Who are you? Who have you been? What makes you who you are?

The inaugural reading series from 2026’s Margins Fellows explores memory, self-invention, and the idea that we are all living inventories of our experiences. Featured readers will share work about the cultures and places that make up their origins and forge their writing. The Open Mic portion invites writers working across all mediums to contribute pieces on identity, personal history and transformation — the deeper better.

Call for Open Mic Participants

For our inaugural reading series — “Archive of the Self” — we are looking for pieces that explore memory, personal history, origin: thinking specifically about the places, cultures, events and people that either shaped you as a person, or informed the themes of your work. This can include:

• Memoir and personal essay writing
• Fiction/Prose/Poetry that is particularly representative of your personal style/key themes
• Writing on upbringing, culture, heritage, home, place and belief systems
• Writing that references yourself

Interested readers should plan to arrive by 6:30pm in order to sign up.