Lunch and Learn: Getting and Working with a Literary Agent
2024-05-07 12:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
Tuesday, May 7, 202412:00–1:30pmOnline, via Zoom (RSVP below to receive Zoom link)

What exactly is a literary agent? Do you need an agent? How do you get one? And what is it like to be represented by one?

Demystify the role of the literary agent by attending the Quebec Writers’ Federation’s next Lunch and Learn event. Sarah Barracco, a working literary agent from Le monte-charge culturel, will lead us in this hour-and-a-half session, where she’ll go over the various ways agents function in the writing and publishing world. You are invited to bring all your questions.

Come join us on Tuesday May 7, from 12-1:30pm online via Zoom. Secure your spot by clicking on the RSVP button below, and a Zoom link will be sent to you a few days before the session.

RSVPs are now closed. To get the Zoom link, please contact John Wickham at john@qwf.org.

This session will be recorded and the recording will be published on YouTube.

The Facilitator

Sarah Barracco holds degrees in International Relations and Art History and boasts a decade of experience in the design and production of cultural events. In 2021, she joined the literary agency Le monte-charge culturel, now serving as an associate. She represents the work of eighteen writers in Canada and abroad.

RSVPs are now closed. To get the Zoom link, please contact John Wickham at john@qwf.org.

Exploring Childhood Through Stories: Writing Picture Books and Early Chapter Books
2024-05-07 18:00 - 20:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
This is a workshop for writers interested in writing picture books and early chapter books, and also for illustrators who would like to hone their writing skills.

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

In this workshop we will explore:

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

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

Longer writing exercises at home.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Unlock Your Filmmaking Dreams: A Short Film Screenwriting Workshop
2024-05-07 20:00 - 22:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
This workshop is not just about dreaming—it’s about doing. It’s about equipping you with the tools to transform your creative ideas into compelling short films. Here’s what you can expect to gain from this cooperative experience:

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

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

How to apply?

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

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

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

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

Speculative Fiction Master Class: Readying Your Work for Publication
2024-05-09 20:00 - 22:00 | QWF Office, 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1X4, Canada
As in all of my workshops, speculative fiction is defined broadly to include anything from science fiction to fantasy to slipstream to magic realism. Participants are free to submit a short story, an excerpt from a larger work, a script, speculative poetry, a comic, or graphic novel excerpt.

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

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

beginnings and endings

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

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

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

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

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

Shut Up & Write! with QWF (Virtual)
2024-05-11 10:00 - 12:30 | Online – Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link
Saturday, May 11, 10:00 am–12:30 pmOnline via Zoom—RSVP below to receive the Zoom link

Looking for some dedicated, quiet writing space?

Register below to do all that writing you’ve been meaning to do. Using the Pomodoro technique, participants write in 25-minute bursts, with 5-minute breaks in between.

This event is for QWF members only. Not a member? Learn about becoming a member.

The Zoom link will be sent out a day or two before the session.

Please note that these sessions are designed for silent writing, rather than discussing or getting feedback on work.

10:00–10:25: Writing 110:25–10:30: Break10:30–10:55: Writing 210:55–11:00: Break11:00–11:25: Writing 311:25–11:30: Break11:30–11:55: Writing 411:55–12:00: Break12:00–12:25: Writing 5

To receive the Zoom link, RSVP below. You will receive the Zoom link a few days before the session.

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