Quebec Writers' Federation

Book Launch: Before We Forget by Mary Soderstrom
2026-03-15 14:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore, 2220 McGill College Ave, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 3P9, Canada
Sunday, March 15, 20262:00–4:00 pm ET

Mary Soderstrom launches her new book, Before We Forget: How Remembering Will Get Us Through the Next 75 Years, published by Dundurn Press.

Poetic Transformations: Revising as Re-Seeing
2026-03-16 17:45 - 19:45, 2026-03-23 17:45 - 19:45 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Most poets move through a process of honing our work. We draft, workshop, revise, and polish our poems. But what possibilities await if we reframe revision as transformation?

This workshop will build a new toolkit for revising poetry—one that valorizes artistic possibility over the idea of a single finished draft. Together, we will embrace each poem’s power to contain and reveal multiple versions of itself—versions that can stand alone or in conversation.

Through generative exercises, craft wisdom, and workshop-style feedback, we will inhabit poet and composition scholar Wendy Bishop’s idea of radical revision. Each week, we will enact experiments on our work to shake us out of the poems we thought we knew and into new stylistic territory. By embracing revision as an act of re-seeing, we will confound our own expectations, deepen into the inherent promise of our work, and slough off stale writerly habits. A delightful, productive defamiliarization may result.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, not known how to revise, or felt too attached to a draft to change it, this workshop is for you. If you’ve ever wanted to create an inventive sequence of poems stemming from a single impulse, this workshop is for you. If you’ve ever wanted to turn your linguistic sandcastle into a lexical dragon or syllabic shore bird, this workshop is for you.

The strategies you will learn are designed to serve you both within and beyond the workshop. You can expect to leave the workshop with a newly articulated, personalized philosophy of revision. You might leave with 8 radically different versions of a single poem. You might leave with a whole new sequence of poems that could scaffold a collection. Regardless, you will leave with some substantially revised poetry along with the concrete tools and feedback to make future revision a process of expansive growth.

The workshop is open to practicing poets of all levels — with the following caveats:

1) you must already be writing and revising poems;

2) you must be willing to abandon the idea of single finished version of any given poem; and

3) you must bring 3 to 5 of your own poems that you are willing to revise beyond recognition.

Sustaining Dramatic Tension in Long-form Fiction
2026-03-16 20:00 - 22:00, 2026-03-23 20:00 - 22:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
The feeling of losing an audience is one of the most terrifying experiences a theatre actor can have. With fiction writing, the relationship to the reader is far less immediate but, I would argue, no less important. The energy created in the first pages of a novel begins a relationship between an author and her reader and must be tended throughout for the relationship to flourish.

Stories were spoken aloud long before they were written down. The ability to convey information in compelling packets is innate to all of us, as important to human survival as hunting or farming. From the 911 call to a teen’s excuse for why their homework is late, we are in a near constant state of story-making. But how to hold your reader’s attention for 300+ pages?

This workshop proposes to look at long-form fiction’s rules of craft through the lens of theatre to breathe new and exciting life into familiar concepts. It is open to writers at all levels; all aspects will be explained and explored in depth. Writing exercises and selected reading will supplement in-class discussions.

1. Week #1: Dramatic Tension – What is it? How is it created? How is it sustained? From the actor’s toolkit: actions, objectives, obstacles, tactics, and super-objectives.

Week #2: Unity of Action – We will look at Aristotle’s definition of action and Shakespeare’s use of verbs to see how every action in every chapter of your novel is contributing to the larger overarching action of the novel.

Week #3: Causality – How to discern if a chapter or scene is following the scene before it out of necessity. When a novel is propulsive, you can be sure the author understands causality.

Week #4: Character and the importance of contrast of characters.

Week #5: Show Don’t Tell and the actor’s version of this famous writing rule: acting is visual first.

Week #6: Language, Diction, and Tone – Style choices, syntax, and the nitty gritty at the line level.

Week #7: Writing Constraints as maps. How writing constraints allow you to access the buried treasures of your subconscious and still find your way back to your core ideas.

