The 2018 Wild Writers Literary Festival
The New Quarterly is proud to present the 8th annual Wild Writers Literary Festival on November 1-3, 2019 in Kitchener-Waterloo, ON. Join us for a celebration of the feral and free and its expression in poetry, the short story, and everything in between. Create, learn, discover and share the art of groundbreaking writing.
Discover our 2018 program below.
Saturday November 3
The Balsillie School of International Affairs: 67 Erb Street West, Waterloo ON, N2L 6C2
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Young Creators Masterclass with Erin Bow. For 13- to 17-year-olds.
Some details will win your readers’ hearts forever—and some will make them skim and sigh impatiently. Which ones are which, and how do you know? Award-winning author Erin Bow will walk you through it, using lots of examples from current teen books.
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“Bless thee, Bottom … Thou Art translated!”: A Workshop on Poetry Across the Disciplines with poet Amanda Jernigan and singer Daniel Cabena
Robert Frost famously defined poetry as that which is lost in translation. But what happens when poetry is translated not between languages but from the page to the voice? Or from one voice to another? What is lost? What is gained? In this workshop we will experiment with these sorts of translation, passing our poems from one form into another, from one voice to another. (How do you hear your poem differently when you read it aloud? When someone else reads it aloud? When you imagine it’s in the voice of a queen, or a fool, or a tow-truck driver, or a unicorn …) We will talk about and experiment with contrafactum — the practice of devising new words for old tunes. Participants should come prepared with a poem by someone else that they would like to experiment with; they should also expect to do some writing of their own. Introduced by Barb Carter
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Main Character, Same Character? with Ian Hamilton in conversation with David Worsley
In his award-winning Ava Lee series, mystery novelist Ian Hamilton presents Ava Lee, a forensic accountant with a specialty in dangerous massive debt recovery. In Hamilton’s new upcoming series, one of Ava Lee’s contacts— Uncle—takes centre stage. Join Words Worth Books owner and thriller aficionado David Worsley for a discussion on how to introduce new locales and secondary characters while keeping existing characters fresh and compelling.
(Formerly “Writing Incognito” with Naben Ruthnum)
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Contests and Honours and Prizes, Oh My! With Anita Chong (M&S; The Journey Prize), Pamela Mulloy (TNQ), Emily Urquhart (WLU Edna Staebler-in-Residence), Janice Zawerbny (Biblioasis). Moderated by Susan Scott.
The phrase “award-winning” might roll right off the tongue, but what does it mean—who benefits from accolades and laurels, and why should writers care? Is it worth submitting to a raft of contests and applying for residencies? What does a healthy/unhealthy adjudication process look like, and how transparent should that process be? What are the politics of who is asked to judge? Pitch your questions to our Wild Writers panelists, and we’ll all leave this morning’s session better informed about what’s at stake with competitions in the CanLit world.
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Creative Nonfiction with Jael Richardson
This nonfiction workshop explores the creative side of creative nonfiction and will help writers, both established and emerging, turn the story they know into a story everyone will love reading. The workshop will include short writing exercises that will help nonfiction writers think not only about the story they’re telling but the way it needs to be told. Introduced by Susan Scott
-
Poetry in Communication with Daniel Cabena, Cori Martin, Richard Sanger, and Karen Schindler. Moderated by Amanda Jernigan.
A panel discussion about the many and various ways that poetry can reach an audience, communicate, across the usual boundaries of the art—through participation in music and performance, in the hand-crafted form of a beautiful book, through performance in the theatre… In all of these ways, poetry enters into community—and it makes community, dissolving our solitudes, asking us to enter into relation with one another in new ways.
-
On Character with Sharon Bala
In the domain of fiction, character is king. Long after we’ve forgotten the plot twists and turns, the particulars of settings, and even the narrative styles, of our favourite books, it is the characters we remember. In this workshop we will investigate the difference between what Forster called flat and rounded characters, talk about arcs and epiphanies, and learn how to create imaginary humans who feel true enough to be real. Introduced by Pamela Mulloy
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Gourmet Boxed Lunches from EVO Kitchen
Each Gourmet Boxed Lunch contains a main course, side, fresh cut fruit, dessert and a bottle of San Pellegrino.
