QWF’s Writers in the Community program pairs small groups of young people with a professional writer or literary performance artist who can teach them and, more importantly, motivate them, to use language to express themselves in productive ways. In each project, a writer-facilitator works with a small group for 10 weeks, teaching them language tools, giving them writing prompts, and ultimately, boosting their self-confidence by showing them that they are capable of producing literary work of value.
Recent projects
Meet the writer-facilitators
Barry Bilinsky
Barry Bilinsky is a professional theatre creator of Metis, Cree, and Ukrainian heritage. He has worked as a director, curator, performing artist, stage manager, and technical/production manager across Canada with projects centred primarily around the proliferation of Indigenous arts, artists, and collaborations. He studied Drama and English at the University of Alberta, attaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2012. Barry is an Artistic Associate with Dreamspeakers Indigenous Film Festival and has been involved with Alberta Aboriginal Performing Arts, The Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society, Iiniistsi Treaty Arts Society (REDx Talks), and Fool Spectrum Theatre. Barry is committed to developing honest, respectful, and purposefully compassionate creations that challenge the overarching cultural assumptions often faced in the performing arts community.
I feel like the poems helped me get over some hard stuff in my life.
young author
Program sponsors
We would also like to express our gratitude to the following sponsors, without whom the Writers in the Community program would not be possible
