On Thursday, November 13, from 7–9 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.), Generation Women DC and the Alan Cheuse International Writers Center invite you to Writing the World: The Stories That Shape Us, a special fundraising evening brings together a remarkable group of storytellers from across the DC literary community for an evening of heartfelt, funny, and deeply human narratives.
This event, hosted in collaboration between Generation Women DC and the Alan Cheuse International Writers Center at George Mason University, asks one simple question: What happens when we let stories travel? Over the course of two hours, we’ll gather to listen, laugh, and reflect on the ways storytelling brings us closer to one another, and to the world around us.
Generation Women DC is part of a storytelling movement that celebrates women and nonbinary performers of all ages. Each show features storytellers in their 20s through their 70s and beyond and creates a space where humor, honesty, and our collective and individual lived experiences coexist. The DC chapter is led by Brittany Kerfoot and Lina Patton, both George Mason University MFA graduates and former students of the late Alan Cheuse, the beloved writer, teacher, and namesake of the Center. Brittany now serves on the Cheuse Center’s board, while Lina remains a close collaborator and friend of the Center’s programs. Together, they’ve built a local community of storytellers who believe that stories, told aloud and shared generously, can spark empathy and connection.
The night will feature a dynamic and intergenerational lineup of voices, each bringing their own experiences to the stage:
Klara Kalu – Representing Team 20s. Klara is an MFA candidate at George Mason University and a current Cheuse Center fellow. Her writing explores cross-cultural identity, migration, and love. She believes stories can bridge worlds and recover what distance and history sometimes take away.
Ah-reum Han – Representing Team 30s. A writer and translator whose work delves into the space between languages and the lives that move through them. Ah-reum’s storytelling sheds light on how language shapes belonging and how translation, between words, cultures, and people, can be an act of care.
Leeya Mehta – Representing Team 40s. Award-winning writer, and Director of the Alan Cheuse International Writers Center at George Mason University. Her work bridges continents and explores belonging, memory, and art as diplomacy.
Carol Mitchell – Representing Team 50s. An author and storyteller whose work blends personal narrative with social reflection. Her stories weave the intimate with the universal, showing how memory and place shape our sense of self.
Cari Shane – Representing Team 60s. Journalist, communications strategist, and storyteller whose essays and features explore motherhood, change, and the power of reinvention at every stage of life.
Kris O’Shee – Representing Team 70s. A writer and psychotherapist who brings deep emotional intelligence to her storytelling. Her work explores memory, identity, resilience, and the ways we carry our stories through time and healing.
Come ready for an evening that feels equal parts celebration and conversation. Doors open at 6 p.m., with time to mingle, grab a drink, and meet fellow lovers of story and the program begins at 7 p.m. Expect stories that travel. Expect to laugh, to nod, to feel that tug of recognition that only comes when someone on stage says the thing you’ve always felt but never said aloud.
The Cheuse Center, known for its residencies, fellowships, and literary events that connect writers and readers across the globe, is proud to partner with Generation Women DC. Every ticket purchased helps support the Center’s mission to amplify international literary voices, create opportunities for emerging writers, cultivate the next generation of cultural ambassadors and help sustain a space where literature meets life.
November 03, 2025