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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250922T080000
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SUMMARY:Bring Your Story to Life: Novel Writing Course with Mentorship & Group Support
DESCRIPTION:The Unbearable Lightness of Novel Writing – 6-Week Course Starting Sept 22  \nBlending online learning\, group work\, and one-on-one mentoring. \nLearn the fundamentals of novel writing—character\, plot\, setting—while developing your writer’s instinct for when a story’s working and when it isn’t. This six-week course will build your confidence as a writer in a fun\, safe\, and dynamic atmosphere where you’ll learn from each other while crafting your own story. \nThe course will cover: \nCharacter development and compelling dialogue\nPlot structure and narrative tension\nSetting and worldbuilding\nShow\, don’t tell techniques\nPacing and story flow\nSensory descriptions that captivate readers\nOvercoming writer’s block\nManuscript polishing strategies \nDiscover the story that’s waiting for you to tell it.​ \nYou’ll receive individual mentoring sessions\, group feedback\, and practical techniques that save time. By course end\, you’ll have a complete toolkit for crafting memorable stories and the confidence to move forward with your novel. \nTestimonials \nLissa is approachable and supportive while providing detailed\, specific feedback on student writing. She offers guidance that respects and applauds student voice. I felt seen and heard by this fantastic coach in the course I took with her. –Angela Mason \nWorking with Lissa Cowan was a transformative experience in bringing  Power of Fear to life. –P.W. Brown \nIf you’re looking for a course that will help you develop your voice while giving you the tools to shape your story\, I can’t recommend Lissa enough. –Antoinette Bekker (MFA) \n Space is limited. Course begins September 22. $399 until September 15.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/bring-your-story-to-life-novel-writing-course-with-mentorship-group-support/
LOCATION:Quebec
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251021T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251028T173000
DTSTAMP:20260430T191326
CREATED:20251016T154346Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251016T155202Z
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SUMMARY:QWF-ERA E-Waste Collection Drive
DESCRIPTION:October 21–October 28\, 2025 (see hours below)\n\n\n\nDo you have old electronics lying around? \n\n\n\nDonate them to a good cause! QWF is partnering with the Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) to collect used electronics\, which ERA will refurbish and distribute to organizations helping people in need.  \n\n\n\nOur Writers in the Community program has directly benefited from ERA’s past collection drives\, and this time is no exception. Stop by the QWF office and drop off your old devices (working or not) so we can continue to provide the young writers who pass through the program with access to technology. All personal data is destroyed before devices are refurbished. \n\n\n\nAccepted items include: \n\n\n\n\nDesktops\n\n\n\nLaptops/notebooks\n\n\n\nPrinters\n\n\n\nTablets\n\n\n\nComputer peripherals (keyboards\, mice\, accessories)\n\n\n\nPhone systems\n\n\n\nPhysical software (operating systems\, editing or design software\, etc.)\n\n\n\n…and more!\n\n\n\n\nSee the full list of accepted items on ERA’s website. \n\n\n\nIf you or anyone you know is interested in donating used electronics\, then please feel free to drop them off at the QWF office in the Atwater Library: 1200 Atwater Ave\, Room 3 Westmount\, QC H3Z 1X4 (top floor). Consult the schedule below to see when we’re accepting drop-offs. \n\n\n\nDrop-Off Hours\n\n\n\nDateHoursTuesday\, October 2111:00 am–4:00 pmWednesday\, October 2210:30 am–5:30 pmThursday\, October 2311:00 am–4:00 pmFriday\, October 2410:30 am–5:30 pmSaturday\, October 2510:30 am–4:30 pmSunday\, October 26CLOSEDMonday\, October 2710:30 am–5:30 pmTuesday\, October 2811:00 am–4:00 pm\n\n\n\nIf you’d like to drop off an item but can’t make any of those times\, contact john@qwf.org to arrange an alternative time.  \n\n\n\nAbout ERA\n\n\n\nThe Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) is a non-profit organization founded in 2004 to address the growing problem of e-waste and the increasing “digital divide.” For over fifteen years\, ERA has offered simple solutions to help individuals and organizations prevent operational equipment from premature destruction. With a focus on recovery\, refurbishment and reuse\, ERA continuously supplies charitable groups with donated IT equipment while securely managing the retiring IT assets of organizations and individuals across Canada. Learn more.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/qwf-era-e-waste-collection-drive/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Events
