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SUMMARY:Montreal Review of Books Fall Issue Launch
DESCRIPTION:Wednesday\, October 30\, 2024\, 7:00 pm ET\n\n\n\nThe Montreal Review of Books launches its Fall 2024 issue on Wednesday\, October 30th at P’tit Ours (formerly Ursa\, 5589 Avenue du Parc)! Join us for readings by Amal Elsana Alh’jooj (Hope is a Woman’s Name\, Sutherland House Press)\, Arjun Basu (The Reeds\, ECW Press)\, and Jacob Wren (Dry Your Tears to Perfect Your Aim\, Book*hug Press).Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.\, and mRb readings will start at 7:00 p.m. The authors will be available to sign books after the readings. Admission is free.For those unable to attend in person\, readings will be live-streamed on our YouTube page. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRSVP on FAcebook
URL:https://qwf.org/event/montreal-review-of-books-fall-issue-launch/
LOCATION:QC
CATEGORIES:Book Launch,Reading
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241030T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241030T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
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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/2024-10-30/
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:20241029T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241029T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
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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/2024-10-29/
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:20241029T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241029T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
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/2024-10-29/
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:20241028T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241028T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
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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-2/2024-10-28/
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:20241028T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241028T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
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/2024-10-28/
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:20241026T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241026T123000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20240731T163956Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T193709Z
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SUMMARY:Pitch\, Plan\, and Lead: How to Get and Give a Workshop for Writers
DESCRIPTION:Two Saturdays Oct 26-Nov 2\, 10:30am-12:30pm Open to professional writers or other literary professionals. If you are not sure whether your workshop idea is appropriate for QWF\, send us a note.Limited to 10 participantsHybrid Workshop* \n\n\n\nAre you ready to share your knowledge of your chosen literary field? Need a hand getting started on your pitch\, or polishing your workshop-leading skills? Together with other emerging and established literary folk\, we’ll talk about how to conceive\, plan\, and lead a successful QWF workshop\, whether on an aspect of craft\, a literary genre\, or an angle on the business of writing –in plenty of time for QWF’s spring call for workshop proposals. \n\n\n\nOver two Sunday mornings\, we’ll explore possibilities for bringing as much creativity to your workshop design as you do to your art. You’ll develop and refine your workshop idea and transform it into a solid pitch. We’ll talk about how to plan a workshop that’s fun and effective for you and the participants\, whether it lasts one afternoon or ten weeks\, including how to manage a diverse group of participants with differing goals\, skill levels\, and workshop experience. \n\n\n\nIn the first session we’ll talk about: \n\n\n\n\nchoosing your topic \n\n\n\nhow to design a format (one day\, four afternoons\, two hours a week for eight weeks?) and plan your activities across that time frame\n\n\n\nwhether and how to add readings\, videos\, or reference materials \n\n\n\nhow to describe your teaching experience and approach to leading a workshop – what will you lead participants to accomplish\, and how?\n\n\n\nwhat to include in a “more detailed workshop description (up to two pages)”\n\n\n\n\nBetween sessions you’ll create a clean draft of your pitch using this form and share it with the group by email. In the second session\, we’ll consider the drafts and help each other make them even clearer\, more powerful\, more engaging.  \n\n\n\nWe will also discuss: \n\n\n\n\nhow to manage workshop time to strike a good balance between the various elements\, such as in-class writing\, group discussion\, and homework tasks \n\n\n\nmaking sure everyone in a diverse group gets what they need (even the difficult ones)\n\n\n\naccounting for – and celebrating – each participant’s distinct individuality\n\n\n\ncultivating a sense of community \n\n\n\nsharing information about the writing life – how to get published\, how to get paid\, do you need an agent\, doing public readings/open mics\, etc.\n\n\n\nmodeling and fostering respect\, warmth\, honesty and generosity in your workshop\n\n\n\n\nIn this context we’ll discuss the Guidelines for QWF Workshop Participants and Workshop Leaders. Please have a look at them before we meet.  \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\nElise Moser has published short stories\, a novel for adults\, a YA novel\, and a nonfiction book for kids. She has edited anthologies\, been literary editor of online arts and culture magazine Rover\, and sat on the boards of Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal\, PEN Canada\, the QWF\, and the English-language Arts Network. She coordinates the Atwater Writers Exhibition\, co-organizes the Read Quebec Book Fair\, and is a co-coordinator of the National Juries and Awards Working Group. She has been a QWF mentor four times\, and has led workshops on the short story\, on having a successful writing group\, and on combining the practices of writing and walking\, as well as a previous iteration of this workshop. At least two of her workshop groups became writing groups\, and continue to meet and write together.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/pitch-plan-and-lead-how-to-get-and-give-a-workshop-for-writers-2/2024-10-26/
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:20241026T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241026T123000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
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LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T205210Z
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SUMMARY:Shut Up & Write! with QWF (Virtual)
DESCRIPTION:Saturday\, October 26\, 2024\, 10:00 am–12:30 pmOnline via Zoom—RSVP below to receive the Zoom link\n\n\n\nLooking for some dedicated\, quiet writing space? \n\n\n\nRegister 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. \n\n\n\nThis event is for QWF members only. Not a member? Learn about becoming a member.  \n\n\n\nThe Zoom link will be sent out a day or two before the session. \n\n\n\nPlease note that these sessions are designed for silent writing\, rather than discussing or getting feedback on work. \n\n\n\n10:00–10:25: 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 \n\n\n\nTo receive the Zoom link\, RSVP below. You will receive the Zoom link a few days before the session. \n\n\n\nNote: RSVPs for virtual Shut Up & Write! sessions close 24 hours before the session. If there is no option to RSVP\, RSVPs are closed.
URL:https://qwf.org/event/shut-up-write-with-qwf-virtual-22/
LOCATION:Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
CATEGORIES:Shut Up & Write!
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241025T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241025T170000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20241025T135907Z
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SUMMARY:Book Launch with David Huebert
DESCRIPTION:November 5\, 2024\, 7:00 pm ET\n\n\n\nJoin Pulp Books in welcoming Halifax-based author David Huebert to launch his debut novel\, Oil People\, in conversation with D.W. Wilson (author of Once You Break a Knuckle) and Francesca Ekwuyasi (author of Butter Honey Pig Bread. \n\n\n\nAbout Oil People\n\n\n\nPart generational saga\, part eco-gothic fable\, Oil People is a luminous debut about history and family\, land and power\, and oil as an object of toxic wonder. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nrsvp
URL:https://qwf.org/event/book-launch-with-david-huebert/
LOCATION:Librairie Pulp Books & Cafe\, 3952 Wellington Street\, Montreal\, Quebec\, H4G1V3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Book Launch
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241024T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241024T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
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/2024-10-24/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241024T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241024T203000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20241008T005753Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241008T005757Z
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SUMMARY:Violet Hour: 10 Years of Metonymy Press
DESCRIPTION:Thursday\, October 24\, 2024\, 7:00 pm ET\n\n\n\nJoin us for a special Violet Hour at Pulp Bookstore in Verdun\, celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Metonymy Press. \n\n\n\nCreated in 2014 by Ashley Fortier and Oliver Fugler\, Metonymy Press aims to reduce barriers to publishing for authors whose perspectives are underrepresented in order to produce quality materials relevant to queer\, feminist\, and social justice communities. \n\n\n\nViolet Hour’s Christopher DiRaddo will be speaking with publishers Ashley and Oliver about Metonymy’s beginnings and the past decade. We’ll also be hearing from press authors H Felix Chau Bradley and Kama La Mackerel\, and there will be readings from Ralph Haddad and Leila Marshy\, both of whom appear in Metonymy’s recent release\, El