The SWG is pleased to announce Gordon Portman as our Winter 2025 Virtual Writer-in-Residence for February 3 to April 30, 2025.
Gordon Portman has been a professional writer and teacher for more than thirty-five years. For much of that time, his work has primarily been associated with theatre; however, for the past fifteen+ years he has been a creative writing instructor / mentor at Brandon University, where he introduced students to a range of techniques associated with all four of the main writing disciplines – non-fiction, fiction, drama, and poetry. He is a recipient of several creation / production grants; has twice been shortlisted for the CBC Literary Prize in non-fiction (most recently in 2024), and most recently has been published in the anthology This Is Beyond.
"There's a lot of change in the works these days; even though change is a fundamental and inescapable facet of life on this wee planet, the changes in the air (literally) seem to feel particularly significant. One thing that does not really change, though - at least for us humans - is the (idea? fact? experience?) that stories can help us understand, or feel more understood, or just provide comfort. As SWG's Virtual Writer in Residence, I'm here to support Saskatchewan writers outside of the major centres to tell the stories they feel driven/drawn to telling, and to collaborate in the shaping and crafting of those stories so that the author's intent reaches the reader in the clearest, most effective possible way. I'm very much looking forward to encountering the range of writers and ways of storytelling that will be coming through the Program's 'doors' this winter. Let's do this."
To learn more about Gordon and his writing, please watch his introductory video.
The Virtual Writer-in-Residence (VWiR) program provides opportunities for SWG members writing at all levels of development and in all genres to receive guidance and advice on a specific writing project from an established writer. Eligible members must live in Saskatchewan outside of Regina and Saskatoon – members in those cities can access their Public Library’s Writer-in-Residence programs. Members can submit up to 15 pages to the VWIR and meet one-on-one through Zoom up to three times to talk about the individual’s writing.
This service will open February 3, 2025. To register, please fill out the form here.