Workshops
Our offerings include creative writing workshops (focused on the craft side of writing), professional development sessions (focused on the business side of writing), and free writers’ panels (highlighting those who’ve mastered both).
Click on a specific event below for more details or to register. If you’re unfamiliar with our registration, payment, and cancellation policies, please review them before registering.
Writing Funny (with Robin Duke & Anne Fenn)
Jan 18 & 25, 7 – 9pm >> Sorry: this creative writing workshop is now full!To join the waitlist, please contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca Have you ever had an amusing
Making Fact Read like Fiction (with Dean Jobb)
Jan 20 – Feb 10, 7 – 9pm >> Sorry: this creative writing workshop is now full, and we are no longer taking names for its waitlist.We recommend checking out
First Words: Fiction (with Sherry D. Ramsey, Julian Mortimer Smith, and Sarah Mian)
Jan 21 – Mar 18, 7 – 9pm >> As a welcoming space for beginner or emerging writers, First Words: Fiction provides an overview of the craft from several professional
The Inner Critics’ Circle: How to Overcome Writers’ Block and Find Your Flow (with Virginia Konchan)
Jan 27 – Feb 10, 7 – 9pm >> “Blank pages inspire me with terror,” Margaret Atwood said, and many writers agree: whether you’re midstream in a writing project, unable
Black YA Matters (with Andre Fenton)
Feb 1 – 22, 6 – 8pm >> Sorry: this creative writing workshop is now full! To join the waitlist, please contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca(No deposit is necessary to join the waitlist)
The Name of the Game: Finding a Publisher for your Book
PD session | Feb 2, 7 pm >> Prolific author and publisher Lesley Choyce will unravel the mysteries around finding a publisher for your book manuscript. Because publishing is an
Creative Writing for Newcomers (with Anne C. Kelly)
Feb 6 – 27, 9:30 – 11:30am >> Sorry: this creative writing workshop is now full! To join the waitlist, please contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca We also recommend registering for Creative Writing for
Sign on the Dotted Line: Agents and Contracts
PD session | Feb 9, 7 pm >> What can you expect from an agent? How can you evaluate a publishing agreement? Join award-winning writer Vicki Grant and senior agent
Grant Writing
PD session | Feb 16, 7 pm >> Maybe you’d like some dedicated time to write. Or maybe you need to travel to do research. Maybe you’d like to do
Contemplative Writing: Breathe, Stretch, and Write (with Sheree Fitch)
Feb 22 – Mar 15, 7 – 9pm >> Sorry: this creative writing workshop is now full!To join the waitlist, please contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca With poetry and prose prompts,
Super Fans: Building an Engaged Social Media Community
PD session | Feb 23, 7 pm >> When you’ve spent two years with your head in a manuscript, jumping into social media doesn’t always feel like a natural transition.
Split, Float, Scatter, Trace: poetry workshop (with Anne Simpson)
Feb 24 – March 17, 7 – 9pm >> We will consider one of four words – split, float, scatter, and trace – in each of the workshop sessions to
Writing for Children and Youth (with Sylvia Gunnery)
Mar 2 – 30, 7 – 9pm >> Develop your unique voice in writing for children and youth in this four-part workshop. Through focused activities and group discussion, you will
Let’s Create Stories Together (with Theresa Meuse)
Mar 6 – 27, 11am – 12pm >> This Saturday morning workshop, designed especially for Indigenous children ages 7 to 12, will encourage children to their own stories and get
Sorting Fact from Fiction: How to Get and Verify Information for your Non-Fiction Work (with Joan Baxter)
Mar 9 – 30, 7 – 9 pm >> In this age of social media, when it is becoming ever more difficult to sort fact from fanciful fiction, the importance
Who are these people and what is happening to them?: Character and Plot in Short Fiction (with Alexander MacLeod)
Mar 17 – Apr 7, 7 – 9pm >> Sorry: this creative writing workshop is now full, and we are no longer taking names for its waitlist. We recommend registering for
Writing YA Mysteries and Thrillers (with Jo Treggiari)
Mar 29 – Apr 19, 7 – 9pm >> Learn how to craft page-turning mysteries and thrillers for the young adult audience using techniques like plotting backwards, building suspense, giving
First Words: Poetry (with Andy Verboom, Lucas Crawford, and Shannon Webb-Campbell)
Apr 1 – May 27, 7 – 9pm >> As a welcoming space for beginner or emerging writers, First Words: Poetry provides an overview of the craft from several professional
Storytelling (with shalan joudry)
Apr 6 – 27, 6:30 – 8:30pm >> In a time when so many of us are working to reclaim our Indigenous methodologies, shalan joudry feels that it’s imperative that
The Pivotal Moment: Memoir Writing (with Cooper Lee Bombardier)
Apr 15 – May 6, 6 – 8pm >> In this four-week memoir-writing workshop, you’ll take a singular, transformative moment from your life and unpack it using the literary tools
Registration, payment, and cancellation policies
Registration: Registration for workshops/sessions is available through our online shop or by contacting the WFNS office at programs@writers.ns.ca or (902) 423-8116. We encourage you to register early, as all workshops/sessions have limited space and registration is subject to availability.
Payment: All workshop/session fees are due upon registration. We accept registration and payment through our online shop (PayPal or credit card) or by phone (credit card or e-transfer). We also accept payments by mail (cheque or money order payable to WFNS) at WFNS, 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS B3H 4P7. There are no refunds after the first class.
- Easy Payment Terms: For individuals who wish to participate in a specific workshop/session but cannot meet the full payment upon registration, we are happy to arrange payment installments via post-dated cheques. Any payment installment plan must be discussed in advance, and the post-date cheques must be received by the start date of the workshop/session.
Cancellation: If you wish to cancel your workshop/session registration, we are able to provide a full refund of registration fees provided that you give at least one week’s notice prior to the start date of the workshop/session. For a cancellation made within one week of the start date of the workshop/session, we are able to provide an 80% refund of fees. For a cancellation made on or after the start date of the workshop/session, we are unable to provide a refund in any amount.
- Insufficient Enrollment: Should a workshop/session be cancelled as a result of insufficient enrollment, students will be notified immediately and registration fees will be reimbursed in full within two weeks.
- Class Postponement: Should a workshop/session be postponed due to inclement weather, students will be notified immediately and the workshop or session will be rescheduled for the first available date. In such a case, the cancellation periods pertaining to full and partial fee refunds will apply to the new start date.
