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SUMMARY:The Writer Is In: Pop-Up Writing Booth
DESCRIPTION:Thursday\, October 19\, 12-2 pmOutside Centre St. Jax1439 Sainte-Catherine St. W.\, Montreal\n\n\n\nJoin us for The Writer Is In\, a free series of pop-up writing booths we’re organizing in and around downtown Montreal in October and November. \n\n\n\nOn October 19\, from 12 to 2 pm\, we’ll be outside Centre St. Jax on Sainte-Catherine Street with writers from QWF’s Hire a Writer Directory\, who will be offering free writing services to passers-by. They’ll be there to take on any writing request you may have\, from business letters to love letters and everything in between. Stop by\, say hi\, and treat yourself to some poetic pampering. \n\n\n\nPart of our Writing Matters campaign to raise awareness about writers’ value to our culture\, society\, and economy. \n\n\n\n\nView All Writer Is In Events
URL:https://qwf.org/event/the-writer-is-in-oct-19/
LOCATION:St. Jax\, 1439 St. Catherine street west\, montreal\, Quebec\, H3G 1S6\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Performance,Writing Matters
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231019T163000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231019T173000
DTSTAMP:20260406T061235
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SUMMARY:A reading with Kasia Van Schaik & Padma Viswanathan
DESCRIPTION:Thursday\, October 19\, 5:30 pmMaxwell Cohen Moot Court\, New Chancellor Day Hall\, McGill3644 Peel Street\, MontrealFree\, open to all\n\n\n\nThe Department of English invites you to a joint reading with the Scotiabank Giller Prize-nominated authors Kasia Van Schaik & Padma Viswanathan. The readings will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Professor Ara Osterweil. This event does not require registration. \n\n\n\nKasia Juno Van Schaik is the author of the linked story collection We Have Never Lived on Earth\, which was nominated for the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize and the 2022 Concordia University First Book Prize. Her writing has appeared in the LA Review of Books\, CBC Books\, Maisonneuve Magazine\, Best Canadian Poetry\, Electric Literature\, The Rumpus and more. Kasia holds a PhD in Literature from McGill University\, where she teaches creative writing. She is currently working on a book of cultural criticism and memoir entitled Women Among Monuments. In 2021\, Kasia served as a CBC QWF writer-in-residence. \n\n\n\nPadma Viswanathan is a Canadian-American novelist\, published in eight countries and shortlisted for the PEN USA Prize and the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Recent publications include Like Every Form of Love: A Memoir of Friendship and True Crime and São Bernardo\, a translation of a novel by Brazilian novelist Graciliano Ramos. Forthcoming works include a novel\, The Charterhouse of Padma\, and a translation of Djamila Ribeiro’s Where We Stand: Notes on Speech\, Place and Justice. Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Arkansas\, she divides her time between Fayetteville and Montréal.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/a-reading-with-kasia-van-schaik-padma-viswanathan/
LOCATION:Maxwell Cohen Moot Court\, 3644 Peel Street\, Montreal\, Quebec\, H3A 1W9\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Reading
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231019T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231019T200000
DTSTAMP:20260406T061235
CREATED:20230809T194623Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230814T160907Z
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SUMMARY:Opening the Floodgates: A Short Fiction Workshop
DESCRIPTION:Eight Thursdays\, Oct 5-Nov 23\, 6-8pmOpen to allLimited to 12 participantsHybrid Workshop \n\n\n\nAn eight-week workshop designed to help fiction writers open the creative floodgates. Feeling stuck in your writing? You are not alone! Participants in this workshop will spend four weeks using prompts and writing exercises to generate new stories before expanding and revising one story to workshop with the group. \n\n\n\nWith inspiration from masters of the craft such as Ursula LeGuin\, George Saunders\, and Matthew Salesses\, participants will be encouraged to experiment with narration\, structure\, character arcs\, and other story elements. We will also unpack the critiquing process to provide participants with the confidence and tools to refine their editor’s eye\, read each story on its own terms and provide helpful feedback to fellow writers. \n\n\n\nOther discussion topics will include how to create a writing routine\, how to tackle revisions between drafts\, where to submit finished stories and how to find a writing community. Participants should emerge from this workshop with clear ideas and strategies to invigorate their writing practice both on and off the page. \n\n\n\nRebecca Morris is a Montreal writer of literary fiction. Her stories won the Humber Literary Review’s 2022 Emerging Writers Fiction contest and the 2017 Malahat Review Open Season Award for Fiction. She also earned Honourable Mention in Prairie Fire’s 2018 Short Fiction contest and was long-listed in Room Magazine‘s 2018 Fiction contest. Other stories have been published in various Canadian literary magazines\, including FreeFall\, carte blanche\, and the Antigonish Review. Rebecca attended the 2019 Banff Spring Writers Retreat to work on her first novel\, Other Maps\, which is forthcoming with Linda Leith Publishing. Visit her online at rebeccamorris.ca
URL:https://qwf.org/event/opening-the-floodgates-a-short-fiction-workshop/2023-10-19/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231019T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231019T203000
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SUMMARY:Mille-Feuille: Writing Layered Nonfiction
DESCRIPTION:Eight Thursdays\, Oct 5-Dec 7 (no meeting Oct 26 and Nov 23)\, 6:30-8:30pmOpen to allLimited to 12 participantsOnline via Zoom \n\n\n\nThe Book of Delights\, by Ross Gay. Ongoingness\, by Sarah Manguso. Persephone’s Children\, by Rowan McCandless. Citizen\, by Claudia Rankine. Safekeeping\, by Abigail Thomas. What these and many other contemporary memoirs and book-length essays share is that they build in fragments. Each fragment may be less than a page long\, and the one that follows may or may not appear to be related. Yet somehow\, layer upon layer\, the fragments cohere into a rich and satisfying whole. In this online generative workshop\, we’ll take a cue from books like these. We’ll practice writing as a process of accretion\, starting small and layering\, adding texture and depth to our memoirs or personal and lyric essays.  \n\n\n\nEach class will begin with a warm-up invitation\, followed by conversation about a short reading related to the technique or form of the day. A second writing invitation will give you the chance to practice what we’ve discussed. You’ll also get opportunities to share your work. \n\n\n\nYou’ll come away with one or more short essays (in draft) and/or the beginning of a longer piece. \n\n\n\nThis workshop is suitable for participants at all levels. Poets wanting to move to prose and fiction writers may also enjoy it\, because the exercises will be adaptable to these genres. Come prepared to write\, to read\, to experiment\, to share. \n\n\n\n\nWeek 1: The Fragment and the Flash.\n\n\n\nWeek 2:  Collage. Contrast\, juxtaposition\, the unexpected. \n\n\n\nWeek 3:  The Braid. Parallel narratives.\n\n\n\nWeek 4:  The Hermit Crab. The borrowed form.\n\n\n\nWeek 5: The Hermit Crab. More borrowings.\n\n\n\nWeek 6: Diptych or Triptych.\n\n\n\nWeek 7: Visual Essay.\n\n\n\nWeek 8: Accretion as Method and Aesthetic.\n\n\n\n\nNote: Participants might wish to read one or more of the books mentioned above before the course begins\, but there’s no requirement to do so. I’ll provide reading material before or during each class\, and a list of suggested resources at the end. \n\n\n\nSusan Olding is the author of Big Reader: Essays\, a finalist for the Canadian Authors Association Fred Kerner Award and the Alberta Publishing Awards Trade Nonfiction Book of the Year\, and Pathologies: A Life in Essays\, selected by 49th Shelf and Amazon.ca as one of 100 Canadian books to read in a lifetime. She mentors writers through the Vancouver Manuscript Intensive and holds the 2023 Southam Residency in Personal Journalism at the University of Victoria. You can find her at www.susanolding.com.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/mille-feuille-writing-layered-nonfiction-2/2023-10-19/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231019T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231019T204500
DTSTAMP:20260406T061235
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SUMMARY:Long Table Discussion: On the Situation in Israel/Palestine
DESCRIPTION:October 19\, 7:00 pm ESTIn Person & Online (register for Zoom link)Adair Auditorium\, Atwater Library (4023 Tupper Street\, Westmount\, QC)\n\n\n\n\nRevised Topic for Tonight’s Long Table Discussion:   \n\n\n\n“How are you feeling about the situation in Israel/Palestine?“ \n\n\n\nAs we planned tonight’s event on what is a painful and complicated issue\, we at QWF chose a specific question as a way into the topic. \n\n\n\nWe had a lot of feedback about the event. We want to say that all feedback was positively received and very beneficial to us. \n\n\n\nWe admit that we always knew that there is no ideal angle from which to approach this subject\, but we also knew one other thing: the issue has to be discussed amongst us as writers. So let us consider tonight’s event a chance for those who want to\, to express themselves in a public forum. \n\n\n\nPlease come with your feelings\, your questions\, and your point of view\, or just come to listen. It is a safe space and there will be no “expert” who owns the truth. \n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nAll over the world\, people of conscience are mourning the death and suffering of Israeli and Palestinian civilians.  