Adoptee Writers Gathering

How It Started

The Adoptee Writing Gathering was co-created by Kayla Kim Votapek and Jesse Jae Hoon, two transracial adoptees, artists, and storytellers who found healing through writing but often felt the loneliness of navigating that journey alone.

We began talking in early 2025 about how much we craved a space where we could write without having to over-explain, defend, or translate our experience for others. We wanted a space where adoption wasn’t a topic we had to introduce, but already understood.

We dreamed of a space that wasn’t focused on performance or output, but on presence. A space where:

• We could write alongside others who “got it”

• We didn’t have to share unless we wanted to

• Grief, joy, anger, silence, and creativity could all sit together

• We could be in process, not have the pressure to be perfect

And so, we built what we were missing. Just one gathering at first. But what happened in that space was healing and powerful. There was something sacred in being together with other adoptees who held similar questions, longings, and in-between stories. This offering continues to grow from that seed, a desire to write with each other, not just about our experiences, but through them. Together.

Whether you are working on a novel, a play, a memory, or simply writing to breathe, we hope this space feels like a welcome. A home on the page. And a reminder that you never have to write your story alone.