City Stories

Founded in 2016, the City Stories Project started as a collaboration between the SF Creative Writing Insitute and SAFEhouse for the Performing Arts with financial support from the California Arts Council.

This project offered free poetry readings, storytelling events, and drop-in creative writing workshops taught by our instructors. These workshops, led by Daphne Gottlieb and Paul Corman-Roberts, aimed to support marginalized groups, unhoused people, those living in SROs, and homeless youth in transition.

The project also featured readings curated by Kearny Street Workshop’s Jason Bayani, MK Chavez, Kim Shuck, JK Fowler, and other local writers.

From 2016 to 2017, City Stories continued to feature prominent (then up-and-coming) and local writers like Tongo Eisen-Martin and Kim Shuck. It also expanded its collaborations with organizations like the San Francisco Public Library and Medicine for Nightmares.

Although this project went on hiatus from 2017 to 2020, it was reimagined in 2021. The SFCWI partnered with CounterPulse Theater to offer free in-person writing workshops and online readings as part of its TenderArts Program.
CounterPulse also named our founder, Alexandra Kostoulas, as an artist-in-residence. She was granted access to the theater to provide more free classes for those seeking a creative space during the pandemic.

For a final reading, Kostoulas showcased her students’ work and re-invited local talents like NEA Fellow Antony Fangary and SF Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin to perform and share their artistic process with aspiring writers.

As the City Stories Project evolves and grows, we remain committed to providing resources to underserved communities and look forward to announcing a new chapter to celebrate the beauty, strength, and resilience that makes our city shine.