The Metro Edmonton Federation is a consortium of four libraries: Edmonton Public Library (EPL), Fort Saskatchewan Public Library, St. Albert Public Library and Strathcona County Library. Each is a partner in the Writer in Residence program and will play host to two Writers in Residence over the coming twelve months.
While in residence, each writer will devote roughly half their time to mentoring other writers and the other half to working on personal projects. Local authors at all levels can take advantage of workshops with both Writers in Residence, and will also have the opportunity to work with them one-on-one. All of these services will be offered at no charge.
Rayanne Haines
Rayanne is an award-winning and bestselling hybrid author of three poetry collections and four urban fantasy/romance novels. Her most recent work is a poetry collection titled Tell the Birds Your Body Is Not A Gun. Rayanne is an Edmonton Artist Trust Fund Award recipient and teaches in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications at MacEwan University.
Rayanne is working out of Strathcona County Library until the end of April. Her office hours will be Wednesdays 10:00 am-2:00 pm and Thursdays 3:00 pm-8:00 pm, or by appointment. (Note that office hours will end at 6:30 pm on Thursday, Jan 27 and Thursday, Feb 17.)
Rayanne will be doing consultations by email, phone, and online until health restrictions allow in-person consultations and drop-ins. You can contact Rayanne by email at [email protected] or by phone at (780) 410-8665.
Norma Dunning
Norma is the 2021 recipient of the Governor General’s Award for English-language fiction, for her short story collection Tainna: The Unseen Ones. This is her second collection of short stories. Her first collection, Annie Muktuk and Other Stories (2017), received the Danuta Gleed Literary Award and the Bronze Foreword INDIES award. Norma is a professor at the University of Alberta and the grandmother to five children.
Norma will spend her full residence with Edmonton Public Library. Her office hours will be Mondays 9:00 am-3:30 pm and Wednesdays 9:00 am-3:30 pm.
Norma is maintaining her office hours through video conferencing software, email, and telephone. She can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 780-499-0680. When booking appointments please include your name, writing experience, and genre of work.