Many are hoping for a long-term\, sustainable solution to the conflict. Our different backgrounds—familial\, cultural\, and educational—can lead to starkly contrasting and often passionate points of view that make it challenging to engage in productive conversation. \n\n\n\nThe Quebec Writers’ Federation invites our community to a discussion around a question we believe to be important\, one that some of us may not yet have considered in depth: \n\n\n\n“Is the media portrayal of Israel/Palestine skewed?” (Note: This question has been revised; see explanatory note at the top of the page.) \n\n\n\nThe format will be that of the Long Table (see explanation below).  Our host—QWF President Tawhida Tanya Evanson—will explain the rules and then the conversation will follow its own course. \n\n\n\nQWF’s organizational values include intellectually honest and respectful discourse\, which we believe is even more critical when topics are difficult (like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict).  It is our hope that this format will allow those who wish to speak an opportunity to do so in an environment free from fear and hate. We ask that all who attend listen deeply in a spirit of openness and mutual respect and try to understand and learn from one another. \n\n\n\n\nWhen: Thursday\, October 19\, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30)\n\n\n\nWhere: The Adair Auditorium at the Atwater Library and Computer Center (4023 Tupper Street\, Westmount\, QC)The venue is wheelchair accessible via a ramp from the Tupper Street side. See our accessibility policy for details.\n\n\n\n\nThe discussion will last from 7:00 to 8:15\, after which light refreshments will be served until 8:45. \n\n\n\nThe discussion will be live-streamed\, but to participate\, you must attend in person.  \n\n\n\nTo attend online: Fill out the “RSVP” form at the bottom of this page. You will receive the link to the Zoom meeting the day before the event. RSVPs will close at 5:00 pm EST on October 19. \n\n\n\nYou do not need to RSVP if you plan to attend in person.  \n\n\n\nAbout the Long Table Format\n\n\n\nConceived in 2003 by Lois Weaver in response to the divided nature of conventional panel discussions\, the Long Table allows voices to be heard equally\, disrupting hierarchical notions of  expertise. A long table with 12 chairs is set up for those who wish to share their thoughts on the central question\, one at a time. Interruptions are not permitted.   \n\n\n\nThose who prefer to simply listen are invited to sit in the auditorium chairs and do so; if they have a thought they want to share\, they may at any time get up and tap someone at the table and take their seat. \n\n\n\nLong Table Etiquette:\n\n\n\n\nThe long table is a performance of a dinner party conversation\n\n\n\nAnyone seated at the table is a guest performer\n\n\n\nAnything is on the menu\n\n\n\nTalk is the only course\n\n\n\nNo hostess will assist you\n\n\n\nIt is a democracy\n\n\n\nTo participate simply take an empty seat at the table\n\n\n\nIf the table is full you can request a seat\n\n\n\nIf you leave the table you can come back again and again\n\n\n\nFeel free to write your comments on the tablecloth\n\n\n\nThere can be silence\n\n\n\nThere might be awkwardness\n\n\n\nThere is an end but no conclusion\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNote: RSVPs close at 5:00 pm EST on October 19. To get the Zoom link after 5:00 pm\, contact John Wickham at john@qwf.org.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/long-table-discussion-on-the-situation-in-israel-palestine/
LOCATION:Adair Auditorium\, Atwater Library\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, top floor\, Montreal\, Quebec\, H3Z 1T4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Events
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231019T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231019T210000
DTSTAMP:20260406T061235
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SUMMARY:StoryFest 2023: Anita Anand
DESCRIPTION:Thursday\, October 19\, 7:30–9:00 pmHudson Creative Hub273 rue Main\, Hudson\, QC\n\n\n\nAnita Anand is a Montreal author and translator. Her collection of short stories entitled Swing in the House won the 2015 Concordia University First Book Award and was nominated for a couple of others. Her novel\, A Convergence of Solitudes was a finalist in 2022 for the Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction and was nominated for a 2022 Foreward Indies Award; it has won the 2023 IPPY gold medal in the category of Multicultural Fiction and is also shortlisted for this year’s Ontario Library Association’s Evergreen Award. Her translation of Nirliit\, a novel by Juliana Léveillé-Trudel won her a nomination for the John Glassco prize for a first translation. As the Andes Disappeared\, Anita’s translation of Là où je me terre by Caroline Dawson\, will be in bookstores in November. The Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF) is a co-sponsor for this event through their Writers’ Out Loud series. \n\n\n\nTickets are available here or as a cash-only purchase at Que de Bonnes Choses (484-D rue Main\, Hudson).
