The YIV Newsletter

This is an independent publication launched Austin Channing Brown to support the writers of Your Inside Voice- monthly writing workshops held in partnership with Booksweet. This publication's primary purpose is to serve as a reminder for upcoming sessions, and offer insights or examples found around the web just once or twice a month. The goal is not to overwhelm your inbox, but to prepare you for upcoming sessions and support your writing journey.

Your Inside Voice Workshops:

There is a voice inside your heart that only you can hear. Whenever you sit down to write, that voice rises to meet you. It chooses words, reaches for phrases, and creates meaning. The more you write, the more you learn to recognize your inside voice. And that’s when the fun begins. When you learn to listen to that voice, embrace that voice you can create entire worlds that never existed before you set pen to paper. I want to help you honor your inside voice.

Workshop Logistics:

Every fourth Tuesday from 6:00-7:30pm (except December) we’ll meet in person at Booksweet in Ann Arbor, MI to hone our craft together. Each workshop focuses on a different element of writing, and are stand alone. You don’t have to attend the first workshop to understand the second one. Come as your schedule allows.

The workshop costs $30 per session.

A small writing community:

Participate in the comments to keep getting to know this community of other writers.

Nice to meet you.

Hi, I'm Austin Channing Brown. I am a Black woman author whose writing career started during the age of blogging. For four years I wrote about racial justice in America once a week, slowly connecting with others and building a community. In 2018 I published my first book, Im Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness which became a NYT and USA Today bestseller. It was also chosen for Reese’s Book Club and featured in the show Bel-Air. I also wrote a young readers version of Im Still Here. In 2025, I released Full of Myself: Black Womanhood and the Journey to Self-Possession. It also became a USA Today bestseller. In addition to publishing books, I also write a successful newsletter with more than 20,000 readers, and I'm currently working on my next two book projects, hopefully right alongside you.

I have a business management degree, a masters in social justice and have been awarded an honorary doctorate for my racial justice work and writing. I know we are all still a little shy, even this long after the pandemic, but if you're looking for a small writing community that cares about social justice, I hope you'll consider checking us out.