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T174500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T194500
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SUMMARY:Stage-Worthy: How to Write a Play
DESCRIPTION:Seven Wednesdays\, Oct  8-Nov 26\,  5:45-7:45pm  (No session on October 29; double-session [5:45-9:45pm] on November 26)Open to allLimited to 12 participantsIn-Person Workshop* \n\n\n\nDialogue\, characters\, plot\, setting! This will be a learn-by-doing-as-you-go\, anecdotal (in a theatre history way)\, ease-you-into-it experience that’s not scary or overwhelming. If you have always wanted to write a play or already have a play idea in the works\, this is the workshop for you. I’m quite motivational\, coach-like\, and pushy in a good way. I will get that play out of you if you are willing to try. I am all for deadlines\, discipline\, and contests. Since I have more of a comic bent\, there could be more emphasis on comedy. The workshop will evolve as it goes\, based on what everyone hopes to accomplish. I am often surprised and quite happy to see what happens when I throw ideas and writing games at writers in a workshop. I am very careful about how feedback is given because everything is so new. This does not mean that there won’t be opportunities to share your work or prove that you are indeed writing. Participants will have something dramatic to show for it at the end of the workshop. A past QWF workshop resulted in Picturesque: Voices From Beaver Hall\, which saw productions at Redpath Museum\, Dawson Theatre\, as well as museums in Hamilton and Calgary. \n\n\n\n*This workshop will take place exclusively in-person at the QWF Office (Room 3\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Westmount\, Quebec). \n\n\n\nColleen Curran is an award-winning playwright\, novelist\, actor\, and teacher. Her comedy Cake-Walk premiered at the Blyth Festival in 1984 and has had more than 50 productions across North America. It was brought to the attention of Showtime Network by Whoopi Goldberg. Curran’s many plays include Villa Eden\, Sacred Hearts (winner of the International Gabriel Award and most recently done by Zeitgeist Stage in Boston) Maple Lodge (Winner Best Canadian Play\, Samuel French Inc. Competition)\, Another Labour Day (Best New Play\, QDF\, 1984)\, El Clavadista\, A Brave Girl\, Sibyl and Sylvia\, Casa de Mary\, Ceili House\, and Ireland’s Own Carmel O’Reilly Tonite! Her three novels about Montreal singing waitress Lenore Rutland are Something Drastic\, Overnight Sensation\, and Guests of Chance. Her stage adaptation of Something Drastic premiered in 2002 and has been seen in Winnipeg\, Toronto\, Athens\, and Melbourne. Her True Nature launched the 2011-2012 season at Centaur Theatre. Her latest novel\, Out for Stars\, made the long list for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/stage-worthy-how-to-write-a-play/2025-10-22/
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:20251022T174500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T194500
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SUMMARY:Deep Story Design: Story-Craft Essentials for Longer Form Narratives (Wednesday Cohort)
DESCRIPTION:Ten Wednesdays\, Oct 8-Dec 17\, 5:45-7:45pm (No session on October 15)        Open to allLimited to 12 participantsOnline Workshop* \n\n\n\nThis workshop delves into the five fundamental elements of story-making—structure\, plot\, character\, theme\, and scene building. Whether you’re writing a novella\, novel\, screenplay\, or memoir\, the skillful use of these elements allows all writers to create powerful stories that are meaningful and satisfying. \n\n\n\nAfter introducing a basic three-act story structure that’s foundational for most stories\, the workshop will progress through aspects of character\, theme\, and plot so that you can feel confident about completing fiction or nonfiction of any kind or length. We also touch on scene construction so your stories feel dynamic and alive on the page. \n\n\n\nWeekly homework exercises help writers at different stages of your story-making process\, whether you’re gathering material for a new story\, drafting an existing work\, or revising a project that is nearly ready to share with others. Completed homework will receive instructor feedback