Quebec Writers' Federation

The Words & Music Show: We Look Good in Black—Fashioning Resistance
2025-09-01 18:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York)
Monday, September 1, 20256:00–9:00 pm ETMontreal (venue address shared upon ticket confirmation)

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Curated by Star Bunzigiye under the mentorship of Kym Dominique Ferguson for the Quebec Writers’ Federation Fresh Pages 2025 Guest Curatorship

A night of poetry, music, and storytelling that celebrates Black expression, style, and survival. Featuring powerful performances by Black Montreal-based artists, this multidisciplinary showcase will centre fashion as resistance, style as archive, and performance as protest.

Themes: embodiment, archive, protest

Live performances

Community art wall—want to hang your visual work? Reach out!

Come as you are. Come as your lineage. We’ve always looked good in Black.

The Fresh Pages Guest Curatorship

A component of QWF’s Fresh Pages Diversity Initiative, the Guest Curatorship is designed to help an aspiring literary artist who is Black, Indigenous, or a person of colour develop skills in creating and curating literary other arts events. The selected candidate receives a modest honorarium, mentorship from an established arts organizer, and a free one-year membership in QWF. Learn more.

The 2025 Guest Curator

Star Bunzigiye is a writer, cultural worker, and emerging curator. Their multidisciplinary practice spans literature, media, and public storytelling, with a particular focus on amplifying Black voices. Star is the founder behind We Look Good in Black, a digital fashion archive that documents and celebrates the rich, often-overlooked contributions of Black designers, stylists, and cultural icons.

With a background in journalism, digital outreach, and community engagement, Star has contributed to publications including This Magazine, Sumou Magazine, and Achipel. They’ve been featured in art exhibitions at Ada Slaight Gallery, Sankofa Square, and WIP Gallery. They also have curated and moderated arts events across Toronto and Montreal. Their current work is grounded in a belief that fashion, storytelling, and culture are interconnected tools for resistance, liberation, and self-definition. Star is passionate about fostering intentional, inclusive spaces for artistic expression that honour legacy while imagining new futures.

The 2025 Guest Curatorship Mentor

Kym Dominique-Ferguson is an award-winning Montreal-based spoken word artist, actor, and mentor celebrated for his dynamic performances and commitment to amplifying diverse voices. Born in Canada but raised in the Caribbean with Jamaican and Haitian roots, his cultural heritage deeply influences his work, blending traditional folklore with contemporary themes. As the founder of Madpoetix Productions, he has hosted and curated influential events like Inside Madpoetix Studios, The Phenomenal 5IVE and Madpoetix Soirée Open Mic, shaping Montreal’s spoken word scene. His play Dear Black Man, supported by the Cole Foundation, Black Theatre Workshop and the Canada Council for the Arts, explores identity and resilience, earning critical acclaim. A passionate mentor, Ferguson nurtures emerging artists through workshops and initiatives, ensuring his legacy as a transformative force in the arts.

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Shut Up & Write! with QWF (In Person)
2025-09-05 12:30 - 15:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Friday, September 5, 2025, 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.

If you registered and can no longer attend, please email john@qwf.org to notify us.

Shut Up & Write! with QWF (Virtual)
2025-09-13 10:00 - 12:30 | Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
Saturday, September 13, 2025, 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.

Excavating Memories
2025-09-17 18:00 - 20:00
Fred Anderson in conversation about his memoir “Eyes Have Seen: From Mississippi to Montreal, A Memoir (Baraka Books, Montreal (2025)

Info Session with UNEQ: Update on the Status of the Artist Act
2025-09-17 19:00 | Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
Wednesday, September 17, 20257:00 pm ETFree, Open to AllOnline—Register for Zoom Link

In partnership with QWF, the Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ) will be leading a virtual information session in English for writers to learn more about UNEQ and their role in negotiating collective agreements for writers in Quebec.

Following the accreditation of UNEQ with respect to Act S-32.1 (Act respecting the professional status of artists in the visual arts, cinema, recording, literature, crafts, and the performing arts, also known as the Status of the Artist Act), UNEQ President Pierre-Yves Villeneuve will explain UNEQ’s progress so far negotiating standard contracts between Quebec publishers and writers. He will outline the main issues that UNEQ will be negotiating (see List of Demands) and explain the financial implications of UNEQ’s new role for writers who publish in Quebec (see Membership Fees and Union Dues: Information). A question period will follow.

Register to get the Zoom link.

This session will be recorded and published on QWF’s YouTube channel.

About the Act Respecting the Professional Status of Artists (S-32.1)

Adopted in June 2022, the Act Respecting the Professional Status of Artists is intended to bring together the provisions governing the professional status of artists working in visual arts, film, recording arts, arts and crafts, performing arts, and literature. As such, it allows UNEQ to negotiate collective agreements that set minimum working conditions for writers and literary artists.

For more information about the Act and its impact on writers, watch the recording of our previous Info Session with UNEQ, from 2024.

Register for Zoom link

Joint Book Launch: Su J Sokol and Rich Larson
2025-09-18 17:00 | Joie de livres, 5163 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal, Quebec, H2T 1R9, Canada
Join Su J Sokol and Rich Larson for a double book launch at Librairie Joie de livres.

Su J Sokol will be launching Five Points on an Invisible Line, the unplanned yet long-awaited sequel to Cycling to Asylum, as well as the republication of an updated version of Cycling under its new title of Invisible Line.

Rich Larson will be relaunching his flash collection The Sky Didn’t Load Today and Other Glitches.

Date: September 18, 2025

Time: 5:00 pm ET

Double Book Launch: Just a Minute and Christmas Weekend by Monique Polak
2025-09-18 17:00 - 19:00 | Biblio Café, 5853 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Join author Monique Polak for the launch of her two new books: Just a Minute: Why Humans Tell Time, co-authored with Kirstie Hudson (Orca Book Publishers); and Christmas Weekend (Linda Leith Publishing). Books available for purchase and to sign by the author.

Book Launch: We're Somewhere Else Now by Robyn Sarah
2025-09-18 17:00 - 19:00 | Librarie Bertrand, 430 Rue St-Pierre, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 2M5, Canada
Join Robyn Sarah for the launch of her new poetry collection, We’re Somewhere Else Now: Poems 2016–2024 (Biblioasis), at Librairie Bertrand Bookstore in Montreal.

About the Book

In her first collection of new poems in a decade, Robyn Sarah chronicles the pandemic years with quiet wisdom and her flair for meshing the familiar with the numinous.

We’re Somewhere Else Now moves with ease from the particular to the abstract. These are poems of grief and unexpected change, of quiet awe at the human experience. Each poem is a window for the reader to look into, “lit room to lit room.”

“[Hers] are the sort of metaphors that in their clarity of sense, image, and sound create spaces for meaning otherwise impossible to articulate.”—Anita Lahey, The Walrus

We’re Somewhere Else Now is available for purchase at The Word Bookstore (469 rue Milton, Montreal).

Shut Up & Write! with QWF (In Person)
2025-09-19 12:30 - 15:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Friday, September 19, 2025, 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.

If you registered and can no longer attend, please email john@qwf.org to notify us.

Cactus Press Fall Launch + Accent Open Mic
2025-09-21 20:00 - 22:30 | Bar La Marche à Côté, 5043 Saint Denis St, Montreal, Quebec, H2J 2L8, Canada
Join us for Cactus Press’ Fall title launch with featured readers Matthew Rettino and Kirsten Shute. Their chapbooks Pilgrimages (Rettino) and Fanfiction Is for Teenage Girls (Shute) will be available for sale. Sign up for the open mic at the door!

Bring Your Story to Life: Novel Writing Course with Mentorship & Group Support
2025-09-22 08:00 - 2025-10-31 17:00
The Unbearable Lightness of Novel Writing – 6-Week Course Starting Sept 22
Blending online learning, group work, and one-on-one mentoring.
Learn the fundamentals of novel writing—character, plot, setting—while developing your writer’s instinct for when a story’s working and when it isn’t. This six-week course will build your confidence as a writer in a fun, safe, and dynamic atmosphere where you’ll learn from each other while crafting your own story.
The course will cover:
Character development and compelling dialogue
Plot structure and narrative tension
Setting and worldbuilding
Show, don’t tell techniques
Pacing and story flow
Sensory descriptions that captivate readers
Overcoming writer’s block
Manuscript polishing strategies
Discover the story that’s waiting for you to tell it.​
You’ll receive individual mentoring sessions, group feedback, and practical techniques that save time. By course end, you’ll have a complete toolkit for crafting memorable stories and the confidence to move forward with your novel.
Testimonials
Lissa is approachable and supportive while providing detailed, specific feedback on student writing. She offers guidance that respects and applauds student voice. I felt seen and heard by this fantastic coach in the course I took with her. –Angela Mason
Working with Lissa Cowan was a transformative experience in bringing Power of Fear to life. –P.W. Brown
If you’re looking for a course that will help you develop your voice while giving you the tools to shape your story, I can’t recommend Lissa enough. –Antoinette Bekker (MFA)
Space is limited. Course begins September 22. $399 until September 15.