Week #8: Know Your Writing– Michael Crummey, Toni Morrison, and Louise Erdrich are three very different writers, but they are each completely and consistently themselves. Who are you as a writer? Participants will be asked to bring in a longer sample of writing than for previous workshops. Through positive constructive feedback, we will use the elements we have learned as a guideline to get a sense of where each writer’s strengths lie, and what in their voice or style makes them uniquely themselves.

Excerpts (2-4 pages) from the following works will be provided: The Poetics by Aristotle, Prophet Song by Paul Lynch, Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, Self-Help by Lorrie Moore, A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders, Beloved by Toni Morrison, Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich, True Grit by Charles Portis, Foster by Claire Keegan, Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Room by Emma Donahue, Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout, All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews, and several Shakespearean monologues.

Crafting a Compelling Personal Essay
2026-03-17 17:45 - 19:45, 2026-03-24 17:45 - 19:45 | Online via Zoom
The personal essay sits at the crossroads of memory, imagination, and reflection. It is a form that invites vulnerability and experimentation, asking writers to turn the lens inward while reaching outward toward readers. This ten-week workshop explores the craft of creative nonfiction through readings, discussion, and guided writing exercises. Together, we’ll study a wide range of contemporary essayists and thinkers such as Sheila Heti, Alicia Elliott, Maggie Nelson, James Baldwin, Leslie Jamison, and Joan Didion, whose work challenges and expands our understanding of form, voice, structure, and truth-telling.

Each week, participants will write in response to prompts designed to help them develop their voice, experiment with structure, and explore the ethical and emotional complexities of writing about real lives (our own and others’). We will discuss fragments and braids, confession and restraint, intimacy and distance, always returning to the central question: how do we shape lived experience into compelling art?

By the end of the workshop, participants will have generated several essay fragments and drafts, gained tools for revision, and deepened their understanding of the essay as both a personal and public act. Writers will leave with at least one essay draft they can continue to refine beyond the course. No prior experience is required—just a willingness to read closely, write bravely, and share generously.

Week 1 — What Is a Personal Essay?

Theme: Truth, memory, and the boundaries of nonfiction.Readings:

Sarah Manguso, The Two Kinds of Decay (selections)

Joan Didion, “On Keeping a Notebook”

In-Class:

Introductions & course goals

Discuss “truth” vs. “fact” in essay

Prompt: Write a short scene from memory, then annotate where memory fails

Homework: Write a 600–800-word vignette about a formative memory.

Week 2 — Memory and Fragment

Theme: Shaping nonlinear memory.Readings:

Sheila Heti, Motherhood (fragmented passages)

Maggie Nelson, Bluets (selections)

In-Class:

Discussion: how fragment builds resonance

Exercise: Write three fragmentary takes on the same memory

Homework: Develop a mosaic-style essay (1,000 words).

Week 3 — Intimacy and Confession

Theme: The essayist’s voice and vulnerability.Readings:

Alicia Elliott, “A Mind Spread Out on the Ground” (title essay)

Leslie Jamison, The Empathy Exams (title essay excerpt)

In-Class:

Confessional vs. performative honesty

Prompt: Write a letter to someone you cannot send it to

Homework: Expand into a 1,200-word letter-essay.

Week 4 — Deepening Voice, Tone & Emotional Register

Theme: How voice, tone, and emotional distance shape the personal essay.Readings:

Zadie Smith, “Fail Better”

Katherena Vermette, selected interviews on writing community, trauma, and point of view

In-Class:

Discuss tonal shifts: intimacy, distance, authority, hesitance

Exercise: Rewrite a paragraph in three distinct tonal registers (tender, analytical, ironic)

Homework: Revise your Week 3 letter-essay with purposeful tonal modulation.

Week 5 — Structure and Form

Theme: Chronology, braiding, and experimentation.Readings:

Sarah Manguso replaced here to avoid repetition →NEW reading:

Jenny Offill, Dept. of Speculation (fragmented passages on structure)

Eula Biss, “Time and Distance Overcome”

In-Class:

Discuss braiding personal + cultural history

Exercise: Write a short braided passage (memory + outside text/reference)

Homework: Draft a braided essay (1,200–1,500 words).

Week 6 — The Self as Character

Theme: Distance between narrator and narrated self.Readings:

Sheila Heti, How Should a Person Be? (essayistic passages)

James Baldwin, “Notes of a Native Son” (opening sections)

In-Class:

Compare Baldwin’s authority with Heti’s uncertainty

Prompt: Write a scene twice — once from the past self’s POV, once from the present self’s POV

Homework: Develop one version into a polished essay draft.

Week 7 — Risk, Ethics, and Responsibility

Theme: Writing what feels dangerous; truth vs. harm.Readings:

Katherena Vermette, interview excerpts on writing community, family, trauma

Alexander Chee, “The Autobiography of My Novel”

In-Class:

Debate: what’s “too much” to share?

Workshop 2–3 student essays

Homework: Revise draft based on feedback.

Week 8 — Revision and Compression

Theme: Re-seeing, cutting, deepening.Readings:

Jenny Offill, Dept. of Speculation (compression and brevity passages)

Joan Didion, “Goodbye to All That”

In-Class:

Revision strategies (How to “write coldly”)

Prompt: Take a draft and cut it to 70% length without losing essence

Homework: Prepare a near-final essay draft (1,500–2,000 words).

Week 9 — Workshop Intensive & Thematic Excavation

Theme: Deep structural and thematic revision.Readings:

None — focus on student manuscripts.

In-Class:

Half-class workshop

Identifying the essay’s “governing question”

Discuss strategies for expansion vs. contraction

Homework: Revise based on workshop + draft your artistic statement.

Week 10 — Final Workshop & Publication Paths

Theme: Reflection and sharing.Readings:

None — focus on participant work.

In-Class:

Final peer workshop

Discuss venues for publishing personal essays (journals, anthologies, online mags)

Closing: Write a brief artistic statement on your personal essay practice

Homework: Submit final essay + artistic statement.

By the end, students will have:

A stronger sense of their essayistic voice and relationship to truth.

A good command of how to craft a compelling personal essay.

Experience with both traditional and experimental essay forms.

Creative Play for Writers (Online)
2026-03-17 20:00 - 22:00, 2026-03-24 20:00 - 22:00 | Online via Zoom
This workshop is designed for writers from any genre but artists from other mediums are welcome to join.

You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.~ Maya Angelou

Many writers have other creative outlets. Maya Angelou danced. D.H. Lawrence painted. Miranda July makes films. Creativity thrives across disciplines and when writers tap into other art forms, surprising things can happen on the page.

Creative Play for Writers is an online exploratory workshop that uses visual art, music, movement, film, and more to spark new writing. Each session invites you to engage with a different form of creative expression—not to master it, but to play with it—and discover how it can fuel your storytelling.

You’ll respond to rich, sensory prompts, collaborate with others, and experiment freely, both during the Zoom sessions and with set exercises in between classes. Whether you’re feeling stuck, looking for new inspiration, or simply aiming to reconnect with the joy of making things, this workshop offers a playful and supportive online space to expand your creative practice.

We will explore exercises and readings from Syllabus by Lynda Barry, Workbook by Steven Heighton, and The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jaouad. We will also touch on the ideas and art of Rebecca Belmore and Elizabeth Zvonar, among others, as inspiration. Weekly exercises and homework will be given.

Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival 2026 Press Conference
2026-03-18 16:30 | Hotel 10, 10 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, H2X 4C9, Canada
POSTPONED TO: Wednesday, March 18, 20264:30 pm ET

Mark your calendars! The Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, a landmark annual literary event in Montreal, is returning for its 28th edition this coming spring, from April 23–26, 2026.

This year, as in past years, the festival will be structured around a central socially engaged theme, to be announced with our programming at our press conference at 4:30pm on March 11, 2026.

About the Festival

The Blue Metropolis Festival is one of the largest multilingual literary events in North America. Each year, writers from Quebec, Canada and around the world converge on Montreal for an action-packed weekend. Festivalgoers are treated to live interviews, roundtable discussions, public readings, debates, master classes, and performances. Every year, the Festival is structured around several strong themes that testify to a deep social engagement and a passion for literature in all its richness.

About the 2026 Edition

At the upcoming 28th edition of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, expect readings,roundtables, debates, workshops, performances and interviews with prestigious authors fromCanada and abroad. Over 100 guests, including authors, musicians, artists, researchers and more!

Multilingual Programming in Up to Nine Languages.

The Blue Metropolis Festival is one of the largest multilingual literary events in North America. Each year,writers from Quebec, Canada and around the world converge on Montreal for an action-packed weekend.Festivalgoers are treated to live interviews, roundtable discussions, public readings, debates, masterclasses, and performances. Every year, the Festival is structured around several strong themes that testifyto a deep social engagement and a passion for literature in all its richness.

Activities for Children and Parents All Year Long

The TD-Blue Metropolis Children’s Festival now runs year-round, with events in schools, libraries andbookstores near you or online.

Discover our 2026 programming, as well as our wide range of online content at: bluemetropolis.org/youth

Translating Quebec Fiction
2026-03-18 17:45 - 19:45, 2026-03-25 17:45 - 19:45 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Curious about literary translation? This eight-week workshop is an opportunity to experiment with translating contemporary French-language fiction from Quebec in a supportive setting where we will discuss the challenges and possibilities of different texts in translation together as a group.

Each week, participants will take home a short excerpt from a work of fiction to translate from French to English. We will then discuss and workshop our translations together during the following session. We’ll work on texts that pose a variety of different challenges in translation, such as cultural references; jokes; regional slang and Québécismes; the inclusion of other dialects, accents, or languages; period-specific dialogue in historical fiction; experimental prose; and rendering voice in a first-person narrative.

Throughout the workshop, we will also think together about audience, adaptation, research, and the role and responsibility of the translator, and we’ll look at examples of existing translations to see what we can learn from different approaches. In our final session, we’ll take a look at the process of translating a book for publication, from choosing a project to writing a pitch to working with a reviser.

No previous translation experience is necessary for this workshop, but participants should be comfortable reading and analyzing texts in French in order to write their own English translations.

Book Launch: Loch Baillie's River Running
2026-03-18 19:00 | Librairie Pulp Books & Cafe, 3952 Wellington Street, Montreal, Quebec, H4G1V3, Canada
Wednesday, March 18, 20267:00 pm ET

Join Loch Baillie for the launch of his first full-length collection of poetry, River Running, on Wednesday, March 18th at 7PM! Loch will be joined by special guests Simina Banu, Tara McGowan-Ross, and Sally Cunningham.

Free to attend!

Loch Baillie (he/il) is a queer writer and editor based in Quebec City. He is the author of two poetry chapbooks,ice, dove, parachute (Cactus Press) and Citronella (Anstruther Press), as well as the full-length collection River Running (Goose Lane Editions, 2026). He is an associate poetry editor at Plenitude Magazine and a board director for the Quebec Writers’ Federation. An alumnus of Bishop’s University, Loch is currently continuing his English literature studies at the graduate level at Université Laval. Find him everywhere @lochbaillie.

Simina Banu’s interests are at the intersection of capitalism, technology and mental health. In 2020, she published her debut full-length collection, POP (Coach House Books), which won the 2021 ReLit award for poetry. She has published several chapbooks: where art (words(on)pages), Tomorrow, adagio (above/ground), harmony in beach foam (Anstruther press), and ERE—a collaboration with Amilcar John Nogueira (Collusion Books). In 2024, she released her second full-length poetry collection, I will get up off of (Coach House Books).

Tara McGowan-Ross is an urban Mi’kmaw multidisciplinary artist and writer. She’s the author of poetry collections GIRTH and SCORPION SEASON, the Substack THEATRE OF CRUELTY, and the memoir NOTHING WILL BE DIFFERENT, which was a finalist for the Weston prize for nonfiction. She lives in Montreal.

Sally Cunningham (she/her) is a writer and an instructional designer based in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. Originally from British Columbia, she holds an MA in English from Memorial University of Newfoundland. She was shortlisted for the 2025 Montreal Fiction Prize, and her writing has appeared in yolk, Riddle Fence, and Mud Season Review, among others. Her play Pianoland was featured in the 19th Women’s Work Festival. She was a 2025 writer-in-residence at Sundress Academy for the Arts, a 2026 writer-in-residence at Hundredth Hill, and is a fiction editor at Ahoy Magazine. Find more of her work online at sallyjcunningham.weebly.com.

