Events & Workshops

Join our Winter 2024 Virtual Writer-in-Residence Bev Brenna as she discusses the benefits of focused reading and “story grammars”. This free event is open to any interested writer.

Eligible SWG members can consult Bev about their writing during her VWIR term between February 1 to April 30. To find out more about this service and to register, visit our website.

Please be mindful of your time zone as all times listed are Saskatchewan time. Find your time zone here: https://dateful.com/time-zone-converter

To register, visit: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8KL8ReZ5Sdqaia4bS1QYrQ

Close Reading and Mentor Text: Harnessing Established Patterns to Give New Work Some Wings

This 60-minute talk rockets the benefits of focused reading, where writers skim published works to identify patterns that can accelerate a first draft or a revision. Learning to identify “story grammars” in our own and published material is a strategy that supports lifelong writing power.

Examples of patterns will be provided (including poetry by Yeats, short stories, and children’s literature) and then participants will choose from a few streamlined scaffolds in order to spend ten minutes of the session generating new writing.

The talk will finish with a Q&A, and provide a handout of suggested titles for exploring additional patterns to help us fly.

Bev Brenna is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of 14 books for young people (including picture books, middle grade and young adult novels, poetry and short story collections), earning a Printz Honor, a Dolly Gray Award, and a Stuchner Award for humour; her work has also been shortlisted for a Governor General’s Literary Award and listed on CBC’s Young Adult Books That Make You Proud To Be Canadian. Bev has also published 2 non-fiction titles on children’s literature, and her adult poetry, prose, and academic writing has been published in a variety of anthologies, journals, magazines, and newspapers. For more info, please see http://www.beverleybrenna.com

Our event host Theresa Tavares, co-author of "Contemporary Canadian Picture Books" alongside Beverley Brenna, holds a master's degree from the University of Saskatchewan, where her interdisciplinary thesis on the approach of social justice themes in picture books earned the Social Sciences Thesis Award. With a professional background in publishing and a special interest in children’s literature, Theresa is passionate about the synergy of words and images in good picture books, a quality that never ceases to amaze her. Originally from Brazil, Theresa now resides in Saskatchewan with her fiancé and their cat, Zoey.

Accessibility measures in this event:

• Live auto-captions through Zoom during the live event
• (TBD) A read-along copy of the presenter's talk available during the live event only
• Presenter self-descriptions
• This event will be recorded, captioned, and made available for 30 days on the SWG YouTube channel following the event: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRAIIcrpQW0NcY6ZM0GGSzw
• Transcript of the event available upon request

Funding by:

          

In partnership with: