Quebec Writers' Federation

SpeakUp
2024-03-28 09:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Phoenix Books, 5928 Sherbrooke Street West, 5928 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, QC, H4A 1X7, Canada
SpeakUp​
The Montreal Inter-Active Poetry Exchange
Poets : Norman Cristofoli, Lucia De Luca
​Join us at Phoenix Books in NDG (5928 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, Quebec H4A 1X7)
on Thursday, March 28 @ 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
GRATUITE
SpeakUp
L’Échange Interactif de Poésie de Montréal
Poètes : Norman Cristofoli, Lucia De Luca
avec SpeakUp le public est engagé
Chaque membre de l’auditoire recevra une copie du poème.
Chaque poète lira leur poème, suivi d’une discussion de 15-20 minutes.
Le poète lira leur poème une dernière fois.

Getting Weird: Crafting Surreal Short Stories
2024-03-28 18:00 - 20:00, 2024-04-04 18:00 - 20:00, 2024-04-11 18:00 - 20:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Getting Weird is an 8-week short fiction workshop that focuses on writing strangeness into the everyday, as a method for exploring and disrupting questions of race, gender, sexuality, climate change, capitalism, and other big topics. Participants will read a wide range of writers who delve into the weird, such as Paige Cooper, Giada Scodellaro, Renee Gladman, Hiromi Goto, Mariana Enriquez, Carmen Maria Machado, and Callum Angus. They will be given an array of writing prompts, designed to investigate different aspects of surreal fiction, and will also have the opportunity to give and receive feedback on short pieces of writing.

Weird fiction contains elements of the eerie, the uncanny, and the surreal, and encourages high levels of playfulness and perceptiveness, two key elements of compelling storytelling. Weird fiction can also serve as a strong vehicle for writers from underrepresented groups to remake the world in ways that decenter white, colonial, hetero-cis-normative worldviews. Prompts will include the following topics:

Weird micro-fiction

Engaging the senses

Weirdness at work (parsing the rituals of capitalism and labour)

Gender euphoria/queer weirdos

Reworking ancestral mythologies

Dream logics

Participants will receive prompts the week before each session (except before the first meeting), and will be given a rota (workshopping schedule) in advance. Each participant will have at least one opportunity to submit one piece of writing (up to 2000 words) to the group, which will be discussed in-session by their peers, with additional feedback provided by the instructor. These submissions should be based on one or more of the prompts given in the workshop. Participants should be prepared to do the following homework between sessions: responding to writing prompts, reading one assigned piece of fiction, providing feedback to their peers.

This workshop is open to new fiction writers, as well as writers who already have a developed fiction practice. Participants should emerge from the workshop with one or two solid short story drafts, and a confidence in their ability to unsettle the status quo on the page.

H Felix Chau Bradley is the author of Personal Attention Roleplay (Metonymy Press), which was a finalist for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award and the Kobo Rakuten Emerging Writer Prize in 2022; and the chapbook Automatic Object Lessons (House House Press). Their writing has appeared in carte blanche, ESPACE art actuel, 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. They were recently awarded QWF’s carte blanche Prize.

Speculative Fiction Master Class: Readying Your Work for Publication
2024-03-28 20:00 - 22:00, 2024-04-04 20:00 - 22:00, 2024-04-11 20:00 - 22:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
As in all of my workshops, speculative fiction is defined broadly to include anything from science fiction to fantasy to slipstream to magic realism. Participants are free to submit a short story, an excerpt from a larger work, a script, speculative poetry, a comic, or graphic novel excerpt.

The workshop will consist of ten sessions so as to give each participant the opportunity to workshop their piece twice: once for initial feedback and a second time once revisions have been made. We will begin by having each workshop member introduce themselves and their project, including their intentions. Following these introductions, I will give a brief presentation on different vectors of analysis in evaluating a piece, including:

story, plot arc, and pacingworldbuildingcharacter, POV, voice, and tonedescriptions and other issues of language and writing qualitytheme and meaning/intention

beginnings and endings

In week 1, we will workshop a very short story that participants should read before we meet: Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” In discussing this story, participants will have the opportunity to practice both the workshopping method and vectors of analysis that we will be employing during subsequent sessions.

In weeks 2 through 9, we will workshop two to three submissions at each session. There will also be discussions and exchanges on a topic or topics related to one or more of the vectors of analysis mentioned in the first session. These topics will not be determined in advance, but will flow organically from the submissions discussed that particular week.

The last session will be reserved for an in-depth presentation on maximizing your chances of publication, including a list of resources, and a guest presentation by a speculative fiction publisher. I will also answer any new questions that may have arisen in previous sessions.

*This workshop will take place at the QWF Office (Room 3, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Westmount, Quebec) with up to 2 virtual spots for participants who are unable to attend in-person. By default, all workshop registrations are for in-person spots. If you would like to attend the workshop via Zoom, first email Riley (riley@qwf.org) to see if online spots are still available for this workshop, and then wait for confirmation. Virtual spots are limited and are reserved for people who either live outside Montreal or have a medical condition.

Su J Sokol is a writer of speculative and interstitial fiction as well as an editor. Xe is the author of three novels: Cycling to Asylum, long-listed for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic and optioned for a film; Run J Run; and Zee, a finalist for the Janet Savage Blachford Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature. Les lignes invisibles, the French translation of Cycling to Asylum, was published in 2022 by VLB Imaginaire. Sokol’s short fiction and essays have appeared in various magazines and anthologies.

Shut Up & Write! with QWF (Virtual)
2024-03-30 10:00 - 12:30 | Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
Saturday, March 30, 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. You will receive the Zoom link a few days before the session.

Note: RSVPs for virtual Shut Up & Write! sessions close 24 hours before the session. If there is no option to RSVP, RSVPs are closed.

Writing Comic Poetry: Seriously?!
2024-04-01 18:00 - 20:00, 2024-04-08 18:00 - 20:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Can a poem be funny? Can we balance the light and the dark, find hilarity in a haiku? What is the value of play in creation? In this workshop, participants will be encouraged to explore the place of humour in their work, through guided readings, discussions, and exercises.

Writers of all levels, from beginner to seasoned, are welcome, and you may use whatever tools you prefer, from laptops to paper and a pen. Each workshop will begin with a reading and discussion of a poem provided by the workshop leader, followed by a writing session. Participants are encouraged but not required to share their works-in-progress with the group. You are also encouraged to bring to our meetings drafts of poems-in-progress, or any writing you may wish to shape into a poem.

Identifying what makes you laugh is key to sharpening your own wit, so a week prior to the workshop you will be asked to select a poem from a provided list. During the first meeting, be prepared to explain why this poem made you guffaw, laugh, or perhaps just chuckle. Was it the surprising wordplay? An unexpected juxtaposition? The poet’s subversion of your expectations?

Through writing prompts and exercises (both collaborative and individualized), we will play with form, persona, and language. While humour is subjective, this workshop will be a safe space, with respectful feedback provided by the instructor and the group.

Rebecca Păpucaru‘s first novel, As Good a Place as Any, will be published by Guernica Editions in 2025. Her first book, The Panic Room (Nightwood Editions) was awarded the 2018 Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Poetry and was also a finalist for the A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry and longlisted for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. Her short story “Yentas” won The Malahat Review’s 2020 Novella Prize. Her work has also appeared in The Best Canadian Poetry in English, Arc, EVENT, Grain, The Literary Review of Canada, Canadian Literature, and The New Quarterly, among others.

Memoir: How to Tell Your Story
2024-04-01 20:00 - 22:00, 2024-04-08 20:00 - 22:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Each of us has a story to tell. We all have memories. But how do you take what you’ve experienced and turn it into something more than a conversation in a bar? How do you find the weight that is in each of our lives and stories?

In this workshop we’ll focus on transforming the personal into something that reaches beyond.

Here’s a loose outline of how we’ll approach it.

Week 1

What is a story? What makes the telling a story and not just words spilling onto a page?

Week 2

How to get at that story that burns within?

Week 3

The hook, part 1: First impressions are critical

Week 4

The hook, part 2: Developing the critical eye

Week 5

Beyond copy editing: How do you know which voice is the right voice? You have to listen carefully. The story knows.

Week 6

Attack 1: You’ve written your story. We’re here to tell you we don’t like it. What are you going to do about it?

Week 7

Attack 2: Why is the story not working – or, better still, why is it working?

Week 8

Writer vs Author: writing to write or writing to get published. Why it matters.

Along the way, there will be exercises, discussions, writing, revising, reading of each other’s work, and good fun.

Eddy L. Harris is a perpetual traveler, a filmmaker and the author of seven critically acclaimed books, all of which partake of memoir, adventure tale, travelogue and cultural reportage.

He spent four years as Writer-in-Residence at Washington University teaching Black American Literature and writing classes structured as workshops. That was followed by a stint on the Nez Perce Indian reservation in northern Idaho and a documentary project he wrote and presented for BBC-Wales: Roots In Wales.

In 2014 he repeated his canoe journey along the Mississippi River which resulted in the award-winning documentary film River to the Heart, which he wrote, produced, and directed.

He has worked most recently as professor of English and Writer-in-Residence at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia

As USA Today put it: “Eddy Harris isn’t your everyday tourist. His travels almost always have a purpose, and that purpose is to write about not only what he sees, but what he feels.”

Exploring Childhood Through Stories: Writing Picture Books and Early Chapter Books
2024-04-02 18:00 - 20:00, 2024-04-09 18:00 - 20:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
This is a workshop for writers interested in writing picture books and early chapter books, and also for illustrators who would like to hone their writing skills.

Writing a good picture book requires the storytelling ability of a novelist and close attention to a clear, simple, and often poetic language pared down to arrive at the essential.

In this workshop we will explore:

Visual literacy as well as verbal literacy, since picture books and early readers rely heavily on both.

Short writing exercises in class to inspire ideas, to reignite the emotions of childhood, and to revisit the landscapes of childhood.

Longer writing exercises at home.

Reading and studying picture books for their structure and the balancing act of words and pictures.

Revising, editing, and submitting manuscripts, including the state of the children’s book publishing industry and new technologies.

Participants should emerge with one or two drafts of a picture book or a first chapter of an early reader.

Bring one or two of your all-time favorite picture books to the first meeting. Be prepared to present each book, read a short passage and explain why it appeals to you.

Bring writing materials. We will be doing short writing exercises that will test your imagination and creativity and awake the visual awareness of childhood.

If you have a picture book manuscript in progress that you would like to submit for discussion and comments, please send a copy (four pages maximum) to riley@qwf.org by March 1. The subject line should read “For Marie-Louise Gay.”

Marie-Louise Gay studied graphic design at L’institut des arts graphiques, animation at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts School, and illustration at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. She has written and/or illustrated over seventy books for children: board books, picture books, and chapter books. Her books have been published in twenty languages and have won many awards.

She has also written three puppet plays for which she created the sets, puppets, and costumes. Marie-Louise worked as a creative consultant on the scripts and animation of the television series that was created based on her Stella and Sam books. Over the years she has given writing and illustration workshops to children and adults.

Unlock Your Filmmaking Dreams: A Short Film Screenwriting Workshop
2024-04-02 20:00 - 22:00, 2024-04-09 20:00 - 22:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
This workshop is not just about dreaming—it’s about doing. It’s about equipping you with the tools to transform your creative ideas into compelling short films. Here’s what you can expect to gain from this cooperative experience:

Learn the fundamental skills of crafting engaging and impactful short film screenplays; the principles of character development, plot structure, and dialogue that will make your narrative resonate. Gain insights into the anatomy of a successful screenplays, receive hands-on guidance on structuring your ideas, ensuring your story flows seamlessly from start to finish and receive constructive feedback in a safe environment designed to cultivate a supportive community of fellow aspiring writers.

As you share your thoughts and insights, you will develop the skill of giving and receiving positive, constructive feedback to elevate your work and cultivate a supportive community of fellow writers. This will allow you to articulate your vision effectively, convey the essence of your screenplay with impact and hone the art of pitching your ideas confidently and persuasively.

How to apply?

Submit your CV, a paragraph detailing your previous creative writing experience and a paragraph describing the story you would like to develop as a screenplay of no more than ten script pages – equivalent to ten minutes of screen time. Adaptations of stories from other forms is encouraged. Send all your submissions materials in one email to Riley at riley@qwf.org with the subject line “For Jacob Potashnik” by Friday, February 16.

Through a series of ten, two-hour sessions, you will identify and refine the core elements of your story and develop your ideas and receive constructive group feedback. You will progress from story idea to an outline, treatment, a dialogued version, to your final draft screenplay. There is an emphasis on oral presentation of ideas and active participation for all participants.

Seize Your Spot! Spaces are limited, so act now to secure your place in this exciting QWF Short Film Screenwriting Workshop.

Jacob Potashnik is a screenwriter and producer and line-producer of documentaries, television series, commercials, web content and films of every genre. In 2019, Jacob co-produced, “Pink Lake,” a feature film which screened at international festivals in Vancouver, Hamilton, and Durban. Jacob won the WGC award for the best screenplay for, “Stardom,” co-written and directed by Denys Arcand. He is the author of, “The Golem of Hampstead, and Other Stories,” a collection short-listed for the QWF/Concordia University First Book prize.

Edit Your Own Prose: The Art of Rewriting
2024-04-03 18:00 - 20:00, 2024-04-10 18:00 - 20:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
You’ve written a first draft of your novel or your memoir. You know you need to rework it, but you’re stuck. It doesn’t quite work, but you are not sure why. Rewriting the opening over and over isn’t helping. So, what should you do?

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to see your own work with an editor’s eye using tips, tricks, and hands-on exercises.

The workshop will focus on big-picture issues, including story line, character development, and genre expectations, and help you bring the story alive on the page through rhythm, effective dialogue, and language choices.

Through the course of the workshop, you’ll learn how to:

Spot common big-picture problems (info dumping, “as you know, Bob” explanations, insufficient conflict, misunderstanding genre conventions, etc.)

Track character development (goals and motivation)

See the advantages and pitfalls of different points of view

Make the most out of dialogue

Play with language and develop your imagination

This workshop is geared toward fiction and creative nonfiction book-length manuscripts.

By the end of the workshop, you’ll better understand what isn’t working in your manuscript and how to fix it, and, hopefully, have learned to love the rewriting process.

Maria Schamis Turner is a freelance editor specializing in developmental editing and line editing for fiction and creative nonfiction. She is a founding editor and previous editor-in-chief and creative nonfiction editor of the literary magazine carte blanche. She worked for 10 years on literary projects for CBC Radio, including as an editor for Canada Writes. She was also the producer of the true-story storytelling series This Really Happened and has taught numerous workshops on storytelling, writing, and editing.

A Moderated Discussion with Two Canadian Jewish Writers
2024-04-03 19:00 - 20:30 | Online via Zoom
Wednesday, April 3, 7:00–8:30 PM ESTOnline via Zoom (link to register below)

Nora Gold, a native Montrealer, will introduce her two new novellas, In Sickness and In Health and Yom Kippur in a Gym. Nora is the author of five books and editor of the literary journal JewishFiction.net.

Gina Roitman, a Montreal author, will discuss her own literary thriller Don’t Ask (2022). Gina is the creator and subject of the documentary film My Mother, the Nazi Midwife and Me.

Gold and Roitman will read excerpts, talk about their books (which share common themes), and introduce listeners to a trove of Jewish writing.

Speaking Truth to Power: How to Write Non-Didactic Political Poetry
2024-04-03 20:00 - 22:00, 2024-04-10 20:00 - 22:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
This 8-week poetry workshop focuses on writing poetry that engages with social justice and politics without leaning too far into didacticism and prescriptiveness, without sounding too preachy or like a chant in a march. This workshop intends to show writers how to subtly pack a punch into a poem that leaves the reader breathless, surprised, and moved. We will be doing this by exploring different formal approaches that will help add nuance and singularity to the poems we will be writing.

Each week, we’ll be discussing a different formal approach, including:

Direct address/letter poems

Filtering through a lens

Writer as expert

Research

Found poetry/Erasure poetry

Villanelle, the ghazal, and the power of repetition

Experimental poetry

We will be doing so by reading and discussing poems that utilize specific formal approaches based on the topic set for the week. Some of the writers we will be reading include Hanif Abdurraqib, Chen Chen, Canisia Lubrin, Trish Salah, Tommy Pico, Kay Gabriel, Dionne Brand, and Hala Alyan.

Furthermore, each week, workshop participants will be given writing prompts that will help them learn about the different forms and formal approaches discussed. The prompts will guide the participants in attempting to write poems using that week’s form. Finally, 1-2 writers will have their poems workshopped each week. Attendees will be asked to send in their poems a week in advance so that their peers can start workshopping the pieces at home a week in advance.This workshop is open to poets in any stage of their development, whether they are new to writing or already have a writing practice. The goal of the workshop is for participants to leave the workshop with a deeper understanding of the ways form and craft can be used to write more impactful and unique poems that engage with social justice and undermine the white, cis, colonial patriarchal status quo. This workshop will be especially useful for writers who feel they have something to say but don’t know how to say it.Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch is a writer, translator, and acquisitions editor at Metonymy Press living in Tio’tia:ke. Their work has appeared in The Best Canadian Poetry 2018 anthology, The New Quarterly, Arc Poetry Magazine, and elsewhere. Their book, knot body, published by Metatron Press in 2020, was shortlisted for the QWF Concordia First Book Award, and their second book, The Good Arabs, published by Metonymy Press in 2021, was received honorary mention for the Arab American Book Awards and the Khayrallah Prize, and won the Grand Prix du Livre de Montréal. Their translation of Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay’s La fille d’elle-même from the French was published in Spring 2023. With co-editor Samia Marshy, they are editing El Ghourabaa, an anthology of queer and trans writing by Arab and Arabophone writers, forthcoming Spring 2024.

Poets for Palestine
2024-04-04 08:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-04 18:30 - 19:00 | Librairie Pulp Books & Cafe, 3952 Wellington Street, Montreal, Quebec, H4G1V3, Canada
April 4 & April 18, 7:00 pm

Two evenings of poetry on Thursday April 4th and 18th at 7 pm. Each evening, four Quebec poets will not only read their own poems but those of Palestinian poets as well. The Palestinian Poets are Abu Toha, Remi Kanazi, Hala Alyan, Ahlam Bsharat, Dalia Taha and Refaat Alareer.

The aim of the event is to raise consciousness about the role of the poet in the ongoing struggle for peace and justice and to show that the creative act is also an act of giving voice to those who can’t.

Curated by Carolyn Marie Souaid and Endre Farkas.

Featuring

April 4

Fortner Anderson

Misha Solomon

Carolyn Marie Souaid

Meryem Yildiz

April 18

Endre Farkas

Liz Howard

Zeina Jhais

Steve Luxton

There will also be a raffle and a passing of a hat for donations. All proceeds will go to the PCRF (Palestinian Children Relief Fund).

Shut Up & Write! with QWF (In Person)
2024-04-05 12:30 - 15:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Friday, April 5, 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 an 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.

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.

Three Books, Three Authors, Three Journeys of Discovery: Book Signing
2024-04-05 17:00 - 19:00 | Indigo, Place Montreal Trust, 1500 McGill College Ave, Montréal, Quebec, H3A 3J5, Canada
Friday, April 5, 5:00–7:00 pmIndigo Place Montreal Trust

A viking queen chooses between survival and destruction. A blues-harp player sets out on a motorcycle ride into the land of myth. And thousands of years in the future, a novice space engineer discovers that the question of gender remains as fraught as ever.

