Blue Metropolis 2008 Writing Workshops
Blue Metropolis will once again present a series of workshops for professional and emerging writers in partnership with Summer Literary Seminars (SLS) during the 10th annual Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival (April 30-May 4, 2008).
These small workshops are led by an internationally-recognized writer who will also be participating in public festival events. .
Enrolment is limited to 8-20 participants, depending on the workshop. Participants are chosen on a first-come, first-served basis and are advised to register early. All these workshops/ master classes include lunch with the workshop leader* and are conducted in English.
Workshop 1: Fiction Masterclass: Listen Who’s Talking - Glenn Patterson
Date: Saturday, May 3, 2008
Times: 10 a.m. – 12.30 p.m.and 2 p.m. – 4.30 p.m., including lunch.
Workshop description: This workshop will look at both voice (modes of narration) and voices (dialogue) in prose fiction. Practical advice on revising and publishing will be provided.
Workshop Leader Bio: Glenn Patterson was born in Belfast in 1961 and is the author of seven novels. Most recently, he published The Third Party. He teaches Creative Writing at Queen’s University Belfast and edits the Ulster Tatler’s Literary Miscellany.
Workshop 2: Beyond Exotics: Travel Writing that Humanises - Binyavanga Wainaina
Date: Saturday, May 3, 2008
Times: 10 a.m. – 12.30 p.m.and 2 p.m. – 4.30 p.m., including lunch
Workshop description: This workshop will focus on travel writing that goes beyond the usual attempts by writers to measure their own truths against a flattened "difference" of "other" people and places. There is genuine insight in trying to discover what people have in common; there are genuinely timeless writers who help us share in the lives of people far away from us - this is the greatest power quality writing can deliver, and it is a power that is often ignored by writers whose "search for self" and determination to have "edgy experiences" makes them see the world outside their own locale as a playground for their psyche. In this workshop, we will try to move beyond that.
Workshop Leader Bio: Founder of Kenya’s leading literary magazine Kwani?, Binyavanga Wainaina won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2002. He penned “Nairobi” in the September 2005 issue of National Geographic.
Workshop 3: Poetry Workshop: Exciting the Toad - Susan Gillis
Date: Sunday, May 4, 2008
Times: 10 a.m. – 12.30 p.m.and 2 p.m. – 4.30 p.m., including lunch.
Workshop Description:Powerful poetry excites idea and experience into language. Explore the imaginative power of language in this workshop that invites participants to renew and refine their poetic practice. Exercises and writing activities will engage participants in the art and craft of poetry, and discussion of participants’ original poems will sharpen the critical and editorial eye. We will visit, so to speak, in the words of Marianne Moore, “imaginary gardens with real toads in them.”
Workshop Leader Bio: Susan Gillis is the author of two books of poetry, including Volta, which won the A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry in 2003. She teaches literature and creative writing at John Abbott College.
Workshop 4: Pitching the Pitch: The Art of Pitching a Feature Film - Gerald Wexler
Date: Sunday, May 4, 2008
Times: 10 a.m. – 12.30 p.m.and 2 p.m. – 4.30 p.m., including lunch.
Workshop Description: Many film projects start with an oral pitch. The pitch is both a “selling” presentation to a producer, and a valuable exercise for the writer, forcing him to carve a film story down to prime essentials and seeing how it sustains itself in that concise, bare form.
N.B. No text needs to be submitted for this workshop.
Workshop Leader Bio: Gerald Wexler’s credits include Margaret’s Museum, for which he received a best screenplay Genie and The Hunger, the anthology series produced by Tony and Ridley Scott on which he was a writer/producer.
How to Apply
Participants in the workshops may be professional writers or emerging writers. For the master class priority will be given to professional writers.
Applicants are asked to submit a writing sample (up to 15 pages) of their work with their application on or before April 15, 2008. This material should be mailed to us; it will not be returned.
Mailing address:
Blue Metropolis Foundation
661 Rose-de-Lima Street
Montreal, Quebec H4C 2L7
CANADA
Please mark "Blue Metropolis Writing Workshops" on the envelope.
Download application form here. (PDF or WORD)
Application deadline : April 15, 2008.
These workshops are small ( 8-20 participants, depending on the workshop), so applicants are advised to register early.
Registration fee: $ 85 CDN (approx. $85 US) The registration fee is non-refundable. Registration fee must be paid by cheque, Visa or MasterCard upon registration.
Package includes: 3-5 hour workshop, 1 lunch with the author*, and a reduced rate for purchase of tickets to festival events.(Please note that many festival events will be sold out and it is important to buy tickets in advance; tickets can be purchased on-line once the programme is published on the website in April 2008.)
Applicants will receive email notification concerning their acceptance into the workshop within 2 weeks of their application (before March 19, 2008). At that time, Blue Metropolis Foundation will process their payment if (and only if) they have been accepted.
Participants should prepare the text they wish to work on (15-20 double-spaced pages of prose or up to 5 pages of poetry) and send it to the Blue Metropolis office prior to April 11, 2008. These texts will then be sent to the workshop leader and other participants in advance of the workshop.
N.B. No text needs to be submitted for Workshop 4 : Pitching the Pitch: The Art of Pitching the Fiction Film.
Optional add-ons: The Delta Centre-Ville Hotel is located at 777 University Street. The festival rate for a single or double room is $149 CDN per night plus taxes. To reserve, call 1-877-814-7706 or go online to http://www.deltahotels.com/en/reservations. Please mention the name "Blue Metropolis."
If you prefer to stay elsewhere in the city, Blue Metropolis will be glad to provide you with some suggestions for other accommodation.
*The lunch offered is a buffet lunch at the festival hotel.
Blue Metropolis Foundation reserves the right to cancel any workshop if registration is insufficient. All prices in Canadian dollars.
For further information: audrey.pageau-marcotte@metropolisbleu.org or (514) 932-1112, ext 34.
Blue Metropolis wishes to thank The Canada Council for the Arts for their financial support.