Quebec Writers' Federation

Mille-Feuille: Writing Layered Nonfiction
2023-11-14 19:00 - 21:00, 2023-11-21 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Online via Zoom
Eight Tuesdays, Oct 3-Nov 21, 7-9pmOpen to allLimited to 12 participantsOnline via Zoom

The 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.

Each 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.

You’ll come away with one or more short essays (in draft) and/or the beginning of a longer piece.

This 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.

Week 1: The Fragment and the Flash.

Week 2: Collage. Contrast, juxtaposition, the unexpected.

Week 3: The Braid. Parallel narratives.

Week 4: The Hermit Crab. The borrowed form.

Week 5: The Hermit Crab. More borrowings.

Week 6: Diptych or Triptych.

Week 7: Visual Essay.

Week 8: Accretion as Method and Aesthetic.

Note: 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.

Susan 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.

Fundamentals of Short Fiction
2023-11-14 20:00 - 22:00, 2023-11-21 20:00 - 22:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Eight Tuesdays, Oct 3-Nov 21, 8-10pmOpen to allLimited to 12 participantsHybrid Workshop

This is an eight-session long, interactive, hybrid workshop, exploring basic concepts related to short fiction. The workshop will be a space to receive constructive feedback on works in progress. Experimentation is encouraged.

Each two-hour session will focus on a different element of style:

character development

dialogue

descriptive writing

setting

point of view

voice

theme, and

structure.

Participants will receive prompts a week before each session (including before the first meeting) and will be asked to submit a short piece of writing (500-1000 words) to the group prior to each session. Participants are welcome to bring material generated in response to the weekly prompts or any other work that they would like feedback on (as long as it stays within the word count).

Everyone will have an opportunity to read aloud from their submitted work and receive in-depth feedback from the workshop leader and their peers. Participants will also receive written feedback on their submitted work from the workshop leader after each session.

Each week’s prompts will focus on a particular element of short fiction, and we will begin the session with a conversation about the role that element plays in creating a cohesive and immersive world. Then we will move into hearing and discussing submitted work.

Eva Crocker is a freelance editor and author based in Montreal. Her debut novel All I Ask was long-listed for the 2020 Giller Prize and won the 2020 BMO Winterset Award. Her short story collection Barreling Forward was shortlisted for Dayne Ogilvie Prize for Emerging LGBTQS2 Writers, the NLCU Fresh Fish and the Award for Emerging Writers. It won the Alistair MacLeod Award for Short Fiction and the CAA Emerging Author’s Award, and was a National Post Best Book. Her forthcoming novel Back in the Land of the Living will be published by House of Anansi Press in August 2023. She is a PhD student in Concordia University’s Interdisciplinary Humanities program where she is researching visual art from Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland).

Playwriting Circle: Do Be So Dramatic
2023-11-15 18:00 - 20:00, 2023-11-22 18:00 - 20:00, 2023-11-29 18:00 - 20:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Eight Wednesdays, Oct 4-Nov 22, 6-8pmOpen to allLimited to 12 participantsIn-Person Workshop

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 and will result in the participants having something dramatic to show for it at the end of the session. 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’re 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 at times. 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 the workshop. I am very careful about how feedback is given because everything is so new. This does not mean that there won’t be plenty of opportunity to share your work or prove that you are indeed writing. One of my past QWF workshops resulted in Picturesque: Voices from Beaver Hall, which saw productions at Redpath Museum and Dawson Theatre as well as museums in Hamilton and Calgary.

Colleen 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, Sybil and Sylvia, Casa de Mary Margaret, 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. Out for Stars, her latest novel, made the Long List for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. During the pandemic, Colleen created Kitty Calling starring Debra Hale and Lorna Wilson, it won best Canadian web series in Toronto’s Now magazine.

So You've Written a Novel - Now What?
2023-11-15 20:00 - 22:00, 2023-11-22 20:00 - 22:00, 2023-11-29 20:00 - 22:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Eight Wednesdays, Oct 4-Nov 22, 8-10pm

Open to writers who have completed, or are close to completing, a fiction manuscript. There is no submission required prior to the first session, but participants will be expected to write loglines and query letters and share them with the group as the workshop progresses. They will also be expected to read and critique one another’s work.

