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SUMMARY:Book Launch: Subterrane by Valérie Bah
DESCRIPTION:Friday\, November 22\, 2024\, 7:00-8:30 pm ETLibrairie Saint-Henri Books\n\n\n\nVéhicule Press and Librairie Saint-Henri Books invite you to the launch of Valérie Bah’s Subterrane. Hosted by Esplanade Books editor Dimitri Nasrallah\, the event will feature Valérie reading from the novel\, as well as conversation with special guests Leïka Narcisse and Esi Callender. Refreshments will be served. \n\n\n\n*** \n\n\n\nA speculative comedy comprised of a carousel of Black and Queer voices being pushed further underground by urban prosperity. \n\n\n\nNew Stockholm\, a metropolis like any other across North America\, is unofficially divided between two worlds. Its upwardly mobile form the centre of its gleaming eye\, but their prosperity and affluence are not the focus of Zeynab’s government-funded abstract documentary. Her lens trails to the city’s margins instead\, in polluted industrial wastelands such as Cipher Falls\, one of New Stockholm’s last affordable neighbourhoods\, where creatives and other anti-capitalist voices increasingly find themselves pushed into demeaning\, dead-end jobs. In this growing underground network\, Zeynab’s lens focuses on the mysterious demise of Doudou Laguerre\, whose death may be related to his activism against a construction project. \n\n\n\nSubterrane connects us to a constellation of Black and Queer voices\, the hair braiders\, tattoo artists\, holistic healers\, weed dealers\, and sidewalk horticulturists struggling to make a life in New Stockholm. Together\, they illustrate how in cities across the continent\, entire communities are being sidelined in the name of prosperity. \n\n\n\n*** \n\n\n\nValérie Bah is a multidisciplinary Québécois artist\, filmmaker\, documentarian\, photographer\, and writer. Bah’s first collection\, The Rage Letters\, was translated from the French by Kama La Mackerel and published by Metonymy Press. Subterrane is their first book in English. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRSVP on Facebook
URL:https://qwf.org/event/book-launch-subterrane-by-valerie-bah/
LOCATION:Librairie Saint-Henri Bookstore\, 4622 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest\, Montreal\, Quebec\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Book Launch
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241122T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241122T173000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
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SUMMARY:Poetics and Magic: Modernist Verse and  Artificial Intelligence with Dr. Orla Polten
DESCRIPTION:Friday\, November 22\, 20244:00-5:30 pm ET\n\n\n\nOrla Polten (they/she) is a research affiliate at McGill University working on the relationship between magic and poetics. They earned their Ph.D. in English from the University of Cambridge\, specialising in anglophone reception of Ancient Greek and Latin poetry. Polten’s first book\, English Verse in Classical Metres\, is forthcoming from Oxford University Press. Their current research asks what is at stake in the claim—prevalent in modernist poetic discourse—that poetry is a kind of magic. 
URL:https://qwf.org/event/poetics-and-magic-modernist-verse-and-artificial-intelligence-with-dr-orla-polten/
LOCATION:Birks Building\, 3520 rue University\, Montreal\, Quebec\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Community Events,Panel
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241121T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241121T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20240730T154254Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T171128Z
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SUMMARY:Pursuing the Erotic
DESCRIPTION:This is an expanded version of the three-hour workshop “Identifying (with) the Erotic” offered in July 2022. It progresses from initial references to erotica by old hands (Anaïs Nin)\, incidental practitioners (James Baldwin) and newer writers (Ruel Johnson) to consider other select works in prose\, poetry\, and comics. You do not have to have attended the 2022 workshop to enroll in this one. \n\n\n\nThe workshop continues the exploration of what makes the erotic not only a sensual genre but a life-affirming one with participants contributing their own writing as well as sourcing that of other practitioners. While creating sexy characters and scenes with stimulating language is part of the process\, and knowing your audience is crucial (there is a difference between romance\, erotica and pornography)\, the emphasis remains on craft and telling a story that engages readers’ imagination\, exciting not only the body but all of the senses. And this without apology. \n\n\n\nRobert Edison Sandiford is the author of several books\, among them the award-winning The Tree of Youth & Other Stories\, And Sometimes They Fly (a novel) and Sand for Snow (memoir).  He has also written graphic novels for NBM Publishing.  In 2003\, he and the poet Linda M. Deane founded the Barbadian cultural resource ArtsEtc Inc.  He has worked as a publisher\, teacher and\, with Warm Water Productions\, producer.  His fiction and non-fiction have appeared in journals\, magazines and anthologies.  Currently working on another novel\,his most recent titleis Fairfield from DC Books.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/pursuing-the-erotic/2024-11-21/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241121T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241121T190000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20241121T181620Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241121T181624Z
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SUMMARY:Lawn Chair Soirée Publications Party
DESCRIPTION:November 21\, 2024\, 7:00 pm ET1444 av Union\, Montreal\, 2nd floor\, St. Anselm’s Chapel\n\n\n\nWe are celebrating the recent publications by these authors. \n\n\n\n\nAhmad Al-Khatat – The Finest Cigarette (impspired\, 2024)\n\n\n\nLouise Carson – The Cat Crossed a Line (Signature Editions\, 2024)\n\n\n\nMary Dean Lee – Tidal (Pine Row Press\, 2024)\n\n\n\nNorman Nawrocki – Vancouvered Out (Les Pages Noires\, Montréal\, QC)\n\n\n\nJim Olwell – The Art of Being Irish in Hell’s Kitchen (FriesenPress\, 2024)\n\n\n\nClaire Sherwood – Eat Your Words (Turret House Press\, 2024)\n\n\n\nCarolyn Marie Souaid – Looking for Her (Baraka Books\, Montreal\, QC)\n\n\n\nNeil Whitehouse – The Gospel of Jesus Green: Home for All\, Not Just for Humans (Wipf and Stock Publishers\, Eugene\, OR)\n\n\n\nJan Jorgensen – Birthing Godde (Ekstasis Editions\, Victoria\, BC) \n\n\n\n\nhttp://lawnchairsoiree.org/janjorgensen/index.html \n\n\n\nBooks will be available for purchase. \n\n\n\nThere will be an Open Mic. 3 minutes max.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/lawn-chair-soiree-publications-party/
CATEGORIES:Book Launch,Open Mic
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241121T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241121T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20240730T151554Z
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SUMMARY:Poetry and the Tiny Sea in the Ear
DESCRIPTION:The tiny sea in the earand the moth wing in the mind\, which wait.— Don McKay\, “Early Instruments” \n\n\n\nThis workshop invites participants to explore our “early instruments” of imagination and experience through the language of poetry. \n\n\n\n“The excitement of metaphor\,” writes Don McKay\, “stems from the injection of wilderness into language.” Add to this idea the excitement of any element of poetic making. \n\n\n\nDuring these eight weeks\, we will draft and develop poems that tap the surprise of tension and release\, tease out what’s wild in the everyday\, refresh expectation and sharpen expression. \n\n\n\nIn each session\, we will respond to each other’s poems and work with one or more prompts. In most sessions we will look briefly at a strong contemporary poem and consider what we might borrow from it as a springboard to our writing. \n\n\n\nAll levels of experience are welcome. \n\n\n\nSusan Gillis (she/her) has taught Creative Writing at Concordia University and John Abbott College\, and has led poetry workshops with QWF\, Los Parronales (Chile)\, Blue Met\, in schools and in the community. Her four books have been nominated for several awards; Volta (2002) was awarded the A.M. Klein Prize. She is a founding member of the collaborative poetry group Yoko’s Dogs (Whisk\, 2013; Rhinoceros\, 2016; Caution Tape\, 2021). Her most recent book is Yellow Crane (Brick 2018). She works as a freelance editor and mentor.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/poetry-and-the-tiny-sea-in-the-ear/2024-11-21/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241120T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241120T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20240730T150325Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T203300Z
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SUMMARY:The Vivid and Continuous Dream: A Short Story Workshop
DESCRIPTION:In March\, in 1918\, an Olympic swimmer accepts a job rehabilitating the Polio-ravaged legs of a rich young woman\, not knowing the mess of love and wreckage that await their future selves; in Western Australia\, a bullied adolescent watches his high school tormentor drown beneath the surface of an aquifer—he expects reprieve\, but all his life he will sense the boy\, resinous\, in the mist and the warm wet air; in Spokane\, a man embarks on a strange\, galvanizing quest to reclaim an heirloom headdress that once belonged to his grandmother\, and the journey leaves him wondering who he is\, or who he used to be\, or who he might yet become. \n\n\n\nThe best stories ask questions but don’t dare give all the answers; they take the reader on a journey and leave them with a brief sliver of enlightenment. Yes: love is worth the cost to body and soul\, in 1918 as much as now. No: there is no easy escape from regret\, and good people will suffer if they stoop to the level of their abusers. Perhaps what matters is not to complete the task or reclaim our past\, but to reassure ourselves that we tried. \n\n\n\nThis workshop is a guided discussion about the plot\, characters\, point of view\, structure\, and language (the mechanics or “craft”) of participants’ short stories\, as well as an investigation of each story’s aboutness\, patterns\, emotional plot\, and central question(s)—that is\, all those hard-to-define elements that make fiction what it is. \n\n\n\nAdditionally\, the workshop aims to foster community among the attendees\, to bring together writers of similar skill and drive\, and to encourage the kind of creative energy that crackles between new practitioners. \n\n\n\nSome Learning Objectives \n\n\n\n\nCritical reading\, and the ability to identify the roots of a story’s problems\, particularly with regard to dramatic structure and conflict. Conversely: the ability to identify the roots of a story’s successes\, especially when it seems intangible or difficult to pin down.\n\n\n\nClose reading\, even of your own work\, for strongest-possible sentences. (They are\, after all\, the building blocks of fiction.)\n\n\n\nTo immerse yourself in\, and engage with\, literature among a cohort of people who are similarly immersed and engaged in literature; to enjoy it.\n\n\n\n\nIn our first meeting\, we will establish a schedule\, review workshop etiquette\, spend some time meeting each other\, and do a few writing exercises. From then on\, each session will consist of detailed discussion and feedback on participants’ stories. The goal\, always\, is to offer the writer of each story constructive suggestions to help them improve the story and their craft. We are\, I always say\, in this together. \n\n\n\nIn preparation: Please bring a short story of no more than 2500 words to the first session. \n\n\n\nD. W. Wilson is the author of Once You Break a Knuckle\, a collection of short stories\, and Ballistics\, a novel. His work has appeared in lit mags across the globe\, and in 2011 he won the BBC National Short Story Award for “The Dead Roads.” Since then he has been shortlisted for numerous fiction prizes\, and has won the CBC Short Story Prize and the Manchester Fiction Prize. He taught creative writing at the University of Victoria and Brandon University and is currently a fiction mentor for the University of King’s College’s writing MFA.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/the-vivid-and-continuous-dream-a-short-story-workshop/2024-11-20/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241120T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241120T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20240729T192931Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T171155Z
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SUMMARY:Hooked: Writing Compelling YA Fiction
DESCRIPTION:Get ready to unveil the gripping storyteller within you and keep readers turning those pages! Dive into an exciting eight-week workshop focused on techniques to captivate young adult readers. We’ll look at everything from crafting vibrant characters and heart-pounding conflicts to honing structure and pacing in YA fiction. \n\n\n\nFor our first session\, bring along a favorite YA novel to share with the group. By week two\, be sure to have the first chapter of your work-in-progress (up to 10 pages) for some feedback exchange. By the end of the workshop\, you’ll have a roadmap to your story\, completed scenes\, and an inciting hook for your novel-in-the-making. \n\n\n\nEach session will incorporate a mix of writing prompts\, critique sessions\, exploration of writing techniques\, sneak peeks into YA literature\, and lively group discussions. We’ll be reading various writing styles\, structuring vibrant dialogue\, and feeling all the YA vibes. We’ll even take a sneak peek into the Canadian publishing world. \n\n\n\nValuable feedback from both the workshop leader and your fellow writers on your opening chapter will keep you motivated and inspired. Together\, we’ll work at captivating readers. \n\n\n\nDon’t forget your writing tools for each session. All writers\, whether seasoned pros or fresh faces\, are welcome! Short story\, graphic novel and prose writers\, you’re invited too! \n\n\n\nThe following Suggested readings will sharpen your writing skills\, but are not necessary for the workshop: \n\n\n\nCorner-Bryant\, Helen\, and Kathryn Price. On Editing: How to Edit Your Novel the Professional Way. John Murray Learning\, 2018. \n\n\n\nProse\, Francine. Reading like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them. HarperCollins\, 2009. \n\n\n\nStrunk Jr\, William. The Elements of Style: Classic Edition. Spectrum Ink\, 2018. \n\n\n\nTruby\, John. The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller. Faber and Faber\, 2008. \n\n\n\nLea Beddia is the author of Take Off! (Rebel Mountain Press) and Outta Here (Lorimer). She is also a storyteller\, appearing regularly on stage with Confabulation. Born and raised in Montreal\, she now teaches in Joliette\, Quebec\, where she lives with her husband and three children. With a passion for supporting literacy among young adults\, especially for striving readers\, Lea is releasing two fresh YA novels set to hit bookshelves in 2025 and 2026. Find out more at www.leabeddia.com\, or say hi to Lea Beddia on Facebook or Instagram @BeddiaLea.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/hooked-writing-compelling-ya-fiction/2024-11-20/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241120T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241120T180000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20241106T200748Z
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SUMMARY:LANCEMENT | Worldwise: Édouard Roditi’s Twentieth Century
DESCRIPTION:Wednesday\, November 20\, 6:00 pm ETLibrairie Le Port de tête (269 avenue du Mont-Royal Est\, Montreal)\n\n\n\nJoin Robert Schwartzwald et Sherry Simon for the launch of their new book: Worldwise: Édouard Roditi’s Twentieth Century. \n\n\n\nAbout the Authors\n\n\n\nRobert Schwartzwald is a Professor of literature at the Université de Montréal and Chair of the Jewish Public Library’s J.I. Segal Awards Committee. His publications include a monograph on the film C.R.A.Z.Y. and the English translation of Daniel Guérin’s The Brown Plague : Travels in Late Weimar and Early Nazi Germany. \n\n\n\nSherry Simon is Distinguished Professor Emerita\, Concordia University. She has published widely on the cultural dynamics of multilingual cities\, including  Translating Montreal and Translation Sites.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/lancement-worldwise-edouard-roditis-twentieth-century/
LOCATION:Librairie Le Port de tête\, 262 avenue du Mont-Royal Est\, Montreal\, Quebec\, H2T 1P6\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Book Launch
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ORGANIZER;CN="Jewish Public Library":MAILTO:info@jplmontreal.org
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241120T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241120T190000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20241106T163955Z
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SUMMARY:Why We Write
DESCRIPTION:Wednesday\, November 20\, 2024\, 5:30-7:00 pm ETLe Petit Dep – Le Loft (290 Rue de la Montagne\, 3rd Floor\, Montreal)\n\n\n\nJoin Writers Collective of Canada as we explore the social impact of making art. Why We Write brings together established and emerging writers in a celebration of writing and storytelling to transform lives. \n\n\n\nThis event will feature a panel discussion and audience engagement through a Q&A period and interactive writing workshop experience. \n\n\n\nPanelists include Susan Doherty\, Josh Freed\, Kook Fuqin Hu\, and Ann Lambert. \n\n\n\nQWF is proud to partner with Writers Collective of Canada to organize this event. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRSVP on FAcebook
URL:https://qwf.org/event/writers-out-loud-why-we-write/
LOCATION:Le Petit Dep – Le Loft\, 290 rue de la Montagne\, 3rd Floor\, Montreal\, Quebec\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Panel,Reading,Series
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241120T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241120T133000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20241021T161944Z
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SUMMARY:Lunch and Learn: Video Game Writing
DESCRIPTION:Wednesday\, November 20\, 2024\, 12:00-1:30 pm ETFree\, online onlyRegister for Zoom link\n\n\n\nMontreal is one of the world’s top video game production centres\, with several AAA and independent studios calling it their home. At the heart of these games are its creators: artists and writers passionate about crafting immersive experiences for players around the world.But how does one get started as a writer in video games? What can a career in the video game industry look like? \n\n\n\nGet a glimpse into this challenging world by attending the Quebec Writers’ Federation’s next Lunch and Learn event. Jill Murray\, whose video game writing credits include Assassin’s Creed Liberation\, Shadow of the Tomb Raider\, and Subnautica: Below Zero\, will lead us in a short presentation on the life of a video game writer. You are invited to bring your curiosity and questions! \n\n\n\nCome join us on Wednesday November 20th\, from 12-1:30pm online via Zoom. Register to get the Zoom link.  \n\n\n\nThis session will be recorded and the recording will be published on YouTube. \n\n\n\nAbout Jill Murray\n\n\n\nA veteran game developer\, Jill Murray was most recently the creative director for Invincible Presents: Atom Eve. She has been a narrative designer\, lead writer for indie and AAA video games\, best known for her work on Shadow of the Tomb Raider\, The Big Con\, and a handful of Assassin’s Creed games. In 2013\, she won the Writers Guild of America Award for Excellence in Videogame Writing. In 2015\, she founded game narrative studio\, Discoglobe Interactive. In past lives\, Jill studied theatre\, worked as a web developer\, and published two YA novels about breakdancing teenagers. She has taught game design at Champlain College\, given workshops in writing and narrative design in Montreal at the National Theatre School of Canada\, Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal\, and Quebec Writers’ Federation\, and appeared internationally as a speaker at Tribeca Film Festival\, GDC\, the Perth International Writers’ Festival\, East Coast Game Conference\, and Montreal International Game Summit. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegister for zoom link
URL:https://qwf.org/event/lunch-and-learn-video-game-writing/
LOCATION:Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
CATEGORIES:Lunch & Learn,QWF Events
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241119T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241119T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20240729T185742Z
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SUMMARY:Memoir: Turning Yourself into a Character
DESCRIPTION:The memoir used to be a large and weighty book\, often written by a man of power\, once he had stepped out of the limelight (or been cast out of it). Presidents and prime ministers wrote memoirs; the common people did not. \n\n\n\nFlash-forward to the present. People have discovered that they had and still have lives worth writing about. The classic memoir was about the exercise of power in times of crisis. The current memoir is often about a period of time during which the writer learned something about themselves. Which should make all of us potential memoirists. \n\n\n\nThe form contains a number of moral traps and rough spots. How much fiction can you put in a memoir? What happens when you forget something\, or misremember? How much can you reveal about yourself and others before you cross a line you might regret? \n\n\n\nWe’ll look at several examples of memoir\, from Harry Crews to Kyo Maclear and others. With Crews\, his story begins before his birth; is that still memoir? Mark Abley’s travel story is clearly designed to tell as little as possible about its author. In sociologist mode\, Daniel Allen Cox brings in a slew of outside sources to bolster his self-inquiry. Where do we want to situate ourselves? \n\n\n\nThat\, of course\, will depend on our inquiries. A memoir can be about someone else – how you did or did not live with that person. Memoirs can spring from a mystery – but not always. All of them involve the writer wanting to achieve greater self-understanding\, which means we have to turn ourselves into a character to do it. \n\n\n\nThe workshop will be a mixture of reading one another’s projects and proposals\, and considering excerpts from other books. Participants are free to submit material a week or two before the first workshop. This material will be part of class discussions. Please submit to David.Homel@concordia.ca. For the first submission\, please do not go beyond 5 or 10 standard pages. See you there! \n\n\n\nDavid Homel wrote 13 works of fiction – historical novels\, murder mysteries and domestic fiction – before his first memoir in 2020\, and he has gone on to work in that form since. The experience as a memoirist continues to bear upon his novel-writing\, enriching and expanding it. The moral aspects of the art of memory and disclosure continue to attract him\, along with the paradox of turning himself into a character in order to get at the truths of his past lives. He has also worked as a journalist and a documentary filmmaker\, both assets for memoir writing\,
URL:https://qwf.org/event/memoir-turning-yourself-into-a-character/2024-11-19/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241119T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241119T190000
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CREATED:20241010T192314Z
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SUMMARY:Linguaphile: Book Talk with Julie Sedivy and Gretchen McCulloch
DESCRIPTION:Tuesday\, November 19\, 2024\, 7:00 pm ET\n\n\n\nJoin author Julie Sedivy\, in conversation with Gretchen McCulloch\, as they discuss her new book\, Linguaphile! This event will be hosted in person at the Atwater Library’s Adair Auditorium. Attendance is free\, but space is limited\, so please RSVP on TicketSource. \n\n\n\nAbout the Book\n\n\n\nA celebration of the beauty and mystery of language and how it shapes our lives\, our loves\, and our world. \n\n\n\nIf there is one feature that defines the human condition\, it is language: written\, spoken\, signed\, understood\, and misunderstood\, in all its infinite glory. In this ingenious\, lyrical exploration\, Julie Sedivy draws on years of experience in the lab and a lifetime of linguistic love to bring the discoveries of linguistics home\, to the place language itself lives: within the yearnings of the human heart and amid the complex social bonds that it makes possible. \n\n\n\nLinguaphile: A Life of Language Love follows the path that language takes through a human life—from an infant’s first attempts at sense-making to the vulnerabilities and losses that accompany aging. As Sedivy shows\, however\, language and life are inextricable\, and here she offers them together: a childish misunderstanding of her mother’s meaning reveals the difficulty of relating to other minds; frustration with “professional” communication styles exposes the labyrinth of standards that define success; the first signs of hearing loss lead to a meditation on society’s discomfort with physical and mental limitations. \n\n\n\nPart memoir\, part scientific exploration\, and part cultural commentary\, this book epitomizes the thrills of a life steeped in the aesthetic delights of language and the joys of its scientific scrutiny. \n\n\n\nAbout the Authors\n\n\n\nJulie Sedivy has taught linguistics and psychology at Brown University and the University of Calgary. She is the author of Memory Speaks: On Losing and Reclaiming Language and Selfand Language in Mind: An Introduction to Psycholinguistics\, as well as the coauthor of Sold on Language: How Advertisers Talk to Youand What This Says About You. She lives in Calgary\, Canada. \n\n\n\nGretchen McCulloch is an internet linguist and author of the New York Times bestselling Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language. She’s been the Resident Linguist at Wired and The Toast and is the co-creator of Lingthusiasm\, a podcast that’s enthusiastic about linguistics. She lives in Montreal\, but also on the internet. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRSVP Now
