How the Storytelling Fellowship brought one writer closer to her community

It’s safe to say that Bri Gray is a goal-oriented person. “A long time ago, I had a list of 10 goals to achieve before 2026,” she remembers, “and one of them was to publish some writing.” To help make it happen, she joined writing groups with friends. But despite the close and supportive relationships, she still didn’t feel comfortable enough to do the kind of writing that called to her. “I was so scared of sharing something with the world, because there’s people in your life it can impact, but I also felt like it was important to tell stories,” she recalls. So when the chance to apply for the FORUM Storytelling Fellowship popped up on her computer in early 2026, she thought, “I’m going to do this. I’m going to do something for me. It’s time to see what this actually feels like.”

Bri is from King Cove, lives in North Pole, and joined the 2026 Storytelling Fellows cohort with five other emerging writers from Anchorage, Kotzebue, Anaktuvuk Pass and Fairbanks. They met monthly on Zoom for six months on Saturday mornings, sharing their own writing, giving and receiving feedback, and learning from guest presenters and established Alaskan writers. “I didn’t go in with any expectations,” she says. “I was curious mentally how I was going to manage. I’m so good at the professional work, but when you’re telling your own stories, it’s just different. So I just told myself to be open, be open to where it takes you, be open to how it feels. You have to do this.”

For the 2026 cohort, Fellows were asked to write three pieces: one looking back (“past”), one looking to today (“present”), and one looking forward (“future”). One of Bri’s favorite moments came when the cohort collectively struggled with writing a “Present” piece. “We all came in and were like ‘UHHHHH,’” she laughs. “This was incredibly hard. None of us felt finished. I remember feeling like, thank goodness I am not the only one. We were able to talk about it and it allowed us to all flow naturally. We got to sit in that feeling and talk about it and there were so many similarities between us.”

That kind of honesty and connection were two things that, for Bri, helped her feel like her Fellows cohort was a place where she could be herself. “I felt like I could be authentic, make the mistakes I was making, and feel good about it because that’s what… we told each other: that’s what we’re going to do. The norms were set,” she remembers. She also appreciated that the writers had the power to choose when and what kind of feedback worked best for them, and that their voices were prioritized above all. “If there was a recommended edit and we were like, no we really want to keep it that way, there wasn’t a push,” she remembers. “That just felt different and really good.”

One surprise from the Fellowship? The ripple effects it has had on her life beyond writing. “In the last year and a half or two, I could tell I was pulling away [from my community], not being as involved,” she says. “I couldn’t face being around people because I wasn’t feeling like myself. But my daughter said to me recently, “Mom, do you realize you’re actually engaging with people again? You’re open… It’s because how you’ve been talking about how you are feeling more open and free to be in the community in a way that’s more authentic to you.’” Put simply, “This program reinvigorated who I am and who I want to be and how I want to share space with people,” she says. “It’s just been amazing to me.” 

Next on Bri’s list? Writing a children’s book, traveling, learning new instruments. And, she wants to make sure more Alaskans see themselves as storytellers with something important to share. “A lot of us look at opportunities like this and feel like ‘I don’t have the experience, or I don’t have stories people want to hear,’” she says. “But everyone has a story. You get to decide how you want to share your stories. You are worthy of being able to do it, you have every skillset you need to do it, you just need to do it. You can do it.” 

Read more pieces from Bri and the other Storytelling Fellows on the Forum's Digital Stories page.