Workshops
Writing Week and Workshop tickets are available May 1st. All other tickets for the 2025 Festival will be on sale May 15th.
As well as the solo sessions, Main Stage panels, and a five day intensive Writing Week, the 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—by invited authors Janika Oza, Timothy Taylor, Fiona Tinwei Lam, and Caroline Adderson.
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.
Cost of workshops: $100
Class limit: 10
Locations are still being finalized and will be announced shortly.
Caroline Adderson – Thursday July 17, 2025, 2:00 to 5:00 pm
Ending It All – Sometimes the writer will have an ending in mind from the start and work toward it. Other times it will remain unseen for several drafts. Even those endings invented from the start may have to be abandoned when characters come alive and start behaving in unexpected ways. This workshop covers what makes a successful ending to a story as well as some common problem endings. And since, in the words of Jack Hodgkins, “The best endings are not invented but recognized”, we will also consider plot and character arc and how these story elements may help you recognize and achieve a satisfying conclusion.
Janika Oza – Thursday July 17, 2025, 2:00 to 5:00 pm
Writing the Opening – This workshop is all about beginnings—what makes those first pages come alive, and how to take that initial step into crafting a new piece. Together, we’ll look at some notable openings to figure out how writers introduce major story elements such as character and setting while establishing a voice and relationship with the reader. We’ll then use generative prompts to brainstorm story ideas and begin writing the opening pages of a fresh piece. Come with writing materials, your ideas, and that readiness to take the plunge into starting something new.
Fiona Tinwei Lam – Thursday July 17, 2025, 2:00 – 5:00 pm
Elemental Poetry – How can we connect to the elements of the natural world through poetry to express the images and ideas that simmer within us? After a short opening meditation and brief overview of poetic structure, we will look at a few published poems related to the five elements (water, wood, fire, earth/metal, air). Objects and prompts related to the five elements will be provided for you to choose from in order to generate poems of your own. One or two writing periods will be included, with opportunities to share your work in small groups, and then as a wider group. Some collaborative writing based on selected lines/words/phrases may be included.
Timothy Taylor – Thursday July 17, 2025, 2:00 – 5:00 pm
Writing Family Histories – At some point in the life of many writers, the creative attention will come to focus on the memoir based on family history. Join award winning, bestselling author Timothy Taylor, who has been recently preoccupied with just this sort of project. This workshop will explore the use of original source material such as letters, diaries and photographs, best practices in conducting interviews, balancing factual truth and the imagination in recreating historic scenes, as well as practical tips for writing compelling book proposals. Come with your own memoir ideas ready to share and discuss, as well as writing tools so you can participate in workshop exercises.
Cancellation Policy: We regret we cannot reimburse registration fees beyond 2 weeks prior to the workshop date.
With only ten slots in each workshop, it is highly recommended to register as early as possible. Be part of Festival 2025 and take part in these phenomenal workshops!