and some in-class discussion. \n\n\n\nIn addition to the focus on craft essentials\, this workshop invites writers to make personal discoveries about what matters most deeply to them and how this connects with their writing. This connection between self and story is integral to Deep Story Design\, because writers who know who they are\, and what they care about most\, are better able to access their unique creative voice. \n\n\n\nWeekly meetings will look something like this: \n\n\n\n\na 90-minute lesson\, including 15-30 mins of in-class exercises\n\n\n\na 10-minute break\n\n\n\n20 minutes for Q&A/homework discussion\n\n\n\n\nCompleted homework assignments will be due 4 days after the meeting at which they are assigned. \n\n\n\n*This workshop will take place online via Zoom. A Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants a week or so prior to the first session. Please note that this is the Wednesday iteration of the workshop; there is also a group meeting on Mondays. The material covered will be the same\, but note that due to limited spots\, we cannot facilitate transfers between groups.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/deep-story-design-story-craft-essentials-for-longer-form-narratives-wednesday-cohort/2025-10-22/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T220000
DTSTAMP:20260430T191326
CREATED:20250819T160000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250813T202248Z
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SUMMARY:Short Fiction: Plot and the Inner Life
DESCRIPTION:Eight Wednesdays\, Oct 8- Dec 3\, 8-10pm (No session on October 29)                 Open to allLimited to 12 participantsHybrid Workshop* \n\n\n\nThis eight-week workshop will explore how deepening a character’s inner life can generate new possibilities for a short story’s plot. One premise of this workshop is that fiction’s power lies in its capacity to depict with a high degree of detail an individual’s consciousness: the realm of perceptions\, feelings\, desires\, memories\, and thoughts. How one consciousness bumps up against another—and against the external world of norms\, things\, economic and cultural forces\, etc.—is what makes a story possible. We will investigate story as\, in George Saunders’s words\, “a system for the transfer of energy.” \n\n\n\nPlot and interiority are broad categories that encompass other topics such as point of view\, dialogue\, backstory\, and deepening the role of setting and/or of the body\, all of which can be studied and discussed\, depending on the group’s interest and the story drafts that are submitted for workshopping. Note that the workshop leader’s focus is realist literary fiction\, but all genres are welcome. The larger goal of the workshop is to support writers in uncovering the best possible versions of their stories. \n\n\n\nMost of the workshop will be devoted to reading and discussing participants’ stories (two per week over seven weeks\, up to 5000 words each). However\, for the first meeting\, participants will discuss Yiyun Li’s story\, “Prison\,” a jarring tale about surrogate birth. Please read the first 23 pages before the first session\, but do not read farther than that. We will read the final 5 pages together\, tracking how the plot ultimately unfolds. \n\n\n\n*This workshop will take place at the QWF Office (Room 3\, 4023 Tupper Street\, Westmount\, Quebec) with up to 2 virtual spots for participants who are unable to attend in-person because of distance or disability. By default\, all workshop registrations are for in-person spots. If you would like to request a virtual slot\, contact Riley at riley@qwf.org stating the reason for which you would need the virtual spot\, then wait for a response before registering. Please do not register until you receive confirmation of a virtual spot for you. \n\n\n\nMichelle Syba is the author of the story collection End Times (Freehand Books\, 2023)\, a finalist for the QWF Concordia University First Book Prize. End Times explores the lives of people variously entangled with evangelical culture\, including immigrants\, the elderly\, the burned-out\, and the lonely\, examining our hidden anxieties and longings. Michelle’s shorter works have been published in The New Quarterly\, Cosmonauts Avenue\, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency\, and elsewhere. \n\n\n\nYou can find out more about her at www.michellesyba.com.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/short-fiction-plot-and-the-inner-life/2025-10-22/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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