Horizons Writers Circle

Since its original incarnation, as the PEN Writers in Exile program, and Borderlines Writers Circle, Horizons Writers Circle is inspired by the recognition of languages and cultures as living processes, the experience of BIPOC and/or immigrant writers as they fashion their sense of space on a page. It encourages authors from marginalized or underrepresented groups to write from and/or about their own perspectives and experiences. Participants from this year’s cohort will be closely involved in developing this year’s program.

Candidates are required to meet the following criteria:

1. The candidate must be a part of the BIPOC, immigrant, ESL and underrepresented community and has not yet established a substantial presence in Canada’s mainstream literary scene.
2. The candidate must be a resident of Edmonton.
3. The candidate must have a working knowledge of English.
4. The candidate must be a Canadian citizen, refugee or landed immigrant.
5. The candidate must be available to attend events and activities with reasonable regularity for the duration of the program.
6. The candidate must provide writing samples. Please note that published works are not required.
7. The candidate must have a clear intention of exploring and establishing a future in writing.

Interested in nurturing upcoming writers and exchanging literary knowledge with the wider writing community? We are looking for established members of the literary community to become mentors for the Horizons Writers Circle 2022-2023. We are looking for individuals who are familiar with aspects of craft and are actively involved in local writing ecosystem.

Mentorship and fellowship are central to the Horizons Writers Circle. Each mentor is paired with one participant and tasked to address their specific creative and technical writing goals. A successful working relationship would cover current or future projects and exploring a path to developing an established writing identity. Periodically, mentors will get together with the coordinator on a one-to one basis to ensure the program is fulfilling its objectives.

Benefits of Mentoring:

• Personal satisfaction of guiding and supporting a fellow writer’s development
• The opportunity to further build your own mentorship skills.
• Widening your professional and social networks at a point in Canada’s Literature where the norm is the increased diversification of voices. 

Mentor Criteria

Our mentors must meet the following criteria:

1. The mentor must be an established member of Canada’s literary scene.
2. The mentor must be available for the duration of the program and can attend events and activities with reasonable regularity.
3. Experience in mentorship is an advantage, but not required.
4. The mentors must live in Edmonton.
5.  

Total time commitment: 35 hours (including one-on-one meetings, ongoing feedback/mentorship, and attendance in at least two events)

Wages will be disclosed upon receiving application.

In 2021/22, the Horizons program hosted a 101 panel Series on all things literary.

The first was Literary Festivals 101, featuring 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 was co-sponsored by the Edmonton Public Library through their 2021 Writer in Residence, Vern Thiessen. 

The second in the series was Translation 101: In an increasingly interconnected literary world, literary translation is a most pertinent topic for authors who either would like to consider their works to be translated into other languages (English to French or vice-versa, Italian, Chinese, etc.) or are thinking of becoming literary translators. In our second installment of the 101 Series, we converse with three professional literary translators: writer Arianna Dagnino, Egyptian-Canadian novelist, poet, Yasser Abdel-Latif, and publisher Stephen Henighan (Biblioasis). The panel was co-sponsored by the Literary Translators Association of Canada (LTAC), with thanks to its Alberta representative, Dr. Leilei Chen.

The final panel in the series was Editing 101: Are you an emerging writer and you are wondering how to make your manuscript fit for publishing? What are the necessary steps to make it publishable? How many types of editing does a manuscript need? Our province has top notch editors, and we are asking three of our very best what it takes to turn a manuscript into an award-winning book. Meet editors Peter Midgley, Kimmy Beach and Alicia Chantal as they discuss their tried and tested strategies for flawless texts.