Quebec Writers' Federation

Alright: Solving the Problem of Living
2023-06-08 00:00 - 2023-06-17 23:59 (America/New_York) | Comedy Theatre of Montreal, 1113 Boul. de Maisonneuve E, Montreal, Quebec, H2L 1Z6, Canada
Running June 8-June 17

Acclaimed storyteller Nisha Coleman (Self-Exile, Cornichon) takes you on an exhilarating, nail-biting, and heart-wrenching adventure. This is an intimate storytelling show about life’s arduous events and the pinpricks of light that tilt our gaze from the gutter to the stars.

Playwright: Nisha Coleman

Directors: Paul Van Dyck & Stephen Maclean Rogers

Other Collaborators or Performers: Patrick McMaster

From Montreal, QC

Montreal Premiere

English

Latecomers: 10 minutes

rabbitinahatproductions.com

Instagram: @rabbitinhatprod

#alrighttheshow

Documentary Screening: What We Choose to Remember
2023-06-09 14:00 | National Film Board, 1501 Rue de Bleury, Montreal, QC, H3A 2J2, Canada
Friday, June 9, 2:00 pmAlanis Obomsawin Theatre, National Film Board 1501 Rue de Bleury, Montreal

Filmmaker Guy Rex Rodgers and the National Film Board present a special screening of the documentary What We Choose To Remember at the new Alanis Obomsawin Theatre on June 9th at 2:00 pm.

What We Choose to Remember features a cast of over 30 characters whose families arrived in Montreal and Quebec in successive waves of immigration. The oldest families arrived during the period of “the two solitudes,” when Montreal’s population was more than 50% English. They share firsthand accounts decades of political upheaval. Guy Rex Rodgers is offering pairs of tickets to the screening to QWF members.

To reserve your tickets, email guyrexrodgers@gmail.com.

Shut Up & Write! with QWF
2023-06-10 10:00 - 12:30 | QC
Saturday, June 10, 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. Please note that you have to be logged in for the registration link to show up. A Zoom link will be sent out a day or two before the session.

Please note as well 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.

2023 QWF Mentorship Reading
2023-06-11 14:00 - 16:00 | QC
The QWF Mentorship Reading is scheduled for June 11, 2023 at 2 pm. This event will happen in-person at the Atwater Auditorium, 2nd floor of the Atwater Library (Note that as the event is happening outside library hours, the entrance is at 4023 Tupper Street).

The QWF Mentorships are designed to help promising emerging writers make the transition to the next stage of their careers. Over a period of four months, each mentee received one-on-one guidance and support from a professional writing mentor. Now, their journey culminates in a public reading where the mentees present an excerpt of their works-in-progress.

This year’s cohort features:

Alana Dunlop, mentored by H. Felix Chau Bradley in FictionLoch Baillie, mentored by Simina Banu in PoetryYaani Dinu Mahapatuna, mentored by Sean Michaels in FictionCornelia Mars, mentored by Annabel Howard in NonfictionNoa Padawer-Blatt, mentored by David Wilson in FictionRaissa Simone, mentored by Jay Ritchie in PoetryÉlisabeth Savoie, mentored by Sonya Malaborza in Translation (The Jean Antonin Billard LTAC/QWF Mentorship in Literary Translation)Victoria Platel, mentored by Alain Zaloum in Screenwriting (Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship)

Note: Tickets will be available at the door for cash only.

$5 – $10(Student / General)

The Art of Literary Translation
2023-06-12 18:00 - 21:00, 2023-06-19 18:00 - 20:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
In this workshop, we will explore literary translation from French to English: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and songs.

We will look at contemporary literature from Quebec and France, as well as some older (nineteenth- and twentieth-century) texts. Sources may include Gabrielle Roy, Anne Hébert, Annie Ernaux, and Samuel Archibald. We will start by looking at an excerpt of a literary text in French and reading a published English translation of it. What difficulties (such as euphony, voice, word play, and verb tense) did the translator face, and how successful were they? At each meeting, there will be time to produce your own translations, often in groups. We will read our work aloud and comment on difficulties and strokes of inspiration.

Participants will have the opportunity to translate a further passage from the same work (or from another) as a homework assignment for the next meeting. The corrected assignments provide individual feedback and lead to discussion of the issues encountered.

During the course of the workshop, you’ll be asked to present a passage you have translated from a work you have chosen, commenting on the issues it presents, and describing ways of solving these issues. This is an ideal opportunity to begin or pursue a project you intend to submit to a publisher. Jonathan Kaplanskywon a French Voices Award to translate Nobel Prize-winning author Annie Ernaux’s La vie extérieure (Things Seen)for the University of Nebraska Press. Recent translations include Jonathan Bécotte’s Like a Hurricane (Orca, 2023) and Hélène Rioux’s The End of the World is Elsewhere (Guernica, 2022). He has sat on the juries for the translation category of the Governor General’s Literary Awards and the John Glassco Translation Prize and recently translated the libretto of an opera by Hélène Dorion and Marie-Claire Blais entitled Yourcenar: An Island of Passions.

Montreal Launch of Norman Ravvin's Who Gets In: An Immigration Story
2023-06-15 19:00 | Museum of Jewish Montreal, 5220 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec, H2T 1S1, Canada
Thursday, June 15, 7 pmMuseum of Jewish Montreal (5220 Boulevard Saint-Laurent)

Join Norman Ravvin for the Montreal launch of his new book Who Gets In: An Immigration Story. Copies will be available for purchase and signing.

Launch of Yolk Issue 3.1
2023-06-17 18:00 - 22:00 | De Stiil Booksellers, 351 Avenue Duluth, Montreal, Quebec, H2W1J3, Canada
Saturday, June 17, 6:00-10:00 pmDe Stiil Booksellers, Montreal$7 at the door (includes one drink, $5 without a drink)

Join the folks at Yolk on Saturday, June 17, for the official launch of Yolk Issue 3.1! There will be readings, issues and merch for sale, pop-up poetry, beverages for sale, and more!$7 entry payable at the door by cash or card. ($5 without a drink included)Please note that De Stiil has a maximum capacity, so plan to arrive early!Accessibility: Please note that there are two short steps leading into the venue. The interior space is one level floor.

Véhicule Press 50th Anniversary Gala
2023-06-17 19:00 | Casa d’Italia, 505 Rue Jean-Talon Est, Montreal, Quebec, H2R 1T6, Canada
Saturday, June 17, 7:00 pmCasa d’Italia, Montreal

Come celebrate 50 years of publishing with Véhicule Press!

This event will feature readings and reflections by authors and editors, past and present, co-hosted by Nyla Matuk and Mark Abley. A reception will follow.

The event is free and open to the public.

Co-hosts:

Nyla Matuk and Mark Abley

Participants:

Gabrielle Boulianne-TrembleyTawhida Tanya EvanstonSusan GlickmanKaie KelloughDimitri NasrallahMichael PriorAndrew Steinmetz

Bios:

Mark Abley is a nonfiction writer, poet, and journalist. He is a Rhodes Scholar and in 2004 was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. His many books include The Organist: Fugues, Fatherhood, and a Fragile Mind, a memoir of his father; Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages and The Prodigal Tongue: Dispatches from the Future of English, among other books on language; Conversations with a Dead Man: The Legacy of Duncan Campbell Scott, an unconventional look at Canada’s colonial history; and several poetry collections and children’s books. His work has won international praise and has been translated into five languages. He lives in Montreal.

Nyla Matuk is the author of two books of poetry: Sumptuary Laws (2012) and Stranger (2016) both published by Véhicule Press. She is also the editor of an anthology of poems, Resisting Canada, published by Véhicule Press in 2019. In 2018, Nyla served as the Mordecai Richler Writer in Residence at McGill University. She lives in Montreal.

Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay is a writer, actor, model, and trans activist. The first trans woman to be nominated as an actress at the Canadian Screen Awards, her other publications include two poetry books: Le ventre des volcans and Les secrets de l’origami. Dandelion Daughter (Véhicule Press 2023) is the English-language translation of her novel La fille d’elle-même, which won the 2022 Prix des libraires.

Tawhida Tanya Evanson is an Antiguan-Québecoise poet, performer and producer. Her first novel, Book of Wings (Véhicule Press 2021), was longlisted for Canada Reads 2022 and was awarded the Blue Metropolis/Conseil des arts de Montreal New Contribution Literary Prize 2023. She is the author of two books of poetry, Nouveau Griot (Frontenac 2018) and Bothism (Ekstasis 2017). With a 20-year practice in spoken word, she performs internationally and has released several studio albums and videopoems. Evanson has been named Poet of Honour at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, and has received the Golden Beret Award for her contribution to the spoken-word genre. Born and based in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, she moonlights as a whirling dervish.

Susan Glickman’s most recent book is Artful Flight: Selected Essays 1985-2019. She is the author of seven books of poetry, four novels for adults, three novels for children, and a work of literary history. Her forthcoming book of poems, Cathedral/Grove, will be published by Véhicule Press in April 2023. She lives in Toronto where she works as a freelance editor and is learning to paint.

Kaie Kellough is a novelist, poet, and sound performer. His work emerges at a crossroads of social engagement and formal experiment. From western Canada, he lives in Montréal and has roots in Guyana, South America. His books include Dominoes at the Crossroads (short fiction, Véhicule Press 2020), Magnetic Equator (poetry, McClelland and Stewart 2019), and Accordéon (novel, ARP 2016). Kaie’s writing has been awarded the Griffin Poetry Prize and the QWF Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. It has been listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Grand Prix du Livre de Montréal, the Amazon/Walrus Foundation First Novel Award, the ReLit Award, and the QWF A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry. Kaie’s work has traveled internationally, notably to festivals in the UK, Australia, Asia, the Caribbean, and continental Europe. He continues to craft new passages.

Dimitri Nasrallah is the author of four novels. His most recent, 2022’s Hotline, was selected for Canada Reads 2023 and longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. He was born in Lebanon in 1977, and moved to Canada in 1988. His previous books include The Bleeds, Niko, and Blackbodying. He lives in Montreal, where he serves as fiction editor for Véhicule Press’s Esplanade Fiction imprint and teaches creative writing at Concordia University.

Michael Prior earned an MFA from Cornell University and an MA in English literature from the University of Toronto. He is the author of Burning Province (2020) and Model Disciple (2016), which was named one of the best books of the year by the CBC. Prior’s honors include Magma Poetry’s Editors’ Prize, the Walrus Poetry Prize, and Matrix Magazine’s Lit POP Award for Poetry. He is an assistant professor of English at Macalester College, and he divides his time between Saint Paul, Minnesota and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Andrew Steinmetz is the author of five previous books. This Great Escape: The Case of Michael Paryla was a finalist for the 2013 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, and Eva’s Threepenny Theatre won the City of Ottawa Book Award and was a finalist for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. His forthcoming novel, Because, will be published by Véhicule Press in May 2023. A life-long musician, Steinmetz formed the band Weather Permitting in 1985. In the 1990s, he was a member of the alt-country band Good Cookies. He lives in Ottawa.

Isabelle Walks with Angels: Film and Book Launch
2023-06-22 18:30 - 21:00 | MAI, 3680 Jeanne-Mance St, Montreal, Quebec, H2X 2K5, Canada
Thursday, June 22, 6:30-9:00 pm

The multi-disciplinary artist collective Isabelle’s Angels launches their film Isabelle Walks With Angels, while acclaimed Montreal author Norman Nawrocki and visual artist Ivan R. (also members of the collective) launch their new artbook, Isabelle Walks With Angels, A Montreal Urban Legend, on Thursday June 22nd, 2023 at le MAI, Montréal, arts interculturels, 3680 Jeanne-Mance, Montréal.

Doors open at 6:30 pm.

Two screenings: 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm.

The event is free.

Directed by Naomi Silver-Vézina (aka, Naomi SV), the film is based on Nawrocki’s extraordinary magical realist short story of the same name. It blends theatre, dance, animation and visual art to tell a compelling tale about a despairing woman who meets an all-women biker gang. The text in the gorgeous full colour 84 page book is embedded in a collection of powerful illustrations, collages and paintings of Montreal by Ivan R.

Advance praise for the book:

“A remarkable tale capturing the brutal labyrinth of life of the streets in cinematic prose and stunning art.” – David Lester, artist of 1919: a graphic History of the Winnipeg General Strike.

Launch of Headlight Anthology Issue 24
2023-06-22 19:00 | Librairie De Stiil Bookstore, 351 Duluth Ave E, Montreal, Quebec, H2W 1J3, Canada
June 22, 7 pmLibrairie De Stiil Bookstore, Montreal

Headlight Anthology invites you to the launch of its 24th issue on June 22 at De Stiil Bookstore.Featuring selected readings from Headlight‘s contributors:

Misha Solomon

Jade Palmer

Susi Lovell

Sophie Cirignano

Julie Triganne

Tina Wayland

Ari Mazur

Benjamin Bush Anderson

Emily Zuberec

Shut Up & Write! with QWF
2023-06-24 10:00 - 12:30 | QC
Saturday, June 24, 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. Please note that you have to be logged in for the registration link to show up. A Zoom link will be sent out a day or two before the session.

Please note as well 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.

Telling the Story of the Request for Ordination
2023-06-25 00:00 - 23:59 | Seoul, South Korea, Seoul, Korea, Republic of
Sunday, June 25Seoul, South Korea

Vanessa Sasson launches her new book The Gathering—a retelling of the Buddhist story of the women’s request for ordination—with a panel discussion in Seoul, South Korea, as part of the 18th Sakyaditha International Conference.

The story of the women’s request for ordination is one of the most important in the Buddhist canon. We find it in the Cullavagga, along with alternative renditions in the other Vinayas of Buddhist literature. It is a story of courage, determination, and complicated realities. It is, moreover, a story that is not confined to ancient history, but that we find reflected in contemporary monasticism, as communities continue to wrestle with the question of how the story might be understood. Vanessa R. Sasson’s new book, The Gathering (Equinox, 2023), tells the story of this request for ordination. Trained academically, Sasson presents the story in the shape of a novel, following the narrative largely as the Cullavagga recites it. Her characters, however, emerge out of the Therigatha and its commentary. In her book, women of different backgrounds walk together to ask the Buddha for access. It is a women’s march of ancient times, led by a queen who wanted to become a nun. This panel will open with a brief description of the book, followed by a conversation with the panelists, each of whom will focused on one aspect of The Gathering. The panelists include Mavis Fenn (Professor Emerita, University of Waterloo), who will focus on the intersections between text, history, and culture; Darcie Price-Wallace (a recent graduate of Northwestern University), who will speak about ordination history; and Sharon Suh (Professor at Seattle University and current president of Sakyadhita), who has experience as an author for the wider community. We hope to also include a monastic participant, to be determined at a later date.

Book Launch: Have You Seen Her
2023-06-27 17:00 | Indigo, Place Montreal Trust, 1500 McGill College Ave, Montréal, Quebec, H3A 3J5, Canada
Tuesday, June 27, 5:00 pm

Join Montreal author Catherine McKenzie for the launch of her new book, Have You Seen Her.

Reading and Poetry Workshop with Claire Wahmanholm
2023-06-29 10:00 - 18:00 | QC
Thursday, June 29Free

Poetry Matters invites you to a workshop with poet Claire Wahmanholm exploring the abecedarian, a technique featured in her recent collection, Meltwater (2023).

Later, Claire Wahmanholm will give a reading of her work, “Topaz Ghosts” at McGill through the Montreal International Poetry Prize.

Writing WorkshopFriday, June 29, 10 am-12 pmPeterson Hall, Room 116 (3460 Mc Tavish St.)McGill University campus

ReadingFriday, June 29, 4-6 pmArts Building, Room 160 (853 Sherbrooke St. W.)

Space is limited. Please register at Contact Us at the Poetry Matters website: https://www.mcgill.ca/poetrymatters/

Emerson Whitney launches Daddy Boy in conversation with Sina Queyras
2023-06-29 19:00 - 21:00 | La Petite Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, 176 Bernard West, Montréal, Québec, H2T2K2, Canada
Join Emerson Whitney in conversation with Sina Queyras to celebrate the launch of Daddy Boy, Emerson’s new memoir.
The event will take place at La Petite Librairie Drawn & Quarterly at 176 rue Bernard O at 7 pm on Thursday, June 29th, and will feature a reading, a conversation, Q&A and signing.
This event is free and open to all. Books will be available for purchase at the event and the author will sign copies of their book.
Please note that we are asking all guests to wear masks at this event. Masks will be available free of charge upon entry.

Banff Centre - Literary Journalism 2023 Residency
2023-07-03 00:00 - 2023-07-14 23:59 | Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, 107 Tunnel Mountain Drive, Banff, Alberta, T1L 1H5, Canada
This two-week residency encourages the exploration of new ideas in journalism and experimentation in writing. Designed to challenge and stimulate, the program aims to inspire creative pieces of nonfiction and to assist the writers in their completion. Faculty provide mentorship and one-on-one workshopping. Instructors will discuss ideas, experiences, and obstacles that you may be encountering with their literary journalism. You will have time to work on their manuscripts, receive individual consultations with faculty, and participate in group discussions.
You should be experienced professionals, active in the diversified fields of writing, including print or electronic media. This program is open to fiction and non-fiction writers, journalists, freelance critics or curators, artists, and academics, with an emphasis on those who can write for a lay audience with logic, vigour, and charm—and those who have a portfolio to prove it.
We welcome writers from all backgrounds, and all gender identities and expressions.
*100% Financial Aid available for accepted participants.
Learn more and apply online: https://bit.ly/3fQflUI

Shut Up & Write! with QWF
2023-07-08 10:00 - 12:30 | QC
Saturday, July 8, 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.

English-language drama and theatre - Story-mapping hackathon: BBIA-focussed
2023-07-17 15:00 - 18:00 | McGill University, Mclennan Library, room M1-76, McLennan Library, room M1-76 (main floor), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Tell us your stories of English-language drama and theatre in Quebec! Those who identify as Black Brown Indigenous and Asian (BBIA) are cordially invited to gather with actress Mariah Inger and research associate Hwaan Han on July 17th between 3 and 6pm at McGill or on Zoom to populate the map of anglo Quebec theatre with your stories.
Participants’ stories will populate a publicly available online map, which shows us the layers of history of English-language theatre production in the province from the 1930s to today and is part of Professor Erin Hurley’s research into the history of English language drama and theatre in Quebec. More information about the project and the map itself, which already contains a few stories that LGBTQ2IA+ folks and women founders of theatres/companies/schools have posted so far, can be found here: https://englishlanguagetheatreqc.ca/.
The third and final story-mapping event of the summer will take place in mid-August (likely August 17th) and is open to all.

Shut Up & Write! with QWF
2023-07-22 10:00 - 12:30 | QC
Saturday, July 22, 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.

Lunch and Learn with the Community Digital Arts Hub
2023-07-25 12:30 - 13:30 | Community Digital Arts Hub, 460 Saint-Catherine St W, Suite 511, Montreal, H3B 1A7, Canada
Tuesday, July 2512:30-1:30 PMIn person and virtual. Registration required.

Introducing the Community Digital Arts Hub!

As a literary artist, you may occasionally need access to digital equipment, studio space, or media training. Fortunately, the Community Digital Arts Hub (CDAH) is here to offer a range of resources to artists, collectives, and organizations.

This Lunch & Learn session will include a brief presentation and tour of CDAH’s space, where you will discover the various benefits the Hub provides for writers, including services to help you produce:

Podcasts

Audio Books

Book Trailers

Filmpoems

Video Promos

…and more!

The presentation is expected to last approximately 30 minutes, followed by a 30-minute Q&A session.

REGISTRATION IS FREE FOR QWF MEMBERS, BUT IN-PERSON SPACE IS LIMITED. We can accommodate up to 15 people for in-person attendance, though online participation is virtually unlimited. To register, kindly send an email to Riley at riley@qwf.org with the subject line “Lunch and Learn with CDAH.” Ensure that your email includes your name and specifies your preference for in-person or virtual registration.

About the Community Digital Arts Hub:

The Community Digital Arts Hub (CDAH) is a digital media space based in Montreal, Quebec, which offers affordable studio and equipment rentals to local artists, community groups, and arts & heritage organizations. The CDAH serves artists/arts & heritage organizations as a resource to increase the value of Quebec-produced digital productions and support for digital archiving. Our production team is committed to content development of Quebec artists and the international release of Quebec-produced digital media offerings. The project is Funded by the Government of Canada.

Violet Hour: En traduction / In Translation
2023-08-03 18:00 - 20:00 | Stock Bar, 1171 Rue Ste Catherine Est,, Montreal, Quebec, H2L 2G8, Canada
Thursday, Aug 3, 6-8 pm

A special edition of the Violet Hour LGBTQ reading series featuring readings in English and French from books available in both languages.

Une édition spéciale de la série de lecture Violet Hour LGBTQ incluant des lectures en anglais et en français de livres disponibles dans les deux langues.

Participating writers include Jonathan Bécotte, Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay, D.M. Bradford, Nicholas Dawson, Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch, Jonathan Kaplansky, Leila Marshy and Sophie Voillot. The event takes place at Stock Bar (1171 St Catherine St E), beginning at 6 PM sharp. Entrance is free but limited to 18 plus. Librairie Paragraphe Books will be on hand to sell copies of books in both languages. An initiative supported by Fierté Montréal.

Shut Up & Write! with QWF
2023-08-05 10:00 - 12:30 | QC
Saturday, August 5, 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.

Unveiling the Queer Italian-Canadian Experience (Vernissage)
2023-08-08 17:00 - 19:00 | Casa d’Italia, 505 Rue Jean-Talon Est, Montreal, Quebec, H2R 1T6, Canada
Tuesday, Aug 8, 5-7 pm

Join us for the launch of Unveiling the Queer Italian-Canadian Experience, a creative, intergenerational, and cross-gender exploration of queer space from the perspective of a young queer writer (Montreal author/poet Liana Cusmano) and an older ally to the community (Toronto photographer Vincenzo Pietropaolo). The launch of the exhibit will take place in the Galleria d’arte Rotonda of the Casa d’Italia (505 Rue Jean-Talon East) from 5 PM to 7 PM on Tuesday, August 8.

To attend, please RSVP by writing to admin@italfestmtl.ca.

