News

WGA Online Retreat – Welcoming Your Muse – Registration Deadline Extended!

February 17, 2021

Registration Deadline Extended to Feb. 18! These unusual times call for unique events. Rather than all the hassle of travelling to a remote location for a retreat this winter, the most difficult part will be blocking out time on your calendar; but it will be worth it. It will provide time to connect with other writers, time to focus on craft, and time to welcome your muse. Registration is now closed. After registering, you will have the opportunity to submit

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Own Voices Alberta 2021

February 9, 2021

Own Voices Alberta is a program for writers within the Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) community, who live in Alberta and are at the beginning of their literary journey. The program runs for four months and is fully subsidized, making it cost-free for successful applicants. Program period: March – July 2021 Application deadline: February 26, 2021 – 11:59 MST About Own Voices Alberta In partnership with the Writers’ Guild of Alberta (WGA) and with the support from the Calgary Foundation, the

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Pandemic Postcards Chapbook

February 5, 2021

Here is the online publication of our Pandemic Postcards Chapbook, featuring the winners of our Pandemic Postcards writing contest! Our congratulations to all the winners and honourable mentions, and thank you to everyone who submitted!

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WordBridge Lethbridge Writers’ Conference

February 1, 2021

WordBridge 2021 is Feb 12 & 13. Lethbridge’s Writers’ Conference is now in its third year, but due to the pandemic, it will be hosted online via Zoom. Thanks to the significantly lower costs associated with online verses in-person, tickets for the entire two-day conference are a mere $5. This year’s Keynote Address will be given by Lethbridge best-selling author Paul Butler on “The Contemporary Nature of Historical Fiction”.  Panels presentations include such topics as  “Publishing and Writers”, “Writing for

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Winners of the 4th Annual Kemosa Scholarship for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Mothers Who Write

January 29, 2021

The Writers’ Guild of Alberta and Nhung Tran-Davies are pleased to announce the winners of the 4th Annual Kemosa Scholarship for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Mothers Who Write. First established in 2017 by Dr. Nhung Tran-Davies in partnership with Tlicho Dene author Richard Van Camp, the Kemosa Scholarship offers an opportunity for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Mothers to obtain resources to help them complete the work on their writing – whether that be a novel, a collection of stories, poems, or whatever form their writing might take. This

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Send Us Your Questions, Comments, Suggestions

January 5, 2021

The Writers’ Guild of Alberta is your organization. We exist to inspire, encourage, and promote writers in Alberta. We are always trying to improve our programming and offer services that interest a wide variety of our members, and our ability to do that gets easier when we hear from you. We welcome questions, comments, and suggestions from our members for how our programming can improve and evolve, and for how our organization as a whole can become more progressive. If

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Poetry as Listening: A generative poetry workshop with Shazia Hafiz Ramji

January 4, 2021

January 22-29Format: Google Classroom (must have Gmail account)*There are no specific start times, as this is a self-guided workshop. Writers are free to work at their own pace over the course of the week* Join Shazia Hafiz Ramji for a week-long self-guided writing workshop on using listening and soundwalking to write poetry. With readings and prompts inspired by R. Murray Schafer, Kaveh Akbar, and Monica Kidd, we will generate poems inspired by sound, media, and walking. This workshop has been curated

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WestWord Interviews Lisa Dublin & Nisha Patel

January 3, 2021

The Writers’ Guild of Alberta (WGA) is proud to introduce the WestWord Anti-Racism Interview Series, where we will be speaking with local Edmonton writers about some of the important work they are doing in the fight against racism. Earlier in 2020, the WGA made a commitment to stand with writers, artists – and Canadians – in that ongoing fight. That commitment is the springboard for this series. To begin the series, we spoke with Lisa Dublin and Nisha Patel. Stay tuned

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Call for Online Retreat Writer-in-Residence

December 21, 2020

The WGA’s online writers’ retreat, Welcoming Your Muse, will be held the weekend of February 20th & 21st.  The Writer-In-Residence will receive writing samples from registrants a week before the retreat, and will meet with writers one-on-one online during the retreat to offer feedback as well as encouragement. The retreat will be open to writers at all stages of development. Remuneration will be on a sliding scale, $500 up, depending on registrations. If you would like to be considered for this role, please forward your cover letter and CV

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WGA Holiday Hours

December 16, 2020

The WGA will be closed for the holidays from December 24 to January 3. Regular office hours will resume on Monday, January 4, 2021.  We wish you the best over the holidays and a wonderful 2021!

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WGA Holiday Hours

December 16, 2020

The WGA will be closed for the holidays from December 24 to January 3. Regular office hours will resume on Monday, January 4, 2021.  We wish you the best over the holidays and a wonderful 2021!

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WGA 2021 Mentorship Program Participants Announced

December 15, 2020

In January 2021, twelve Alberta writers will begin their participation in the WGA’s annual mentorship program. 2021 marks the tenth 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: The mentorship program runs for four months. A virtual celebration of this program, complete with the

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WHEN WORDS COLLIDE (WWC) BOARD OPPORTUNITY

December 14, 2020

Susan Calder susancalder.com has generously represented the WGA on the Calgary-based WWC volunteer board for the past five years. Thank you, Susan. The festival will be celebrating its tenth year in 2021 and we are looking a new WGA rep on the board. Tasks include: – Representing the WGA on the committee.– Working on a specific portfolio or act as a member at large.– Suggesting content for the festival that would benefit WGA members attending WWC. Time commitment: The WWC board meetings are generally the

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Masterclass with J.R. Carpenter

December 4, 2020

The CLC’s 2021 program kicks off with a Brown Bag Lunch Podcast Reading on 13 January followed by an online Masterclass on 22 January by the U of A’s Writer in Residence, J.R. Carpenter (thanks to support from the WiR Program). Please register for the Masterclass by emailing [email protected].

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The Gardener and the Architect: Working from impulse to structure in playwriting with Meg Braem

December 2, 2020

Two-part workshop:January 13 & 20 @ 7pmMembers $55Non-members $75*Attendance is capped. Only 10 spots available* REGISTRATION IS CURRENTLY FULL. If you would like to put your name on the waiting list in case a spot open, please email us at [email protected] Writers are often asked, “are you a gardener or an architect?” The gardener being an artist who plants a handful of seeds and waits to see what germinates while the architect starts from a set of plans and outlines. I

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4th Annual Kemosa Scholarship Now Open for Submissions!

November 29, 2020

The Writers’ Guild of Alberta is happy to announce the launch of the 4th Annual Kemosa Scholarship for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Mothers Who Write! Author Jeananne Kirwin is back again this year to help give voice to Indigenous mothers. Together, we share the vision of effecting positive changes in our community through stories. Because of the generosity of our sponsors, we will award three scholarships this year: 1st place $3000, 2nd place $2000, 3rd place $1000. We are so happy to welcome back

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