dom Armstrong is a poet, writer, pseudo-musician, human, educator, and fan of creativity. He is also the organiser of Inkwell Ningbo.
You can find his work in anthologies, magazines, postcards, and the back of napkins. Dom advocates for the multimodality and inclusivity of the arts; everyone and anyone is welcome!
Ningbo
Lori Fazzino
Lori Fazzino is a recovering academic turned kindergarten teacher, aspiring memoirist, and trauma poet. She is over enthusiastic about wine, KTV, and writing about her life. Formerly of Shanghai, Lori now resides in Ningbo and is Co-organizer of Inkwell Ningbo.
Online Workshop
Laura White
Laura has an academic background in Liberal Arts, Arts Management and Coaching and Personal Leadership. She came to Beijing three years ago as Middle School ELA Teacher, as part of the University of Columbia’s Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. She is an avid meditation and mindfulness practitioner, and in her free time loves to meet and delve into deep, meaningful conversations with old and new friends.
Sanya
Quentin Yang
Shanghai
Events
Tiana Hennings
Originally from South Dakota, U.S.A., Tiana Hennings is a sketch comic, poet, and actor. She’s competed in several poetry slam competitions and has work published in OyeDrum Magazine, The Racket, The Daily Drunk Magazine, and Spokane Coeur d’Alene Living. She enjoys hosting open mics and other events that bring the literary community together. You can find her sketch comedy on Instagram at @villaindreamskits.
Shanghai
Fiction Workshop
& Sunday Scribbles
Paula Willis
Paula hails from the U.K. and can generally be found writing queer genre fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, and fairytales). They have had short stories published in anthologies and online magazines, and are working on editing a YA novel. They run Sunday Scribbles, a casual writing and meet-up session, as well as the Fiction workshop.
Shanghai
Nonfiction Workshop
Natcher Pruett
Natcher Pruett is a four-time Shanghai Disneyland annual passholder and soon-to-be student of the Chinese language at Fudan University whose passions include theme parks, the Chinese box office, and writing about a range of topics including theme parks and the Chinese box office. He dabbles in fiction, poetry, and screenwriting; his Inkwell responsibilities include handling administrative tasks for the Scripts workshop, organizing Circle of Sages, and presiding in a hopefully non-dictatorial way over the Creative Nonfiction workshop.
Shanghai
Poetry Workshop
Marc Belisle
Shanghai
Poetry Discussion
Dr. Rania Katavouta
Dr. Rania Katavouta is from Greece. She holds a doctorate in Modern Greek Poetry and she teacheslanguage and literature in Shanghai International Studies University. In 2019 she published her first poetry collection in Greek, named Ballarina mes sti nihta(Ballerina into the night), ed. Panoptikon.
Shanghai
Reading Club
Michelle Hu
Shanghai
Reading Club
Zhou Sigong
Shanghai
Youth Writing Project
Patti McAlpine
Patti is a writer/teacher from Texas and has produced stories for Children Radio Programs. She has been involved with several writer workshops and organizations. Presently, she teaches English in Shanghai and is working on a play and memoir novel.
Shenzhen
Darcy Fisher
Darcy Fisher is a published poet in China and USA. She is actively involved in the literary and art scene in Shenzhen, China. Poetry is her passion. She writes to write, like we breathe air to live.
Shenzhen
Karina Gehl
Caffeinate!
Suzhou
Liz Jacquinot
Liz is an elementary school English teacher in Suzhou. She has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing, emphasis in poetry (plus a useless bonus BA) and an MFA in creative writing and media arts, emphasis in nonfiction. Liz is an avid lover of baking and dogs but never baking dogs. In her writing, she enjoys playing with rhythm and discovering the limitlessness and frustrations of expressing oneself through words.
Xiamen
Sam Keir
Sam Keir (he/him) is an writer, editor, and educator, but the order of these roles depends on the day of the week! He has published a number of short stories, and he enjoys engaging with the writing community online and at the monthly Inkwell fiction writing workshop he runs in Xiamen. Sam’s mission is to help more community members share their stories and have their voices heard.