Saturday December 4TH, 2021. Join us for a festive time at the Granary Road Market. Enjoy a hot drink and treat, meet new members, and enjoy the atmosphere of the market with optional S’More making. Drop-in visiting, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PMS’More making starts at: 11:00 AM Please pre-register for this free members’ event. AHS protocols are in place at the venue. Proof of double-vaccines and masking are required.
Monday, November 22, 20217:00 pm – 9:00 pm, Online The AGM is free and open to all WGA members in good standing. This year’s AGM will be held online. If you are a member and wish to attend the AGM, please RSVP by Sunday, November 21. The AGM agenda, draft minutes of the 2020 AGM, and a list of board incumbents and nominees are available to download here for advance viewing. On the agenda this year is a review of changes to the
Literary Festivals 101 Thursday, November 18, 2021.6:30 MST, Free REGISTER HERE The Writers’ Guild of Alberta is hosting the first panel of their new 101 Series on all things literary. Four female festival directors from across Canada, Amanda Leduc, from The FOLD Festival, Charlene Diehl from Winnipeg’s Thin Air Festival, Fawnda Mithrush from LitFest YEG, and Shelley Youngblut, from Calgary’s Wordfest will share with us their insights on running literary festivals. This event is co-sponsored by the Edmonton Public Library through
Meet the Participants! The WGA is thrilled to announce the participants for the 2022 Mentorship Program! In January 2022, sixteen Alberta writers will begin their participation in the WGA’s annual mentorship program. 2022 marks the eleventh year for the program, which pairs emerging writers with established Alberta authors to develop the emerging writer’s literary work, and also to provide support and encouragement. This program has seen many of its participants grow and succeed as published authors. This year’s participants are:
AlbertaWrites is an online group utilizing Discord. There is no physical location to meet (unless members want to break into smaller in-person groups), and the online format allows members to join regardless of location anywhere in Alberta. There is no set time to meet; members can leave messages on the site and join a conversation at any time. If members decide on a monthly meeting, it will be advertised in the group under the “events” section. Critiques are one-for-one. If
Saturday, November 20th. 10-11AMZoomWGA Members: $25 Non-members: $35Students $10Space is limited Cartoonist and graphic memoirist Teresa Wong walks through the basics of visual storytelling through comics. We’ll discuss some of the technical choices comic artists make to shape their stories and work on a short comic together. No artistic skills necessary. Teresa Wong is the author of the graphic memoir Dear Scarlet: The Story of My Postpartum Depression, a finalist for The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize and longlisted
Deadline: November 12 The Writers’ Guild of Alberta invites all those qualified to apply for the position of Virtual Writer-in-Residence. This program provides WGA members access to the services of a Virtual Writer-in-Residence, with priority given to those who cannot access one elsewhere. The position will begin in January and end in May, with an average of 30 hours per month, consisting of: 12 one-hour virtual consultations with members writing in all genres; preparation time of approximately 1.5 hours for
2022 Mentorship Program Deadline: November 5, 12 pm MT The Mentorship Program is an initiative of the Writers’ Guild of Alberta designed to help promising emerging writers make the transition to the next stage of their careers. The program will take place from January through April 2022. We will accept up to eight apprentices to work with mentors this year, including one pairing for the Mary Bell Mentorship Scholarship, which will be awarded to an emerging woman writer 50 years of age or
The WGA is deeply saddened by news of the death of Edmonton poet, professor, critic, and publisher Douglas Barbour. A prominent member of the Alberta literary community, Doug served on the board of directors for the Writers’ Guild of Alberta as a member at large from 1981 to 1983. He was a founding member and president for NewWest Press (Read the NeWest announcement HERE). He also served on the editorial board for OnSpec Magazine. Most recently, the Book Publishers Association
The Government of Canada recently passed the legislation marking September 30 as a day to recognize and commemorate the history and legacy of residential schools as part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. We have compiled the following list of resources and sites with suggested reading. We encourage you to check out these resources, and please let us know of other links or sites that can be added to this list! (Send to Ellen Kartz, WGA Communications and Partnerships
On September 17, 2021, the Book Publishers Association of Alberta announced the winners of the 2021 Alberta Book Publishing Awards during an online presentation. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners! Here is the official Media Release of the awards announcement: “Edmonton – The Book Publishers Association of Alberta is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 Alberta Book Publishing Awards. “We were excited to present two new award categories this year, Graphic Novel of the Year and Regional Book of
The WGA Online Reading Series is back! This summer we will be featuring WGA members with books released in 2021 and presenting a safe event for them to talk about their books. All events will be live streamed through the WGA YouTube channel. Audio versions of the readings will be shared shortly after. Micheline Maylor: The Bad WifeDate: Friday, November 5, 7:00 pmHost: Anne SorbieOnline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA-RDjW9uhc Online Reading Series 2021 [tabs style=”vertical”][tab title=”Online Reading Series Events”] Click the tabs to
For Alberta Culture Days the WGA is offering a day of free writing workshops held over Zoom. Writers of all skill levels are welcome to sign up for one or all three. Space is limited so register today! 9AM – John O’Neil – Short Fiction: Dialogue and DescriptionIn this informal, hands-on workshop, participants will be given a number of writing prompts, and will spend some of the class time completing short prose fragments; one will involve dialogue, and another the
Deadline Extended: September 24, 2021 The 2021/22 board of the WGA will be elected at the Virtual AGM in October. There will be openings for the following positions: one opening for President, one opening for Treasurer, one opening for Secretary, four openings for Member at Large. Two interim members of the 2020/21 board have put their names forward for election and one member has put their name forward for re-election. Nominations are welcome from members from across the province with a view to creating a Board with a diversity of
Saturday, September 18 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, online Carrie Armstrong is author of Mother Earth, Plants for Healing & Health, part memoir, part guidebook to Indigenous Plants, Traditions, and Recipes.Join us online on Saturday September 18th, 1:00 – 3:00 PM. An author reading, short interview and audience Q & A will be followed by an interactive demonstration on how to make a traditional tea. This event is free to attend. Registration (see form below) will be open through Thursday September 16th.
August 30, 2021 The Writers’ Guild of Alberta is proud to announce the participants for the 2021 Horizons Writers Circle, its mentored writing program for Edmonton’s immigrant and underrepresented writers. In September, twelve Alberta writers will begin their participation in the WGA’s newly-named Horizons Writers Circle. The program will run between the months of September 2021 and March 2022, under the coordination of publisher and writer Luciana Erregue-Sacchi. Writers from diverse backgrounds in the early stages of their career will be mentored by
