Instagram Facebook Bluesky Youtube

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) is a charitable, non-profit arts service organization founded on a collaborative philosophy: writers helping writers. This philosophy informs an annual programming cycle 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 over 800 annual members, at all career stages, who are engaged in a diverse range of forms, genres, and writing practices.

WFNS is based in Kjipuktuk, in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the Treaties of Peace and Friendship, which Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) Peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1725. The treaties do not deal with surrender of lands and resources but in fact recognize Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) title and establish the rules for an ongoing relationship between nations.

Contact
Staff & Board
Equity & Outreach
Investors & Partners

Mission

The mission of the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) is

  • to foster creative writing and the profession of writing in the Province of Nova Scotia;
  • to provide advice and assistance to writers at all stages of their careers;
  • to encourage greater public recognition of writers and their achievements; and
  • to enhance the literary arts in our regional and national culture.

Canadian Business Number: 122250566 RR 0001

Nova Scotia Joint Stocks Registration Number: 1293792

WFNS was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1976 and obtained official charitable status in 1990. WFNS now fulfils its province-wide mandate with funds raised from membership dues, program and service fees, and ongoing grant support from the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism, and Heritage; the Nova Scotia Department of Education; and Arts Nova Scotia. WFNS also seeks out mutually beneficial partnerships with businesses and other not-for-profit organizations, which help keep programming costs low and membership and workshop fees affordable.

Core Values

Our staff, board of directors, and membership work to maintain a supportive and vibrant writing community in Nova Scotia according to WFNS’s six core values:

  1. We value the diversity of writers in all regions of Nova Scotia and strive to be inclusive of all backgrounds, abilities, and languages represented in the province. We value all genres of writing and aim to create a welcoming, accessible, and supportive atmosphere for all writers. 
  2. We value the practice of writing and the importance of developing our skill and craft as writers.
  3. We value writing as a profession and a creative pursuit. We strive to support and represent the interests of all writers.
  4. We value community building among writers. We encourage writers to connect to readers, services, and resources. We have an appreciation for writing and a commitment to supporting its role in the life of Nova Scotians. We value the contributions of Nova Scotian writers regionally, nationally and internationally.
  5. We value the inherent skills and resources of our community and, where possible, will use the skills and resources of our membership and community at large. 
  6. We value professionalism and conduct ourselves with a high level of integrity. We are resourceful and creative in how we manage our organization’s operations.

What We Do

WFNS delivers public programming that provides a broad range of opportunities for emerging and established writers as well as professional authors:

  • Our wide range of annual programs & awards create space, time, and occasions for writing; facilitate direct writer-to-writer assistance; and help writers grow their readerships—all while providing numerous compensated opportunities for more experienced authors.
  • Our recurring & special events, such as free public readings and writers’ panels, connect writers and readers and foster literary community.
  • Our creative writing & professional development workshops—offered each fall, winter, and spring—provide learning opportunities for writers of all experience levels as well as compensated instructing opportunities for more experienced authors.
  • Our free public resources include directories of literary publishers and periodicals, independent bookshops, literary festivals and organizations, writing groups, and literary services providers that can help writers situate themselves in our province’s and region’s literary landscape.

WFNS also maintains three core communications priorities:

  • communications with members through our website, social media, and weekly email newsletter (Subtext);
  • communications on behalf of and in the interests of members, which includes representing, advocating for, and lobbying in the interests of all Nova Scotian writers before a variety of government departments and community organizations; and
  • communications with the diverse markets for Nova Scotian writers & writing through our social media; our Literary Calendar; our annual anthologies and other publications; and our high-publicity programming and its resulting press coverage.

Subtext, our weekly email newsletter for members, communicates time-sensitive information on WFNS’s programming; notes the accomplishments of our members; promotes the events and literary services offered by our members and the broader Nova Scotian literary community; and shares other opportunities for literary employment, publication, & competition.

Our social media accounts (@WritersFedofNS) promote WFNS programs, member and partner events, and literary opportunities.

Instagram Facebook Bluesky Youtube
Download logo suite (ZIP)
View brand guidelines (PDF)

WFNS’s current logo was adopted in 2020.

Click our standard logo to download the file (JPG). For alternative colours and transparent backgrounds, download our logo suite.

For logo usage approval or assistance with brand guidelines, please contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca.

Scroll to Top
WFNS logo ltrmark sticky 100px

Experience Levels

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) uses the following terms to describe writers’ experience levels:

  • 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, writing for children, writing for young adults, and others) 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.

Occasionally, WFNS uses the phrase “emerging and established writers/authors” to mean ‘writers and authors of all experience levels.’

The “Recommended experience level” section of each workshop description refers to the above definitions. A workshop’s participants should usually have similar levels of creative writing and / or publication experience. This ensures that each participant gets value from the workshop⁠ and is presented with info, strategies, and skills that suit their experience. 

For “intensive” and “masterclass” 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 uncertain about your experience level with respect to any particular workshop, please feel free to contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca