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“PHOENIX RISING!” A SPRING SHORT STORY CONTEST The deadline has been extended to April 30th! Despite the last few days of rough weather, (at least here in Manitoba!) that doesn’t mean we, at the Writers’ Guild, aren’t gearing up for Spring. That includes our latest short story contest. The theme? What’s normally associated with Spring? Snow melting and nature coming out of a big sleep! The end of the old and the beginning of something …

It’s a Wrap – A Christmas Themed Short Story Contest It might be fall, but we all know how the holidays sneak up on us, so we made that sneaky habit of the holiday season the theme of this new short story contest! There’s only one rule: Your story needs to be centered around getting ready for the Holiday season. And yes; ALL winter-themed celebrations are welcome in this contest, whether it be a based …

Without our usual gala, we were unable to suitably honour those who won awards during this year’s Manitoba Book Awards season. The Manitoba Writers’ Guild works as a team member of a coalition of organizations that coordinate the Awards, along with the Association of Book Publishers (AMBP), the Winnipeg International Writers Festival (WIWF) and the Winnipeg Libraries Association. The coalition organizes the submission process, finds jurors for each of the categories and organizes meetings with …

The Manitoba Writers’ Guild has been collaborating with the Shoestring Players to develop another video to answer the question, how can the Creating a Docudrama workshop series help me improve my writing? You can find the videos on YouTube (see below for the links). Watch Marilyn Slobogian, Nathan Zassman, Maureen Taggert and Karl Eckstrand discuss their manuscript problems and learn why they should become a team to take part in the workshop series. During this …

We, at the Manitoba Writers’ Guild, are pleased to announce this year’s winners of the Manitoba Book Awards / Les Prix du livre du Manitoba 2021 Winners List   Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-Fiction / Prix Alexander-Kennedy-Isbister pour les études et essais Sponsor: Manitoba Arts Council   Winner – Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory by David A. Robertson, published by HarperCollins Nominees: For The W: A Look Back at the 2019 Grey Cup Championship Season by Ed Tait, …

Manitoba Book Awards / Les Prix du livres du Manitoba MEDIA RELEASE / COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE 30 APRIL/AVRIL 2021 (Winnipeg, MB) – On behalf of the coalition producing the 2021 Manitoba Book Awards/Les Prix du livre du Manitoba, we are excited to share the shortlists for 11 separate awards recognizing excellence in Manitoba writing, book design and illustration, and publishing. Congratulations to all the nominees! As the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic weigh down upon us, we’re seeing …

On May 12, 2021, (7 pm) at our next Book Chat, prolific Manitoba writer, Ron Hore will read something from his huge body of work. To be a part of this online event, email for the Zoom instructions. When asked to send in his bio for the Book Chat, this is what Ron had to say: A reader of genre fiction since an early age, I got down to serious attempts at writing over …

Save the Dates for… …a new and exciting series of virtual workshops presented by the World Building – May 15, 2021 at 2 pm Creating Compelling Characters – June 19, 2021 at 2 pm Copyright Law/Publishing Contracts – July 17, 2021 at 2 pm   With Den Valdron, a speculative fiction writer, pop-culture essayist and aboriginal rights lawyer, living and working in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As a writer, his short stories have been published in magazines …

I was recently reminded that March 8th, 2021 is International Women’s Day. I checked the website and found that this year’s theme is #ChooseToChallenge. According to them, “A challenged world is an alert world. Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions – all day, every day. We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, we …

PEOPLE’S CHOICE OF REMARKABLE MANITOBA BOOKS   These books, listed in chronological order, all received more than five votes by visitors to the MWG 30th Anniversary Symposium. If you have a suggestion for another remarkable book that is not on this list, please send us an email to with the book title. A new survey will be sent out to all members once we have enough suggestions to update this list. Most titles are …

David Elias was shortlisted for the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction so we asked him about his experience: How did you hear about the Manitoba Book Awards? Answer: I received an email from my publisher, ECW Press, informing me that my book, Elizabeth of Bohemia:  A Novel about Elizabeth Stuart, The Winter Queen, had been nominated for the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction. How was the process for submitting your book? If you submitted to …

Winnipeg’s finest writers festival, Thin Air, is happening now until October 12, 2020. The events are virtual, for obvious reasons, but they have a huge line-up of writers from across Canada, including a few French authors, who will talk about the craft of writing, give workshops and present their books, so please check out their events by clicking on Thin Air.