WORKSHOP OVERVIEW

Become a Writer in Residence! 

SEPTEMBER ONLY: ADVANCED WRITER IN RESIDENCE WORKSHOP IN FICTION WRITING HELD IN A GORGEOUS RETREAT LOCATION IN PITT MEADOWS, BC.

Our workshops feature limited enrolment with expert attention to each participant's work. It culminates in one participant being awarded a writer in residence and private consulting with an expert writer/editor. 

WORKSHOP: To be held Friday, September 19^th, 5:00-9:00 pm; Saturday, September 20^th 9:00 am-8:00 pm; and Sunday, September 21^st 9:00 am-8:00 pm. The fee of $1000.00 is inclusive of all  instruction, editing, and consultation.

Participants will learn the skills essential to move from wanting to get published to getting published. Participants own work will be used as the curriculum, with specific strategies taught that would improve work and would pertain to all good writing. Narration, character development, point of view, structure, dialogue, emotional truth and premise will be covered.

LIMITED ENROLLMENT: Applicants are invited to send a 5-page sample of a piece of narrative work that they want to publish, plus a synopsis. Eight participants will be selected from the applicants. Fee for application is $50.00 which will be applied to the $1000.00 fee, if applicant is accepted.

EXPERT ATTENTION TO WORK: Three expert writer/editors will provide feedback to each of the participants. Please see ‘INSTRUCTORS’ page for more detail.

WRITER IN RESIDENCE: Participant’s work will be adjudicated at the end of the workshop and one piece of fiction selected as the most promising will receive the opportunity to stay on the farm in a lovely, private apartment for five days and will receive individual feedback on work from Dr. Mamchur.

SHAPE OF THE EVENT:

Enrolling for Workshop

·     September 7 – 10. Submit 5 pages of fiction plus a synopsis

·     September 12. Applicants are notified of acceptance to workshop

·     September 14. Participants receive copies of all works and are asked to write comments for authors to be shared at workshop.

Workshop

·     September 19, Friday evening. Introductions and Opening Lecture.

·     September 20, Saturday AM: Lecture using student work and relevant literature.

·     September 20, Saturday PM: Workshop of 4 of the pieces

·     September 20, Saturday EVENING: One on one with the experts for 4 participants (one hour each)

·     September 21, Sunday AM: Lecture using student work and relevant literature.

·     September 21, Sunday PM: Workshop of 4 of the pieces

·     September 21, Sunday EVENING: One on one with the experts for 4 participants (one hour each).

Writer in Residence Award

·     September 22: Participants rewrite 5 pages

·     September 23: Participants submit rewrite

·     September 24: Writer in Residence is selected

·     September 25: Writer in Residence is notified

·     September 26, 27, 28, 29, 30: Writer lives in apartment as writer in residence

·     September 30: Writer spends afternoon with Dr. Mamchur going over work.

The Setting of both the Workshop and the Writer in Residence apartment is very conducive to creative work. Please see ‘LOCATION’ page for details.

INSTRUCTORS

Dr. Carolyn Mamchur

Workshop designer and principal instructor/editor. Author of books, short stories, poems, articles and screenplays; Professor of writing process at Simon Fraser University; editor for Telefilm and CBC; consultant, program designer and editor for writing program for Women in the Director’s Chair, Hemmera Consulting, Weherhauser (formerly MacMillan Bloedel) CEO’s; has over 30 years of experience in writing, teaching writing and editing.

Dr. Mamchur will lead the workshop, select and adjudicate work and edit your work. She will work one-on-one with the participant selected as writer in residence.

Dr. Charles Scott

I am  an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University who loves to teach and work with students on writing. I do a lot of work with international students, both graduate and undergraduate and enjoy working with them and the hybrid identities they are able to form in straddling, transcending, and integrating multiple cultures. I also teach courses in curriculum and pedagogy, as well as philosophy of education. My research interests are in narrative writing, conceptions of dialogue and dialogical approaches in education, and in contemplative approaches in education. 

I am also an Associate Professor at City University of Seattle (in the Vancouver campus), where I coordinate an M.Ed. program in Leadership in Education as part of a closely-knit team that oversees programs in clinical counselling, school counselling, and educational leadership.

Slightly apart from my academic work, I enjoy hiking in the forests and mountains with my wife, photography, and, in winter, skiing anywhere, anytime. 

Ms. Linda Hegland

Editor-in-Chief.  Workshop administrator, editor, and adjudicator.

Author of short stories, creative non-fiction, and poetry. Linda has been published in literary journals in North America, Sweden, Australia, and India.  She will work one-on-one with you during the workshop, and will adjudicate and edit work.

LOCATION

The workshop and Writer in Residence will be held at Story Thyme Farm, a beautiful, bucolic farm with outdoor gardens and an opportunity to visit with horses, chickens, ducks, and doves. Story Thyme Farm is situated minutes from the Pitt Meadows dykes, Kanaka Creek, and the Alouette River, and is surrounded by the Golden Ears Mountains.

This setting provides tranquility, creative quiet, and the opportunity to engage with creatures who reflect one’s mood and can inspire creative thinking.

The Workshop itself will be held indoors or outdoors depending upon weather. The farm house is open and spacious, providing an ideal atmosphere for risk taking and out of the box thinking which can result in solving any stumbling blocks to your work.

The writer residence is a lovely one bedroom coach apartment which looks down onto the garden.

Plenty of parking on property and eating places near by.

Comfort and seclusion in quiet location surrounded by beauty offers the ideal location for the breakthrough you have been waiting for.

CONTACT US

Editor-in-Chief

Linda Hegland

lindahegland@icloud.com

Please email your 5-page submission plus a synopsis in the period September 7-10.  to the email address listed above.

Please provide all details in your email including your name, address, phone number, and email address. Please tell us which form of contact is the most appropriate.

Attach your submission as an attachment to your email.