Christopher Castellani: Leading Men
2023-08-09 19:00 | Istituto Italiano di Cultura Montreal, 1200 ave du Docteur-Penfield, Quebec, Canada
Wednesday, August 9th 2023, 7 pmFree admission – RSVP Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Montréal1200 Av. du Dr Penfield

Rescheduled from last month, Christopher Castellani: Leading Men is an onstage interview with award-winning Italian-American author Christopher Castellani. Castellani is the author of five books, most of which centre on the Italian and/or queer experience. His most recent novel, Leading Men, tells the story of Frank Merlo, the somewhat forgotten working-class Italian-American who was transformational in the life and work of Tennessee Williams. Currently being adapted into a film by Matthew López (The Inheritance) and Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name), the book is a breathtaking work of historical fiction, blending together the real and imagined lives of the two men as they navigate the literary and film circles of 1950s Italy.

For the interview, Castellani will be joined onstage by author Christopher DiRaddo. The two will discuss Castellani’s work, as well as the generational tension that exists between immigrant and first-generation Italians and where it intersects with queer identity.

Christopher Castellani has published five books, most of which center on the Italian, Italian-American, and/or queer experience. His first novel, A Kiss from Maddalena (Algonquin, 2003) won the Massachusetts Book Award in 2004; its follow-up, The Saint of Lost Things (Algonquin, 2005), was a BookSense (IndieBound) Notable Book; the final novel in the trilogy, All This Talk of Love (Algonquin, 2013), was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and a finalist for the Ferro-Grumley Literary Award. His most recent novel is Leading Men, for which he received Fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, MacDowell, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

A co-presentation between the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Montreal, the Queer Studies in Quebec Research Group (ÉRÉQQ), Blue Metropolis and Violet Hour.

Admission is free. Click here to reserve your ticket.Books will be for sale onsite, provided by Librairie Paragraphe Books.

Book Launch: Chrysalis by Anuja Varghese
2023-08-10 18:00 - 19:00 | L’Euguélionne Bookstore, 1426 Rue Beaudry, Montreal, Quebec, H2L 3E5, Canada
Thursday, August 10, 6:00 pm

Toronto author Anuja Varghesewill launch her debut book of short stories Chrysalis (House of Anansi, 2023) at Librairie L’Euguélionne (1426 Rue Beaudry) on Thursday, August 10 beginning at 6 PM. The event will be hosted by Brooke Lee and will also include a reading from Montreal writer H. Felix Chau Bradley.

About the Writers

Anuja Varghese is a QWOC Pushcart-nominated writer whose work appears in Hobart, The Malahat Review, The Fiddlehead, Plenitude Magazine, Southern Humanities Review, So to Speak Journal, Flock Literary Journal, and Corvid Queen: A Journal of Feminist Fairy Tales, among others. Her work has been recognized in the PRISM International Short Fiction Contest, the Pigeon Pages Fiction Contest, and the Alice Munro Festival Short Story Competition. She writes literary fiction, speculative fiction, and erotica/romance—and combinations of all three—where women of colour get leading roles. In 2022, Anuja has work included in When Other People Saw Us, They Saw the Dead, an anthology of BIPOC gothic horror from Haunt Press, and Queer Little Nightmares, an anthology of queer monster stories from Arsenal Pulp Press. Her debut short story collection titled Chrysalis, exploring South Asian diaspora experience through a feminist, speculative lens, will be released in spring 2023 with House of Anansi.

Anuja is also a professional grant writer, book reviewer, and editor and in 2021, took on the role of Fiction Editor with The Ex-Puritan Magazine. She holds a degree in English Literature from McGill University and is currently pursuing a Creative Writing Certificate from the University of Toronto while working on an adult fantasy novel based on medieval India.

Anuja lives in Hamilton, Ontario with her partner, two cats, and two kids.

H. Felix Chau Bradley is the author of Personal Attention Roleplay, a story collection that was a finalist for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award and the Kobo Rakuten Emerging Writer Prize in 2022. Their writing has appeared in carte blanche, Cosmonauts Avenue, the Humber Literary Review, Maisonneuve Magazine, the Montreal Review of Books, PRISM International, Weird Era, Xtra and elsewhere. They live in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal), and work as an editor for Metonymy Press, This Magazine, and Le Sigh.

Brooke Lee is an emerging writer from Windsor-Essex, Ontario. She holds an MA in Education from McGill University, and writes fiction under the pen name River Lee. Her work will appear in On The Run Fiction (Aug 2023), and she is currently completing her debut novel—a queer coming-of-age story about a musician who is chasing dreams and facing realities. When not writing, you can find her playing guitar, hiking, or reading the latest book for the Violet Hour Book Club. Keep an eye out for her upcoming work on Instagram @riverlee_writer

Shut Up & Write! with QWF
2023-08-19 10:00 - 12:30 | QC
Saturday, August 19, 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.

QWF Annual Picnic
2023-08-19 13:00 - 15:00 | La Cité-des-Hospitalières, 251 Avenue des Pins Ouest, Montreal, Quebec, H2W1R5, Canada
Saturday, August 19, 1-3 pmLa Grande Galerie, La Cité-des-Hospitalières, (Teesri Duniya Theatre, 251 avenue des Pins Ouest, Montreal)Open to all, RSVPs encouraged

The Quebec Writers’ Federation is inviting members and friends for a picnic at the Grande Galerie of La Cité-des-Hospitalières on August 19, Saturday, at 1pm.

On the year of our 25th anniversary, the QWF is excited to host our annual picnic at the historic La Cité-des-Hospitalières (251 Pine Ave W). We’re celebrating our continuous organizational success, while also welcoming new faces to the QWF Family.

The picnic will be from 1-3pm on Saturday August 19. As the terrace is covered, the picnic will go on even if summer starts showering. However, in case of extreme weather, the picnic will be moved to another date.

As part of the picnic, we’ll be holding a sixty-second spotlight where members can pitch their recent work (book, play, short story, etc.). We’ll also be introducing a buddy system for new members (more info below). If you’d like to present for the sixty-second spotlight, email Riley at riley@qwf.org. Signing up is free, but please bring a door prize (a copy of your book, for example).

Light refreshments will be provided, but please bring your own drinks. This event is free for both QWF members and non-members. Catch up with old friends, make new ones, and learn more about QWF!

We do ask that you RSVP below so that our team has a good estimate of the number of attendees at the picnic.

The Sixty-Second Spotlight

Inspired by ELAN’s Minute Market, the Sixty-Second Spotlight gives QWF members exactly sixty seconds to promote their recent work (book, play, etc.) and pitch it to the entire group! Signing up to present is free, but you have to donate a door prize (a copy of your book, for example) to the event. Email Riley (riley@qwf.org) if you would like to present.

Note: Registration for the Sixty-Second Spotlight is now full.

Buddy System

Interested in attending, but don’t know anyone? QWF is excited to debut our new Buddy System! New members can request to be paired up with one of our more experienced and friendly members during the event so they have someone dedicated with whom to interact. Email Riley (riley@qwf.org) if you’re a new or prospective member looking for a buddy for this event.

Accessibility Information

The venue is wheelchair-accessible, however if you need to use a ramp, we ask that you let us know beforehand as the venue’s security team that manages the ramp leading into the building needs some advance notice. Email Riley (riley@qwf.org) if you need ramp access.

SNACKS! DOOR PRIZES! NEW FRIENDS! SURPRISES!

Thank you to Teesri Duniya Theatre for letting us use their space for this event!

Book Launch: Key to the Highway by Richard Andrews
2023-08-20 11:00 | Studio Georgeville, 20 carré Copp, Georgeville (Canton de Stanstead), Quebec, J0B 1T0, Canada
Sunday, August 20, 11amStudio Georgeville, 20 carré Copp, Georgevilla, QCFree Admission

An erotic motorbike fantasy and a magical blues harp take Chris Hunter on a wild, Orphic odyssey through the Australian Outback to Indonesia, India, Bangkok, Borneo and Rio. His reality morphs into a mythological world of gods and demons, manifested as bikers, prophets, gun runners, drug smugglers, shady businessmen and neo-Nazis. Empowered by an ancient esoteric secret, his journey to self-discovery climaxes in a battle with Alt-Right forces.

About the Author

The son of a Polish cavalry officer, Richard Andrews grew up in Australia before migrating to Quebec with his Canadian muse. In between, he chalked up more than 30 years as a journalist, foreign correspondent, diplomat and freelancer. An award-winning editor, he writes for newspapers, travel magazines, foundations, industry journals and IT companies. Richard also teaches part time at McGill University after working in China and Malaysia, with writing stays in India, Brazil, Lesbos and Malta. He now lives on a former vineyard in Quebec’s Eastern Townships.

Key to the Highway is available on Amazon.

Double Book Launch: Social Fiction and Like Every Form of Love
2023-08-22 19:00 | La Petite Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, 176 Bernard West, Montréal, Québec, H2T2K2, Canada
Tuesday, August 22, 7 pmLa Petite Librairie Drawn & Quarterly (176 Bernard Ouest, Montreal)Free Admission

Join Padma Viswanathan and Geoffrey Brock at La Petite Librairie Drawn & Quarterly at 176 rue Bernard O at 7 pm on Tuesday, August 22nd for the launch of Social Fiction and Like Every Form of Love! The evening will feature a reading, a conversation, a Q&A and a signing.