Limited to 12 participants

Hybrid Workshop

The first time I typed THE END on a manuscript, I didn’t know what to do next. There’s a lot of information and encouragement on HOW to write a book, but not a lot on what to do after you’ve written the thing. And the advice you find online can be woefully misleading, confusing, or at its very worst, fraudulent.

This 8-week workshop aims to fully lay out the roadmap to traditional publishing for someone who’s finished, or is close to finishing a fiction manuscript. The journey of getting your story from your laptop to an actual book you can pick up at !ndigo follows a very specific series of steps. From landing an agent, to signing with a publisher, to contract details, this course will take you, in minute detail, through every step, with a centerpiece intensive workshop formulating your all-important Query Letter, along with details on crafting your logline, your synopsis, and your pitch kits.

Designed for absolute newbies to the world of publishing, this workshop will offer you tips and tactics to maximize your chances at every step, and by its end you should have the knowledge and confidence to approach this perilous enterprise knowing exactly what you need to do next. Because typing THE END is only the start.

—

Toronto-born, Montreal-based writer and illustrator Sherwin Sullivan Tjia has written many odd and eclectic books. Their 2005 collection of pseudohaikus, The World is a Heartbreaker, was a finalist for the Quebec Writers’ Federation’s A. M. Klein Poetry Award. Their 2010 graphic novel, The Hipless Boy, was a finalist for the Doug Wright Award for best emerging talent, as well as being nominated for 4 Ignatz Awards. Their 2011 Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style book from the POV of a housecat named Holden Catfield titled You Are a Cat! won that year’s Expozine Award for best English-language book and spawned a sequel, and a prequel. Their latest graphic novel, from 2019, entitled Plummet, is about a woman who wakes up one day to find herself in literal, perpetual freefall.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inconsolablecat/

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Opening the Floodgates: A Short Fiction Workshop
2023-11-16 18:00 - 20:00, 2023-11-23 18:00 - 20:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Eight Thursdays, Oct 5-Nov 23, 6-8pmOpen to allLimited to 12 participantsHybrid Workshop

An 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.

With 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.

Other 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.

Rebecca 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

Mille-Feuille: Writing Layered Nonfiction
2023-11-16 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-11-30 18:30 - 20:30 | Online via Zoom
Eight Thursdays, Oct 5-Dec 7 (no meeting Oct 26 and Nov 23), 6:30-8:30pmOpen to allLimited to 12 participantsOnline via Zoom

The 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.

Each 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.

You’ll come away with one or more short essays (in draft) and/or the beginning of a longer piece.

This 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.

Week 1: The Fragment and the Flash.

Week 2: Collage. Contrast, juxtaposition, the unexpected.

Week 3: The Braid. Parallel narratives.

Week 4: The Hermit Crab. The borrowed form.

Week 5: The Hermit Crab. More borrowings.

Week 6: Diptych or Triptych.

Week 7: Visual Essay.

Week 8: Accretion as Method and Aesthetic.

Note: 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.

Susan 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.

Temporarily Stairs: Developing and Refining Long-Form Fiction
2023-11-16 20:00 - 22:00, 2023-11-23 20:00 - 22:00, 2023-11-30 20:00 - 22:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Ten Thursdays, Oct 5-Dec 7, 8-10pmOpen via application to those with a novel-in-progress

Limited to 10 participants

Hybrid Workshop

As 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.

This 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.

Writing 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.

Gaining 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.

Workshopping 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.

To apply for a spot in this workshop, please submit the following to Riley at QWF (riley@qwf.org) by Wednesday, September 13 :

A short summary of your novel or novella (about one or two lines).

A 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).

One 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.

Sextant (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.

Shut Up & Write! with QWF—In Person!
2023-11-17 12:30 - 15:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Friday, November 17, 12:30 pm–3:00 pmFree, In PersonQWF Office (Room 3, 1200 Atwater Ave., Westmount)

Looking for some dedicated, quiet writing space?

Join us for another in-person Shut Up & Write session!

Based on feedback from a recent membership survey, we’ve decided to hold regular Shut Up & Write events at the QWF office.

Do all that writing you’ve been meaning to do, and meet a few of your fellow QWF members. Using the Pomodoro technique, participants write in 25-minute bursts, with 5-minute breaks in between.

This event is for QWF members only. Not a member? Learn about becoming a member.

Please note that these sessions are designed for silent writing, rather than discussing or getting feedback on work.

12:30–12:55: Writing 112:55–1:00: Break1:00–1:25: Writing 21:25–1:30: Break1:30–1:55: Writing 31:55–2:00: Break2:00–2:25: Writing 42:25–2:30: Break2:30–2:55: Writing 5

To register, RSVP below.Note: RSVPs may close 24 hours before the event starts. If there is no option to RSVP, that means RSVPs are closed.

Getting to the QWF Office

Our office is located on the top floor of the Atwater Library and Computer Centre, in Room 3.

Address: 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3Westmount, QC H3Z 1X4

Closest Metro: Atwater Station

Closest Bus lines: 24, 63, 90, 104, 138, 144, 150

Accessibility:

The QWF Office is fully accessible by wheelchair from the side entrance on Tupper Street. Once inside, there is an elevator to the second floor, where the QWF office is.

Learn more about the office location and accessibility.

WRITERS READ PRESENTS DIANE SEUSS
2023-11-17 15:00 - 17:00 | 4th SPACE, Concordia University, 1400 De Maisonneuve Ouest, Montreal, Canada
Writers Read is eager to host poet Diane Seuss. Diane Seuss is the author of six books of poetry. Her most recent collection is frank: sonnets (Graywolf Press 2021), winner of the PEN/Voelcker Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. Still Life with Two Dead Peacocks and a Girl (Graywolf Press 2018), was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Four-Legged Girl (Graywolf Press 2015) was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Wolf Lake, White Gown Blown Open (University of Massachusetts Press), received the Juniper Prize. Her sixth collection, Modern Poetry, is forthcoming from Graywolf Press in March 2024. Seuss was a 2020 Guggenheim Fellow. She received the John Updike Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2021. Seuss was raised by a single mother in rural Michigan, which she continues to call home.
On Friday, November 17th at 3pm in Concordia’s 4th Space (1400 Rue de Maisonneuve Ouest), Diane Seuss will be joining us virtually. Attendees have the option to attend in person or via Zoom. There will be a reading, followed by a question and answer period.
Writers Read is part of Concordia University’s Creative Writing program and is supported by the Department of English and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Writers Read, directed by Professor Sina Queyras since 2011, invites renowned and emerging authors, both Canadian and international, to read from and discuss their work with students and local audiences. In addition to readings, the series includes Master Classes and professional developmental activities spanning the school year.
This event is free and open to all.

Solving the Picture Book Puzzle
2023-11-18 10:00 - 16:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Saturday, Nov 18, 10am-4pm

Open to all

Limited to 12 participants

Hybrid Workshop

Many people think writing a picture book is easy – that some scribbles on a dinner napkin mean a completed manuscript by breakfast. The truth is that although picture books are short (rarely more than 900 words), they are amongst the most difficult books to write and to sell. In part that is because a successful picture book must appeal both to kids and to the adults who need to be willing to read the book over and over again!

During this one-day workshop, we will attempt to solve the puzzle of the picture book: What stories are best-suited to the genre? What are the conventions of picture books? What are the central themes of picture books? What kind of language works best in picture books? What is the role of humour in picture books? What is the connection between a picture books’ text and its illustrations?

During the day, Monique will introduce workshop participants to six very different picture books, which the group will deconstruct in order to discover what makes them work. Though we will pay some attention to the illustrations in these books, our focus will remain on the text.

Our reading list (participants are not required to read these books in advance. However, should they wish to, they are encouraged to bring in their own favourite picture book.)

Pierre, by Maurice Sendak. This book will allow us to look at the role of humour in picture books. It will also help us understand the importance of “caring” about our subject matter.

When We Were Alone, by David A. Robertson. This stunning book will let us see how picture books can tackle painful subjects, in this case the residential school system.

Knuffle Bunny, by Mo Willems. This book is funny and charming, but it deals with the key themes of loss and growth.

The Funeral by Matt James. This book shows us that death and loss are often central themes of picture books. James gives us the child’s view of a funeral.

Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion, by Jane Barclay. A story about war, but also about

Friendship, love, and loss.

I’m Glad That You’re Happy, by Nahid Kazemi. Simple, exquisite poetry. As we will see throughout the day, the best picture books aren’t just for kids.

We will also do an exercise designed to help participants return – via memory – to their own childhoods. This exercise, which focuses on the five senses, may help participants find the inspiration for a picture book project. Participants who wish to may share their memory. This exercise often has a “cross-pollination” effect, leading to even more memories, and possible stories.

Though no prior writing experience is required, participants who have already begun work on a picture book are welcome to bring in their work-in-progress so that, if time permits, it can be critiqued by the group, applying principles learned during our day together.

Monique will end the session by providing practical tips on submitting picture book manuscripts to publishers.

Monique Polak is the author of 32 books for young people. Her first picture book, The Brass Charm, was published in both English and French by Scholastic in fall 2022. It has been nominated for the Shining Willow Award. Monique is a three-time winner of the Quebec Writers’ Federation Prize for Children’s and YA Literature, now called the Janet Savage Blachford Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature. She taught English and Humanities at Marianopolis College for 35 years. She has contributed to publications including The Gazette, The Globe and Mail, The National Post and Newsday. She was a long-time contributor to Radio-Canada’s Plus on est de fous, plus on lit! Monique has done hundreds of writing workshops across the country.

Advanced Memoir: Maintaining Momentum
2023-11-20 08:00 - 17:00, 2023-11-27 08:00 - 17:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
This workshop on memoir is designed for people who have already studied at the intermediate or advanced level with Elaine Kalman Naves. Please don’t be daunted by the “advanced” label. All of you are at a level to benefit from this workshop if you’re interested in writing, reading, and talking about memoir!

Though you need not be working on a book- length narrative, you will be expected to have a specific project in mind. It can be something you were working on in a previous workshop or something entirely new.

During the course of the workshop, you will have the opportunity to submit a piece of up to 3000 words, and with luck you will have a chance to present a second time. (More details about this once we get rolling.)

Instead of a text, you will have the opportunity of reading some fine memoirs and the long lead-up to this fall workshop will give you a chance to do some advance reading. Please give priority in your summer reading to the terrific memoirs by the three writers who will be guest lecturers over the course of the session. (See below.) Once we have established who the actual workshop participants will be, I will also supply you with a list of suggested optional works to enjoy over the course of the summer.

The emphasis is – as always in any workshop – on student input. Participants will not only be presenting their own work to the group but will also be expected to give careful reading of each other’s pieces in order to provide vital critical feedback. This element of the program is equally important to the writing. As in the past there will also be in-class exercises and discussion of topics of writerly interest. In a new departure, we will start critiquing participants’ pieces at the very first session. Participants who volunteer to present early in the session will be much appreciated! Getting a head start will make it possible to present second drafts. Again, we will work out these details ahead of time once the class list is established.

Here are the names of the guest lecturers and their respective titles:

Charles Foran, Just Once, No More

Harriet Alida Lye, Natural Killer

Merrily Weisbord, The Strangest Dream; Our Future Selves; Love Queen of Malabar

And please don’t forget that William Zinsser’s On Writing Well is a great resource for matters of grammar and style!

To apply, please send an email to Riley@QWF.org with the subject line “Advanced Memoir Application” no later than June 30, 2023. Your email must include:

1. a 3-5-page double-spaced writing sample (non-fiction or fiction) that you feel is representative of your abilities.

2. a paragraph or two outlining the writing project you plan to pursue in the workshop.

Elaine Kalman Naves is a long-time literary journalist and the author of seven non-fiction titles, and of a novel. She is a two-time recipient of the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction, the winner of two Canadian Jewish Book Awards, and of a Canadian Literary Award for Personal Essay. Her memoir Journey to Vaja: Reconstructing the World of a Hungarian-Jewish Family has been made into a documentary film. Elaine’s novel, The Book of Faith, was nominated for the Leacock Prize for Humour. She has led workshops at the QWF since their inception in 1998. To find out more about Elaine, visit her website at http://www.elainekalmannaves.com/.

2023 Salon du livre de Montréal
2023-11-22 09:00 - 2023-11-26 17:00 | Quebec
November 22-26, 2023Palais des congrès de Montréal

The Salon du livre de Montréal is back at Palais des congrès, Montreal, from 22 to 26 November, 2023. Events around the city and online will also be taking place starting November 10.

QWF will be hosting one event at the 2023 Salon du livre: Grand Translation Slam in the Age of AI will pit two literary translators against each other and against an AI translation tool. Who will come out on top? Can AI capture the nuance necessary in literary translation?

See the full program here.

Free Entry for QWF Members

QWF members can enter the Salon du livre for free on presentation of their membership card at the ticket office. If you do not have a physical QWF membership card, you can print or show a digital version, which was emailed to you when you registered or last renewed your membership.

If you can’t find your membership card, email Riley, QWF Membership Services Coordinator, at riley@qwf.org.

For more information, visit the Salon du livre’s Horaire et tarifs webpage.

Lunch & Learn with Medicine Wheel Publishing
2023-11-22 12:00 - 13:30 | Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
Wednesday, November 22, 202312:00-1:30 pm ESTOnline via Zoom—RSVP below to receive the Zoom link

The Quebec Writers Federation and Medicine Wheel Publishing are thrilled to offer a 90-minute Lunch and Learn workshop via Zoom, exclusively tailored for Indigenous individuals residing in Quebec who are contemplating the idea of crafting a children’s book or seeking an in-depth understanding of traditional publishing methods.

With a focus on fostering Indigenous voices, this event warmly invites all forms of storytellers to gain insights into the publishing process. During this workshop, participants will delve into the fundamental aspects of publishing.

Our facilitators will guide attendees through a comprehensive exploration of the ins and outs of traditional publishing, demystifying common misconceptions and equipping them with the necessary tools to navigate this dynamic industry. By providing a platform for the cultivation and affirmation of Indigenous voices, Medicine Wheel Publishing is committed to nurturing diversity and inclusivity within the literary landscape.

This session aims to empower Indigenous individuals by sharing valuable knowledge and strategies to bring their narratives to life through children’s literature. We cordially invite you to join us in this transformative Lunch and Learn experience, as we collectively embark on a journey toward authentic representation, cultural preservation, and the celebration of Indigenous storytelling.

RSVP below to secure your place and embark on this enriching voyage of discovery and empowerment. You will receive the Zoom link a few days before the start of the event.

Writing the Environment
2023-11-24 12:00 - 13:00 | Palais des congrès de Montréal, 1001 Jean Paul Riopelle Pl, Montreal, Quebec, H2Z1H5, Canada
Friday, November 24, 202312:00-1:00 pmPalais des congrès de Montréal

Presented by the Association of English-Language Publishers of Quebec, this dialogic performance of poetry in English, French, and translation will imagine writing the environment. Featuring Kaie Kellough and Chantal Neveu, it will embody language in its relation to land and space, and reflect on poetry’s radical stance towards a sustainable future. This event is curated and hosted by Klara du Plessis. / Présentée par l’Association des éditeurs de langue anglaise du Québec, cette performance poétique, qui se déroulera en anglais et en français, permettra d’imaginer comment on écrit et décrit l’environnement. Kaie Kellough et Chantal Neveu exploreront la façon dont le texte incarne la langue dans ses rapports avec le territoire et l’espace. Ils réfléchiront aussi à l’attitude radicale de la poésie à l’égard d’un avenir durable. Cet événement est conçu et animé par Klara du Plessis.

Visit the official Salon du Livre de Montreal website for more information and the link to purchase tickets.

Shut Up & Write! with QWF (Virtual)
2023-11-25 10:00 - 12:30 | Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
Saturday, November 25, 10:00 am–12:30 pmOnline via Zoom—RSVP below to receive the Zoom link

Looking for some dedicated, quiet writing space?

Register below to do all that writing you’ve been meaning to do. Using the Pomodoro technique, participants write in 25 minute bursts, with 5 minutes break in between.

This event is for QWF members only. Not a member? Learn about becoming a member.

The Zoom link will be sent out a day or two before the session.

Please note that these sessions are designed for silent writing, rather than discussing or getting feedback on work.

10:00–10:25: Writing 110:25–10:30: Break10:30–10:55: Writing 210:55–11:00: Break11:00–11:25: Writing 311:25–11:30: Break11:30–11:55: Writing 411:55–12:00: Break12:00–12:25: Writing 5

To receive the Zoom link, RSVP below.

Note: RSVPs will close 24 hours before the event starts. If there is no option to RSVP, RSVPs are closed.

Grand Translation Slam in the Age of AI
2023-11-26 12:15 - 13:15 | Quebec
November 26, 202312:15-1:15 PM ESTAgora, Palais des congrès de Montréal

Two pairs of literary translators head into a bookish battle of words, against each other and against an AI translation tool. How does each translation choice bend meaning and tone to create the final effect? Can AI capture the nuance necessary in literary translation or in any translation? Hear the texts morph from one language to the next, as the translators delve into the subtleties of translating fiction. Followed by a Q&A with the audience. (Presented in French & English).

Featuring:

Sean Michaels, Author

Éric Fontaine, Translator

Catherine Ego, Translator

J.D. Kurtness, Author

Pablo Strauss, Translator

Nicola Danby, Translator

Shelley Pomerance, Host

Free Entry for QWF Members

QWF members can enter the Salon du livre for free on presentation of their membership card at the ticket office. If you do not have a physical QWF membership card, you can print or show a digital version, which was emailed to you when you registered or last renewed your membership.

If you can’t find your membership card, email Riley, QWF Membership Services Coordinator, at riley@qwf.org.

For more information, visit the Salon du livre’s Horaire et tarifs webpa

SpeakUp: The Montreal Inter-Active Poetry Exchange
2023-11-30 07:00 - 21:00 | Phoenix Books, 5928 Sherbrooke Street West, 5928 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, QC, H4A 1X7, Canada
The Montreal Inter-Active Poetry Exchange
Poets : Sarah Wolfson, Mary Dean Lee
​Join us at Phoenix Books in NDG (5928 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, Quebec H4A 1X7)
on Thursday, November 30 @ 7 PM
​for a poetry reading with a difference, AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
Each audience member receives a copy of the poems.
Each poet reads their poem, followed by a 15 to 20-minute discussion.
The poet reads their poem a final time.
​For more info or details contact us by
email MTLSpeakUp@gmail.com or on Facebook @MtlSpeakUp

Violet Hour: Suzette Mayr, Daniel Allen Cox, Katia Grubisic
2023-11-30 19:00 - 20:30 | Casa d’Italia, 505 Rue Jean-Talon Est, Montreal, Quebec, H2R 1T6, Canada
Violet Hour is back this fall with a new format and venue! Three writers, three readings, three interviews. Join us at the Casa D’Italia (505 Rue Jean-Talon E.) for an evening celebrating queer literature with writers Suzette Mayr, Daniel Allen Cox, and Katia Grubisic. This event is co-presented with The Équipe de recherche en études queer au Québec (ÉRÉQQ), VersUs Centre de recherche – Université de Sherbrooke, and Fierté Montréal. Suzette Mayr will be joining us to discuss The Sleeping Car Porter, her 2022 novel about the life of Baxter, a queer black man working as sleeping car porter on a Canadian train crisscrossing the country in 1929. The book won the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Daniel Allen Cox will be speaking about his recent book, I Felt the End Before It Came: Memoirs of a Queer Ex-Jehovah’s Witness, a collection of riveting essays about growing up in, and leaving, the religion. And Katia Grubisic will be joining us to discuss her translation of the legendary Marie-Claire Blais’s work, including, most recently, Nights Too Short To Dance, which is being published posthumously this fall, as Blais passed away in November 2021.

Shut Up & Write! with QWF (In Person)
2023-12-01 12:30 - 15:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Friday, December 1, 12:30 pm–3:00 pmFree, In PersonQWF Office (Room 3, 1200 Atwater Ave., Westmount)

Register for the session by filling out the RSVP form below.

Looking for some dedicated, quiet writing space?

Join us for another in-person Shut Up & Write session at the QWF Office!

Do all that writing you’ve been meaning to do, and meet a few of your fellow QWF members. Using the Pomodoro technique, participants write in 25 minute bursts, with 5-minute breaks in between.

This event is for QWF members only. Not a member? Learn about becoming a member.

Please note that these sessions are designed for silent writing, rather than discussing or getting feedback on work.

12:30–12:55: Writing 112:55–1:00: Break1:00–1:25: Writing 21:25–1:30: Break1:30–1:55: Writing 31:55–2:00: Break2:00–2:25: Writing 42:25–2:30: Break2:30–2:55: Writing 5

To register, RSVP below.Note: If there is no option to RSVP, registration has closed.

Getting to the QWF Office

Our office is located on the top floor of the Atwater Library and Computer Centre, in Room 3.

Address: 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3Westmount, QC H3Z 1X4

Closest Metro: Atwater Station

Closest Bus lines: 24, 63, 90, 104, 138, 144, 150

Accessibility:

The QWF Office is fully accessible by wheelchair from the side entrance on Tupper Street. Once inside, there is an elevator to the second floor, where the QWF office is.

Learn more about the office location and accessibility.
