Sister Writes offers three sessions per year: fall, winter, and spring. Each runs for 12 weeks and takes place in person at the Gladstone branch of The Toronto Public Library. We meet on a weekday morning, for two hours, and provide all the supplies you’ll need—notebooks, our readings booklet, pens, and pencils as well as snacks to keep energy high. We open registration six weeks before the start of each session on a first-come first served basis.
Our workshops are designed to be accessible to all, from beginners to those with a bit more writing experience. Through guided lessons, creative exercises, readings, group activities, and heaps of hands-on practice, you’ll learn fundamentals of fiction and memoir writing, including voice, style, character, plot, and setting. Overall, in the session you can expect to:
- Practice writing in a variety of styles
- Explore and discover your personal writing style
- Increase your writerly confidence by developing a regular writing practice
- Write poems, stories, articles, personal essays, memoir and much more
- Meet and work with professional authors, poets, and journalists
- Give and receive feedback within a supportive workshop setting
- Read and discuss writing by established and emerging authors
- Produce and publish a professional literary magazine Sister Writes
- Organize a public magazine launch
By the end of the session, you’ll have completed one short story, lots of short, short stories (flash fiction) and have given and received feedback in a supportive and constructive workshop setting.
To see if we’d be a good fit for you, read through our Programs page. Then, if you’d like to register, drop us a note at info@sisterwrites.com. Sessions begin in September, January, and May.
Here’s what a few participants have said about Sister Writes:
“Sister Writes was the opportunity I’ve been waiting for all my life. This might sound like a cliché, but I honestly feel it. It’s a blessing having a safe environment with people whose aims are the same as yours.” -Maria
“I doubt that I would have been able to explore and learn more about writing if I didn’t have the opportunity at Sister Writes. This experience has helped me grow on a personal level as well as professionally.” -Erin
“Sister Writes has been an amazing program, and the highlight of my week. The readings, advice and encouragement have helped me grow as a writer and as a woman.” -Margot
“At Sister Writes I gained the confidence I needed to put into practice what I’d always known I could do — write.” -Cindy
“Being in a group that is all women that has a feminist perspective is very helpful for me…I feel that I have been given a secret gift that everyone would want if they knew how good Sister Writes is.” –Cynthia