URL:https://qwf.org/event/linguaphile-book-talk-with-julie-sedivy-and-gretchen-mcculloch/
LOCATION:Atwater Library and Computer Centre\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Westmount\, Quebec\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Book Launch
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241119T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241119T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20240729T181403Z
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SUMMARY:The Poet’s Toolbox
DESCRIPTION:Do you want to write poetry but have trouble getting started? Are you interested in stepping outside of your comfort zone to generate new pieces? This workshop will help you to develop your voice as a poet by kindling your creativity with the support of a variety of writing tools\, prompts\, poetic forms\, and other techniques. \n\n\n\nIn each session\, participants will be presented with some combination of readings\, writing constraints\, or guided prompts. These will include assignments to write new pieces using different poetic forms including ekphrastic poetry (verse inspired by visual art)\, erasure/blackout poetry\, OULIPO games\, centos\, prose poems\, and haiku. Participants will be encouraged to share their writing results and will have a chance to discuss each other’s poems.  \n\n\n\nBy the end of this 8-week generative poetry writing workshop\, participants will have a chance to produce a portfolio of approximately 8 new pieces of creative work. \n\n\n\nGreg Santos is a poet\, editor\, and educator. His most recent book is Ghost Face (2020) and he has published several other poetry collections. His writing has appeared in CBC First Person\, The Walrus\, Geist\, AGNI\, The Best American Poetry Blog\, and World Literature Today. He has worked with the QWF’s Writers in the Community Program\, Vallum Society for Education in Arts & Letters\, Poetry in Voice\, and the Thomas More Institute to spread the joy of verse and creative writing to diverse communities. He is the Editor in Chief of the QWF’s online literary journal carte blanche. He is an adoptee of Cambodian\, Portuguese\, and Spanish heritage. Greg lives in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal with his wife and two children.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/the-poets-toolbox/2024-11-19/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241118T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241118T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
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LAST-MODIFIED:20240813T181001Z
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SUMMARY:The Vivid and Continuous Dream: A Short Story Workshop
DESCRIPTION:In March\, in 1918\, an Olympic swimmer accepts a job rehabilitating the Polio-ravaged legs of a rich young woman\, not knowing the mess of love and wreckage that await their future selves; in Western Australia\, a bullied adolescent watches his high school tormentor drown beneath the surface of an aquifer—he expects reprieve\, but all his life he will sense the boy\, resinous\, in the mist and the warm wet air; in Spokane\, a man embarks on a strange\, galvanizing quest to reclaim an heirloom headdress that once belonged to his grandmother\, and the journey leaves him wondering who he is\, or who he used to be\, or who he might yet become. \n\n\n\nThe best stories ask questions but don’t dare give all the answers; they take the reader on a journey and leave them with a brief sliver of enlightenment. Yes: love is worth the cost to body and soul\, in 1918 as much as now. No: there is no easy escape from regret\, and good people will suffer if they stoop to the level of their abusers. Perhaps what matters is not to complete the task or reclaim our past\, but to reassure ourselves that we tried. \n\n\n\nThis workshop is a guided discussion about the plot\, characters\, point of view\, structure\, and language (the mechanics or “craft”) of participants’ short stories\, as well as an investigation of each story’s aboutness\, patterns\, emotional plot\, and central question(s)—that is\, all those hard-to-define elements that make fiction what it is. \n\n\n\nAdditionally\, the workshop aims to foster community among the attendees\, to bring together writers of similar skill and drive\, and to encourage the kind of creative energy that crackles between new practitioners. \n\n\n\nSome Learning Objectives \n\n\n\n\nCritical reading\, and the ability to identify the roots of a story’s problems\, particularly with regard to dramatic structure and conflict. Conversely: the ability to identify the roots of a story’s successes\, especially when it seems intangible or difficult to pin down.\n\n\n\nClose reading\, even of your own work\, for strongest-possible sentences. (They are\, after all\, the building blocks of fiction.)\n\n\n\nTo immerse yourself in\, and engage with\, literature among a cohort of people who are similarly immersed and engaged in literature; to enjoy it.\n\n\n\n\nIn our first meeting\, we will establish a schedule\, review workshop etiquette\, spend some time meeting each other\, and do a few writing exercises. From then on\, each session will consist of detailed discussion and feedback on participants’ stories. The goal\, always\, is to offer the writer of each story constructive suggestions to help them improve the story and their craft. We are\, I always say\, in this together. \n\n\n\nIn preparation: Please bring a short story of no more than 2500 words to the first session. \n\n\n\nD. W. Wilson is the author of Once You Break a Knuckle\, a collection of short stories\, and Ballistics\, a novel. His work has appeared in lit mags across the globe\, and in 2011 he won the BBC National Short Story Award for “The Dead Roads.” Since then he has been shortlisted for numerous fiction prizes\, and has won the CBC Short Story Prize and the Manchester Fiction Prize. He taught creative writing at the University of Victoria and Brandon University and is currently a fiction mentor for the University of King’s College’s writing MFA.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/the-vivid-and-continuous-dream-a-short-story-workshop-2/2024-11-18/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241118T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241118T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20240729T174625Z
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SUMMARY:Writing the Personal Essay
DESCRIPTION:Have you ever wanted to see your words on the pages of your favourite newspaper\, magazine\, or website? The personal essay is a subgenre of creative nonfiction that focuses on unique stories with universal appeal told from a first-person perspective. In this 8-week course\, you’ll learn everything from how to generate ideas to how to structure your first and second drafts to how to pitch your completed piece. \n\n\n\nThe course will consist of teacher-led instruction\, at-home readings\, generative in-class writing exercises\, and guided peer feedback. You will also be expected to work on your essay at home\, between classes. By the end of this session\, you will have one completed personal essay. \n\n\n\nWeek 1: What is the personal essay? \n\n\n\nOverview of the genre and generating ideas. \n\n\n\nWeek 2: Structure \n\n\n\nDefining the elements of the personal essay and exploring structure. \n\n\n\nWeek 3: First Drafts\, Part I \n\n\n\nGetting words on the page. \n\n\n\nWeek 4: First Drafts\, Part II \n\n\n\nEmploying techniques from creative writing. \n\n\n\nWeek 5: Revision \n\n\n\nA step-by-step guide for revising your own work. \n\n\n\nWeek 6: Second Drafts \n\n\n\nHow to polish your essay and turn it into something publishable. \n\n\n\nWeek 7: Pitching and Publishing \n\n\n\nHow to find target outlets and write a great pitch. \n\n\n\nWeek 8: Ask-Me-Anything with a Working Editor \n\n\n\nGuest Editor (TBA) and wrap-up.Julie Matlin is a writer with pieces appearing in The New York Times\, The Washington Post\, Chatelaine\, The Globe and Mail\, Huffington Post\, CBC\, and other publications. She has one screenplay in development and is currently querying an essay collection\, Such a Nice Jewish Girl\, about the intersection of faith\, grief\, and identity\, which was supported by a Canada Council for the Arts grant. She has a weakness for puppies\, naps\, and the music of Jack White. You can follow her on twitter @jmatlin or Instagram and Threads @j.matlin. Portfolio:  www.juliematin.com