Featuring:

Richard Andrews (Key to the Highway)

Geoffreyjen Edwards (Plenum: The First Book of Deo)

Mary Thaler (Ulfhildr)

Unleashing the Power of Your Podcasting Voice
2024-04-06 10:30 - 16:30 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Are you captivated by the art of storytelling? Do you yearn to share your unique voice and narratives with the world? Join us for a dynamic and immersive one-day workshop designed for aspiring podcasters who wish to embark on a literary podcasting journey. Led by established podcasters, Linda Morra and Marco Timpano, this workshop delves into the intricacies of designing compelling podcast episodes that represent your individuality and passion. Together, they will explore the fundamental elements that bring your stories to life, from shaping a captivating narrative arc to mastering the nuances of your voice. In this workshop, you will acquire the essential skills necessary to create podcast episodes that resonate with your audience and leave a lasting impact. Drawing from their extensive experience, Marco and Linda will guide you through the following learning objectives:

Building the Foundations: Discover how to construct the template and elements of a captivating podcast episode. You will gain invaluable insights into the art of episode development, from brainstorming your season to building your show template.

Producing Your Show: Learn a few secrets of production as you delve into the aspects of creating a polished episode. While this workshop primarily focuses on the creative aspects of podcasting, we will also provide you with a cursory understanding of the technical requirements for launching your own podcast. Gain insight into the essentials of equipment, recording spaces, and distribution platforms, setting you on the path to podcasting success.

Mastering the Art of Voice: Uncover the power of your voice and its potential to captivate audiences. You will delve into the nuances of vocal delivery, tone, pacing, and inflection, unlocking the true potential of your storytelling abilities.

Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to unlock the storytelling potential within you. Whether you’re an aspiring author, a literature enthusiast, or simply someone who yearns to share their unique voice, this workshop will equip you with the knowledge and skills to embark on a captivating podcasting journey. Come prepared with an idea for the kind of podcast you’d like to undertake and join us for a transformative day filled with inspiration, creativity, and the art of storytelling in podcast form.

Linda Morra is a settler scholar, professor, writer, and podcaster who works on the unceded territory of the Abenaki. She writes, hosts, and co-produces with Marco Timpano Getting Lit With Linda, entering its fifth season; it was a Finalist for the People’s Choice Podcasting Awards (2023) and the Canadian Podcasting Awards (CPA) in the Arts Category (2022), and won in the Outstanding Education Category in 2022. Linda published the Routledge Introduction to Gender and Sexuality in Literature in Canada in 2023 and, with Sarah Henzi, co-edited On the Other Side(s) of 150—the 2022 Canadian Studies Network Prize winner.

Marco Timpano is multi-award winning podcaster, author, speaker, and voice artist. He is known for his five podcasts and his definitive guide to podcasting, 25 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started My Podcast,in which he shares his successes, insights, and challenges in this field. Marco and his podcasts have been featured in The Globe & Mail, CTV Morning Live, SiriusXM, and international magazines. With five successful podcasts produced and over two million listens, Marco creates content that his fans love.

A Little Bit Pregnant
2024-04-07 15:00 | Mainline Theatre, 3997 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal, Quebec, H2W 1Y4, Canada
April 7 at 3pm MainLine Theatre3997 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal, QC H2W 1Y4

Buy tickets: https://montrealfringe.online.red61.ca/event/2030:399/2030:1905/

Back by popular demand, A Little Bit Pregnant performs at the MainLine Theatre for one day only.

Sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll… and a baby? A Little Bit Pregnant is a dramatic comedy with a feminist twist. With punchy dialogue, dynamic actors, and characters that feel like they could be your next-door neighbors, A Little Bit Pregnant gives audiences an intimate look at the highs and lows of four young people trying to adult.

Written by Kate Lavut, directed by Rana Liu, featuring Julia Pye, Joshua Bilbao, Aidan Cottreau, and Casey Marie Ecker.

Lunch & Learn with QWF
2024-04-09 12:00 - 13:15 | QC
Tuesday, April 9, 12:00-1:15 pmOnline via ZoomFree, open to all (registration required)

Looking to learn more about QWF, what we do, and how we can help you?

Join us for the next Lunch & Learn with QWF on Tuesday, January 9!

In this 75-minute online session, we’ll provide a deep dive into all our programs and services. Whether you’re new to QWF, want to find out about a particular program, or simply want to meet the team, we welcome you to join us.

Riley Palanca (Membership Services Coordinator) will discuss QWF programs and services for emerging and aspiring writers, including our mentorship program, Shut Up & Write writing sessions, and writing workshops.Lori Schubert (Executive Director) will explain QWF programs and services for more established writers, including the Writers in the Community program, the Hire a Writer Directory, and the QWF Awards.John Wickham (Communications Officer) will provide a brief tour of the website, highlighting sections and resources that are particularly useful to QWF members.

Free and open to all.To get the Zoom link: Register by filling out the RSVP form below. After filling out the RSVP form, you will receive the Zoom link by email the day before the event.

Note: RSVPs will close at 11:00 am on Tuesday, January 9. For help getting the Zoom link, please contact John Wickham at john@qwf.org

Lunch & Learn with QWF is our quarterly orientation series to welcome new members and provide an overview of QWF’s activities. The next one after April 9 will be in July 2024. Learn more about our Lunch & Learn series.

Fanny, her wings on the ground
2024-04-11 17:00 - 20:00 | online
Launch at Bâton Rouge Saint-Sauveur

Poetic Voices: In Bud and In Bloom
2024-04-11 19:00 | Adair Auditorium, Atwater Library, 1200 Atwater Avenue, top floor, Montreal, Quebec, H3Z 1T4, Canada
Thursday, April 11, 2024, 7:00 pm EDT

Join us in person at the Atwater Library Adair Auditorium for the Atwater Poetry Project’s upcoming event: Poetic Voices, In Bud and In Bloom. Featuring 2023 RBC/PEN New Voices Award winner Christine Wu, who is based in Halifax, along with Montreal poet Darby Minott Bradford. Hosted by Emily Tristan Jones. A National Poetry Month event in collaboration with the Atwater Writers Exhibition (AWE) and PEN Canada. Argo Bookshop will be supplying the books for this event, and admission is free to all, so we hope to see you there!

About the Poets

Christine Wu is a poet whose work has appeared in Arc, Contemporary Verse 2, The Malahat Review, and Room, among other places. She was a finalist for the Writers’ Trust Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers in 2022 and the winner of the RBC/PEN Canada New Voices award in 2023. Her debut poetry collection, Familial Hungers, is forthcoming with Brick Books in Spring 2025.

Darby Minott Bradford is a poet and translator based in Tio’tia:ke (Montreal). They are the author of Dream of No One but Myself (Brick Books, 2021), which won the A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry and was a finalist for the Griffin Poetry Prize and Governor General’s Literary Awards. House Within a House by Nicholas Dawson (Brick Books, 2023), Bradford’s first translation, won the VMI Betsy Warland Between Genres Award, the John Glassco Translation Prize, and was a GG finalist. Bottom Rail on Top is their second book.

Emily Tristan Jones was raised in the subarctic and prairies. She is an alumna of the University of Chicago, Banff Centre, and Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Her first full-length book is Buttercup, forthcoming from Chicago-based poetry press Verge. Pieces have been in The Puritan, Harvard Review, Denver Quarterly, Vallum, and many other journals. The first pages of her next book, A Mess Christ, are underway. She started Hermes Gallery in Nova Scotia and has curated exhibitions for Dalhousie University and other venues. She lives in Montreal where she edits Columba Poetry (www.columbapoetry.com) and facilitates workshops for Writers in the Community.
