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Sarah Emsley reads from “The Austens” at SMU Reading Series

Date:
Time:
-
Location:
Saint Mary's University, Sobey Building Room 255, 903 Robie St. Halifax, NS
Link:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2099651137466213/
Calendar:
Member event

The SMU Reading Series starts off 2026 with a special evening with author Sarah Emsley, who will read from her acclaimed debut novel, The Austens (Pottersfield Press, 2025).

Come celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth and learn more about her family connections to Halifax!

Join us on Thursday, February 5 at 7 pm in room SB 255, in the Sobey Building (903 Robie St., Halifax).

Admission is free and all are welcome to attend. Bookmark II will be on hand with books for purchase (https://loom.ly/bsf91AI).

Released in 2025 by Pottersfield Press, The Austens is a story that explores, in part, Austen’s friendship with her sister-in-law Fanny, who lived in Nova Scotia and Bermuda with her naval captain husband during the years when Jane was writing Pride and Prejudice and other novels that would later make her famous.

“Gentle readers, I think you will love The Austens, as I did. No matter how well you know Jane Austen, it will give you new perspectives on her novels, her life, and the life of her sister-in-law.” — Brenda Cox, Jane Austen’s World

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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