URL:https://qwf.org/event/writing-the-personal-essay/2024-11-18/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241118T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241118T170000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20241118T165603Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241118T165606Z
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SUMMARY:Event Chambers: A Listening Session and Performance
DESCRIPTION:Thursday\, November 21\, 2024Listening Session: 12:00-4:30 pm ETPerformance: 6:30 pm ET (doors 6:00 pm)\n\n\n\nWe are thrilled to invite you to a special and unique event around Oana Avasilichioaei and Klara du Plessis’s expansive projects\, Chambersonic and Post-Mortem of the Event. From noon to 4:30 pm\, stop by to listen and experience the sound installations. In the evening at 6:30 pm\, attend a live performance. Books will be available for purchase. Celebratory drinks will be served after the performance. \n\n\n\nVenue: OBORO4001 Rue BerriStudio 01 (porte 200\, 2nd floor)
URL:https://qwf.org/event/event-chambers-a-listening-session-and-performance/
LOCATION:OBORO\, 4001 Rue Berri\, Montreal\, Quebec\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Community Events,Performance,Reading
END:VEVENT
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241116T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241116T133000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20241106T172152Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241106T172219Z
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SUMMARY:Get Published! Writing Picture Books
DESCRIPTION:Saturday\, November 16\, 202412:00-1:30 pm ETOnline\, $75 for CCBC Members\, $100 for Non-MembersRegister now\n\n\n\nLearn from the experts on how to take your picture book from a dream to a reality.  \n\n\n\nHosted by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC). \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRegister Now
URL:https://qwf.org/event/get-published-writing-picture-books/
LOCATION:Online
CATEGORIES:Webinar,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241115T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241115T150000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20241022T143515Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241022T143519Z
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SUMMARY:Shut Up & Write! with QWF (In Person)
DESCRIPTION:Friday\, November 15\, 2024\, 12:30 pm–3:00 pmFree\, In PersonQWF Office (Room 3\, 1200 Atwater Ave.\, Westmount)\n\n\n\nRegister for the session by filling out the RSVP form below. \n\n\n\nLooking for some dedicated\, quiet writing space? \n\n\n\nJoin us for an in-person Shut Up & Write session at the QWF office! \n\n\n\nDo 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. \n\n\n\nThis event is for QWF members only. Not a member? Learn about becoming a member.  \n\n\n\nPlease note that these sessions are designed for silent writing\, rather than discussing or getting feedback on work. \n\n\n\n12:30–12:55: 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 \n\n\n\nTo register\, RSVP below. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGetting to the QWF Office\n\n\n\nOur office is located on the top floor of the Atwater Library and Computer Centre\, in Room 3. \n\n\n\nAddress: 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3Westmount\, QC H3Z 1X4 \n\n\n\nClosest Metro: Atwater Station \n\n\n\nClosest Bus lines: 24\, 63\, 90\, 104\, 138\, 144\, 150 \n\n\n\nAccessibility:\n\n\n\nThe 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. \n\n\n\nLearn more about the office location and accessibility.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/shut-up-write-with-qwf-in-person-27/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Shut Up & Write!
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241115T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241115T120000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20241023T142326Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241023T142330Z
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SUMMARY:Literary Lunch
DESCRIPTION:Friday\, November 15\, 2024\, 12:00 pm ET\n\n\n\nPlease join us for an impromptu writers lunch at Chez Delmo (275 Notre Dame\, west\, Montreal\, QC). All creatives welcome to discuss and share our work in a friendly\, relaxed setting. Each person pays their own food/drink; there is no other cost. Just good food/drink\, good company—share your work\, your dreams\, your aspirations\, your accomplishments with other writers. 12:00 noon Friday\, November 15th\, 2024. Organized by Lis McLoughlin/NatureCulture  www.nature-culture.net and www.writingtheland.org 
URL:https://qwf.org/event/literary-lunch-2/
LOCATION:Chez Delmo\, 275 Notre Dame West\, Montreal\, Quebec\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Networking
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241114T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241114T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20240730T154254Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T171128Z
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SUMMARY:Pursuing the Erotic
DESCRIPTION:This is an expanded version of the three-hour workshop “Identifying (with) the Erotic” offered in July 2022. It progresses from initial references to erotica by old hands (Anaïs Nin)\, incidental practitioners (James Baldwin) and newer writers (Ruel Johnson) to consider other select works in prose\, poetry\, and comics. You do not have to have attended the 2022 workshop to enroll in this one. \n\n\n\nThe workshop continues the exploration of what makes the erotic not only a sensual genre but a life-affirming one with participants contributing their own writing as well as sourcing that of other practitioners. While creating sexy characters and scenes with stimulating language is part of the process\, and knowing your audience is crucial (there is a difference between romance\, erotica and pornography)\, the emphasis remains on craft and telling a story that engages readers’ imagination\, exciting not only the body but all of the senses. And this without apology. \n\n\n\nRobert Edison Sandiford is the author of several books\, among them the award-winning The Tree of Youth & Other Stories\, And Sometimes They Fly (a novel) and Sand for Snow (memoir).  He has also written graphic novels for NBM Publishing.  In 2003\, he and the poet Linda M. Deane founded the Barbadian cultural resource ArtsEtc Inc.  He has worked as a publisher\, teacher and\, with Warm Water Productions\, producer.  His fiction and non-fiction have appeared in journals\, magazines and anthologies.  Currently working on another novel\,his most recent titleis Fairfield from DC Books.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/pursuing-the-erotic/2024-11-14/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241114T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241114T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20240730T151554Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T171206Z
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SUMMARY:Poetry and the Tiny Sea in the Ear
DESCRIPTION:The tiny sea in the earand the moth wing in the mind\, which wait.— Don McKay\, “Early Instruments” \n\n\n\nThis workshop invites participants to explore our “early instruments” of imagination and experience through the language of poetry. \n\n\n\n“The excitement of metaphor\,” writes Don McKay\, “stems from the injection of wilderness into language.” Add to this idea the excitement of any element of poetic making. \n\n\n\nDuring these eight weeks\, we will draft and develop poems that tap the surprise of tension and release\, tease out what’s wild in the everyday\, refresh expectation and sharpen expression. \n\n\n\nIn each session\, we will respond to each other’s poems and work with one or more prompts. In most sessions we will look briefly at a strong contemporary poem and consider what we might borrow from it as a springboard to our writing. \n\n\n\nAll levels of experience are welcome. \n\n\n\nSusan Gillis (she/her) has taught Creative Writing at Concordia University and John Abbott College\, and has led poetry workshops with QWF\, Los Parronales (Chile)\, Blue Met\, in schools and in the community. Her four books have been nominated for several awards; Volta (2002) was awarded the A.M. Klein Prize. She is a founding member of the collaborative poetry group Yoko’s Dogs (Whisk\, 2013; Rhinoceros\, 2016; Caution Tape\, 2021). Her most recent book is Yellow Crane (Brick 2018). She works as a freelance editor and mentor.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/poetry-and-the-tiny-sea-in-the-ear/2024-11-14/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241113T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241113T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20240730T150325Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T203300Z
UID:10003929-1731528000-1731535200@qwf.org
SUMMARY:The Vivid and Continuous Dream: A Short Story Workshop
DESCRIPTION:In March\, in 1918\, an Olympic swimmer accepts a job rehabilitating the Polio-ravaged legs of a rich young woman\, not knowing the mess of love and wreckage that await their future selves; in Western Australia\, a bullied adolescent watches his high school tormentor drown beneath the surface of an aquifer—he expects reprieve\, but all his life he will sense the boy\, resinous\, in the mist and the warm wet air; in Spokane\, a man embarks on a strange\, galvanizing quest to reclaim an heirloom headdress that once belonged to his grandmother\, and the journey leaves him wondering who he is\, or who he used to be\, or who he might yet become. \n\n\n\nThe best stories ask questions but don’t dare give all the answers; they take the reader on a journey and leave them with a brief sliver of enlightenment. Yes: love is worth the cost to body and soul\, in 1918 as much as now. No: there is no easy escape from regret\, and good people will suffer if they stoop to the level of their abusers. Perhaps what matters is not to complete the task or reclaim our past\, but to reassure ourselves that we tried. \n\n\n\nThis workshop is a guided discussion about the plot\, characters\, point of view\, structure\, and language (the mechanics or “craft”) of participants’ short stories\, as well as an investigation of each story’s aboutness\, patterns\, emotional plot\, and central question(s)—that is\, all those hard-to-define elements that make fiction what it is. \n\n\n\nAdditionally\, the workshop aims to foster community among the attendees\, to bring together writers of similar skill and drive\, and to encourage the kind of creative energy that crackles between new practitioners. \n\n\n\nSome Learning Objectives \n\n\n\n\nCritical reading\, and the ability to identify the roots of a story’s problems\, particularly with regard to dramatic structure and conflict. Conversely: the ability to identify the roots of a story’s successes\, especially when it seems intangible or difficult to pin down.\n\n\n\nClose reading\, even of your own work\, for strongest-possible sentences. (They are\, after all\, the building blocks of fiction.)\n\n\n\nTo immerse yourself in\, and engage with\, literature among a cohort of people who are similarly immersed and engaged in literature; to enjoy it.\n\n\n\n\nIn our first meeting\, we will establish a schedule\, review workshop etiquette\, spend some time meeting each other\, and do a few writing exercises. From then on\, each session will consist of detailed discussion and feedback on participants’ stories. The goal\, always\, is to offer the writer of each story constructive suggestions to help them improve the story and their craft. We are\, I always say\, in this together. \n\n\n\nIn preparation: Please bring a short story of no more than 2500 words to the first session. \n\n\n\nD. W. Wilson is the author of Once You Break a Knuckle\, a collection of short stories\, and Ballistics\, a novel. His work has appeared in lit mags across the globe\, and in 2011 he won the BBC National Short Story Award for “The Dead Roads.” Since then he has been shortlisted for numerous fiction prizes\, and has won the CBC Short Story Prize and the Manchester Fiction Prize. He taught creative writing at the University of Victoria and Brandon University and is currently a fiction mentor for the University of King’s College’s writing MFA.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/the-vivid-and-continuous-dream-a-short-story-workshop/2024-11-13/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241113T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241113T200000
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SUMMARY:Hooked: Writing Compelling YA Fiction
DESCRIPTION:Get ready to unveil the gripping storyteller within you and keep readers turning those pages! Dive into an exciting eight-week workshop focused on techniques to captivate young adult readers. We’ll look at everything from crafting vibrant characters and heart-pounding conflicts to honing structure and pacing in YA fiction. \n\n\n\nFor our first session\, bring along a favorite YA novel to share with the group. By week two\, be sure to have the first chapter of your work-in-progress (up to 10 pages) for some feedback exchange. By the end of the workshop\, you’ll have a roadmap to your story\, completed scenes\, and an inciting hook for your novel-in-the-making. \n\n\n\nEach session will incorporate a mix of writing prompts\, critique sessions\, exploration of writing techniques\, sneak peeks into YA literature\, and lively group discussions. We’ll be reading various writing styles\, structuring vibrant dialogue\, and feeling all the YA vibes. We’ll even take a sneak peek into the Canadian publishing world. \n\n\n\nValuable feedback from both the workshop leader and your fellow writers on your opening chapter will keep you motivated and inspired. Together\, we’ll work at captivating readers. \n\n\n\nDon’t forget your writing tools for each session. All writers\, whether seasoned pros or fresh faces\, are welcome! Short story\, graphic novel and prose writers\, you’re invited too! \n\n\n\nThe following Suggested readings will sharpen your writing skills\, but are not necessary for the workshop: \n\n\n\nCorner-Bryant\, Helen\, and Kathryn Price. On Editing: How to Edit Your Novel the Professional Way. John Murray Learning\, 2018. \n\n\n\nProse\, Francine. Reading like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them. HarperCollins\, 2009. \n\n\n\nStrunk Jr\, William. The Elements of Style: Classic Edition. Spectrum Ink\, 2018. \n\n\n\nTruby\, John. The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller. Faber and Faber\, 2008. \n\n\n\nLea Beddia is the author of Take Off! (Rebel Mountain Press) and Outta Here (Lorimer). She is also a storyteller\, appearing regularly on stage with Confabulation. Born and raised in Montreal\, she now teaches in Joliette\, Quebec\, where she lives with her husband and three children. With a passion for supporting literacy among young adults\, especially for striving readers\, Lea is releasing two fresh YA novels set to hit bookshelves in 2025 and 2026. Find out more at www.leabeddia.com\, or say hi to Lea Beddia on Facebook or Instagram @BeddiaLea.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/hooked-writing-compelling-ya-fiction/2024-11-13/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241112T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241112T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20240729T185742Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T171223Z
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SUMMARY:Memoir: Turning Yourself into a Character
DESCRIPTION:The memoir used to be a large and weighty book\, often written by a man of power\, once he had stepped out of the limelight (or been cast out of it). Presidents and prime ministers wrote memoirs; the common people did not. \n\n\n\nFlash-forward to the present. People have discovered that they had and still have lives worth writing about. The classic memoir was about the exercise of power in times of crisis. The current memoir is often about a period of time during which the writer learned something about themselves. Which should make all of us potential memoirists. \n\n\n\nThe form contains a number of moral traps and rough spots. How much fiction can you put in a memoir? What happens when you forget something\, or misremember? How much can you reveal about yourself and others before you cross a line you might regret? \n\n\n\nWe’ll look at several examples of memoir\, from Harry Crews to Kyo Maclear and others. With Crews\, his story begins before his birth; is that still memoir? Mark Abley’s travel story is clearly designed to tell as little as possible about its author. In sociologist mode\, Daniel Allen Cox brings in a slew of outside sources to bolster his self-inquiry. Where do we want to situate ourselves? \n\n\n\nThat\, of course\, will depend on our inquiries. A memoir can be about someone else – how you did or did not live with that person. Memoirs can spring from a mystery – but not always. All of them involve the writer wanting to achieve greater self-understanding\, which means we have to turn ourselves into a character to do it. \n\n\n\nThe workshop will be a mixture of reading one another’s projects and proposals\, and considering excerpts from other books. Participants are free to submit material a week or two before the first workshop. This material will be part of class discussions. Please submit to David.Homel@concordia.ca. For the first submission\, please do not go beyond 5 or 10 standard pages. See you there! \n\n\n\nDavid Homel wrote 13 works of fiction – historical novels\, murder mysteries and domestic fiction – before his first memoir in 2020\, and he has gone on to work in that form since. The experience as a memoirist continues to bear upon his novel-writing\, enriching and expanding it. The moral aspects of the art of memory and disclosure continue to attract him\, along with the paradox of turning himself into a character in order to get at the truths of his past lives. He has also worked as a journalist and a documentary filmmaker\, both assets for memoir writing\,
URL:https://qwf.org/event/memoir-turning-yourself-into-a-character/2024-11-12/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241112T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241112T183000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20241011T173500Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241011T173504Z
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SUMMARY:The 2024 QWF Awards Gala
DESCRIPTION:Step into a world of literary magic at the 26th QWF Literary Awards Gala! On Tuesday\, November 12\, Cabaret Lion d’Or (1676 Ontario St. East) will transform into a dazzling celebration of Quebec’s finest wordsmiths. The event will be hosted by Ali Hassan—comedian\, author\, and the host of CBC’s beloved Canada Reads. Ali promises a night of both heartfelt celebrations and hearty laughs. \n\n\n\nThe theme of this year’s gala is “Reflecting on the Future.” Attendees are invited to get in the spirit of the theme by wearing futuristic attire or reflective materials. Come dressed in your silks\, your satins\, your metallics\, or your shiniest jewelry and accessories. Feeling bold? Don an aluminum-foil hat. Gala volunteers will choose their favourite futuristic ensemble\, and the lucky wearer will win a prize! \n\n\n\nJoin us for a cocktail reception with the finalists preceding the Gala from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets to the reception are $60 ($40 for full-time students) and include catered hors d’oeuvres; two glasses of wine\, beer or non-alcoholic drink; and admission to the awards ceremony\, which begins at 8:00 p.m. \n\n\n\nTickets for the ceremony alone are $25 ($10 for full-time students). Doors for the ceremony open at 7:30 p.m. \n\n\n\nReserve your ticket now and prepare for an unforgettable evening that bridges the present and the future of English literary arts in Quebec.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/the-2024-qwf-awards-gala/
LOCATION:Lion D’Or\, 1676 Ontario St E\, Montreal\, Quebec\, H2L 1S7\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Events
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241112T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241112T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20240729T181403Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T171243Z
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SUMMARY:The Poet’s Toolbox
DESCRIPTION:Do you want to write poetry but have trouble getting started? Are you interested in stepping outside of your comfort zone to generate new pieces? This workshop will help you to develop your voice as a poet by kindling your creativity with the support of a variety of writing tools\, prompts\, poetic forms\, and other techniques. \n\n\n\nIn each session\, participants will be presented with some combination of readings\, writing constraints\, or guided prompts. These will include assignments to write new pieces using different poetic forms including ekphrastic poetry (verse inspired by visual art)\, erasure/blackout poetry\, OULIPO games\, centos\, prose poems\, and haiku. Participants will be encouraged to share their writing results and will have a chance to discuss each other’s poems.  \n\n\n\nBy the end of this 8-week generative poetry writing workshop\, participants will have a chance to produce a portfolio of approximately 8 new pieces of creative work. \n\n\n\nGreg Santos is a poet\, editor\, and educator. His most recent book is Ghost Face (2020) and he has published several other poetry collections. His writing has appeared in CBC First Person\, The Walrus\, Geist\, AGNI\, The Best American Poetry Blog\, and World Literature Today. He has worked with the QWF’s Writers in the Community Program\, Vallum Society for Education in Arts & Letters\, Poetry in Voice\, and the Thomas More Institute to spread the joy of verse and creative writing to diverse communities. He is the Editor in Chief of the QWF’s online literary journal carte blanche. He is an adoptee of Cambodian\, Portuguese\, and Spanish heritage. Greg lives in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal with his wife and two children.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/the-poets-toolbox/2024-11-12/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241111T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241111T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
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LAST-MODIFIED:20240813T181001Z
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SUMMARY:The Vivid and Continuous Dream: A Short Story Workshop
DESCRIPTION:In March\, in 1918\, an Olympic swimmer accepts a job rehabilitating the Polio-ravaged legs of a rich young woman\, not knowing the mess of love and wreckage that await their future selves; in Western Australia\, a bullied adolescent watches his high school tormentor drown beneath the surface of an aquifer—he expects reprieve\, but all his life he will sense the boy\, resinous\, in the mist and the warm wet air; in Spokane\, a man embarks on a strange\, galvanizing quest to reclaim an heirloom headdress that once belonged to his grandmother\, and the journey leaves him wondering who he is\, or who he used to be\, or who he might yet become. \n\n\n\nThe best stories ask questions but don’t dare give all the answers; they take the reader on a journey and leave them with a brief sliver of enlightenment. Yes: love is worth the cost to body and soul\, in 1918 as much as now. No: there is no easy escape from regret\, and good people will suffer if they stoop to the level of their abusers. Perhaps what matters is not to complete the task or reclaim our past\, but to reassure ourselves that we tried. \n\n\n\nThis workshop is a guided discussion about the plot\, characters\, point of view\, structure\, and language (the mechanics or “craft”) of participants’ short stories\, as well as an investigation of each story’s aboutness\, patterns\, emotional plot\, and central question(s)—that is\, all those hard-to-define elements that make fiction what it is. \n\n\n\nAdditionally\, the workshop aims to foster community among the attendees\, to bring together writers of similar skill and drive\, and to encourage the kind of creative energy that crackles between new practitioners. \n\n\n\nSome Learning Objectives \n\n\n\n\nCritical reading\, and the ability to identify the roots of a story’s problems\, particularly with regard to dramatic structure and conflict. Conversely: the ability to identify the roots of a story’s successes\, especially when it seems intangible or difficult to pin down.\n\n\n\nClose reading\, even of your own work\, for strongest-possible sentences. (They are\, after all\, the building blocks of fiction.)\n\n\n\nTo immerse yourself in\, and engage with\, literature among a cohort of people who are similarly immersed and engaged in literature; to enjoy it.\n\n\n\n\nIn our first meeting\, we will establish a schedule\, review workshop etiquette\, spend some time meeting each other\, and do a few writing exercises. From then on\, each session will consist of detailed discussion and feedback on participants’ stories. The goal\, always\, is to offer the writer of each story constructive suggestions to help them improve the story and their craft. We are\, I always say\, in this together. \n\n\n\nIn preparation: Please bring a short story of no more than 2500 words to the first session. \n\n\n\nD. W. Wilson is the author of Once You Break a Knuckle\, a collection of short stories\, and Ballistics\, a novel. His work has appeared in lit mags across the globe\, and in 2011 he won the BBC National Short Story Award for “The Dead Roads.” Since then he has been shortlisted for numerous fiction prizes\, and has won the CBC Short Story Prize and the Manchester Fiction Prize. He taught creative writing at the University of Victoria and Brandon University and is currently a fiction mentor for the University of King’s College’s writing MFA.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/the-vivid-and-continuous-dream-a-short-story-workshop-2/2024-11-11/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241111T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241111T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20240729T174625Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T171315Z
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SUMMARY:Writing the Personal Essay
DESCRIPTION:Have you ever wanted to see your words on the pages of your favourite newspaper\, magazine\, or website? The personal essay is a subgenre of creative nonfiction that focuses on unique stories with universal appeal told from a first-person perspective. In this 8-week course\, you’ll learn everything from how to generate ideas to how to structure your first and second drafts to how to pitch your completed piece. \n\n\n\nThe course will consist of teacher-led instruction\, at-home readings\, generative in-class writing exercises\, and guided peer feedback. You will also be expected to work on your essay at home\, between classes. By the end of this session\, you will have one completed personal essay. \n\n\n\nWeek 1: What is the personal essay? \n\n\n\nOverview of the genre and generating ideas. \n\n\n\nWeek 2: Structure \n\n\n\nDefining the elements of the personal essay and exploring structure. \n\n\n\nWeek 3: First Drafts\, Part I \n\n\n\nGetting words on the page. \n\n\n\nWeek 4: First Drafts\, Part II \n\n\n\nEmploying techniques from creative writing. \n\n\n\nWeek 5: Revision \n\n\n\nA step-by-step guide for revising your own work. \n\n\n\nWeek 6: Second Drafts \n\n\n\nHow to polish your essay and turn it into something publishable. \n\n\n\nWeek 7: Pitching and Publishing \n\n\n\nHow to find target outlets and write a great pitch. \n\n\n\nWeek 8: Ask-Me-Anything with a Working Editor \n\n\n\nGuest Editor (TBA) and wrap-up.Julie Matlin is a writer with pieces appearing in The New York Times\, The Washington Post\, Chatelaine\, The Globe and Mail\, Huffington Post\, CBC\, and other publications. She has one screenplay in development and is currently querying an essay collection\, Such a Nice Jewish Girl\, about the intersection of faith\, grief\, and identity\, which was supported by a Canada Council for the Arts grant. She has a weakness for puppies\, naps\, and the music of Jack White. You can follow her on twitter @jmatlin or Instagram and Threads @j.matlin. Portfolio:  www.juliematin.com
URL:https://qwf.org/event/writing-the-personal-essay/2024-11-11/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241110T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241110T160000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20241008T004306Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241008T004309Z
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SUMMARY:Triple Book Launch: Jim Johnstone\, Klara Du Plessis\, & Katherine Alexandra Harvey
DESCRIPTION:Sunday\, November 10\, 2024\, 2:00-4:00 pm ET\n\n\n\nLibrairie Paragraphe Books and Paimpsest Press present and afternoon of poetry featuring Jim Johnstone\, Klara Du Plessis\, and Katherine Alexandra Harvey. \n\n\n\nJoin poets Jim Johnstone\, Klara Du Plessis\, and Katherine Alexandra Harvey as they read from and sign from their latest respective works: The Anstruther Reader (editor)\, Post-Mortem of the Event\, and Let Me Evaporate. \n\n\n\nAlso scheduled to appear: Darren Bifford\, Sarah Burgoyne. \n\n\n\nAdmission is Free.Refreshments will be served. \n\n\n\nAbout the Books\n\n\n\nThe Anstruth Reader\n\n\n\nCompiled to celebrate ten years worth of limited edition chapbooks and broadsides\, The Anstruther Reader tracks the evolution of Anstruther Press\, one of Canada’s most prominent micropresses. Featuring notable authors such as Klara du Plessis\, Tolu Oloruntoba\, David Ly\, Rebecca Salazar\, David Barrick\, Fawn Parker\, and T. Liem\, The Anstruther Reader makes a case for the press’s reputation as a launching pad for emerging and established poets alike\, and spotlights its mandate to publish poetry that both pushes against and expands the boundaries of Canadian literature. \n\n\n\nPost-Mortem of the Event\n\n\n\nThe event represents the lyrical\, but an attempt at defining the event endlessly defers meaning—poetry readings\, death\, belonging\, the digital and— Post-Mortem of the Event is a cyclical archive that twists back to recorded readings of Klara du Plessis’s earlier Hell Light Flesh and leans forward to invoke a still unwritten manuscript. Here poetic composition encompasses audiovisual media\, transcription\, wave form visualization\, and digital humanities and interdisciplinary methods. With the maturity of three previous collections\, Du Plessis presents a brilliant expansion of her musical yet essayistic poetics. \n\n\n\nLet Me Evaporate\n\n\n\nInfo TBA \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRSVP on FAcebook
URL:https://qwf.org/event/triple-book-launch-jim-johnstone-klara-du-plessis-katherine-alexandra-harvey/
LOCATION:Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore\, 2220 McGill College Ave\, Montreal\, Quebec\, H3A 3P9\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Book Launch,Community Events,Reading
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241109T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241109T163000
DTSTAMP:20260407T232320
CREATED:20240731T164306Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T171121Z
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SUMMARY:Mastering Book Marketing: An Intensive Workshop for Authors
DESCRIPTION:Saturday\, Nov 9\, 10:30am-4:30pmOpen to all with a book to market (already published or upcoming)Limited to 12 participantsHybrid Workshop* \n\n\n\nIn a crowded field of over-flowing bookstores\, how can we possibly draw attention to a newly published manuscript\, and how can momentum be sustained after the release date? \n\n\n\nThis one-day seminar will be a participatory and interactive exercise in finding solutions and strategies to build an audience\, engage readers\, and keep readers for the duration of your writing career. \n\n\n\nPlease come to the workshop with: \n\n\n\n\na two-minute reading from a book you have published or are about to publish\n\n\n\na two- to three-sentence elevator pitch\n\n\n\na 50-word bio\n\n\n\nAn idea for a Booktok\n\n\n\n\nAnd be prepared to share your website if you have one. \n\n\n\nIn the workshop you will learn strategies for: \n\n\n\n\nIdentifying your target audience\n\n\n\nBuilding an author brand\n\n\n\nLeveraging two social media platforms:\n\n\n\nDeveloping community engagement through libraries\, book clubs\, and in-store book signings\n\n\n\nWriting a captivating book pitch that could be used for newspapers\, magazines\, radio or TV\n\n\n\nGathering early book reviews and testimonials to add to your website and create buzz\n\n\n\nDetermining ARC distribution and choosing your first readers\n\n\n\nApplying to the Public Lending Program\n\n\n\nFinding suitable book prizes\n\n\n\nPlanning your book launch\n\n\n\n\n*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. \n\n\n\nSusan Doherty\, a Montreal author educated at Concordia University\, excels in both fiction and non-fiction. Her award-winning book\, The Ghost Garden\, received the QWF’s Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction. Doherty’s novels\, A Secret Music and Monday Rent Boy\, delve deeply into the themes of childhood trauma\, mentorship and resilience. She has been a long-time volunteer at the Douglas Institute teaching creative writing and art therapy.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/mastering-book-marketing-an-intensive-workshop-for-authors/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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END:VEVENT
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