Launch of Emerging From the Wasteland

Join Athena Milios on Monday, September 30 (6pm), at the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia (1113 Marginal Rd, Halifax) for the launch of her debut novel, Emerging From the Wasteland. Sales provided by the author (cash or e-transfer). Interested in sharing your own writing on themes of mental health and recovery at the launch? Please contact Athena at athena.milios1@gmail.com.

The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia is a wheelchair-accessible venue with a wheelchair-accessible, non-gendered washroom. For assistance finding the WFNS office door, see our map of the area.

Emerging From the Wasteland is a heart-wrenching tale of mental illness and recovery. It tells the tale of how one young woman reclaimed her life after reaching the brink of death and being involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital. The voices of the Wasteland trapped Annabelle in their clutches for years, telling her to starve herself to the point that her digestive system shut down. Her psychiatrist committed her against her will to prevent the voices from killing her. But by that point, she had developed severe physical complications and doctors didn’t know how to treat her or if she would make it. And even if her body survived, would her mind be able to leave the Wasteland for good? This work of fiction is inspired by true events.

Athena Milios is a clinical pharmacist and writer based in Nova Scotia, Canada. She holds an Undergraduate Degree in Medical Science, a Master’s in Psychiatry Research, and a Doctorate in Pharmacy (PharmD). She is passionate about mental health and providing primary healthcare to vulnerable and underserved populations. She is the author of several psychiatric publications as well as many creative writing pieces, including poetry, short stories, and other short pieces of creative non-fiction. Her first novel, Emerging From the Wasteland, was published in the summer of 2023.

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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 firstcopyright 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