Five writing workshops directed toward topics such as memoirs, arts and pop culture, romance, op-eds, and inspiration begin online mid-October.
For the second straight year, King’s is offering a series of unique writing workshops.
Building on the success of its three workshops last fall, King’s is offering more opportunities to all types of writers this year. Five online, non-credit courses covering topics in fiction, non-fiction and journalism will be conducted over Zoom from Monday, October 19 to Monday, December 7. The courses are open to everyone.
The workshops are: Fans, Stans, and Pans: Arts and Pop Culture Writing; Boost Your Byline: Op-eds, Service, First-person & More; Aesthetic Incubator: Discover What Inspires You; How Harry Met Sally: A Writer’s Workshop on the Goals, Motivations, and Conflicts of Writing Romance; and, Crossing the Threshold: a Memoir Writing Workshop.
More to offer
The first round of workshops was well received by participants, said Kim Pittaway, executive director of King’s MFA in Creative Nonfiction and workshops coordinator. “They especially appreciated the real-world publishing expertise and knowledge that instructors brought to their subject matter.”
The inaugural offering left Pittaway confident the service could be expanded going forward.
“We wanted to build on the interest we knew was there while opening up some workshops on more specialized topics,” she said. “We’re excited about all five workshops.”
Fans, Stans, and Pans: Arts and Pop Culture Writing will be taught by Ryan McNutt, who instructed a workshop last year as well. McNutt is a music critic and journalist based in Halifax, who has written for outlets such as The Walrus, Exclaim!, AUX, Chart Attack and The Coast.
McNutt’s course helps writers to develop skills in criticism and journalism about arts and popular culture.
Beth Hitchcock will instruct Boost Your Byline: Op-eds, Service, First-person & More. Hitchcock has more than 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. Her writing credits include Canadian Business, Canadian Living, Cottage Life, Today’s Parent and The Toronto Star.
This workshop will walk participants through the journey of creating a 500–750-word piece; from the generation of an idea to the point of publication.
“At their core, all King’s programs place a high value on clear communication and powerful writing.” – Kim Pittaway
In the course Aesthetic Incubator: Discover What Inspires You, instructor Suzannah Showler will facilitate a workshop designed to help writers continue to access their creativity and inspiration.
Showler is an award-winning writer who authored Most Dramatic Ever, a book of cultural criticism about reality TV, and the collection of poetry Thing is.
With the workshop How Harry Met Sally: A Writer’s Workshop on the Goals, Motivations, and Conflicts of Writing Romance, Paula Altenburg will take writers through a long list of topics in the romance genre ranging from the fundamentals of good writing, to tropes, emotion, setting the scene and worldbuilding.
Altenburg is a member of Romance Writers of America, and has written and co-authored more than twenty books.
Cooper Lee Bombardier is also returning to the workshops as an instructor with Crossing the Threshold: a Memoir Writing Workshop.
Bombardier is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in several publications and a dozen anthologies. He has taught at the University of Portland, Clark College, Portland State University, Saint Mary’s University, NSCAD, and as a visiting writer at the Pacific Northwest College of Art’s Critical Studies program. His memoir-in-essays, Pass With Care, was published in May.
King’s writing reputation
Pittaway hopes to offer an annual mix of writing workshops led by some of the best writers and editors in the region for years to come.
“At their core, all King’s programs place a high value on clear communication and powerful writing,” she said. “We see these workshops as a natural fit with our Journalism and MFA in Creative Nonfiction programs, but more generally with the love of books and writing that we hope is fostered in all of King’s students.”