RSVP on Pulpbooks.ca

Sustaining Dramatic Tension in Long-form Fiction (Wednesdays)
2026-03-18 20:00 - 22:00, 2026-03-25 20:00 - 22:00
The feeling of losing an audience is one of the most terrifying experiences a theatre actor can have. With fiction writing, the relationship to the reader is far less immediate but, I would argue, no less important. The energy created in the first pages of a novel begins a relationship between an author and her reader and must be tended throughout for the relationship to flourish.

Stories were spoken aloud long before they were written down. The ability to convey information in compelling packets is innate to all of us, as important to human survival as hunting or farming. From the 911 call to a teen’s excuse for why their homework is late, we are in a near constant state of story-making. But how to hold your reader’s attention for 300+ pages?

This workshop proposes to look at long-form fiction’s rules of craft through the lens of theatre to breathe new and exciting life into familiar concepts. It is open to writers at all levels; all aspects will be explained and explored in depth. Writing exercises and selected reading will supplement in-class discussions.

Week #1: Dramatic Tension – What is it? How is it created? How is it sustained? From the actor’s toolkit: actions, objectives, obstacles, tactics, and super-objectives.

Week #2: Unity of Action – We will look at Aristotle’s definition of action and Shakespeare’s use of verbs to see how every action in every chapter of your novel is contributing to the larger overarching action of the novel.

Week #3: Causality – How to discern if a chapter or scene is following the scene before it out of necessity. When a novel is propulsive, you can be sure the author understands causality.

Week #4: Character and the importance of contrast of characters.

Week #5: Show Don’t Tell and the actor’s version of this famous writing rule: acting is visual first.

Week #6: Language, Diction, and Tone – Style choices, syntax, and the nitty gritty at the line level.

Week #7: Writing Constraints as maps. How writing constraints allow you to access the buried treasures of your subconscious and still find your way back to your core ideas.

Week #8: Know Your Writing– Michael Crummey, Toni Morrison, and Louise Erdrich are three very different writers, but they are each completely and consistently themselves. Who are you as a writer? Participants will be asked to bring in a longer sample of writing than for previous workshops. Through positive constructive feedback, we will use the elements we have learned as a guideline to get a sense of where each writer’s strengths lie, and what in their voice or style makes them uniquely themselves.

Excerpts (2-4 pages) from the following works will be provided: The Poetics by Aristotle, Prophet Song by Paul Lynch, Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, Self-Help by Lorrie Moore, A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders, Beloved by Toni Morrison, Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich, True Grit by Charles Portis, Foster by Claire Keegan, Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Room by Emma Donahue, Tell Me Everythi

Creative Play for Writers (In Person)
2026-03-19 17:45 - 19:45, 2026-03-26 17:45 - 19:45 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
This workshop is designed for writers from any genre but artists from other mediums are welcome to join.

You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.

~ Maya Angelou

Many writers have other creative outlets. Maya Angelou danced. D.H. Lawrence painted. Miranda July makes films. Creativity thrives across disciplines; when writers tap into other art forms, surprising things can happen on the page.

Creative Play for Writers is a hands-on, exploratory workshop that uses visual art, music, movement, film, and more to spark new writing. Each session invites you to engage with a different form of creative expression—not to master it, but to play with it—and discover how it can fuel your storytelling.

You’ll respond to rich, sensory prompts, collaborate with others, and experiment freely. Whether you’re feeling stuck, looking for new inspiration, or simply aiming to reconnect with the joy of making things, this workshop offers a playful and supportive space to expand your creative practice.

We will explore exercises and readings from Syllabus by Lynda Barry, Workbook by Steven Heighton, and The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jaouad. We will also touch on the ideas and art of Rebecca Belmore and Elizabeth Zvonar, among others, as inspiration. Weekly exercises and homework will be given.

