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 Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society (AWCS) designed Own Voices Alberta to yield new literary works, explore the BIPOC experience, and initiate dialogue that celebrates our diversity and contributes to a deeper understanding of one another. The program offers mentorship, workshops, discussions, networking, public reading opportunities, industry events, and more.
Own Voices Alberta runs from March to July 2021 and is set entirely online, unless otherwise specified for events and activities.
The program reflects AWCS’s advocacy of writing as a form of expression through meaningful engagement of emerging writers within the local BIPOC community. Our hope is to create opportunities for underserved writers, empowering them by supporting their self-determined journey to becoming established members of the literary community.
Mentorship is a significant part of the program. Participants are carefully matched with well-established members of the literary community who can address their specific creative and technical writing goals.