The event is free and open to all. Books will be available for purchase at the event and the authors will sign copies of their books.

Please note that all guests are encouraged to wear masks at this event. Masks will be available free of charge upon entry.

About Like Every Form of Love

From the Scotiabank Giller Prize finalist, a gripping exploration of class, race, friendship, sexuality, what an author owes her subject and what it means to be a good person—all wrapped up in a riveting Canadian true crime story.

Padma Viswanathan was staying on a houseboat on Vancouver Island when she struck up a friendship with a warm-hearted, working-class queer man named Phillip, who told her a story that kept them connected for more than twenty years. Phillip was the son of a severe, abusive man named Harvey, a miner, farmer and communist; his stepmother, Del, was a convicted bank robber who had violated her parole and was suspected in her ex-husband’s murder. Phillip had long since lost track of Del, but when Padma said she’d like to write about her and about his own young life, he eagerly agreed. Quickly, though, Padma’s research uncovered hidden truths about these larger-than-real-life characters. Watching the effects on Phillip as these secrets, evasions and traumas came to light, she increasingly feared that when it came to the book or the friendship, only one of them would get out of this process alive.

Padma Viswanathan is the author of two novels: The Toss of a Lemon (2008), published in eight countries and shortlisted for the Pen Center USA Fiction Prize, the Amazon.ca First Novel Prize, and others, traced sixty years in the lives of a young Indian widow and her gay manservant. In her second novel, The Ever After of Ashwin Rao (2014), a cranky Indian psychologist comes to Canada to do what he calls a ‘study of comparative grief,’ tracing the effects of a real-life 1985 jet bombing. It was also published internationally and a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Her stories, essays and short translations have appeared in Granta, The Boston Review, BRICK, and elsewhere. Her translation of the novel São Bernardo, by the Brazilian novelist Graciliano Ramos, was published in 2020 by New York Review Books on their Classics series. Born in BC and raised in Edmonton, she now divides her time between Montreal, Quebec, and Fayetteville, Arkansas, where she is Professor of Fiction at the University of Arkansas and founder of the Arkansas International Writer-at-Risk Residency Program.

About Social Fiction

Appearing together in English for the first time, three politically charged sci-fi graphic novellas by a pioneering comics artist, translated from the French by Geoffrey Brock.

An anonymous official chides a man under surveillance for stepping out of view of a security camera; visitors to an underground mall are forced to form a new society after an apparent nuclear strike; newlyweds living in an authoritarian city attempt to navigate the insidious hurdles of being permitted to have a child; and a Puerto Rican boxer discovers that segregation continues in America long after death.

These are the visions of Chantal Montellier, a contributor to the legendary Métal Hurlant and the creator of some of the most striking and stirring science fiction comics of the 1970s and 1980s.

Geoffrey Brock is an American poet and translator. He is the author of three books of poems, the editor of The FSG Book of 20th-Century Italian Poetry, and the translator of various books of poetry, prose, and comics, mostly from Italian. His poems have appeared in journals including Poetry magazine, Paris Review, Copper Nickel, Yale Review, and Best American Poetry. His awards include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Academy of American Poets. His translations have received ALTA’s National Translation Award for Poetry, the Raiziss/de Palchi Book Prize, the MLA’s Lois Roth Award, the PEN Center USA Translation Prize, the ATA’s Lewis Galantière Translation Award, and Poetry magazine’s John Frederick Nims Prize. Since 2006 he has taught in the University of Arkansas’s Program in Creative Writing & Translation, where he is the founding editor of The Arkansas International magazine.

Chantal Montellier is a French novelist, painter, and comics creator. Montellier began working as an editorial cartoonist in 1972, with work appearing in newspapers and magazines such as Politis, L’Humanité, and Marianne. A contributor to the renowned comics magazine Métal Hurlant and one of the most active female comics creators in France, Montellier is known for her realist drawing style and her engagement with political and feminist themes in her work.

La Petite Drawn and Quarterly Accessibility information:

Attendees are encouraged to wear masks

Event space uses StopGap.ca ramps in an effort to encourage accessibility. Both the step at the entrance, followed by a half step and a door have StopGap ramps. The door opens inward and is not automated. Once inside, there are no additional steps.

It is not a sober space; events sometimes offer alcohol.

Please email events@drawnandquarterly.com if you have any questions!
