Events & Workshops

At some point in our lives as writers, we will feel the pull of a new form, genre, or medium. Following this pull can help us break new ground, reinvigorate our practice, and sustain us as creators. Yet, making this leap into the new can be scary. In his talk, Daniel Scott Tysdal will inspire us to venture into the unknown with confidence by discussing the different processes and benefits of branching out. He will draw on the works of other writers and on his own experience as a poet who turned to fiction, filmmaking, horror writing, and professional wrestling.

 

To register for this online event, please visit https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dnvoOFJCQOWL71mK4fStbw

 

This event is open to the public and free for everyone. 

 

About this event:

 

First Draft: Conversations on Writing is an online talk series that dives into themes that affect our writing lives. Writing helps us to understand things and to communicate these findings to our audience, even if our audience is ourselves. Sometimes we are driven by these themes; other times they’re the things that hold us back – what we learn through the process can be revolutionary. The quest to be understood unifies all writers.

 

This event features a 15-minute talk presented by Daniel Scott Tysdal. Following the talk is an interview conversation with Ryanne Kap to dig deeper into the event theme.

 

Participants are welcome to submit questions in advance of the event to swgevents@skwriter.com.

 

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

 

Accessibility measures in this event:

• Live auto-captions through Zoom during the live event
• (TBD) A read-along copy of the presenters’ talk available during the live event only
• Presenter self-description
• This event will be recorded, captioned, and made available for 30 days (until January 7, 2027) on the SWG YouTube channel following the event: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRAIIcrpQW0NcY6ZM0GGSzw
• Transcript of the event available upon request for 30 days (until January 7, 2027)

 

Presenter

 

Daniel Scott Tysdal (he/him) is a mad writer, filmmaker, and teacher. He is the author of four books of poetry, the textbook The Writing Moment: A Practical Guide to Creating Poems (Oxford University Press), and the popular TEDx talk, “Everything You Need to Write a Poem (and How It Can Save a Life),” which has 1.3 million views. He is a Professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough and a pro wrestling trainee at Superkick’d Studios.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Host

 

Ryanne Kap is a Chinese Canadian writer from Strathroy, Ontario. Their most recent chapbook, failed (after)lives (The Blasted Tree, 2024), was shortlisted for the 2025 bpNichol Chapbook Award. Their work has appeared in Augur, Grain, Maisonneuve, carte blanche, CV2, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. Ryanne is a PhD candidate in English and creative writing at the University of Calgary and the Editor-in-Chief of The Ex-Puritan. You can find them online at ryannekap.com and X/Instagram @ryannekap.

 

 

 

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Funding provided by:

 

                    

 

In proud partnership with: