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Sarah Emsley on "Imagining the Austens in Halifax"

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Maritime Museum of the Atlantic Tuesday Talk series *Special pre-talk session, 6:15 pm: Special-tea Sampling and Tasting with Phil Holmans! During the years when Jane Austen was writing the novels that would later make her famous, including Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, her naval captain brother and his family spent time in Halifax, […]

Wild Songs of Land and Sea: An Evening of Poetry

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It’s Poetry Month and we’re celebrating! Join poets Clare Goulet, Jessica Hiemstra, Cory Lavender, Lorri Neilsen Glenn, and Margo Wheaton—along with cellist along with cellist Mateo Ronderos-Zerpa—for an evening of poetry and music exploring our relationship with the living bodies of land and water that surround us.
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Chapter by Chapter, ten-month manuscript intensive

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Chapter by Chapter is a ten-month writing intensive designed to support writers through the completion or revision of a book-length project. Over ten months, you will develop, revise, workshop, and strengthen your manuscript alongside a dedicated cohort of peers. The course runs Wednesdays 1-3pm AT online from September 2026 to June 2027. Deadline for expressions […]

Christine Hartlin at Mother's Day Market

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Wreath & Wire Coastal Markets is hosting this Mother’s Day Market in support of the Caremongers Society. Christine Hartlin will be there with three children’s books.

Workshop: Wild Songs of Land & Sea, with Margo Wheaton

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In this workshop, poet Margo Wheaton invites participants to reflect, read, and write poems as a way of exploring their personal relationship and responsibility to the bodies of land and water that surround us. In a warm, supportive environment, we will engage in creative group exercises, targeted discussions, and generative prompts. By writing together, we […]

Sarah Emsley signs The Austens

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Come and chat with Sarah Emsley about her debut novel The Austens and Jane Austen’s connections with Nova Scotia. The Austens brings to life the story of Jane Austen’s friendship with her sister-in-law Fanny Austen, who lived for a while in Nova Scotia with her naval captain husband during the years when Jane was writing […]

Corinne Hoebers book signing

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Join Corinne Hoebers for a signed copy of Tethered Spirits, and meet Matthew Connolly with his display of Indigenous paintings, member of Qalipu First Nation, Corner Brook, NL, and creator of the cover art for Tethered Spirits.

Sarah Emsley signs The Austens

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Come and chat with Sarah Emsley about her debut novel The Austens and Jane Austen’s connections with Nova Scotia. The Austens brings to life the story of Jane Austen’s friendship with her sister-in-law Fanny Austen, who lived for a while in Nova Scotia with her naval captain husband during the years when Jane was writing […]

JD Grant launches Flowers for Gaia

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Join author John Grant for the launch of his debut novel, Flowers for Gaia, a post-apocalyptic YA fantasy with magical elements and a dash of science fiction. Date: May 9, 2026 Time: 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Venue: Cultural Federations of Nova Scotia. Years from now, wars, extreme weather and unchecked pollution have made most of […]
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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