From May 27 to May 29, Winnipeg will be a hub for creative writers, readers, scholars, and the writing community with the first-ever Canlit, Writing, Publishing and Pedagogy Conference.
“Winnipeg is not always where we think literature exists,” said conference organizer Lindsay Wong, Associate Professor in UWinnipeg’s Department of English. “There’s always a focus on Vancouver or Toronto, but there’s so much amazing literary talent here.”
The three-day literary conference will be the first of its kind for Winnipeg and will serve as an important alternative for people who don’t feel safe traveling to the United States for larger literary conferences.
I think that’s also really important, especially for UWinnipeg students, to see what is possible and what they can do after graduation.
Lindsay Wong
“In Canada, we don’t really have these gathering places for writers and writer scholars to gather and talk about creative writing,” said Wong. “It’s very much needed.”
The conference features keynote talks by McClelland & Stewart/Penguin Random House publisher Stephanie Sinclair, and Cody Caetano, literary agent at CookeMcDermid and award-winning author of the memoir Half-Bads in White Regalia.
The conference will host readers, creative writing teachers, and emerging and established writers. There will also be an open mic for creative writing students.
Several workshops will be presented by industry leaders and writers at the top of their craft, providing opportunities for UWinnipeg students and the larger community to develop or hone their writing skills and build important connections with literary agents, publishers, editors, and creative writers.
“I think that’s also really important, especially for UWinnipeg students, to see what is possible and what they can do after graduation,” Wong said.
The conference is being organized by Wong and her departmental colleague, Associate Professor Celiese Lypka. Support from the Research Office, the Conference Fund, and the Provost’s Office is helping to ensure the conference is accessible. The conference is free for UWinnipeg students and for members of the Department of English. There is also a low-income fee for community members who require a reduced rate.
The conference will also help to remove barriers that writers often face when considering creative writing as a career.
“People who don’t have time can’t afford to be writers,” Wong said. “If we’re opening the conference up to the community, we’re encouraging our students, and we’re bringing in local talent as well as talent across Canada, hopefully it will eliminate some of these barriers for people to learn about the craft, for people to pursue it.”
Anyone interested in writing is encouraged to attend the conference. Registration is closed, but day-passes will be available for those who missed the deadline.