If you have any dietary restrictions, please contact
admin [at] tnq.ca -
Wreckage, Remix, and Recycling: Writing New Poems from the Rubble of the Old with Paul Vermeersch
This masterclass will concentrate on several forms, both ancient and modern, that scavenge and recombine existing texts in order to construct new poems from the fragments of the past. These forms include centos, erasures, glosas, text collages, and more. We will investigate the history of these practices, and examine their contemporary resurgence. Time will also be devoted to writing and work-shopping new poems using these techniques. Participants are asked to bring along three or four favourite books of poetry (of any genre or vintage) as well as some unfinished poems of their own. Introduced by Chris Banks
-
Editing Bootcamp with Katia Grubisic
Bring your sorry syntax, your lousy line breaks, your dopey dialogue or pathetic pace, and we’ll boot them into shape. In this short, intensive literary editing workshop, participants will learn tricks and tips to make substantive improvements to their work and fine-tune their close reading and critiquing skills. All genres welcome; please email a short draft/work-in-progress of no more than one page (prose should be double spaced; poetry can be single spaced) by November 1, 2018, to info@newquarterly.net
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What You Know: How Research Shapes a Story With Liz Harmer, David Huebert, Pamela Mulloy, and Claire Tacon. Moderated by Brent van Staalduinen.
The adage, “write what you know” serves many writers, but it’s only one way to tell a story. Another is to write what you want to know. In a world where autofiction is trending in literature, these writers share how they used research to shape the narrative in their novels. They will share research tips and discuss how to integrate the research so that it’s not begging for attention.
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Gift of Fire: What to Look for in a Mentor with Lamees Al Ethari, Anita Chong, Antonio Michael Downing, and Tasneem Jamal. Moderated by Leonarda Carranza.
The world of publishing can be taxing, exclusive, and intimidating. One model of engagement and support is a seeking mentorship. Our panel will advise us how to search for the right kind of mentor, and why the right mentor is key. Other issues for discussion include: power-sharing, knowledge-exchange, advocacy, transparency, and accountability. What is the true value of mentoring at different stages of one’s career? How do you know when the relationship is working, or failing, or if it’s simply time for both parties to move on?
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Writing Raw: How to Explore Personal Material That Is Touchy, Dark, Intimate, Tangled, Problematic, Risky, Taboo or Downright Radioactive with Mike Barnes
Having written about mental illness and, now, about dementia caregiving, I’m well-acquainted with the rewards and perils of exploring raw personal material. “Raw” in any of its many senses: intimate; painful; exposed; unprocessed; undiluted….
It’s easy to get swamped by the dilemmas: Why am I writing this? What do I write (which parts)? How—what genre? structure? language? What are the costs—to me, to others? Should I share it—with whom, and how? This workshop will use a collaborative approach to explore some of the ways this tricky, transformative work can be done.
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Autofictions: Pushing our Truths to Tell Better Stories with Brent van Staalduinen
Our lives are full of great fictions and great truths, and the lines between them are hazy. Some people fear this uncertainty, but the writer should not: every memory and experience is valuable, and can seed great writing. In this workshop, participants will discover how the elements of great fiction are synonymous with the best ways to use and tell their own truths, and explore new ways to craft them to make their stories better. Bring pen, paper, and some of your own truths to explore.
-
Whose Voice Is It Anyway: The Translation Panel with Leonarda Carranza, Morteza Deghani, and Katia Grubisic. Moderated by Lamees Al Ethari.
Focusing on French, Farsi, Spanish and one from an Indigenous group, this panel will look at the translator’s role in preserving and interpreting the language, content, and intent of written texts while keeping in mind the response of the audience and their perspective. Some of the topics that we will discuss address the influence of the translator’s voice on the construction of the text, difficulties of cultural interpretations and concepts of trust on the side of the writer who might never ever fully know how their work has been presented.
Sunday November 4
Rhapsody Barrel Bar: 179 King Street West, Kitchener ON, N2G 1A9.
Friday November 2
The CIGI Campus. 67 Erb Street West, Waterloo ON, N2L 6C2
Showing all 17 results
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“Bless thee, Bottom … Thou Art translated!”: A Workshop on Poetry Across the Disciplines with poet Amanda Jernigan and singer Daniel Cabena
Robert Frost famously defined poetry as that which is lost in translation. But what happens when poetry is translated not between languages but from the page to the voice? Or from one voice to another? What is lost? What is gained? In this workshop we will experiment with these sorts of translation, passing our poems from one form into another, from one voice to another. (How do you hear your poem differently when you read it aloud? When someone else reads it aloud? When you imagine it’s in the voice of a queen, or a fool, or a tow-truck driver, or a unicorn …) We will talk about and experiment with contrafactum — the practice of devising new words for old tunes. Participants should come prepared with a poem by someone else that they would like to experiment with; they should also expect to do some writing of their own. Introduced by Barb Carter
-
Autofictions: Pushing our Truths to Tell Better Stories with Brent van Staalduinen
Our lives are full of great fictions and great truths, and the lines between them are hazy. Some people fear this uncertainty, but the writer should not: every memory and experience is valuable, and can seed great writing. In this workshop, participants will discover how the elements of great fiction are synonymous with the best ways to use and tell their own truths, and explore new ways to craft them to make their stories better. Bring pen, paper, and some of your own truths to explore.
-
Creative Nonfiction with Jael Richardson
This nonfiction workshop explores the creative side of creative nonfiction and will help writers, both established and emerging, turn the story they know into a story everyone will love reading. The workshop will include short writing exercises that will help nonfiction writers think not only about the story they’re telling but the way it needs to be told. Introduced by Susan Scott
-
Editing Bootcamp with Katia Grubisic
Bring your sorry syntax, your lousy line breaks, your dopey dialogue or pathetic pace, and we’ll boot them into shape. In this short, intensive literary editing workshop, participants will learn tricks and tips to make substantive improvements to their work and fine-tune their close reading and critiquing skills. All genres welcome; please email a short draft/work-in-progress of no more than one page (prose should be double spaced; poetry can be single spaced) by November 1, 2018, to info@newquarterly.net
-
Gift of Fire: What to Look for in a Mentor with Lamees Al Ethari, Anita Chong, Antonio Michael Downing, and Tasneem Jamal. Moderated by Leonarda Carranza.
The world of publishing can be taxing, exclusive, and intimidating. One model of engagement and support is a seeking mentorship. Our panel will advise us how to search for the right kind of mentor, and why the right mentor is key. Other issues for discussion include: power-sharing, knowledge-exchange, advocacy, transparency, and accountability. What is the true value of mentoring at different stages of one’s career? How do you know when the relationship is working, or failing, or if it’s simply time for both parties to move on?
-
Gourmet Boxed Lunches from EVO Kitchen
Each Gourmet Boxed Lunch contains a main course, side, fresh cut fruit, dessert and a bottle of San Pellegrino.
If you have any dietary restrictions, please contact
admin [at] tnq.ca -
Main Character, Same Character? with Ian Hamilton in conversation with David Worsley
In his award-winning Ava Lee series, mystery novelist Ian Hamilton presents Ava Lee, a forensic accountant with a specialty in dangerous massive debt recovery. In Hamilton’s new upcoming series, one of Ava Lee’s contacts— Uncle—takes centre stage. Join Words Worth Books owner and thriller aficionado David Worsley for a discussion on how to introduce new locales and secondary characters while keeping existing characters fresh and compelling.
(Formerly “Writing Incognito” with Naben Ruthnum)
-
On Character with Sharon Bala
In the domain of fiction, character is king. Long after we’ve forgotten the plot twists and turns, the particulars of settings, and even the narrative styles, of our favourite books, it is the characters we remember. In this workshop we will investigate the difference between what Forster called flat and rounded characters, talk about arcs and epiphanies, and learn how to create imaginary humans who feel true enough to be real. Introduced by Pamela Mulloy
-
Opening Showcase
Opening Showcase with Sharon Bala and Rawi Hage. Moderated by Jael Richardson.
+Winners of The New Quarterly’s contests: to be announced August 31st!
-
Poetry in Communication with Daniel Cabena, Cori Martin, Richard Sanger, and Karen Schindler. Moderated by Amanda Jernigan.