Lunch and Learn with CultureBrew.Art
2025-09-23 12:00 - 13:00 | Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
Tuesday, September 23, 2025, 12:00–1:00 pm ETFree, Open to AllOnline—Register for Zoom Link

Discover CultureBrew.Art (CBA)—a digital platform that promotes and fosters opportunities for Indigenous and racialized artists throughout the arts.

CBA’s central tool is a national searchable database of Indigenous and racialized writers and artists, which employers and organizations—including theatre companies, community and social-service non-profits, government agencies, media outlets, ad agencies, and more—may access as subscribers.

In this one-hour session, Community Engagement Producer Chris Gatchalian will introduce CBA and provide a brief tour of their searchable online database. Join us as we learn about CBA as an invaluable tool for artistic promotion and collaboration, including how Indigenous and racialized artists can join to showcase their practice and how organizations can use the database to find new talent.

A Q&A with the audience will follow the presentation.

About the Presenter

Born and raised on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tseil-Waututh peoples (colonially known as “Vancouver”), now based primarily in Tkaronto (“Toronto”), Chris (C.E.) Gatchalian (he/him/his) is an award-winning Filipinx diasporic queer author, editor, playwright, dramaturge, teacher and consultant of Tagalog, Ilocano, and Spanish ancestry. The author of six books and editor of three anthologies, he is Community Engagement Producer for CultureBrew.Art.

Register for Zoom link

Book Launch of Dream Interrupted: The Rise and Fall of Quebec Nationalism
2025-09-23 17:00 - 19:00 | Stone Studio MTL, 5151 avenue Esplanade, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NOTE: The venue of this event has changed to Stone Studio MTL (5151 avenue Esplanade, entrance on rue Clermont)
The launch of Francine Pelletier’s new book Dream Interrupted: the Rise and Fall of Quebec Nationalism will take place on Tuesday, September 23rd (5-7 pm) at Stone Studio MTL (5151 avenue Esplanade, entrance on rue Clermont).
A lively blend of personal memoir and political analysis, this update of the French-language version (2023) provides a powerful account of how the progressive project of early Quebec nationalism took a turn into identity politics over the past decade, and veered again with the sudden rebirth of Canadian nationalism sparked by Trump’s assault on Canadian sovereignty. Building on themes from her acclaimed documentary, Battle for Quebec’s Soul, Pelletier explores how Quebec’s progressive ideals have given way to a more conservative ethos, often cloaked in the defense of “Quebec values”. Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the rapidly changing cultural and political landscape of contemporary Quebec.
Published by Sutherland House Books of Toronto $23.95.

Maybe Mag Issue 3 Launch
2025-09-23 19:00 - 23:30 | L’Ideal Bar, 151 Ontario St E, Montreal, Quebec, H2X 1H5, Canada
Maybe Magazine invites you to the launch of their third issue in print, featuring readings from emerging and established writers in Montreal. Join us for a night of poetry & prose at L’Ideal.
Magazines as well as chapbooks from the readers will be available for purchase with cash.
Issue 3 was guest edited by Alana Dunlop (alongside editors Gwen Aube & Simina Banu) and features work from Jessica Bakar, Raegan Cote, Jules de Guzman, Aris Keshav, Jackie Lee, Zoe Lubetkin, Sabrina Papandrea, Tamsyn Riddle, Sydney Sheedy, Kyra Sutton, and Nicky Taylor.
Doors @ 7, Readings 8-9:15, Beautiful evening after

Writers Out Loud: Romantasy
2025-09-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Joie de livres, 5163 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal, Quebec, H2T 1R9, Canada
Wednesday, September 24, 2025, 7:00–8:30 pm ETJoie de Livres Bookstore (5163 Blvd. Saint-Laurent, Montreal)RSVP Below

The Quebec Writers’ Federation invites you to a panel discussion about the genre that’s taken the book world by storm.

Join us for Writers Out Loud: Romantasy (“Romantic Fantasy”). Three talented Montreal-based authors—Day Leitao (Remnants of the Fallen Kingdom Series), L.E. Sterling (Starling’s Weave), and Kyrie Wang (The Enemy’s Keeper Series)—sit down to discuss their writing, how they got started in the world of romantasy, and why it’s such an exciting genre to be working in today. Discover the fantastical worlds, the captivating romances, and the manifold subgenres that make romantasy the world’s latest breakout book genre.

A Q&A with the audience will follow the panel discussion. Books by the authors will be available for purchase thanks to Joie de livres Bookstore. Light refreshments will be served.

About the Panellists

Day Leitao loves to write books with romance, magic, and banter and has participated in some of the most important romantasy events in the world: Apollycon in Washington DC and Romantasy Con in Orlando and Los Angeles. Her most recent series, Remnants of the Fallen Kingdom, is an enemies-to-lovers fae romantasy. She’s originally from Brazil and lives in Montreal with her son.

Inspired by a childhood roaming across Canada in a van, L.E. Sterling is the author of multiple novels spanning romance, fantasy, science fiction, dystopian fiction, and YA. Sterling has appeared at Book Con (NYC), the LA Times Festival of Books, Ad Astra (Toronto), and Blue Metropolis (Montreal). Her novel True Born received international recognition, winning the Athena Award for Excellence in Young Adult Fiction in 2017. She lives in the French-speaking suburbs of Montreal, Quebec, where she enjoys the romantic, lost-in-translation life of an anglo ex-pat. le-sterling.com(Photo by Maxime Pruneau)

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.

COST: Free | Donations welcome at the door

BOOK LAUNCH - Native Immigrant: A Personal Journey Into Our Home and Native
2025-09-25 17:00 - 19:00 | Daphne Art Centre, 5425 Casgrain Avenue, Unit 103, Montreal, Quebec, H2T 1X6, Canada
Come join us for the exciting book launch event of “Native Immigrant: A Personal Journey Into Our Home and Native” at the Centre d’art daphne. Meet the author, get your copy signed, and immerse yourself in the story of this captivating journey. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to celebrate literature and culture!
In this powerful memoir, Native Immigrant, Carolina Echeverría traces her path from Chile to Canada, from exile to belonging. Weaving personal memory with political history and profound cross-cultural friendships—especially with Mohawk War Chief Ateronhiatakon (Francis Boots)—she reimagines identity beyond borders and bloodlines.
With humor, rage, tenderness, and clarity, she explores what it means to be uprooted, to listen deeply, and to find kinship in unexpected places. A compelling narrative of resistance, remembrance, and radical hope.

Native Immigrant : A Personal Journey Into Our Home and Native Land
2025-09-25 17:00 - 19:00 | Daphne Art Centre, 5425 Casgrain Avenue, Unit 103, Montreal, Quebec, H2T 1X6, Canada
Book launch at Daphne Arts Centre –
“Immigrants are the Last Nations; together, we are the ongoing human flow of the displaced.” —Carolina Echeverría
In this powerful memoir, Native Immigrant, Carolina Echeverría traces her path from Chile to Canada, from exile to belonging. Weaving personal memory with political history and profound cross-cultural friendships—especially with Mohawk War Chief Ateronhiatakon (Francis Boots)—she reimagines identity beyond borders and bloodlines.
With humor, rage, tenderness, and clarity, she explores what it means to be uprooted, to listen deeply, and to find kinship in unexpected places. A compelling narrative of resistance, remembrance, and radical hope.

Shut Up & Write! with QWF (Virtual)
2025-09-27 10:00 - 12:30 | Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
Saturday, September 27, 2025, 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.

Shut Up & Write! with QWF (In Person)
2025-10-03 12:30 - 15:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Friday, October 3, 2025, 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.

If you registered and can no longer attend, please email john@qwf.org to notify us.

Book Launch
2025-10-03 19:00 - 20:00 | 50 Westminter Av. south Montreal-west, 50 Westminster Av., Montreal, QC, H4X1Y6, Canada
Celebrating & Book Launch
Le lancement du livre
Hosted by
Rotary club Montreal west & NDG
Book Title : “ Oh la la coaching +NLP”
( Life coaching guides with psychological and reprogramming mind tech.)
(Guides de coaching de vie avec technologie mentale psychologique et de reprogrammation.)
By : Zahra Yaghtin , Naturopath N.D & Life coach
Friday, October 3rd, 2025 at 6:00 pm with Warm Buffet and Vegetarian Options $40 and pen Bar,
Guests welcome to attend without Buffet,
Vendredi 3 octobre 2025 à 18h00 : buffet chaud, options végétariennes 40 $ et bar à stylos.
Les invités sont invités à participer sans buffet.
📍50 Westminster Ave. S.- Montreal West Town Hall – Music Room (!st Floor)

Write a Book Series for Kids
2025-10-04 10:30 - 16:30 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Saturday, Oct 4, 10:30am-4:30pm Open to allLimited to 12 participantsIn-Person Workshop*

Thinking about writing a kids’ book series but not sure where to start? In this fun, hands-on workshop, we’ll dive into what makes young readers fall in love with a story and come back for the next book. You’ll get tips on creating memorable characters, building a world kids want to hang out in, and coming up with plots that keep the pages turning. We’ll look at real examples, do some creative exercises, and talk through how to turn one great idea into a full series. Plus, you’ll learn how to pitch your concept to agents or editors so they see the potential for a whole shelf’s worth of stories. Whether you’ve got a story brewing or just love the idea of writing for kids, this day is for you.

The “Write a Book Series for Kids” workshop agenda includes:

Understanding the Children’s Book Market

Developing Your Series Concept

Plotting for a Series

Interactive Exercises

*This workshop will take place exclusively in-person at the QWF Office (Room 3, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Westmount, Quebec).

Mitali Banerjee Ruths was born in New York, grew up in Texas, and now lives in Canada. She is the award-winning author of the early chapter book series The Party Diaries, the early reader series The Inside Scouts, as well as picture books including Archie Celebrates Diwali. Mitali loves unexpected heroes, funny sidekicks, and happy endings. She writes characters who are courageous in finding joy and sharing it with others. A proud desi kid at heart, Mitali also draws inspiration from her Bengali American upbringing to celebrate South Asian culture, writing the books she wanted to read growing up.

Dark Sky Preserve re-launch on International Observe the Moon Night!
2025-10-04 19:00 - 21:30 | Morgan Arboretum, 150 chemin des Pins, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, H9X 3V9, Canada
Watch the highlight reel from the re-launch event. Recorded and edited by RASC Montreal.

You are invited to the re-launch of the poetry collection and album, Dark Sky Preserve: A Literary and Musical Inquiry, by the late Ian Ferrier, Louise Campbell, and Sarah Beth Goncarova, from 7:00 to 9:30 pm, on Saturday, October 4, 2025—International Observe the Moon Night.

This free, bilingual event will be hosted by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada: Montreal Centre. The Bellevue Observatory is at the Morgan Arboretum in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue. Activities will take place in the observatory clubhouse and outdoors on the observatory field.

The program will feature a presentation, readings by guest poets from the QWF and La poésie partout, an interactive learning activity, an outdoor sound installation, and the opportunity to observe the moon from the darkest skies on the island of Montreal. The observatory is home to an LX200 Meade SCT telescope. Additional telescopes will be on hand.Montreal’s Audiotopie will present a quadraphonic outdoor sound installation, enabling attendees to experience the album directly on the observation field.

Event registration, names of guest poets, and information about transportation to and from the observatory in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue will be announced in early September.

