Events & Workshops

 

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 presenter's talk available during the live event only
• Presenter self-descriptions
• This event will be recorded, captioned, and made available for 30 days (until May 1, 2025) on the SWG YouTube channel following the event: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRAIIcrpQW0NcY6ZM0GGSzw
• Transcript of the event available upon request

 

 

To register for this online event, please visit https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_h-SsHrBjSx6jHWwfiIsmBA

 

 

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 John Loeppky. Following the talk is an interview conversation with Natascia Lypny to dig deeper into the event theme.

 

Participants are welcome to submit questions before the event to swgevents@skwriter.com.

 

 

Whose Crip is This Anyway? Juggling Identity as a Disabled Writer

During this session, John will speak about how he leveraged his experiences working in the creative sector into a broad and vibrant journalism career while also nourishing and protecting his own shifting disability identity.  He has found that many journalists---and writers of all different styles--are too quick, or pushed too fast, to overshare and under-process how their marginalized identities are presented, whether it's on the page or the stage. During this talk, John will share about his success, and failures, when it comes to this delicate balancing act (pun, very much intended). He'll give advice, and answer questions, about how writers can integrate disability into their writing practice. find community, and build agency when it comes wrangling disability identity in the creative sphere. 

 

 

 

Presenter

 

John Loeppky is a Saskatoon-based British-Canadian freelance disabled journalist. His work has appeared for publications like Macleans, CBC, the Globe and Mail, The Huffington Post, JSource, Healthline, Teen Vogue, FiveThirtyEight, and a host of others. His work has been the recipient of many awards, including a National Magazine Award and multiple RTDNA awards. Prior to becoming a freelance journalist, John worked for Listen to Dis' Community Arts, an organization which he credits with much of his success. John Holds an MFA from the University of Regina, a project where he studied disability culture, identity, solo performance, and prairie disability history. His goal in life is to have an entertaining obituary to read and he lives on Treaty Six Territory with his wife and three dogs. 

 

 

 

Host

 

Natascia Lypny is currently the acting senior digital producer of CBC Saskatchewan, where she oversees digital strategy and content. She moved to the province 11 years ago, starting as the City Hall reporter for the Regina Leader-Post. Born in Montreal, Natascia has studied and worked in journalism in six provinces. She has collaborated with presenter John Loeppky on a series about disability issues for CBC called Taking a Sitting Stand. You can find it on the CBC website and CBC Saskatchewan YouTube page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Funding by:

               

 

In partnership with: