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Introducing Oriana Duinker, incoming Executive Director

A message from Philip Moscovitch, Board President

A few months ago, we learned that Executive Director Marilyn Smulders would be retiring. Marilyn oversaw an extraordinary period in the Fed’s development and leaves behind her an organization on a solid financial footing, with record-high membership, a significantly expanded slate of innovative and accessible programs, and a positive public profile.

We wish Marilyn the best and hope she enjoys her retirement: a new home in Mahone Bay and opportunities to be with her family while also having more time for her own art practice with textiles.

And we are delighted and excited to introduce you to the new WFNS Executive Director, Oriana Duinker. Oriana is no stranger to WFNS, having worked closely with our staff — Marilyn, Andy, and Linda — over the past year, in her capacity as Executive Director of the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award organization (with an office directly upstairs from the Fed). She has even done some volunteer work at Jampolis Cottage, assisting last week with our first Jampolis Creative Writing Day Camp for youth and our first Summer Literary Soirée at the cottage, and she has some great ideas for the place. We are thrilled to have someone with her abilities and background joining us, and I am excited to work with her over the coming year.

But enough from me. I will turn it over to Oriana so she can introduce herself.

A message from Oriana Duinker, incoming Executive Director

Hi, everyone! I’m writing this message from Jampolis Cottage on a cozy, rainy day at the end of a bustling week of the first Jampolis summer day camp. As I reflect on the week I’ve spent in this beautiful setting, I am—in truth—overwhelmed: by the generosity of Neil and Jane through the gift of their summer home, by the creativity of our young campers, by the talents of the many writers I had the pleasure of meeting at our first (but certainly not last) Summer Literary Soirée, and by the knowledge that I am stepping into some very big shoes.

Having had the pleasure of working alongside Marilyn and the WFNS team during my time with Hackmatack, I’ve seen just how much can be accomplished by a small staff with a dedicated executive director. I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining WFNS in this capacity—and so very grateful to Marilyn for both her mentorship and the incredible work she has done for the writing community in our province.

In my work with Hackmatack, and in previous positions in various museums and other arts/culture organizations, I have always been drawn to programs that engage local communities with the arts. I don’t really consider myself a writer, but I’m creative in other ways: I’m a classical musician (French horn), I’m crafty (sewing), and I love to prepare food. Nevertheless, reading and storytelling have long been an integral part of my life, even more so now that I am a parent to two young book-lovers who share my longstanding enthusiasm for whimsical children’s literature.

I’m happiest when I can play a supporting role, working busily behind the scenes to support creators and facilitate opportunities to build community. It’s a cliché, but my door will always be open, and I invite you to drop in, call, or email me whenever you need anything. I look forward to connecting with each of you in the coming months and to supporting your writing however I can.

Starting August 21, Oriana Duinker can be reached at director@writers.ns.ca.

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Simultaneous Submissions

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) administers some programs (and special projects) that involve print and/or digital publication of ‘selected’ or ‘winning’ entries. In most cases, writing submitted to these programs and projects must not be previously published and must not be simultaneously under consideration for publication by another organization. Why? Because our assessment and selection processes depends on all submitted writing being available for first publication. If writing selected for publication by WFNS has already been published or is published by another organization first, copyright issues will likely make it impossible for WFNS to (re-)publish that writing.

When simultaneous submissions to a WFNS program are not permitted, it means the following:

  • You may not submit writing that has been accepted for future publication by another organization.
  • You may not submit writing that is currently being considered for publication by another organization—or for another prize that includes publication.
  • The writing submitted to WFNS may not be submitted for publication to another organization until the WFNS program results are communicated. Results will be communicated directly to you by email and often also through the public announcement of a shortlist or list of winners. Once your writing is no longer being considered for the WFNS program, you are free to submit it elsewhere.
    • If you wish to submit your entry elsewhere before WFNS program results have been announced, you must first contact WFNS to withdraw your entry. Any entry fee cannot be refunded.

Prohibitions on simultaneous submission do not apply to multiple WFNS programs. You are always permitted to submit the same unpublished writing to multiple WFNS programs (and special projects) at the same time, such as the Alistair MacLeod Mentorship Program, the Emerging Writers Prizes, the Jampolis Cottage Residency Program, the Message on a Bottle contest, the Nova Writes Competition, and any WFNS projects involving one-time or recurring special publications.

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