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 workshop/session below for more details or to register online. You may also register by phone (902 423 8116). We encourage you to register early, as workshops/sessions have limited space and registration is subject to availability.
Immediately below you can find our registration & cancellation policies and our working policy on recording virtual events.
Registration fees
All workshop/session fees are due upon registration. We accept registration and payment through our online shop (PayPal or credit card), by phone (credit card or e-transfer), and by mail (cheque or money order payable to WFNS) sent to WFNS, 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS B3H 4P7. If paying by mail, please email or phone ahead so that we can reserve your place.
Payment by installment: 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.
Cancelling your registration
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.
Workshop/session cancellation by WFNS
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.
The WFNS does not record video or audio of creative writing workshops, professional development sessions, writers’ panels, or other virtual events. Several considerations inform this working policy.
- Intellectual property: Writers who lead, present, or otherwise contribute to WFNS events should retain ownership of their intellectual property, including controlling how, when, and to whom their words and ideas are distributed.
- Writer compensation & event fees: If writers are recorded for the purposes of distributing their words and ideas beyond the time and audience of a particular WFNS event, then they should be additionally and adequately compensated, as freely available recordings may impinge on their future opportunities for compensated contribution to non-WFNS events. Such additional compensation would increase the cost of WFNS events and, in turn, the registration fees for participants.
- Privacy: Participants and other attendees of WFNS events should feel welcome to participate fully. They should not need to weigh the benefits of participation against any privacy concerns they may have.
- Prior and informed consent: Obtaining the prior and informed consent of all participants is necessary to record an event in good faith. The process of seeking such consent on a large scale is logistically and ethically challenging.
Instructors/presenters may wish record their workshops/sessions for use in further refining workshop/session content and developing their teaching strategies. In such a case, the recording will be viewed only by the instructors/presenters. Should an instructor/presenter wish to record an event for this purpose, they must request, at least one week in advance of the event, that WFNS seek the consent of all participants to be recorded. The event will not be recorded unless consent is given by all participants prior to the beginning of the event, and the identities of the participants who consent or do not consent will be kept confidential.

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

Contemplative Writing: Breathe, Stretch, and Write (with Sheree Fitch)
Feb 22 – Mar 15, 7 – 9pm >> With poetry and prose prompts, Sheree will guide participants in first-burst writing activities and in using these activities as a point

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

The Name of the Game: Finding a Publisher for your Book
PD session | March 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

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

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 >> Character and plot. For many readers and writers, these are the two most important narrative elements in any short story. Some

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

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

The Plot Thickens: Crafting a Compelling Romance (with Paula Altenburg)
Apr 26 – May 31, 7 – 9pm >> In this five-week workshop, we’ll explore the romance genre and the tools required to finish a viable story. There will be

Who are these people and what is happening to them?: Character and Plot in Short Fiction (with Alexander MacLeod)
May 4 – 25, 7 – 9pm >> Sorry! This workshop is full.To join the waitlist, please contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca Character and plot. For many readers and writers, these

Creative Writing for Newcomers (with Vanessa Lent)
May 4 – June 8, 7 – 9pm >> Join us for a free creative writing workshop for newcomers to Canada: explore different kinds of creative writing and try out

Masterclass on Revision (with Carol Bruneau)
May 5 – 26, 7 – 9pm >> Sorry: this workshop is full! To join the waitlist, please contact us at communications@writers.ns.ca Join award-winning author Carol Bruneau to work through the

Poetic Possibilities (with Shannon Webb-Campbell)
May 6 – 27, 7 – 9pm >> Does poetry help us discover the world or discover ourselves? In a time when so many of us are feeling trapped, insular,

Developing Your Writing Practice (with Nolan Natasha)
May 10 – May 31, 7 – 9pm >> This workshop will focus on developing a specific and intentional writing practice. We’ll address writer’s block, building good writing habits, figuring