Poetry, Place and Politics: Readings and Moderated Discussion at FLUX Festival
2025-10-05 11:00 - 13:00 | Daphne Art Centre, 5425 Casgrain Avenue, Unit 103, Montreal, Quebec, H2T 1X6, Canada
How do poets and their poetry intervene into discussions and activism related to the politics of place? How might poetry enrich our understanding of place, politics and the ways in which they might intertwine? This free event will feature several poets whose poetry addresses these questions. It will involve a brief reading by each poet, followed by a guided discussion. Come and experience a variety of ways in which poets and poetry can activate our minds and urge us to think and act in new ways when navigating our present most perilous times.
Participants include: Kaie Kellough, Deanna Smith and Marilou Craft with moderation by Prof. Amber Rose Johnson
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1441377396924951

Poet & composer Tanner Menard + sound artist Martín Rodríguez @ FLUX Festival
2025-10-05 19:30 - 23:00 | Daphne Art Centre, 5425 Casgrain Avenue, Unit 103, Montreal, Quebec, H2T 1X6, Canada
Tanner Menard: A vessel for consciousness, carrying sound, vision, and breath as living currents of presence. Here in relation, a transparent ray of lineage, flowing beyond self. THIS open pathway for imaginal becoming—beyond name, beyond nation—with what is shared, resonant, alive. The living path.
https://fullspectrumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-poet
As a transmission and sound artist, Martín Rodríguez’s work emerges from his Xicanx upbringing along the Arizona-Mexico border. He employs performance, intervention, and installation as a process for deciphering aural histories and entangled identities. After recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumor, a chance encounter with a radio transmission caught in the pickup coils of his guitar reoriented Rodríguez. Developing his practice from crisis, he examines radio as a transformative medium.
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1473808313924906

Deep Story Design: Story-Craft Essentials for Longer Form Narratives
2025-10-06 17:45 - 19:45 | Online via Zoom
Ten Mondays, Oct 6-Dec 15, 5:45-7:45pm (No session on October 13) Open to allLimited to 12 participantsOnline Workshop*

This workshop delves into the five fundamental elements of story-making—structure, plot, character, theme, and scene building. Whether you’re writing a novella, novel, screenplay, or memoir, the skillful use of these elements allows all writers to create powerful stories that are meaningful and satisfying.

After introducing a basic three-act story structure that’s foundational for most stories, the workshop will progress through aspects of character, theme, and plot so that you can feel confident about completing fiction or nonfiction of any kind or length. We also touch on scene construction so your stories feel dynamic and alive on the page.

Weekly homework exercises help writers at different stages of your story-making process, whether you’re gathering material for a new story, drafting an existing work, or revising a project that is nearly ready to share with others. (Completed homework will receive instructor feedback and some in-class discussion.)

In addition to the focus on craft essentials, this workshop invites writers to make personal discoveries about what matters most deeply to them and how this connects with their writing. This connection between self and story is integral to Deep Story Design, because writers who know who they are, and what they care about most, are better able to access their unique creative voice.

Weekly meetings will look something like this:

a 90-minute lesson, including 15-30 mins of in-class exercises

a 10-minute break

20 minutes for Q&A/homework discussion

Completed homework assignments will be due 4 days after the meeting at which they are assigned.

*This workshop will take place online via Zoom. A Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants a week or so prior to the first session.

April Bosshard is a respected workshop facilitator and story coach who’s helped hundreds of writers develop and complete their projects. Sometimes called a “story whisperer” or “story genie,” she has a background in film and television and has written fiction and non-fiction for traditional and independent markets, which include publications in the US, UK, and Canada. April teaches at conferences and leads workshops internationally and online, while also working with individual clients as a story coach and developmental editor.

Writers Read Presents Billy-Ray Belcourt
2025-10-06 19:30 - 21:00 | Concordia University, John Molson Building, 1600 Rue de Maisonneuve Ouest, Montreal, Quebec, H3H 1J5, Canada
On Monday October 6, 7:30PM – 9PM at John Molson Building Floor 9, Concordia University, 1600 Maisonneuve Blvd. W, Montreal, Writers Read will welcome Billy-Ray Belcourt to read and discuss his new book.
Billy-Ray Belcourt is a writer and academic from the Driftpile Cree Nation, and Associate Professor in the school of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of five national bestselling books: This Wound is a World, NDN Coping Mechanisms: Notes from the Field, A History of My Brief Body, A Minor Chorus, and Coexistence. He released his sixth book, The Idea of An Entire Life, in September 2025.
This event is free and open to all. Please register to confirm your attendance (Link: https://forms.gle/4kWoccDbxcMLu7UV9)
Writers Read is part of Concordia University’s Creative Writing program and is supported by the Department of English and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Writers Read, directed by Professor Sina Queyras since 2011, invites renowned and emerging authors, both Canadian and international, to read from and discuss their work with students and local audiences. Be sure to follow Writers Read on Instagram @writersreadconcordia and visit our website for more updates https://concordiawritersread.com/.

Poetry in Concert: Composition, Voice, Performance
2025-10-07 17:45 - 19:45 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Eight Tuesdays, Oct 7-Nov 25, 5:45-7:45pm Open to poets and writers with some writing experienceLimited to 12 participantsHybrid Workshop*

The workshop Poetry in Concert: Composition, Voice, Performance is intended for poets or writers with some writing experience who are interested in pushing their poetic imagination and expanding their vocal and performative abilities. No previous public performance experience is required, but participants need to be willing to experiment and vocalize their work in front of each other. As everyone will be producing new writing, no advance submission is necessary.

In this poetry workshop, participants will focus on composing a poetic work or suite that draws inspiration from the oral and performing arts, including forms such as theatrical dialogue, prose monologue, performance art, sound poetry, spoken word, and vocal improvisation. In the first half of the workshop, participants will engage in various writing and listening exercises in order to generate work, listen to diverse poets and sound artists, discuss and respond to each others’ writing, and gradually compose a poetic work inspired by various aspects of performance that are not only translated onto the page but also imagined for the stage. Ideas related to composition, movement, pacing, and embodiment will be explored.

The second part of the workshop will focus on the vocalization and performance of this work. Participants will learn about range, volume, dynamics, timing; how to warm up their voices and prepare for a performative reading; how to properly use a microphone; and how to explore multiple ways that their unique voices can embody their work. Depending on interest, the workshop could culminate in a performance event of the work produced.

*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 because of distance or disability. By default, all workshop registrations are for in-person spots. If you would like to request a virtual slot, contact Riley at riley@qwf.org stating the reason for which you would need the virtual spot, then wait for a response before registering. Please do not register until you receive confirmation of a virtual spot for you.

Oana Avasilichioaei has created many performance/sound works that mix electronics, ambient textures, noise, and vocal play, published seven collections of poetry hybrids, including Chambersonic (Talonbooks, 2024) and award-nominated Eight Track (Talonbooks, 2019), and written a libretto for the one-act opera Cells of Wind (FAWN Chamber Collective, 2022–24). Based in Montreal, she has been a writer- or artist-in-residence at Green College, UBC (Vancouver, 2009), University of Calgary (2010–11), Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, 2018), OBORO (Montreal, 2021), and Rhizome (Quebec City, 2024), and is currently nominated for the Bernard Heidsieck Centre Pompidou International Literature Prize for her intermedia work.

Turning Your Story Into a Book
2025-10-07 20:00 - 22:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Five Tuesdays, Oct 7-Nov 4, 8-10pm Open to allLimited to 12 participantsHybrid Workshop*

You have a great story, maybe something you published in a magazine or a newspaper. But how can you turn that into a book? A book is not just a much longer version of what you have already written, it’s a different beast altogether. Over five weeks, this workshop with Julian Sher, investigative journalist and author of nine books, takes you through the steps to make your next project a success. From making sure you have the right topic to building the best narrative arc, developing your characters, the best techniques for writing, and how to do research. Not to forget the agents, publishers, and legal issues.

You don’t have to have published anything to take this workshop, and you can come with any ideas, proposals, or dreams of that book you want to write. To prepare, think of a book (or movie, TV show, song, or poem) that really moved you. Write down two things: what made it such good story-telling and what journey did the characters go on that made them so compelling.

Though based on non-fiction writing, this course is also suitable for fiction writers since the basic principles of story-telling are the same.

*This workshop will take place at the QWF Office (Room 3, 4023 Tupper Street, Westmount, Quebec) with up to 2 virtual spots for participants who are unable to attend in-person because of distance or disability. By default, all workshop registrations are for in-person spots. If you would like to request a virtual slot, contact Riley at riley@qwf.org stating the reason for which you would need the virtual spot, then wait for a response before registering. Please do not register until you receive confirmation of a virtual spot for you.