Crafting a Compelling Personal Essay (Thursdays)
2026-03-19 17:45 - 19:45, 2026-03-26 17:45 - 19:45
The personal essay sits at the crossroads of memory, imagination, and reflection. It is a form that invites vulnerability and experimentation, asking writers to turn the lens inward while reaching outward toward readers. This ten-week workshop explores the craft of creative nonfiction through readings, discussion, and guided writing exercises. Together, we’ll study a wide range of contemporary essayists and thinkers such as Sheila Heti, Alicia Elliott, Maggie Nelson, James Baldwin, Leslie Jamison, and Joan Didion, whose work challenges and expands our understanding of form, voice, structure, and truth-telling.

Each week, participants will write in response to prompts designed to help them develop their voice, experiment with structure, and explore the ethical and emotional complexities of writing about real lives (our own and others’). We will discuss fragments and braids, confession and restraint, intimacy and distance, always returning to the central question: how do we shape lived experience into compelling art?

By the end of the workshop, participants will have generated several essay fragments and drafts, gained tools for revision, and deepened their understanding of the essay as both a personal and public act. Writers will leave with at least one essay draft they can continue to refine beyond the course. No prior experience is required—just a willingness to read closely, write bravely, and share generously.

Week 1 — What Is a Personal Essay?Theme: Truth, memory, and the boundaries of nonfiction.Readings:Sarah Manguso, The Two Kinds of Decay (selections)Joan Didion, “On Keeping a Notebook”In-Class:Introductions & course goalsDiscuss “truth” vs. “fact” in essayPrompt: Write a short scene from memory, then annotate where memory failsHomework: Write a 600–800-word vignette about a formative memory.

Week 2 — Memory and FragmentTheme: Shaping nonlinear memory.Readings:Sheila Heti, Motherhood (fragmented passages)Maggie Nelson, Bluets (selections)In-Class:Discussion: how fragment builds resonanceExercise: Write three fragmentary takes on the same memoryHomework: Develop a mosaic-style essay (1,000 words).

Week 3 — Intimacy and ConfessionTheme: The essayist’s voice and vulnerability.Readings:Alicia Elliott, “A Mind Spread Out on the Ground” (title essay)Leslie Jamison, The Empathy Exams (title essay excerpt)In-Class:Confessional vs. performative honestyPrompt: Write a letter to someone you cannot send it toHomework: Expand into a 1,200-word letter-essay.

Week 4 — Deepening Voice, Tone & Emotional RegisterTheme: How voice, tone, and emotional distance shape the personal essay.Readings:Zadie Smith, “Fail Better”Katherena Vermette, selected interviews on writing community, trauma, and point of viewIn-Class:Discuss tonal shifts: intimacy, distance, authority, hesitanceExercise: Rewrite a paragraph in three distinct tonal registers (tender, analytical, ironic)Homework: Revise your Week 3 letter-essay with purposeful tonal modulation.

Week 5 — Structure and FormTheme: Chronology, braiding, and experimentation.Readings:Jenny Offill, Dept. of Speculation (fragmented passages on structure)Eula Biss, “Time and Distance Overcome”In-Class:Discuss braiding personal + cultural historyExercise: Write a short braided passage (memory + outside text/reference)Homework: Draft a braided essay (1,200–1,500 words).

Week 6 — The Self as CharacterTheme: Distance between narrator and narrated self.Readings:Sheila Heti, How Should a Person Be? (essayistic passages)James Baldwin, “Notes of a Native Son” (opening sections)In-Class:Compare Baldwin’s authority with Heti’s uncertaintyPrompt: Write a scene twice — once from the past self’s POV, once from the present self’s POVHomework: Develop one version into a polished essay draft.

Week 7 — Risk, Ethics, and ResponsibilityTheme: Writing what feels dangerous; truth vs. harm.Readings:Katherena Vermette, interview excerpts on writing community, family, traumaAlexander Chee, “The Autobiography of My Novel”In-Class:Debate: what’s “too much” to share?Workshop 2–3 student essaysHomework: Revise draft based on feedback.

Week 8 — Revision and CompressionTheme: Re-seeing, cutting, deepening.Readings:Jenny Offill, Dept. of Speculation (compression and brevity passages)Joan Didion, “Goodbye to All That”In-Class:Revision strategies (How to “write coldly”)Prompt: Take a draft and cut it to 70% length without losing essenceHomework: Prepare a near-final essay draft (1,500–2,000 words).

