General Membership

“Writers helping writers,” a collaborative philosophy, is the foundation of the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS). It shapes our outlook as an arts service organization, and it informs a complete cycle of development programming and a wide array of professional services that support the craft of writing, the business of being a writer, and the promotion of Nova Scotia writers as integral to the province’s cultural life and creative economy.

WFNS has pursued its mission for nearly 50 years through the shared commitment and passion of its Board of Directors, its staff, and its approximately 700 members, who join at all career stages and who engage in a diverse range of genres, forms, and writing practices.

Truly, WFNS could not exist without its members, whose dues and donations contribute to essential funding, whose skills and experiences make programming possible, and whose concerns and aspirations drive our mandate.

General Membership in WFNS is open to anyone with an interest in writing, regardless of writing experience or place of residence. Most of our programming is virtual, allowing the active participation of writers across Nova Scotia, across Canada, and beyond.

You may join WFNS or renew your WFNS General Membership at point in the calendar, but General Membership is annual and fixed to the calendar year.

Each membership year is 13 months in duration, activating on December 1 (or the date dues are received) and expiring at the end of the next December. In other words, each December represents an overlap of the current membership year and the upcoming membership year.

Each September, we begin offering discounted dues for the current membership year to account for the shorter duration (i.e., four months or fewer). If currently offered, these discounted dues will be available below.

Q: How do I find out if my General Membership is current?

You can check the status of your General Membership in the “Memberships” tab of your “Account” page or by emailing communications@writers.ns.ca.

Q: How can I ensure that my General Membership remains current?

Automated renewal reminders are sent by email on December 1 each year, and we encourage renewals through Subtext, our member-only newsletter, around the same time.

In 2023, we introduced the option to automate your dues payments through our Annual Membership Subscription. Find details of this subscription below. If you’ve already subscribed, you can check or change the status of your subscription in the “Annual Membership Subscription” tab of your “Account” page or by emailing communications@writers.ns.ca.

Q: I’m renewing my General Membership for the first time since the launch of the new WFNS website in September, 2020. What should I do?

If you do hold Writers’ Council status, please email communications@writers.ns.ca to receive your login info (ensuring you have access to your existing Writers’ Council profile) and then login before adding dues to cart through the “Join or Manually Renew” tab above.

If you do not hold Writers’ Council status, please add dues to cart through the “Join or Manually Renew” tab above—as if becoming a General Member for the first time. We’ll ensure our records reflect your previous years as a General Member.

Q: Should I pay the same dues rate each year?

While annual dues are required to keep your General Membership active, you should pay the dues rate that best suits your current financial situation. Regardless of the dues rate paid, all General Members receive the same benefits.

Whenever you need, please take advantage of our discounted dues rate for full-time students, the underwaged, and those on fixed incomes. We do not ask for any documentation to support your selection of the reduced dues rate, regardless of your method of payment.

If your financial situation has improved since your last dues payment, please consider switching to the regular dues rate and/or donating to sponsor a General Membership for a writer of more limited financial means. Such donations are significant, and they allow WFNS to continue inviting new writers into our literary community and investing in their literary contributions.

Discounted dues, switching dues rates, and the option to donate while renewing are available online, by phone, or by mail. The option to switch your dues rate while subscribed for automatic renewal is available in the “Annual Membership Subscription” tab of your “Account” page.

2024 Membership

Dues processed just once (for General Membership valid from 01/12/23 to 31/12/24)
$ 65
00
  • Reduced dues for full-time students, the underwaged, and those on fixed incomes: $30

Annual Membership Subscription

Dues processed on date of subscription (for 2024 General Membership, valid from 01/12/23 to 31/12/24) and then annually each Dec 1 (for the upcoming year's General Membership)
$ 65
  • Reduced dues for full-time students, the underwaged, and those on fixed incomes: $30

If renewing online, please ensure you are logged in before adding dues to cart.

To pay dues by phone, call us between 10am and 3pm on weekdays at 902 423 8116 with your credit card details, mailing address, email address, and phone number.

To pay dues by mail, send a cheque (payable to “Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia”) along with your mailing address, email address, and phone number to WFNS, 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS, B3H 4P7.

If the reduced dues rate still presents a barrier, please contact communications@writers.ns.ca before joining or renewing. Funds are available to assist writers with membership dues.

Fall 2023 Membership

valid 1 Sept 2023 to 31 Dec 2023
$65
$ 30
  • Reduced dues for full-time students, the underwaged, and those on fixed incomes: $15

Combined Fall 2023 + Full-year 2024 Membership

valid 1 Sept 2023 to 31 Dec 2024
$130
$ 75
00
  • Reduced dues for full-time students, the underwaged, and those on fixed incomes: $40

2024 Membership

valid 1 Dec 2023 to 31 Dec 2024
$ 65
00
  • Reduced dues for full-time students, the underwaged, and those on fixed incomes: $30
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Recommended Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) recommends that participants in any given workshop have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with information, strategies, and skills that suit their career stage. The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the following definitions used by WFNS.

  • New writers: those with less than two years’ creative writing experience and/or no short-form publications (e.g., short stories, personal essays, or poems in literary magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks).
  • Emerging writers: those with more than two years’ creative writing experience and/or numerous short-form publications.
  • Early-career authors: those with 1 or 2 book-length publications or the equivalent in book-length and short-form publications.
  • Established authors: those with 3 or 4 book-length publications.
  • Professional authors: those with 5 or more book-length publications.

Please keep in mind that each form of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and writing for children and young adults) provides you with a unique set of experiences and skills, so you might consider yourself an ‘established author’ in one form but a ‘new writer’ in another.

For “intensive” and “masterclass” creative writing workshops, which provide more opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback, the recommended experience level should be followed closely.

For all other workshops, the recommended experience level is just that—a recommendation—and we encourage potential participants to follow their own judgment when registering.

If you’re uncertain of your experience level with regard to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca