Events & Workshops

The Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild is seeking proposals for online professional development workshops from Canadian-based writers to offer starting September 2024. We are looking for ideas and facilitators who are willing and comfortable using Zoom to offer workshops on the craft or business of writing. We are planning for virtual workshops; however, some in-person workshops might be a possibility in the next year.

The SWG’s Professional Development workshop series focuses on the craft and business of writing. Its goal is to offer skill development for beginning, emerging, or established writers by established writers from a diversity of genres and backgrounds.

Our interactive online workshops will range in length from 2 hours to a series of up to four 2-hour workshops (max 8 hours of instructions). We are interested in offering predominantly single workshops, although we do offer a limited number of workshop series. Proposals for both single workshops and series are welcome.

Numbers of participants may range from 8-16 people.

In some cases, we may offer 75-minute webinar presentations with unlimited participants.

Workshops are interactive, meaning the facilitator and participants will be in a Zoom meeting room and will see and hear each other. Interactive sessions may include group discussion, writing prompts, activities, polls, breakout rooms, PowerPoint (or similar technology) presentations, or more.

Webinar presentations are less interactive – a facilitator and host will be on screen, but you will not see participants' cameras/mics. This is a great format for a presentation on a topic followed by a moderated Q+A.

We invite proposals for online presentations and/or workshops that address:

• craft of writing fiction (any genres), poetry, spoken word, nonfiction, script writing (plays and/or screenplays), graphic novels, or other forms
• business of writing and publishing, accounting and income tax, contracts and lawyers, copyright, permissions, royalties, grant writing, freelancing, self-employment and incorporation, editing, marketing and promotion, or other topics not listed
• other, writing related, topics like podcasts, stand-up comedy, cooking/cookbooks, a combination of visual art and writing

Preference will be given to proposals that fit the goals of the professional development workshops and are offered by writers residing in Saskatchewan who are representative of a diversity of ideas and identities. Out-of-province applicants must explain their connections to the Saskatchewan writing community in their application. The SWG reserves the right to reject any proposal.

In Your Proposal Please Include:

• Name and contact info (email, address, phone)
• Title, description and brief outline of workshop (maximum 750 words) 
• The anticipated length of the workshop (and if you’re willing/able to shorten a series to a single session.)
• Preferred number of participants.
• Your Artist CV (please include teaching experience) (Max 5 pages)
• Your experience with offering online workshops or classes 
• Your biography (100 words max)
• If you reside out-of-Saskatchewan, please explain your connections to the SK writing community.
• If you have accessibility requirements for yourself or participants that you would like us to include when planning the workshop.
• Though we are looking for virtual instruction, please indicate your preference if you’d be open to in-person instruction.
• We encourage applicants to self-declare if they identify as a writer who is a member of group(s) experiencing marginalization and underrepresentation. (i.e. Black, Indigenous, or Person of Colour, 2SLGBTQ+, or Disability).

Proposals must be received by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, July 15, 2024. Please email your proposal to swgevents@skwriter.com.