URL:https://qwf.org/event/storyfest-2023-anita-anand/
LOCATION:Hudson Creative Hub\, 273 rue Main\, Hudson\, Quebec\, J0P 1H0\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Festival,Writers Out Loud
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231019T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231019T220000
DTSTAMP:20260406T061235
CREATED:20230809T195911Z
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SUMMARY:Temporarily Stairs: Developing and Refining Long-Form Fiction
DESCRIPTION:Ten Thursdays\, Oct 5-Dec 7\, 8-10pmOpen via application to those with a novel-in-progress \n\n\n\nLimited to 10 participants \n\n\n\nHybrid Workshop \n\n\n\nAs Mitch Hedberg pointed out\, escalators are never broken—if they stop running\, they still work just fine as stairs. In the same way\, a story of any length is never broken\, even if it sometimes feels that way. If you’ve been working on a novel or novella and are feeling stuck\, overwhelmed\, or just plain lost\, this workshop is here to help you look at your manuscript anew and get things moving again. \n\n\n\nThis workshop is intended for writers who are looking for resources and encouragement while working on a novel or novella already in progress. Ideally\, you’ll have a significant portion (a minimum of about 30–50 pages) of your novel or novella already completed\, as well as a solid grasp of the story you’re working on. \n\n\n\nWriting long-form fiction on your own or with few readers can be exhilarating\, but can also leave you with incomplete drafts\, discarded chapters\, and the feeling that things have stalled. If you have pages of text\, a cast of fantabulous characters\, an amazing idea\, and a story no one else can tell\, but you sometimes want to call it a day and throw the whole thing out the window—don’t! I’ve been there\, and I’m here to help. \n\n\n\nGaining insight from unbiased readers—myself and the other members of the group—in a supportive\, creative atmosphere will help you identify issues\, clarify your intent\, and find real ways to improve your manuscript. To this end\, our focus will be on crafting outlines and workshopping sections of each participant’s novel or novella. You will be invited to submit pages from your work in progress to receive feedback and notes from your fellow writers (including me!). You’ll also be encouraged to include one or two questions about your work with each submission\, and you will have the opportunity to engage in informal question-and-answer sessions in each workshop. \n\n\n\nWorkshopping will be combined with lectures\, discussions\, and writing exercises to help you gain new insight to constructing and completing your novel or novella. We’ll explore ways to reinforce the structure of your existing manuscript\, gain deeper understanding of characters\, fix plot holes\, tie up storylines\, and approach publishers and editors. We’ll also work on sharpening another skill invaluable to any writer: the ability to pinpoint what might not be working and cut or rework if need be. Because writing a novel or novella takes as long as it takes\, this workshop is designed to help you stay motivated and focused through the difficult parts of writing a long piece\, and aims to give you the tools to get things moving and finish your manuscript in your own time. \n\n\n\nTo apply for a spot in this workshop\, please submit the following to Riley at QWF (riley@qwf.org) by Wednesday\, September 13 : \n\n\n\n\nA short summary of your novel or novella (about one or two lines).\n\n\n\nA maximum of 10 pages from your novel or novella\, double-spaced (if these are not the opening pages\, please include a brief note to let me know where we are in the story).\n\n\n\nOne or two questions about your novel\, the process of completing a long work\, and/or what to do with it when you feel it’s finished.\n\n\n\n\nSextant (Conundrum Press)\, Maya Merrick’s first novel\, was released to critical acclaim in 2005\, followed by The Hole Show (Conundrum Press) in 2007. She works with the Quebec Writers’ Federation as a mentor and workshop/master class facilitator\, was an instructor at Concordia University’s Centre for Continuing Education\, and served as the editorial and administrative assistant at Conundrum Press. She is an active writing coach\, mentor\, editor\, copyeditor\, and manuscript consultant. Maya is currently completing The Ride\, a collection of microfiction. 
URL:https://qwf.org/event/temporarily-stairs-developing-and-refining-long-form-fiction/2023-10-19/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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