Every person living with HIV has a story to tell.

About Write It Out!

Founded by award-winning Poz playwright and advocate Donja R. Love in 2019, Write It Out! (WIO!) uses art, advocacy, and accessibility to provide a space for people living with HIV and AIDS to tell their stories. Holistically, WIO! uses the power of imagination and healing to help shed the shame of living with HIV and combat stigma. Artistically, through writing initiatives, WIO! strengthens participants’ artistic voices and works to transform society and the theatrical landscape into a more equitable and stigma-free space for people living with HIV and AIDS.

Write It Out! is made possible through support:

About

Offerings

WIO! Offerings

The Program

The Program consists of free virtual writing workshops for a diverse group of adults (18+) from across the country living with HIV. The workshops are 5-6:30pm EST on Tuesdays and Thursdays from September 19th - December 1st. Anyone can apply; the only requirement is applicants must live with HIV. Participants are selected from an open, barrier-free application process. Participants learn the craft of playwriting and discuss literary work about and by people living with HIV. Then, participants create their own short-form play, which includes a rigorous rewriting process after group discussions. This prepares each participant and their work for a rehearsal process with professional directors and actors. The program culminates in an in-person final sharing (public reading) of each participant's work on World AIDS Day in NYC.

Applications Closed

The Retreat

This initiative promotes wellness by offering an artistic Spring/Summer retreat for WIO! alums living with HIV to recharge and imagine. Through a barrier-free application process that asks WIO! alums what literary projects they'd like to work on, housing and transportation are provided for the week-long Retreat, which will occur at Dwarfskill Preserve (Milford, PA), a six-hundred-acre property owned by POZ Magazine and Sero Project co-founder Sean Strub. The Retreat operates as a pathway for people living with HIV to creatively imagine while in a serene environment that promotes mental wellness.

The Incubator

Launched one year after the program and supported by Billy Porter, The Incubator is a groundbreaking initiative that supports a playwright living with HIV. Selected from an open application process requiring a statement of intent and a full-length play for review, the Incubator's recipient is partnered with a dramaturg for one year to help them skillfully develop a new full-length play. The process culminates with the recipient working with a professional director and actors to stage a public presentation of their work.

Applications Reopen July 2026

Our Community

63%

alum identify as

people of the global majority

45%

alum identify as

women/trans/non-binary

28%

alum are over the age

50 years old

Testimonials

“I thought the prize for being named the winner of the inaugural recipient of the Write It Out! prize was going to be the stipend, but the real prize ended up being freedom. After receiving the prize, coming out publicly about my HIV status not only liberated me as an artist but as a spirit on this earth.”

2021 WIO! Incubator Recipient

Dominic Colón

In the Media

Press

For all other Write It Out! press click here.

Contact

Who is Write It Out! for?

Write It Out! is open to anyone living with HIV.
Do I need to be a playwright to apply to the program?

You don’t need any writing experience to apply to The Program. Writing samples can be a scene, poem, essay, etc. Writing samples can be as short as a few sentences but should NOT exceed ten pages.
Will I need to disclose my status?

For the protection of all involved, strict confidentiality is given to each applicant and cohort. The selection committee consists of Write It Out! alums.
When and where is The Program?

The Program runs for ten weeks virtually every Tuesday and Thursday from 5-6:30pm EST, September through December, with a Final Sharing on or around World AIDS Day (December 1st).
Does The Program pay selected participants?

The Program comes with a modest stipend given at the end of The Program.
When and how to do I receive payment for participating in The Program?

The stipend is for completing weeks 9 and 10 (i.e., the rehearsal process and Final Sharing). If writers do not complete weeks 1 through 8, they cannot participate in weeks 9 and 10. This means they will NOT be given a stipend for failure to complete The Program.
If chosen for The Program, can I attend the Final Sharing if I don’t live in NYC?

Those participants chosen for The Program who live 90 minutes or more from NYC will be provided roundtrip travel and one-night lodging. We are not able to accommodate travel and lodging for anyone other than The Program participants who live 90 minutes or more from NYC. If participants have someone they’d like to accompany them to the Final Sharing, they have to purchase travel on their own.
Do I have to attend every session?

Participants selected for The Program are given three excused absences and lateness (no more than 15 minutes or it’s considered an absence). These absences and lateness are not honored during weeks 6-9 when participants start to share work in class. Participants are expected in those sessions.
Do participants have to write about living with HIV?

Though it’s not required, recipients often write plays that speak to the experience of living with HIV.
Who can apply for the prize and what are the requirements?

The Prize is given every three years to a playwright living with HIV. You must submit a full-length play (minimum 60 pages) for consideration. Musicals are not eligible at this time.
What support comes with the prize?

The Incubator comes with an unrestricted $5,000 and dramaturgical support.
When do applications for the prize open?

The next year The Prize will be offered is 2026.
If chosen for The Incubator do I have to write about living with HIV?

Though it’s not required, recipients often write plays that speak to the experience of living with HIV.