2023 Festival Workshops

by Stewart Goodings

As well as the solo sessions, Main Stage panels, and five day intensive The Writing Week, Denman’s Readers and Writers Festival always offers small group workshops for attendees who want to devote 3 hours to a particular topic.

This year, four workshops will be presented—three by invited authors Tsering Yangzom Lama, Susan Lundy, and Tolu Oloruntoba—and one by Denman writer Jo-Anne McLean.

Here’s a brief description of each workshop to pique the interest of loyal Festival-goers as well as those coming to the Festival for the first time. Full details of each workshop are available on the website: www.denmanislandwritersfestival.com Registration opens May 15 for these workshops and all other session.

1. Writing for magazines: Find your way to an editor’s heart, with Susan Lundy: Susan is an experienced writer and editor and is the Managing Editor of the Boulevard Magazine Group. In this workshop, participants will explore the dos and dont’s of freelancing for magazines and will learn how to create the perfect pitch, write an engaging story, and make the editor love you!
2. Poetry Forest Walk, with Tolu Oloruntoba: Here’s a first for the DI Festival—what could be more Denman-like than a stroll through one of the island’s forests, while conversing and listening to one of Canada’s most renowned poets, winner of both the Governor General’s Prize for Poetry and the Griffin Prize for Poetry. Tolu’s latest book is all about finches, so clearly he’s been spending some creative time with the birds. Join him for an experience that combines poetic inspiration and gentle exercise!
3. The Ins and Outs of Self-Publishing, with Jo-Anne McLean: For wannabe writers, the self-publishing options have never been so numerous or appealing, for both author and potential reader. But it can be frustrating to a novice writer to figure out the best routes to take in the world of independent publishing. Author of 9 novels, Jo-Anne has demonstrated not only her literary chops but also her expertise in producing attractively formatted books and getting them in the hand of scores of loyal readers. She will explain the mysteries of self-publishing, and be ready to answer any questions from writers thinking of going in this direction.
4. Small Moves in Revision, with Tsering Yangzom Lama: Short-listed for last year’s Giller Prize for fiction, Tsering offers a fiction workshop focusing on the “small moves” that can transform one’s writing in the revision process. This workshop will look at moves acclaimed writers make to add texture, depth, and surprise to their work. Participants will be asked to bring along a piece of writing and to be prepared to revise. They will be invited to share their writing in this workshop, though this is optional.

With only ten slots in each workshop, it is highly recommended to register as early as possible. Be part of Festival 2023 and take one or more of these workshops!