Ghourabaa: A Queer and Trans Collection of Oddities. \n\n\n\nHosted by Christopher DiRaddo \n\n\n\nA partnership between Metonymy Press\, Librairie Pulp Books & Cafe\, The Équipe de recherche en études Queer au Québec and Violet Hour. \n\n\n\nAbout the Press\n\n\n\nMetonymy Press is based in Tio’tià:ke\, unceded Kanien’kehá:ka territory. For ten years\, Metonymy has been publishing literary works by emerging queer and trans writers — what one author described as “books that reframe power and affirm life.” They really want to keep gay book lovers satisfied. \n\n\n\nMetonymy is the project of Ashley Fortier and Oliver Fugler. They met on their first day of high school and have been writing together and editing for each other ever since. Their work is supported by a fantastic roster of collaborators\, including acquisitions editors H Felix Chau Bradley\, Kama La Mackerel\, and Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch. \n\n\n\nAbout the Writers\n\n\n\nH Felix Chau Bradley is a writer and editor living in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal). They are the author of Personal Attention Roleplay\, a story collection. You can find their recent work in carte blanche\, ESPACE art actuel\, the Ex-Puritan\, GLYPHÖRIA\, the Humber Literary Review\, PRISM International\, Words Without Borders and Xtra. \n\n\n\nRalph Haddad specialized in Islamic Studies with a Concentration on emerging Gender and Sexuality studies coming out of and around Southwest Asia. He currently serves as the Head of Advocacy for Basmeh and Zeitooneh\, a Syrian refugee-led organization based in Lebanon\, where he aims to advance the cause of refugee protection at such a critical juncture in Lebanese history. Ralph is Lebanese-born and currently resides in Montreal\, but is perpetually in search of home. \n\n\n\nKama La Mackerel is an educator\, visual artist\, performer\, writer and translator who works between and across English\, French and Mauritian Kreol. They are the author of the award-winning poetry collection ZOM-FAM (Metonymy Press) and have translated works by Canadian writers Vivek Shraya and Kai Cheng Thom. They have lectured\, performed and exhibited their work internationally. Find them on social media @kamalamackerel \n\n\n\nLeila Marshy is a Palestinian-Montrealer. During the First Intifada\, she worked for the Palestinian Red Crescent\, the Palestinian Mental Health Association\, and Medical Aid for Palestine. In 2011\, she founded Friends of Hutchison\, a groundbreaking community group bringing Hasidic and non-Hasidic neighbours together in dialogue. Her first novel\, The Philistine\, was published in 2018 and in French in 2021. Her collection of stories\, My Thievery of the People\, will be out in March 2025. She is Fiction Editor at Baraka Books. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRSVP on Facebook
URL:https://qwf.org/event/violet-hour-10-years-of-metonymy-press/
LOCATION:Librairie Pulp Books & Cafe\, 3952 Wellington Street\, Montreal\, Quebec\, H4G1V3\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Community Events,Networking,Panel,Reading,Series
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241024T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241024T190000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20241001T175116Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241008T011121Z
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SUMMARY:Book Launch: Mad Sisters by Susan Grundy
DESCRIPTION:Thursday\, October 24\, 2024\, 7:00 pm ET\n\n\n\nJoin us for the launch of Mad Sisters by Susan Grundy\, a deeply moving memoir that explores the journey of caregiving and sisterhood through the lens of mental illness. This poignant narrative shares the story of Susan’s older sister’s diagnosis of schizophrenia at the age of thirteen and the emotional and psychological toll it took on their family. \n\n\n\nGrundy’s candid storytelling delves into the complex dynamics of sibling relationships\, guilt\, love and resilience\, offering readers an intimate look at the challenges faced by caregivers. As Mad Sisters flips through five decades of memories\, the memoir brings to light the impact of mental illness on family members and advocates for systemic change in psychiatric care. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRSVP
URL:https://qwf.org/event/mad-sisters-by-susan-grundy-book-launch/
LOCATION:Espace Drawn and Quarterly\, 176 rue Bernard Ouest\, Montreal\, Quebec\, H2T 2K2\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Book Launch
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241024T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241024T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
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/2024-10-24/
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:20241023T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241023T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
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/2024-10-23/
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:20241023T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241023T230000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20241016T194452Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241016T194457Z
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SUMMARY:2024 Literary Oktoberfest
DESCRIPTION:Wednesday\, October 23\, 2024\, 7:00-11:00 pm ET\n\n\n\nYolk is excited to announce its second annual Literary Oktoberfest! Join us for a night inspired by the atmospheric outdoor beer gardens of Oktoberfest and designed to connect writers\, agents\, publishers\, booksellers\, and literary support organizations in the city of Montreal. The evening will begin with three keynote speakers—Nour Abi-Nakhoul (Editor-in-Chief\, Maisonneuve Magazine)\, Ashley Obscura (Founder & Managing Editor\, Metatron Press)\, and Lori Schubert (Executive Director\, Quebec Writers’ Federation)—sharing insights about their publishing journeys\, and conclude with two readings by prominent authors Liz Howard and Neil Smith. Throughout the evening there will be time to meet new writers\, industry professionals\, and discover what this city has to offer. \n\n\n\nThe 10$ entry fee includes a free drink ticket. Limited spots available! A limited number of tickets will also be available at the door (10$\, no drink ticket included). This is an 18+ event. \n\n\n\nWhen: Wednesday October 23rd\, 2024\, 7pm-11pm. \n\n\n\nWhere: Riverside St. Henri (5020 Saint Ambroise St\, Montreal) \n\n\n\nParticipating organizations tabling at the event include: \n\n\n\n\nAssociation of English Language Publishers of Quebec\n\n\n\ncarte blanche\n\n\n\nConcordia University Press\n\n\n\nHeadlight Anthology\n\n\n\nLibrairie St. Henri Books\n\n\n\nLibrairie De Stiil Booksellers\n\n\n\nLinda Leith Publishing\n\n\n\nMaisonneuve Magazine\n\n\n\nMetatron Press\n\n\n\nMetonymy Press\n\n\n\nMontreal Review of Books\n\n\n\nPoetry Matters\n\n\n\nQuebec Writers’ Federation\n\n\n\nSoliloquies\n\n\n\nTurret House Press\n\n\n\n…and more to be announced\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGet Tickets
URL:https://qwf.org/event/2024-literary-oktoberfest/
LOCATION:Riverside St-Henri\, 5020 Saint Ambrose St.\, Montreal\, Quebec\, H4C 2G1\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Networking,Panel,QWF Events,Reading
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241023T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241023T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
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/2024-10-23/
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:20241022T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241022T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
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/2024-10-22/
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:20241022T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241022T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
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/2024-10-22/
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:20241021T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241021T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20240812T164840Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240813T181001Z
UID:10003989-1729540800-1729548000@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-2/2024-10-21/
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:20241021T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241021T190000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20241008T005232Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241008T005235Z
UID:10004027-1729537200-1729537200@qwf.org
SUMMARY:The Power of Fiction Readings and Discussion
DESCRIPTION:Rescheduled to: Monday\, October 21\, 2024\, 7:00 pm ETFree RSVP via Ticketsource\n\n\n\nPlease join Argo Books for an evening with Danila Botha\, Nora Gold\, Mireille Silcoff and Sivan Slapak\, where they will be performing readings of their work\, followed by a discussion about their craft\, common themes and personal inspiration. There will also be an open Q&A and time for book signing. This event is free\, but space is limited\, so please RSVP on TicketSource. \n\n\n\nAbout the Authors\n\n\n\nDanila Botha is the author of three short story collections\, Got No Secrets and For All the Men (and Some of the Women I’ve Known). Her new collection\, Things that Cause Inappropriate Happiness was published in April by Guernica Editions. Her novels include Too Much on the Inside and A Place for People Like Us (2025). \n\n\n\nDr. Nora Gold\, born and raised in Montreal\, is the prize-winning author of five books and the editor-in-chief of the prestigious literary journal Jewish Fiction. Gold’s books have won a Canadian Jewish Literary Award\, a Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award\, and praise from Cynthia Ozick\, Dara Horn\, and Alice Munro. noragold.com \n\n\n\nMireille Silcoff is the editor of Best Canadian Essays 2023\, and is a regular essayist at The New York Times\, where she covers culture and society. Mireille is the author of four books\, including the multi-award-winning story collection Chez l’Arabe. Mireille began her career in the early 1990s as a nightclub reporter at the Montreal Mirror. She has written extensively about drugs and psychedelics. Mireille is currently writing a book with Vin Mon Lapin (Phaidon\, 2025)\, and is completing her latest collection of short fiction. She runs the raucous discussion salon Hot Chain. \n\n\n\nSivan Slapak is a Montreal-based writer. Her work has appeared in The New Quarterly\, Montreal Serai\, carte blanche\, and collections published by Véhicule Press and Guernica Editions. She was a finalist for the CBC Quebec Writing Competition\, won the TNQ Peter Hinchcliffe Fiction Award once\, and was shortlisted for it twice. Here Is Still Here is her first book. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRSVP on Ticketsource