Week 9 — Workshop Intensive & Thematic ExcavationTheme: Deep structural and thematic revision.Readings:None — focus on student manuscripts.In-Class:Half-class workshopIdentifying the essay’s “governing question”Discuss strategies for expansion vs. contractionHomework: Revise based on workshop + draft your artistic statement.

Week 10 — Final Workshop & Publication PathsTheme: Reflection and sharing.Readings:None — focus on participant work.In-Class:Final peer workshopDiscuss venues for publishing personal essays (journals, anthologies, online mags)Closing: Write a brief artistic statement on your personal essay practiceHomework: Submit final essay + artistic statement.

By the end, students will have:

A stronger sense of their essayistic voice and relationship to truth.

A good command of how to craft a compelling personal essay.

Experience with both traditional and experimental essay forms.

Slantwise: Writing the Prose Poem
2026-03-19 20:00 - 22:00, 2026-03-26 20:00 - 22:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
For poets, prose writers, and curious in-betweeners. All levels welcome.

What happens when a poem refuses the line? Or when a paragraph shifts under the influence of rhythm, repetition, and associative logic? The prose poem claims a wonderfully hybrid space between genres. It’s written using sentences as units of meaning but driven by compression, imagery, voice, and lyric intensity. What actually differentiates poetic prose from a prose poem? The ambiguity itself can be useful creative fuel.

Our workshop will invite poets to explore possibilities beyond the line break, and prose writers to loosen their attachment to traditional narrative. Each week, we will:

Read and discuss a prose poem and/or short craft-focused text

Respond to a generative writing prompt meant to inspire new writing

Workshop participants’ pieces in a supportive and inclusive environment

We’ll also explore a range of prose poem variations such as the haibun, list poems, persona poems, collage-based prose, constraint-driven pieces, and more.

Expect some reading and drafting to happen outside of the workshop. Our shared time will be devoted to generative discussion and thoughtful feedback. Prior workshop experience is helpful but not necessary. Either way, participants should come ready to both receive and offer critique in the spirit of curiosity and care.

Shut Up & Write! with QWF (In Person)
2026-03-20 12:30 - 15:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Friday, March 20, 2026, 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.

This session is now full. To join the waitlist, please email john@qwf.org.

If you registered for the session but can no longer attend, please email john@qwf.org.

Illuminated Grant-Writing
2026-03-21 10:30 - 14:30, 2026-03-28 10:30 - 14:30 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
This workshop will examine how writers with projects for print, spoken word, or storytelling can compose a strong literary arts grant application. From drafting a project description to balancing a budget, we will also discuss artistic risk, impact, and cultural appropriation among many other topics. Focus will be on funding programs at the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and an arts council program officer will join us to answer questions. This series is intended for Quebec-based writers at all stages of their practice: emerging, mid-career, or established. There will be tasks to complete between sessions, and participants must arrive with an original literary arts project in mind. Three half-day workshops will be followed by a one-on-one 30-minute mentoring session for each participant.

Access to MS Word or similar writing software will be necessary as well as a willingness to share work and give and receive feedback in a workshop setting.

Important: Right after registering for the workshop, participants must provide a short, one-sentence description of their envisioned literary arts project. This sentence should be sent to Riley@qwf.org with “Illuminated Grant-Writing” in the subject line.

Adaptation 101; From Inspiration to Action with Nick Carpenter
2026-03-23 10:00 - 2026-03-27 14:00
Applications are now open for “Adaptation 101; From Inspiration to Action” with Nick Carpenter.
Have you always been interested in adapting for the stage? In this Exploring Practice, facilitator Nick Carpenter will take you through the steps of adapting a piece from its original source to a new theatrical shape. Running from March 23-27, this workshop will be taking place in the PWM Studio and is free of cost.
Open to playwrights at all levels of experience. Participants are invited to unlock and explore the theatrical possibilities of a work not originally intended for the stage, or find a new spin on an already existing play.
Each session will be built around group discussion, exercises, sharing, and feedback.
Apply by February 25, 2026!

Lunch and Learn: Writing Medicine Authentically in Speculative Fiction
2026-03-24 12:00 - 13:15 | Online via Zoom
Tuesday, March 24, 202612:00–1:15 pm ETFree, Online via Zoom—Register for Link

Medicine is an integral part of our lives—and, often, our stories. In this presentation, author and pathologist Kyrie Wang will discuss the importance of authentic representations of medicine in fiction, including how to incorporate medical content into your writing and avoid common mistakes. Join us as we explore medicine as not only scientific practice but also a cornerstone of society, culture, and world-building.

This discussion will be focused on medicine in speculative fiction, but writers of all fiction genres are encouraged and welcome to join.

About the Presenter

Kyrie Wang is a medical mystery detective (fancy words for “pathologist, MD”) by day and a dreamweaver of historical fantasy by night. Pencil on paper makes her cry and laugh, and every book she writes is like living another life. She loves writing stories where people discover their true selves, goodness wins, and the forgotten and voiceless become heroes. When she isn’t peering through a microscope or building hamster toys with her daughter, Kyrie is at her keyboard, chasing the next adventure.

For a free novel, The Thief’s Keeper (An Enemy’s Keeper Prequel), please visit www.kyriewang.com.

Register for Zoom link

Misha Solomon launches MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER DANCED BALLET
2026-03-25 19:00 | Centre Culturel Georges-Vanier, 2450 rue Workman, Montreal, Canada
Wednesday, March 25, 20267:00 pm ET

Join Misha Solomon in launching his highly-anticipated poetry debut, My Great-Grandfather Danced Ballet at the Centre Culturel Georges-Vanier on March 25th at 7PM! Hosted by Sarah Burgoyne and featuring a performance by Nate Yaffe. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event.

RSVP on Pulpbooks.ca

Shut Up & Write! with QWF (Virtual)
2026-03-28 10:00 - 12:30 | Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
Saturday, March 28, 2026, 10:00 am–12:30 pm ETOnline 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-minute breaks 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 begins. If there is no option to RSVP, RSVPs are closed.

If you are registered but can no longer attend, please email john@qwf.org.

Les auteurs s'expriment sur: l'amour et la résilience § Authors Talk On: Love & Resilience
2026-03-28 19:00 - 21:00 | Phoenix Books, 5928 Sherbrooke Street West, 5928 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, QC, H4A 1X7, Canada
This event is an invitation for Author’s to read passages from their published works, speak to and participate in question & answer on the subject of love & resilience. Author’s can confirm their attendance and willingness to read and speak from 6pm-7pm, March 28th, 2026. Reading and discussion to commence at 7pm, March 28th. Reading and discussion can be in French or English. All are welcome to read, support or just listen.
Les auteurs liront des extraits de leurs ouvrages publiés et participeront à une séance de questions-réponses sur le thème de l’amour et de la résilience. Les auteurs sont invités à confirmer leur présence et leur disponibilité pour lire et intervenir entre 18 h et 19 h le 28 mars 2026. La lecture et la discussion débuteront à 19 h le 28 mars. La lecture et la discussion pourront se dérouler en français ou en anglais. Tout le monde est le bienvenu, que ce soit pour lire, apporter son soutien ou simplement écouter.

The Pit Periodical Issue 7 launch
2026-03-28 19:00 - 22:00 | 4710 St Ambroise #343, 4710 St Ambroise #343, Montreal, QC, H4C 2C7, Canada
The Pit is back~ after a much needed hibernation, their winter issue is finally ready to hit the newsstands!
Join them on Saturday March 28th for poetry, music, and sooo many margaritas! Give us $20, buy a cocktail, and peruse the glossy pages full of this season’s fabulous contributors 🏹💌
With a soulful live performance by @hanorahmusic, a new wave and rock en español DJ set by Carla Oteiza from @ater.deathcrust, and a TBA selection of this issue’s poets, come celebrate the end of this killer winter with The Pit at @avenuepublic in st Henri!
Send an e-transfer of $20 to thepitperiodical@gmail.com or get your tix at the door 🍒
