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A mainstage dialogue between Ivana de Maria & Anne K. Ream at the World Without Exploitation National Convening in Washington, DC. 

StoryPlace founder Ivana de Maria and Center for Story & Witness co-founder Anne K. Ream.

A Story Changes Everything: Ivana De Maria and Anne K. Ream at the World Without Exploitation National Convening. 

We know from history and social justice movements - particularly the movement to end human trafficking - that the stories of those who have lived through injustice are one of our most powerful tools for creating social and legal change. 

But how does the act of sharing our truths alter the person doing the truth-telling? What impact can political engagement and activism have on personal healing? How does the brave act of sharing our stories build bonds that transcend difference and political identity? 



And how can we make loving space for those seeking to share their painful, powerful, and deeply necessary stories of survival? 

On Friday, June 6th at 11am, Ivana de Maria, an actress, producer and CEO of StoryPlace; and Anne K. Ream, an author, movement maker, and co-founder of Center for Story & Witness (formerly The Voices and Faces Project), will explore these and other questions during a mainstage dialogue at the World Without Exploitation National Convening in Washington, DC, an annual gathering of movement leaders, policymakers, and opinion shapers driving the global movement to end human trafficking. 

We cannot wait to be in community with Ivana, Anne and our allies at World Without Exploitation. See you on June 6th! 

Over 1300 writers and activists have taken part in our writing program. Here we celebrate the close of a workshop in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Stories We Tell is coming to Simmons Center for Global Chicago. Apply today!

Center for Story & Witness invites you to apply for The Stories We Tell, a two-day testimonial writing workshop developed to help those who have lived through or witnessed gender-based violence or other human rights violations use their voices, faces, and stories to call the public to greater compassion and — more importantly — social action.

Workshop participants will read and discuss testimonial writing across history and social movements, reflect on how to share their own stories, and engage in real-time writing exercises and free write sessions. With a focus on memoir, fiction, non-fiction and poetry, The Stories We Tell was created to support those who seek to use writing as a vehicle for personal or political change and is led by Center for Story & Witness co-founders R. Clifton Spargo and Anne K. Ream.

THE STORIES WE TELL:

A testimonial writing workshop for survivors and witnesses to gender-based violence.

July 12 & 13, 2025

Simmons Center for Global Chicago

Chicago, IL

Jimmie Briggs Principal, Racial & Social Justice, Workshop Facilitator

Get to know our Center for Story & Witness team: Meet Jimmie Briggs.

As a writer, activist, and community organizer, Jimmie Briggs challenges us to look more closely at the connections among racial, social, and gender injustices. Jimmie is a documentary storyteller, writer, and advocate for racial and gender equity. He co-leads, alongside Clifton Spargo, the Center for Story & Witness’s Testimony and Transformation writing program for citizens impacted by the criminal justice system. “This writing program is authentically transformative and the response to an immediate need,” says Jimmie. “From the work we do with returning citizens — many who were in solitary confinement during their incarceration – I can vigorously testify to the positive impact of the story workshop model.” Read more...

Celebrating the close of our Stories We Tell writing workshop at UC-Riverside in April, led by R. Clifton Spargo (left) and Anne K. Ream (right). 

Congratulations to our newest Stories We Tell Writers. And thank you, University of California-Riverside.

The Stories We Tell, our award-winning testimonial writing workshop for survivors of gender-based violence, traveled in April to University of California-Riverside, where an extraordinary cohort of survivors, activists and writers came together to think in new ways about the power and purpose of their stories. Congratulations to our brilliant workshop graduates! And special thanks to our UC-Riverside Lead Team: Aimee Bravo, Kali Casab, Lisa Chu, Janet Goldblatt Holmes, Nikki Kotey, Anne K. Ream, Robert Ream, R. Clifton Spargo, and our allies at Brabson Family Foundation, whose generous support made this workshop possible. We appreciate you! 

UPCOMING EVENTS

A STORY CHANGES EVERYTHING:

 Healing Ourselves & Transforming Our World Through the Power of Narrative. A mainstage dialogue between Ivana de Maria and Anne K. Ream.

June 6, 2025

World Without Exploitation National Convening 

Washington, DC

ANDROMEDA’S SISTERS:

Women speaking truth to power through their work on women’s health, the constitution, and the arts featuring a panel discussion with Cindy Cooper, Elise Labott, Ana Oliveira,

Anne K. Ream, and Dorothy Thomas.

June 14, 2025

9th Annual Arts & Advocacy Event

Neo-Political Cowgirls

East Hampton, NY

THE STORIES WE TELL: 

A testimonial writing workshop for survivors of gender-based violence.

Co-led by Anne K. Ream and R. Clifton Spargo.

July 12 & 13, 2025

Simmons Center for Global Chicago

Chicago, IL

September 13 & 14, 2025

The Jensen Project

Houston, TX

October 11 & 12, 2025

The Jackson School at Yale University

New Haven, CT

November 8 & 9, 2025

FreeFrom

Los Angeles, CA

October 3 & 4, 2025

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Washington, DC

October 25 & 26, 2025

Sanctuary for Families

New York City, NY

THE HAROLD WASHINGTON LITERARY AWARDS:

Keynote by National Book Critics Circle Award-winner Sandra Cisneros; opening remarks by Selection Committee Co-Chairs Anne K. Ream & Bette Cerf Hill.

September 5, 2025

A Printers Row Lit Fest Event

The Union League Club

Chicago, IL