Quebec Writers' Federation

Decolonizing the screen through Indigenous Cinema
2020-10-19 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Online via Zoom
For as long as cinema has existed, there have been stories with Indigenous themes and characters. But up until recently, very rarely were these stories told from an Indigenous perspective.
But more and more, Indigenous storytellers are decolonizing screens and tearing down stereotypes perpetuated for decades through various forms of media.
Using her feature film Rustic Oracle as a case study, Sonia Bonspille Boileau will discuss the use of fiction to tell the truth and the importance of reclaiming Indigenous narratives to help reshape our collective memory.
Sonia Bonspille Boileau is a bilingual Kanienkeha:ka and Québécois filmmaker who has been working with Nish Media for the past decade to bring Indigenous content to the screen for viewers of all cultural backgrounds. Some of her documentary credits include Last Call Indian, The Oka Legacy, Wapikoni, and Skindigenous. In 2015, Sonia wrote and directed her first feature film, Le Dep. Her second feature film, Rustic Oracle, has already received praises on the festival circuit and was just released in theatres.
This event is part of the Spirituality as Land, Story and Relation series presented by the Department of Theological Studies with the support of the Faculty of Arts and Science.

Writing About Controversial Topics: Nonfiction
2020-10-19 18:00 - 20:00, 2020-10-26 18:00 - 20:00 | Online via Zoom
Workshop description TBA!

Writing Outside the Box: a Workshop on Edgy Fiction
2020-10-19 18:00 - 20:00, 2020-10-23 13:00 - 15:00, 2020-10-26 18:00 - 20:00 | Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
Interested in examining unsettling or edgy themes but don’t know how to get started? Nervous about writing outside the usual rules of CanLit? This workshop series is designed to help writers of any medium, genre or experience level learn to start pushing boundaries with their work.
Full of provocative exercises and frank discussion, these fun and interactive sessions will provide participants with tips and techniques that will help build confidence in working with the unusual, the taboo and the experimental.
Students will be asked to read aloud from their work and to provide feedback to other participants. Students will also receive written feedback from the instructor as the course progresses.
Tracey Waddleton is a Newfoundland writer living in Montréal. Her work has been published in Riddle Fence, NQ, the Cuffer Anthology and elsewhere. A finalist for the NLCU Fresh Fish Award for Emerging Writers and recipient of the 2015 Lawrence Jackson Writers’ Award, Waddleton’s work has been described as weird and wonderful minimalist dark realism. Her first book, Send More Tourists… the Last Ones Were Delicious, was published in July of 2019. She is the inaugural recipient of the Quebec Writers’ Federation Max Margles Writing Residency and is scheduled to spend a month writing in Dublin in 2021.
For details, please see event link.

Remembering: The Art and Craft of Memoir
2020-10-19 20:00 - 22:00, 2020-10-26 20:00 - 22:00 | Online via Zoom

Writing Memorable Characters for the Screen
2020-10-20 18:00 - 20:00, 2020-10-27 18:00 - 20:00 | Online via Zoom

Strange Futures Book Club: Dear Cyborgs
2020-10-20 19:00 - 21:00 | Online via Zoom
The Strange Futures book club focuses on sci-fi and speculative fiction by QT/BIPOC writers. “Strange Futures” speaks to the unknown worlds that are to come–but also to the strangeness that is ascribed to marginalized voices, and how such strangeness can actually be generative, challenging, discomforting, and revolutionary. Hosted by Helen Chau Bradley, the book club meetings take place every two months, and are open to the public.
For our next meeting, on Tuesday, October 20th, we’ll assemble virtually online at 7 PM to discuss DEAR CYBORGS by Eugene Kim. Join us for the discussion!
Where/how do I order this book? Via our online store of course!
http://mtl.drawnandquarterly.com/posts/webstore-faq
We’re shipping Canada wide and delivering in certain area codes close to the bookstore!
*By purchasing your book at Librairie Drawn & Quarterly you help support events like this one, independent publishing and retailing, our neighborhood, and authors both local and from around the world who depend on independent bookstores for their livelihood. Your support is appreciated.

King of Canada - World Premiere
2020-10-20 19:30 - 21:30, 2020-10-21 19:30 - 21:30, 2020-10-22 19:30 - 21:30, 2020-10-23 19:30 - 21:30, 2020-10-24 19:30 - 21:30, 2020-10-25 19:30 - 21:30, 2020-10-26 19:30 - 21:30 | 397A Saint-Catherine St W, Montreal, Quebec H3B 1A4, 397A Saint-Catherine St W, Montreal, Quebec, H3B 1A4, Canada
Infinithéâtre is thrilled to welcome you home to the theatre with the world premiere of Paul Van Dyck’s tragicomic “King of Canada”!
Recently included as part of our “Infinite Playwrights’ Chat Room” series, “King of Canada” is a meta-theatrical political satire that puts William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada’s longest-serving prime minister, under the microscope. Part séance, part trial, the man and his actions are put to judgement. And with him, the actions of our nation. A look at the power of one, lifted by the will of many.
Ellen David and Brian Dooley, two celebrated stars of the Montreal theatre scene, perform in this playful yet biting examination of legacy. Dooley incarnates King, David brings many others to life; close to forty other characters including King’s mother, FDR, Churchill, Hitler, and three Irish terriers named Pat.
“King of Canada” will run from October 20th to November 1st at KIN Gallery. Tickets are limited, with a maximum audience size of 20 patrons per performance.
To purchase tickets, visit: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/116771405417

Review, Refine, Submit: Strategies for Writing Short Prose
2020-10-20 20:00 - 22:00 | Online via Zoom

Silver Pins: Novel Writing Workshop
2020-10-21 18:00 - 20:00 | Online via Zoom
Workshop details TBA!

Local Reads Book Club: Taximan
2020-10-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Online via Zoom
Discover and discuss books written and published in Quebec at our newest book club, Local Reads.
Zoom meeting ID : 880 3375 0632
Password : [REDACTED]
The club is hosted by Malek Yalaoui. A Montreal-based writer, advocate and public speaker, Malek Yalaoui has been called many things but the most frequent of these is “force to be reckoned with.”
For our next meeting, October 21st, we’ll be reading Taximan: Stories and Anecdotes from the Back Seat by Stanley Péan (translated by David Homel). Presented by the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ) and The Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF).
Where and How Can I purchase the book? Our webstore is here:
http://mtl.drawnandquarterly.com/posts/webstore-faq
We Ship Canada-wide!
By purchasing your book at Librairie Drawn & Quarterly you help support events like this one, independent publishing and retailing, our neighborhood, and authors both local and from around the world who depend on independent bookstores for their livelihood. Your support is appreciated.

Writing What We Don’t (Yet) Know: Fiction
2020-10-21 20:00 - 22:00 | Online via Zoom

Write Like a Pro
2020-10-22 18:00 - 19:30 | Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
Writing can be an act of catharsis, a way of processing experiences during difficult times. Now, more than ever, we need to write our stories.
The Write Like a Pro workshop is designed to guide participants through the stylistic and technical elements that make a great piece of writing. It draws heavily from the art and craft of narrative non-fiction, but is relevant for anyone who wants to communicate more effectively through the written word. The nut of it is: How do you make your truth compelling to others?
Over the course of the workshop, we’ll cover: shaping ideas; planning and organising material; elements of storytelling; wordcraft and style; finding your voice; tough-love editing; and, finally, putting your work out there.
Now in its TENTH run, the Write Like a Pro workshop puts special focus on practising techniques we learn in class through the process of developing, writing, and polishing a short (500- to 1000- word) non-fiction piece by the end of the workshop. For most people, this requires setting aside an additional hour or so per week to write at home.
In each workshop, we’ll spend part of the time reviewing techniques and examples, and part of the time writing, sharing work, and providing feedback to others. Think of it like part writing class, part writing circle.
So, if you’ve been feeling the urge to write now more than ever, don’t hesitate to sign up.
Colleen Kimmett is a Montreal-based writer and journalist. Colleen’s work has been published in The Walrus, The Guardian, Al Jazeera America, Bright Magazine, In These Times, StatNews, Arctic Deeply, and beyond. Previously, she was a senior editor at The Tyee and a founding editor of The Discourse. Currently, she teaches a science communication course at McGill and is the community outreach coordinator for the Institute for Investigative Journalism.
For more details, please see event link.

Librairie D+Q presents Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch launching Knot Body
2020-10-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
Join us for the virtual launch of Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch‘s knot body, out now from Metatron Press! Our featured guest readers are Cason Sharpe and Faith Arkorful!
RSVP here: https://bit.ly/3il8C0p
Where and how can I purchase the books?
Why our webstore of course… We’ve got signed copies & we ship Canada-wide!
http://mtl.drawnandquarterly.com/posts/webstore-faq
By purchasing your book at Librairie Drawn & Quarterly you help support events like this one, independent publishing and retailing, our neighborhood, and authors both local and from around the world who depend on independent bookstores for their livelihood. Your support is appreciated.
KNOT BODY
Bringing together poetry, essay, and letters to “lovers, friends and in-betweens,” Eli Tareq Bechelany-Lynch confronts the ways capitalism, fatphobia, ableism, transness, and racializations affect people with chronic pain, illness, and disability. KNOT BODY explores what it means to discover the limits of your body, and contends with what those limitations bring up in the world we live in.

Crafty Poetry
2020-10-22 20:00 - 22:00 | Online via Zoom

Getting Published During a Time of Uncertainty
2020-10-24 13:00 - 15:00 | Online via Zoom

Content Marketing Demystified
2020-10-25 13:00 - 16:00 | Online via Zoom

DC Books Virtual Launch
2020-10-25 15:00 - 16:30 | Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
DC Books will be conducting a virtual book launch for its latest authors on Sunday, October 25th from 3 to 4:30 pm EST.
Featured will be Mariianne Mays Wiebe for the novel Kate Wake, Zsolt Alapi for his novel Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, and poet Greg Santos for his new collection Ghost Face.
The event will be held on Zoom and hosted by poet Jason Camlot. The Zoom link you will use to join the event will be emailed to you one day prior to the launch, and will be made public on the Livres DC Books Facebook Page on the day of the event. In the meanwhile, please save the date and time. Interested? Email dcbookscanada@gmail.com to receive your zoom link!

APP Online: John Barton & Molly Peacock
2020-10-27 19:00 - 20:00 | Crowdcast
On Tuesday, October 27, the Atwater Poetry Project is delighted to present John Barton reading and in conversation with Molly Peacock. Barton’s twelfth collection of poetry is Lost Family: A Memoir (Signal Editions, Sept 2020). A collection of sonnets that has been ‘aided, abetted and enabled’ by Molly Peacock’s own explorations of the form, this event will see two of Canada’s finest poets explore mutual influence on form and technique (among other things). Join us for the last APP Online of 2020!
The Atwater Poetry Project is made possible with funding and support from the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Atwater Library and Computer Centre.
Link to join: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/app-online-john-barton-molly-peacock

New Reads Book Club: How To Pronounce Knife
2020-10-27 19:00 - 20:30 | Online via Zoom
Meeting ID: 831 6653 0803
Passcode: [REDACTED]
The New Reads Book Club focuses on contemporary literature and is hosted by Drawn & Quarterly staff members. The book club meetings take place every few weeks on ZOOM, and are open to all.
For our October 27th meeting, we will meet virtually at 7 pm to discuss Giller Prize nominated HOW TO PRONOUNCE KNIFE by Souvankham Thammavongsa!

‘Where can I purchase the book?’ – From our online store of course!
mtl.drawnandquarterly.com
By purchasing your book from Librairie Drawn & Quarterly you help support free events like this one, independent publishing and retailing, our neighborhood, and authors both local and from around the world who depend on independent bookstores for their livelihood. Your support is appreciated.
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HOW TO PRONOUNCE KNIFE
A young man painting nails at the local salon. A woman plucking feathers at a chicken processing plant. A father who packs furniture to move into homes he’ll never afford. A housewife learning English from daytime soap operas. In her stunning debut book of fiction, O. Henry Award winner Souvankham Thammavongsa focuses on characters struggling to make a living, illuminating their hopes, disappointments, love affairs, acts of defiance, and above all their pursuit of a place to belong. In spare, intimate prose charged with emotional power and a sly wit, she paints an indelible portrait of watchful children, wounded men, and restless women caught between cultures, languages, and values. As one of Thammavongsa’s characters says, “All we wanted was to live.” And in these stories, they do–brightly, ferociously, unforgettably.
A daughter becomes an unwilling accomplice in her mother’s growing infatuation with country singer Randy Travis. A boxer finds an unexpected chance at redemption while working at his sister’s nail salon. An older woman finds her assumptions about the limits of love unravelling when she begins a relationship with her much younger neighbour. A school bus driver must grapple with how much he’s willing to give up in order to belong. And in the Commonwealth Short Story Prize-shortlisted title story, a young girl’s unconditional love for her father transcends language.
