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Trans Writers Fiction Intensive (virtual) with K.R. Byggdin

Intensive workshops combine elements of WFNS’s traditional creative writing and professional development workshops with peer-to-peer feedback (facilitated by the instructor) to guide writers through the critique, revision, and submission processes that form the path from completed draft to submitted manuscript.

Participants should have a completed or partially completed draft before the workshop begins.

This workshop is open to trans, non-binary, and Two-Spirit writers who currently live in Nova Scotia. It will focus on writing from trans and non-binary perspectives, as the instructor’s lived experience and expertise do not extend to writing from Two-Spirit perspectives.

Join fellow trans writers for a five-week fiction intensive with author K.R. Byggdin. Participants will work to craft and hone a short story or the first chapter of a novel with an eye towards future publication opportunities or further story development. Our time together will include brief readings, craft exercises and discussions, and dedicated workshopping time that will allow each writer to receive feedback on their work-in-progress in a supportive and affirming environment. Participants will be asked to attend all meetings as they are able and commit to a weekly practice of both writing and reading during the duration of the workshop series. Writers of all fiction genres are welcome!

About the instructor: K.R. Byggdin is the author of Wonder World (Enfield & Wizenty 2022), a ReLit Award finalist and winner of the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award. They hold an MFA from the University of Guelph and their writing has appeared in anthologies and journals across Canada, the UK, and New Zealand. Born and raised on the Prairies, they now call the East Coast home.

Recommended experience level: New and emerging fiction writers, including those who’ve published a few short stories (About recommended experience levels)

Participant cap: 8

Location: Zoom

Dates of 5-week workshop: Wednesdays, May 6 + May 13 + May 20 + May 27 + June 3 (7:00pm to 9:00pm Atlantic)

Registration is free and open to trans, non-binary, and Two-Spirit writers who currently live in Nova Scotia. This workshop is intended for writers at least 19 years of age, and discussion may include adult themes. For youth workshops, see our Writers’ In The Schools Creative Writing Day Camps.

Each participant will also receive a free 2026 General Membership in WFNS.

Register for free

Investors

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia is grateful to The DAWN Fund for sponsoring this workshop.

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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