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

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

Register for the session by filling out the RSVP form below.

Looking for some dedicated, quiet writing space?

Join us for an in-person Shut Up & Write session at the QWF office!

Do all that writing you’ve been meaning to do, and meet a few of your fellow QWF members. Using the Pomodoro technique, participants write in 25-minute bursts, with 5-minute breaks in between.

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

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

12:30–12:55: Writing 112:55–1:00: Break1:00–1:25: Writing 21:25–1:30: Break1:30–1:55: Writing 31:55–2:00: Break2:00–2:25: Writing 42:25–2:30: Break2:30–2:55: Writing 5

To register, RSVP below.

Getting to the QWF Office

Our office is located on the top floor of the Atwater Library and Computer Centre, in Room 3.

Address: 1200 Atwater Avenue, Room 3Westmount, QC H3Z 1X4

Closest Metro: Atwater Station

Closest Bus lines: 24, 63, 90, 104, 138, 144, 150

Accessibility:

The QWF Office is fully accessible by wheelchair from the side entrance on Tupper Street. Once inside, there is an elevator to the second floor, where the QWF office is.

Learn more about the office location and accessibility.

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

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

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

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

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

Understanding the Children’s Book Market

Developing Your Series Concept

Plotting for a Series

Interactive Exercises

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

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

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

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

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

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

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