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Book Chat # 3 with Joan Thomas was a lot of fun! Joan read a new piece of writing. Getting this sneak peak was very exciting for those in attendance, of which there were seven. Three participants read their own work during the Open Mic. The rest of us preferred to sit back and listen. Our fourth Book Chat will take place on August 12 and will feature poet Angeline Schellenberg. This is a free-for-members-only …

After much animated discussions, we have completed our Strategic Plan for the future. This includes updated Mission, Vision, and Values statements, as well as the things we feel we can accomplish within the next three years. With social distancing, it is difficult to present our plan in person, so we have created a video presentation and posted it on our new YouTube channel, ‘Manitoba Writers’ Guild, 2020 and Beyond‘. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/LR5GovRUYvA Please …

On June 10, the MWG held our second Book Chat. Anita Daher was our Featured Author, who read a chapter from her newest teen novel You Don’t Have to Die in the End. After her reading, she answered some questions which inspired lively conversations on such a variety of topics including how Anita arrived at the title for her book, how chapter transitions transport the reader, story-boarding to maintain flow and setting, how to notice …

    On the evening of the 13th May, eleven members accepted our invitation to attend our first virtual Book Chat. The session was hosted by Susan Rocan, Past President of the Guild. After brief introductions, Margaret Sweatman, who kindly agreed to accept our invitation to be our Featured Author, read a section from her book “When Alice Lay Down with Peter”, a novel with very much a Manitoba connection. The reading was well received. …

PRESENTING . . .    NOUS VOUS PRÉSENTONS . . . * Alexander Kennedy  Isbister  Award for Non-Fiction / Prix Alexander-Kennedy-Isbister pour les études et  essais    Friends, Foes, and Furs: George Nelson’s Lake Winnipeg Journals, 1804–1822 edited by Harry W. Duckworth, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press sponsor: Manitoba Arts Council   * Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award / Prix littéraire Carol-Shields de la ville de Winnipeg The North-West Is Our Mother: The Story of Louis Riel’s …

Introducing our new MWG Book Chats – virtual events to access from the comfort of your own home! They will occur on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM. Each evening starts with a Featured Published Author, followed by a brief Q&A. After the Q&A, we’ll have an Open Mic where members can share their writing, about 5 minutes per reading. We have quite a line-up of Manitoba Writers willing to participate, for …

 While a writer’s life is usually solitary, either sitting at a table with paper and pencil or tapping away at a typewriter or computer, this time of COVID-19 has us isolated from friends and family, too. So, it is with great pleasure that I share this news from the Manitoba Book Awards Committee: ENGLISH (Winnipeg, MB) – On behalf of the coalition producing the 2020 Manitoba Book Awards/Les Prix du livre du Manitoba, we are excited to …

In light of the COVID -19 situation, the ArtSpace building is closed to the public. As a result the Manitoba Writers’ Guild will be conducting our business virtually by monitoring and responding to emails only, There will not be anybody in the office to answer phone inquiries. All scheduled events will be postponed until further notice.  

We will begin accepting submissions to the Manitoba Book Awards in September with a deadline being in mid-November. For further information, go to https://manitobabookawards.com/index.php/en/ We will also be accepting applications for Mentors and Apprentices to the Sheldon Oberman Mentorship Program, beginning in September with the deadline for applications being November 30, 2020. For further information, go to the Mentorship page of this website. All our programming will be delayed because of the current health crisis.

We are planning to have a town hall meeting with members and stakeholders to share the output from the strategic planning process we are in the process of completing. It is the intention to have a face to face meeting but this will obviously depend on the extent of the present health crisis. The venue and date will be announced later.   Our Annual General Meeting will be held mid-October. Voting privileges are allotted to …

Following our member survey last year, it was decided by the Board of Directors to undertake a Strategic Planning exercise to provide a firm foundation for the future direction and activities of the Manitoba Writers’ Guild. Thanks to the generous support of the Winnipeg Foundation we have secured the services of Blueprint Inc to help facilitate the process. We are currently formulating our plan from input from members and key stakeholders and a workshop that …

The last Annual General meeting was held October 19th, 2019, at the Henderson Library, the minutes from the previous AGM of  October 20th 2018 were approved and are posted here: AGM Minutes. Last year’s AGM minutes will be circulated ahead of our 2020 AGM, date to be advised. Also, the new list of Board members is here.