Upcoming Workshops from the Writers’ Collective in 2009
Writing for Children
with Kevin Shortsleeve
Saturday, April 25, 2009
10:00AM-4:00PM
room 3M50 (third floor Manitoba Hall)
University of Winnipeg
$30 WC members, $50 non-members
This day long seminar will approach the topic of writing for children from a number of angles. The first section will be a conversation on inspiration and motive and will consider the child audience in relation to the adult author. Depending upon the participants interests, genres covered throughout the day may include verse for children, picturebooks, and fantasy novels that move between two worlds. The final section will be on strategies for publishing for children.
Participants should feel free to bring short works for sharing–a few poems, one picture book idea or a short sample chapter. Depending on the group and their interests there will likely be writing exercises and work-shopping. There will also be plenty of time for Q and A.
Bio: Kevin Shortsleeve received his B.F.A. in film from Emerson College in Boston, an M.A. in children’s literature from the University of Florida, and wrote his Ph.D thesis on nonsense literature at the University of Oxford. He has published five picturebooks in verse for children, including 13 Monsters Who Should Be Avoided, which was voted to the Kids Pick of the Lists by the American Booksellers Association. He has also published academic work on Walt Disney, Edward Gorey and Dr. Seuss. Dr. Shortsleeve is currently an Assistant Professor teaching children’s literature and culture and creative writing at the University of Winnipeg.
To register or for more information email writerscollective@uwinnipeg.ca or call 786-9468
PAST WORKSHOPS:
Self-Editing 101: The Basics
(What you need to know to get started)
with Clarise Foster
Saturday, February 21, 2009
10:00am-1:00pm
room 3M50
(third floor, Manitoba Hall)
University of Winnipeg
$15 members, $30 non-members
So you feel like the opus is finally finished, so what’s the next step?
In this workshop, we will address those important first questions a writer must ask themselves once the creative work is done.
Topics to be covered:
Is it done yet? When does the writing end and editing begin?
Do you and your writing need a good night’s sleep? The importance of givingit a rest.
Nap time’s over: What’s next? Time to get down to editing brass tacks: What to look for in your work and how to find it.
Clarise Foster is the Editor of Contemporary Verse 2 Canada’s Premier poetry quarterly, and for the Muses’ Company. She is the author of two collections of poetry, The Way Boys Sometimes Are and The Flame Tree.
Short Fiction
with Sarah Klassen
Saturday, March 7, 2009
10:00am-4:00pm*
room 3M50
(third floor, Manitoba Hall)
University of Winnipeg
$30 members $50 non-members
In this workshop you will have the opportunity to envision a possible story and set it in motion. The following aspects of story-making (as time permits) will be considered:
1. “Real’ life and Fiction: Can I make one out of the other?
2. The beginning: Where does the story begin?
3. Character and conflict: how do they shape each other?
4. POV: To whom does the story happen? Who tells it?
5. Conversation: A help or hindrance to my story?
6. Mood: How to set the mood and sustain it?
7. How does a short story differ from a novel?
There will be time for writing and discussion as well as time to receive and offer feedback.
Sarah Klassen is a Winnipeg poet, fiction writer and editor. Her second short story collection: A Feast of Longing (2006) was short-listed for the Margaret Laurence Award and received the High Plains Fiction Award. Her first collection was: The Peony Season (2000). She taught at the CMU School of Writing in 2007 and 2008. Her writing has appeared in literary magazines across Canada and in anthologies.
*there will be a break for lunch.
TO REGISTER, PLEASE EMAIL writerscollective@uwinnipeg.ca OR CALL 786-9468
Past Events:
The Writers’ Collective is pleased to present a brand new workshop for 2009:
Travel Writing with Bartley Kives
Saturday, Jan. 24, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
University of Winnipeg
Room 3m50 (3rd floor Manitoba Hall)
$15 WC members, $30 non-members
Join reporter, columnist and guidebook author Bartley Kives for a workshop on travel writing for newspapers, magazines and online media. The emphasis of this half-day session will be on ways to convert your deliberate or incidental travels into a few extra bucks and a rewarding writing experience, as opposed to eking out a living exclusively in this extremely competitive field.
We’ll begin by taking a broad look at the travel-writing market and touch upon niches such as adventure travel, ecotourism and culinary travel. We’ll also examine the disjunction between genuine travel journalism and the junket-driven advertorial game and talk about some of the ethical dilemmas inherent in the field.
Once we get into the nitty-gritty of freelance travel writing, you’ll find out how to tailor a travel piece to a specific publication and get a sense of how to craft various types of travel stories, including destination pieces, personal travel accounts and the humble but all-important travel blurb.
Time permitting, workshop participants who bring along samples of their own travel writing will have an opportunity to gain some feedback. No prior experience is necessary, but a basic appreciation of journalistic style is recommended.
Bartley Kives writes about politics, food and travel for the Winnipeg Free Press and is the author of A Daytripper’s Guide to Manitoba: Exploring Canada’s Undiscovered Province. His work has also appeared in explore magazine, National Geographic Traveler and Ciao! as well as on CBC Radio and Television.
TO REGISTER PLEASE CALL 786-9468 or email writerscollective@uwinnipeg.ca
The Writers’ Collective is pleased to announce a brand-new workshop for Fall:
So you’ve written a book … Now what?
with DOUG WHITEWAY
Saturday, November 29, 2008
10:00am-1:00pm.
Room 3M50
(3rd Floor Manitoba Hall)
University of Winnipeg
$15 WC members
$30 non-members
It seems like the hardest part is done. But it isn’t. The hardest part is yet to come – getting your manuscript published. The publishing world is competitive, self-interested, and impatient. If you’re going to survive you’ll need more than a nice turn of phrase. In this workshop, we’ll explore, among other things, preparing manuscripts for submission, approaching agents and publishers, crafting query letters, and growing a thick skin – all means, for course, to a happy ending in print.
Under his pseudonym, C.C. Benison, DOUG WHITEWAY has written three mystery novels set in England — Death at Buckingham Palace, Death at Sandringham House, and Death at Windsor Castle, as well as a mystery novel set in Winnipeg — Death in Cold Type. His work has been published in Canada, the United States and (in translation) in Japan, Germany, and Spain, and has been nominated for numerous awards. A former magazine editor and writer, he was most lately writer-in-residence at the Winnipeg Public Library.
TO REGISTER PLEASE CALL 786-9468 or email writerscollective@uwinnipeg.ca
