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Sending it Out: what to expect when submitting short genre fiction (virtual) with Brittni Brinn

Whether you write sci-fi, horror, cosy fantasy, experimental speculative fiction, or anything in between, finding a home for your story can be overwhelming.

In this workshop, we’ll discuss ways to find a good fit for your genre fiction. Through a combination of writing exercises and a casual lecture format, we’ll explore avenues for submitting stories and study practical examples of submission calls from genre publications. We’ll also discuss how to prepare your story, what to expect from the submission process, and how to stand out from the crowd when writing for calls.

If you dream of getting published but have never sent out a story before, or if you’ve hit a wall with your submissions and are looking for some fresh insight, this workshop is for you.

About the instructor: Brittni Brinn writes from a tower and sometimes a cottage in Mi’kma’ki / Nova Scotia. Their short stories have appeared in the British Fantasy Award-shortlisted anthology At the Lighthouse (Eibonvale Press), Your Flight Has Been Cancelled (Little Ghosts Books), Sunshine Superhighway: Solar Sailings (JayHenge Publishing), and Winter Horrorland (Undertaker Books). She holds a MA in Creative Writing from the University of Windsor and worked in theatre for many years, co-founding two community theatre companies. Brittni also co-hosted and produced Hardcover, a radio show on CJAM where she interviewed authors and artists about their process and work. Her genre-bending novella Misplaced was published by Little Ghosts Books in 2024. 

Photo by William Dicks

Recommended experience levels: New, emerging, and early-career fiction writers

Participant cap: 12

Location: Zoom

Dates of 2-week workshop: Thursdays, Oct 15 + Oct 22, 2026 (7:00pm to 9:00pm Atlantic)

Registration for 2026 General Members: $105

Registration for non-members: $135 (includes 2026 General Membership in WFNS)

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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