URL:https://qwf.org/event/the-power-of-fiction-readings-and-discussion/
LOCATION:Argo Bookshop\, 1841A Ste-Catherine St. West\, Montreal\, Quebec\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Community Events,Panel,Reading
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241021T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241021T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
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/2024-10-21/
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:20241020T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241020T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20241008T010536Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241008T010540Z
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SUMMARY:The Decade Reading: Metatron Press 10-Year Anniversary
DESCRIPTION:Sunday\, October 20\, 2024\, 5:00-10:00 pm ET\n\n\n\nMetatron Press presents: A 10-Year-Anniversary Reading and Party \n\n\n\nJoin Metatron Press and friends for an abundantly ambitious reading to mark and celebrate our 10 year anniversary! This 3-part reading brings together a staggeringly brilliant group of voices that we have published over the past 10 years\, including local legends\, poets\, and writers traveling to us from Ontario\, Saskatchewan\, California\, New York\, and Massachusetts. \n\n\n\nFor 10 years\, Metatron has been passionately championing\, preserving\, and celebrating poetry and experimental writing. Along the way\, they’ve hosted 70 events\, published 50 groundbreaking books\, and built a rich archive of digital poetry\, creating a platform for thousands of voices to resonate with those who know how to listen. \n\n\n\nDrop in anytime between 5 PM and 10 PM for an evening of electrifying readings\, delicious drinks (cocktails\, mocktails)\, snacks\, and engaging conversation. As you immerse yourself in the words\, let Field Note set the sonic atmosphere between and after the readings. \n\n\n\nTickets are available now—grab an Early Bird ticket at a reduced rate before they sell out (limited quantities until October 1st). Don’t miss this unforgettable celebration of poetry\, the written word\, and the ancient art of listening. \n\n\n\nReaders\n\n\n\nSARA SUTTERLIN ❋ Author of Baby + I Wanted to Be the KnifeALI PINKNEY (Toronto) ❋ Author of TampionLEE SUKSI (Toronto) ❋ Author of The NervesLORA MATHIS (Oakland) ❋ Author of The Snakes Came BackFAITH PARÉ ❋ GLYPHÖRIA Contributor + Winner of the Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging WritersJAY RITCHIE ❋ Author of How to Appear Perfectly Indifferent While Crying on the InsideLIZ BOWEN (Syracruse) ❋ Author of SugarbloodVIOLA CHEN ❋ Author of No ProblematicsOLIVIA WOOD ❋ Author of A Work No One Told You AboutMARCELA HUERTA ❋ Author of TropicoTRYNNE DELANEY ❋ Author of the half-drownedSENNAH YEE (Toronto) ❋ Author of How Do I Look?SOFIA BANZHAF (Toronto) ❋ Author of Pony CastleBRAD CASEY ❋ Author of The Idiot On Fire + Host of Metatron Podcast MetacösmGREG ZORKO (Massachusetts) ❋ Author of Ghost In The ClubFRANKIE BARNET ❋ Author of An Indoor Kind of Girl + Kim: A Novel IdeaCASON SHARPE (Toronto) ❋ Author of Our Lady of Perpetual Realness and Other StoriesALASDAIR REES (Saskatoon) ❋ GLYPHÖRIA Editor + Saskatchewan’s first Youth Poet LaureateALEX MANLEY ❋ Author of We Are All Just Animals + PlantsHANNAH KARPINSKI ❋ Metatron’s Assistant Editor + Metatron Author To-Be! \n\n\n\n𝘈𝘊𝘊𝘌𝘚𝘚𝘐𝘉𝘐𝘓𝘐𝘛𝘠Le Systéme is a fully accessible space  \n\n\n\n𝘚𝘊𝘏𝘌𝘋𝘜𝘓𝘌 (𝘈𝘗𝘗𝘙𝘖𝘟𝘐𝘔𝘈𝘛𝘌)Reading 001 – 5:30-6:15 pm (Readers TBA)Reading 002 – 7-7:45 pm (Readers TBA)Reading 003 – 8:30-9:15 pm (Readers TBA) \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBuy Tickets
URL:https://qwf.org/event/the-decade-reading-metatron-press-10-year-anniversary/
LOCATION:Le Système\, 7119 rue Saint-Hubert\, Montreal
CATEGORIES:Community Events,Reading
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241018T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241018T150000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20241004T204254Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T204802Z
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SUMMARY:Shut Up & Write! with QWF (In Person)
DESCRIPTION:Friday\, October 18\, 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-25/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Shut Up & Write!
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241018T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241018T120000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20241010T123810Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241010T123816Z
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SUMMARY:Literary Lunch
DESCRIPTION:Friday\, October 18\, 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 October 18th\, 2024. Organized by Lis McLoughlin/ NatureCulture  www.nature-culture.net and www.writingtheland.org 
URL:https://qwf.org/event/literary-lunch/
LOCATION:Chez Delmo\, 275 Notre Dame West\, Montreal\, Quebec\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Networking
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241017T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241017T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
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/2024-10-17/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241017T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241017T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20240730T151554Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T171206Z
UID:10003934-1729188000-1729195200@qwf.org
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/2024-10-17/
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:20241017T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241017T190000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20241008T004746Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241008T004749Z
UID:10004026-1729184400-1729191600@qwf.org
SUMMARY:Alyson and Su Read at Librairie Paragraphe
DESCRIPTION:Thursday\, October 17\, 2024\, 5:00-7:00 pm ET\n\n\n\nLibrarie Paragraphe Bookstore and Renaissance Press present readings by Alyson Hope and Su J. Sokol. \n\n\n\nJoin us as authors Alyson Hope and Su J. Sokol discuss and sign their books The Smell of Rain and Run J Run. \n\n\n\nAdmission is free. \n\n\n\nAbout the Books\n\n\n\nThe Smell of Rain\n\n\n\nEach family has their story\, and each one is different\, depending on who tells it. \n\n\n\nFighting encroaching darkness\, Nina picks up a pencil and begins to write. Her deeply personal entries tell a story of love\, loss\, and learning how to piece it all back together. Weaving her way through past and present\, she spins a kaleidoscopic and increasingly fragmented narrative. \n\n\n\n“I am a person today\, but have no idea what will be left of me tomorrow\,” writes Nina. \n\n\n\nBoth delicate and iridescent\, The Smell of Rain is bound to make you think: what happens when the fragile thread of life begins to fray? \n\n\n\nRun J Run\n\n\n\nJeremy\, a high school English teacher coming to grips with a shattered marriage and haunted by the brother he lost\, unexpectedly falls in love with his best friend\, Zak. Attractive\, wildly unconventional\, and happy in an open relationship with his partner Annie\, Zak seems to embody everything missing from Jeremy’s life\, but when the arrest and death of a marginalized student at the Brooklyn high school where they both teach trigger Zak’s mental breakdown and slow descent\, Jeremy and Annie are compelled to cross boundaries\, both external and internal\, in a desperate attempt to save him. \n\n\n\nAbout the Authors\n\n\n\nAlyson Hope is a writer who currently lives in Montreal\, the island of Tiohtià:ke – unceded land of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation. In 2014\, Hope received her Master’s Degree in literature from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Based largely on ecocritical theory\, her thesis examines the multi-faceted relationship between nature and the characters in John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Hope’s love and respect for the natural world is what drew her to the study of ecocriticism. The Smell of Rain\, published by the brilliant folks of Renaissance Press\, is Hope’s debut fictional novel. \n\n\n\nSu J. Sokol is a social rights advocate and a writer of speculative and interstitial fiction. A former legal services lawyer from New York City\, xe now makes Montréal xyr home. Sokol is the author of three novels: Cycling to Asylum\, which was long-listed for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic and has been optioned for development into a feature-length film\, Run J Run (Renaissance Press 2019!) and Zee (2020). Sokol’s short fiction has appeared in various magazines and anthologies. When xe is not writing\, battling slumlords\, bringing evil bureaucracies to their knees\, and smashing borders\, Sokol curates and participates in readings and literary events in Canada and abroad. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRSVP on FAcebook
URL:https://qwf.org/event/alyson-and-su-read-at-librairie-paragraphe/
LOCATION:Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore\, 2220 McGill College Ave\, Montreal\, Quebec\, H3A 3P9\, Canada
CATEGORIES:Community Events,Panel,Reading
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241016T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241016T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20240730T150325Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T203300Z
UID:10003926-1729108800-1729116000@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/2024-10-16/
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:20241016T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241016T200000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20240729T192931Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T171155Z
UID:10003918-1729101600-1729108800@qwf.org
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/2024-10-16/
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:20241015T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241015T220000
DTSTAMP:20260407T171450
CREATED:20240729T185742Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T171223Z
UID:10003911-1729022400-1729029600@qwf.org
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/2024-10-15/
LOCATION:QWF Office\, 1200 Atwater Avenue\, Room 3\, Westmount\, QC\, H3Z 1X4\, Canada
CATEGORIES:QWF Workshops,Workshops
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