A panel discussion about the many and various ways that poetry can reach an audience, communicate, across the usual boundaries of the art—through participation in music and performance, in the hand-crafted form of a beautiful book, through performance in the theatre… In all of these ways, poetry enters into community—and it makes community, dissolving our solitudes, asking us to enter into relation with one another in new ways.
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The Literary Brunch with Katherine Ashenburg, Claire Cameron, and Michael Redhill. Moderated by Sharron Smith.
Coffee will be served at 9:30 followed by breakfast fare. The writers will discuss their latest work, the writing process, and life as a writer. Intimate, casual, engaging – an ideal way to spend a Sunday morning. Mimosas served at 11:00 am.
Brunch is your choice between Rhapsody Benedict, Cinnamon Crunch French Toast, and Mixed Berry Parfait
Dessert will be an assortment of pies.
If you have any dietary restrictions, please contact
admin [at] tnq.ca -
What You Know: How Research Shapes a Story With Liz Harmer, David Huebert, Pamela Mulloy, and Claire Tacon. Moderated by Brent van Staalduinen.
The adage, “write what you know” serves many writers, but it’s only one way to tell a story. Another is to write what you want to know. In a world where autofiction is trending in literature, these writers share how they used research to shape the narrative in their novels. They will share research tips and discuss how to integrate the research so that it’s not begging for attention.
-
Whose Voice Is It Anyway: The Translation Panel with Leonarda Carranza, Morteza Deghani, and Katia Grubisic. Moderated by Lamees Al Ethari.
Focusing on French, Farsi, Spanish and one from an Indigenous group, this panel will look at the translator’s role in preserving and interpreting the language, content, and intent of written texts while keeping in mind the response of the audience and their perspective. Some of the topics that we will discuss address the influence of the translator’s voice on the construction of the text, difficulties of cultural interpretations and concepts of trust on the side of the writer who might never ever fully know how their work has been presented.
-
Wreckage, Remix, and Recycling: Writing New Poems from the Rubble of the Old with Paul Vermeersch
This masterclass will concentrate on several forms, both ancient and modern, that scavenge and recombine existing texts in order to construct new poems from the fragments of the past. These forms include centos, erasures, glosas, text collages, and more. We will investigate the history of these practices, and examine their contemporary resurgence. Time will also be devoted to writing and work-shopping new poems using these techniques. Participants are asked to bring along three or four favourite books of poetry (of any genre or vintage) as well as some unfinished poems of their own. Introduced by Chris Banks
-
Writing Raw: How to Explore Personal Material That Is Touchy, Dark, Intimate, Tangled, Problematic, Risky, Taboo or Downright Radioactive with Mike Barnes
Having written about mental illness and, now, about dementia caregiving, I’m well-acquainted with the rewards and perils of exploring raw personal material. “Raw” in any of its many senses: intimate; painful; exposed; unprocessed; undiluted….
It’s easy to get swamped by the dilemmas: Why am I writing this? What do I write (which parts)? How—what genre? structure? language? What are the costs—to me, to others? Should I share it—with whom, and how? This workshop will use a collaborative approach to explore some of the ways this tricky, transformative work can be done.
-
Young Creators Masterclass with Erin Bow. For 13- to 17-year-olds.
Some details will win your readers’ hearts forever—and some will make them skim and sigh impatiently. Which ones are which, and how do you know? Award-winning author Erin Bow will walk you through it, using lots of examples from current teen books.
-
Contests and Honours and Prizes, Oh My! With Anita Chong (M&S; The Journey Prize), Pamela Mulloy (TNQ), Emily Urquhart (WLU Edna Staebler-in-Residence), Janice Zawerbny (Biblioasis). Moderated by Susan Scott.
The phrase “award-winning” might roll right off the tongue, but what does it mean—who benefits from accolades and laurels, and why should writers care? Is it worth submitting to a raft of contests and applying for residencies? What does a healthy/unhealthy adjudication process look like, and how transparent should that process be? What are the politics of who is asked to judge? Pitch your questions to our Wild Writers panelists, and we’ll all leave this morning’s session better informed about what’s at stake with competitions in the CanLit world.