Story and Witness

Formerly The Voices and Faces Project - we cultivate and share stories that bear witness to social injustices in order to change minds, hearts, and policies.

[Story and Witness @StoryandWitness]

We’re not just making a difference. We’re making a measurable impact.

Interested in learning more about Center for Story & Witness? Email [email protected] to get in touch with out team 💌

[R Clifton Spargo @rcliftonspargo]

Loved serving on the selection committee for the 2026 Harold Washington Literary Award, in community with so many great writers and lovers of literature. We're all excited about this year's awardee: Patti Smith, poet, memoirist, and singer extraordinaire. @PrintersRowFest

[TIME @TIME]

"Thanks to their work, we are moving toward justice."

U.S. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal writes on Lauren Hersh and Rachel Foster, whose advocacy work through World Without Exploitation pushes to end human trafficking
https://t.co/mHWPS0ZOhz

[R Clifton Spargo @rcliftonspargo]

Recent news from @StoryandWitness--including my latest piece with Anne Ream in @newcity on Florence + the Machine, and info about the Up Next writing workshop.
https://t.co/CH3T6y5tUs

[Story and Witness @StoryandWitness]

Working On Me--the debut memoir by #TheStoriesWeTell workshop alum @nikkipatin-- is as engaging as her electric spoken word performances. It's the story of "a brilliant being finding her way in a world that cannot handle her shine,” say cin salach. https://t.co/jdb3X6KpR2

[Be A King @BerniceKing]

Nonviolence is the vehicle that can lead us to the Beloved Community.

Love is the fuel.

Join the movement to #BeLove and sign our pledge today: https://t.co/YKKXcuwdij

#MLK #BelovedCommunity #Nonviolence365

[Story and Witness @StoryandWitness]

In the groundbreaking book Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go to War, @briggsjimmie takes an unflinching look at child soldiers in conflict zones, reminding us, Aryeh Neier writes, that they are "children who share much in common with other children." https://t.co/jdb3X6KpR2

[R Clifton Spargo @rcliftonspargo]

Our new piece on the brilliant & timely "Everybody Scream" by @florencemachine just dropped in @newcity. "It’s a plea and a mantra. But more than anything, it’s a rallying cry." https://t.co/JSWjyiNriT

[Story and Witness @StoryandWitness]

The YA novel The Freedom Seeker--by our Advisory Board member @RuchiraAGupta--is “a riveting story of love, hope, and survival” (Kirkus Reviews). “A must-read social justice adventure,”says Nobel Peace Laureate Leywah Gbowee. https://t.co/jdb3X6KpR2

[Story and Witness @StoryandWitness]

The Return of Faraz Ali--by @aaminaahmad, member of our Advisory Board--won the LA Times' Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. “Stunning not only on account of the author’s talent . . . but also in its humanity,” says the New York Times Book Review. https://t.co/jdb3X6KpR2

[Story and Witness @StoryandWitness]

Strip, by our workshop alum @HannahSward, is a bracing memoir about overcoming addiction, her experience in the sex trade, and physical and emotional survival. Nobel Laureate J.M. Coetzee calls the book “touchingly honest, and written with a light touch.”https://t.co/jdb3X6KpR2

[Story and Witness @StoryandWitness]

Looking for your next great read? Meet some of the writers affiliated with Center for Story & Witness -- our writing workshop staff, workshop alums, Advisory Board, and more. We'll be posting a book a day for the next two weeks! https://t.co/jdb3X6KpR2

[Story and Witness @StoryandWitness]

The moving YA novel Fault Line--by #TheStoriesWeTell alum Christa Desir--explores the impact of sexual violence on a teenage girl and the boy who loves her. “The issues in this story are important for teens today, and should not be taken lightly” (VOYA). https://t.co/jdb3X6KpR2

[World Health Organization (WHO) @WHO]

Violence at home is never “private”.
Violence from an intimate partner is the most common form - often endured in silence.

This is preventable.

❤️‍🩹 Believe survivors
💞 Connect them to services
👦 Teach boys respect and equality
🏥 Provide survivor-centred services

There’s no excuse for violence.
Open the door to prevention and accountability

[UN Development @UNDP]

Water is a basic human right.

Yet 2+ billion people don’t have access to safe drinking water.

From Yemen and Bolivia to Sierra Leone and beyond, we work with donors, partners and communities to close the gender gap in water security. https://t.co/J5eJK4pW1H

[Be A King @BerniceKing]

There is a danger in becoming used to violence.

When images of war, suffering, and loss no longer move us, we risk losing our sense of shared humanity. What should trouble us begins to feel normal.

We cannot afford to become numb.

Nonviolence calls us to remain aware, to remain compassionate, and to remain committed to protecting life, even when the world feels overwhelmed by conflict.

#MLK #Nonviolence365 #BelovedCommunity

[Story and Witness @StoryandWitness]

Beautiful Fools by @rcliftonspargo is "richly imagined, and paints a delightfully detailed portrait of Cuba of 1939" (Chicago Tribune). TLS praises it as “historical fiction at its best,” and The Spectator says, “the work of a genuine literary talent.” https://t.co/jdb3X6KpR2

[Story and Witness @StoryandWitness]

#LivedThroughThis is Anne K. Ream’s memoir of a global journey spent listening to survivors of gender-based violence. “Heart stopping and beautifully rendered,” Eve Ensler. “Captivating and graced with humanity and compassion,” Kirkus Reviews. #SAAM.
https://t.co/jdb3X6KpR2