Julian Sher is an award-winning story-teller as the author of nine books, a documentary writer, a director, and an accomplished trainer around the world. His film Ghosts of Afghanistan won the top Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary. He was also the Senior Producer of CBC’s the fifth estate, Canada’s premier investigative TV program for five years. Julian also works to tell the stories of people fighting for human rights. He has written numerous articles for the Montreal Gazette, the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail and he is a Senior Fellow with the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Stage-Worthy: How to Write a Play
2025-10-08 17:45 - 19:45 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
Seven Wednesdays, Oct 8-Nov 26, 5:45-7:45pm (No session on October 29; double-session [5:45-9:45pm] on November 26)Open to allLimited to 12 participantsIn-Person Workshop*

Dialogue, characters, plot, setting! This will be a learn-by-doing-as-you-go, anecdotal (in a theatre history way), ease-you-into-it experience that’s not scary or overwhelming. If you have always wanted to write a play or already have a play idea in the works, this is the workshop for you. I’m quite motivational, coach-like, and pushy in a good way. I will get that play out of you if you are willing to try. I am all for deadlines, discipline, and contests. Since I have more of a comic bent, there could be more emphasis on comedy. The workshop will evolve as it goes, based on what everyone hopes to accomplish. I am often surprised and quite happy to see what happens when I throw ideas and writing games at writers in a workshop. I am very careful about how feedback is given because everything is so new. This does not mean that there won’t be opportunities to share your work or prove that you are indeed writing. Participants will have something dramatic to show for it at the end of the workshop. A past QWF workshop resulted in Picturesque: Voices From Beaver Hall, which saw productions at Redpath Museum, Dawson Theatre, as well as museums in Hamilton and Calgary.

*This workshop will take place exclusively in-person at the QWF Office (Room 3, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Westmount, Quebec).

Colleen Curran is an award-winning playwright, novelist, actor, and teacher. Her comedy Cake-Walk premiered at the Blyth Festival in 1984 and has had more than 50 productions across North America. It was brought to the attention of Showtime Network by Whoopi Goldberg. Curran’s many plays include Villa Eden, Sacred Hearts (winner of the International Gabriel Award and most recently done by Zeitgeist Stage in Boston) Maple Lodge (Winner Best Canadian Play, Samuel French Inc. Competition), Another Labour Day (Best New Play, QDF, 1984), El Clavadista, A Brave Girl, Sibyl and Sylvia, Casa de Mary, Ceili House, and Ireland’s Own Carmel O’Reilly Tonite! Her three novels about Montreal singing waitress Lenore Rutland are Something Drastic, Overnight Sensation, and Guests of Chance. Her stage adaptation of Something Drastic premiered in 2002 and has been seen in Winnipeg, Toronto, Athens, and Melbourne. Her True Nature launched the 2011-2012 season at Centaur Theatre. Her latest novel, Out for Stars, made the long list for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.

Deep Story Design: Story-Craft Essentials for Longer Form Narratives (Wednesday Cohort)
2025-10-08 17:45 - 19:45 | Online via Zoom
Ten Wednesdays, Oct 8-Dec 17, 5:45-7:45pm (No session on October 15) Open to allLimited to 12 participantsOnline Workshop*

This workshop delves into the five fundamental elements of story-making—structure, plot, character, theme, and scene building. Whether you’re writing a novella, novel, screenplay, or memoir, the skillful use of these elements allows all writers to create powerful stories that are meaningful and satisfying.

After introducing a basic three-act story structure that’s foundational for most stories, the workshop will progress through aspects of character, theme, and plot so that you can feel confident about completing fiction or nonfiction of any kind or length. We also touch on scene construction so your stories feel dynamic and alive on the page.

Weekly homework exercises help writers at different stages of your story-making process, whether you’re gathering material for a new story, drafting an existing work, or revising a project that is nearly ready to share with others. Completed homework will receive instructor feedback and some in-class discussion.

In addition to the focus on craft essentials, this workshop invites writers to make personal discoveries about what matters most deeply to them and how this connects with their writing. This connection between self and story is integral to Deep Story Design, because writers who know who they are, and what they care about most, are better able to access their unique creative voice.

Weekly meetings will look something like this:

a 90-minute lesson, including 15-30 mins of in-class exercises

a 10-minute break

20 minutes for Q&A/homework discussion

Completed homework assignments will be due 4 days after the meeting at which they are assigned.

*This workshop will take place online via Zoom. A Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants a week or so prior to the first session. Please note that this is the Wednesday iteration of the workshop; there is also a group meeting on Mondays. The material covered will be the same, but note that due to limited spots, we cannot facilitate transfers between groups.
