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• Writing Intensive: Creative RX

  • Start
    6 Oct 2025
  •  
    9:30 AM
  • End
    10 Oct 2025
  •  
    3:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  Join us for 5 days of digital learning from October 6-10, 2025 Online.

  
  

  ABOUT
  

  This is your prescription for creativity! Join us for a week of learning focused on the health of writers. We will tackle conversations like imposter syndrome, being blocked creatively, establishing healthy habits, setting realistic goals, and more.

  Our goal is to help you be productive as writers by removing barriers, providing support, and exploring ways to keep working through adversity.

  On the first day, we will be hosting a Book Club at the 2PM session dedicated the Julia Cameron's much loved book, "The Artist's Way."  We recommend reading the book in advance so that we can discuss all of your thoughts, takeaways, likes, and dislikes on this quintessential read for artists. (We recommend picking up your copy from one of our province's amazing independent book stores: www.readlocalbc.ca/resources/bookstores-in-bc.)

  In our morning sessions at 9:00 am, we will be using our time for morning pages, the practice of writing by free hand (if possible) 3 pages of journaling. Join us for all 4 sessions of journaling to establish a regular routine.

  
  

  SCHEDULE OVERVIEW

  • 9:30 am Introduction and Tech Help (October 6 only)

  • 9:00 am Morning Pages (4 days starting on day 2)

  • 11:00 am Main Sessions (5 Sessions starting on day 1)

  • 2:00 pm Bonus Sessions (2+ Sessions as presenters are available)

  • Additional activities will be added as they are confirmed.

  All times are in Pacific (Vancouver) time

  
  EVENT SCHEDULE
  
  

  MONDAY

  9:30:AM: Introduction and Tech Help (60 minutes)

  11:00 AM: 'Old-School Marketing to Maximize Mental Health' with Lisa Hislop

  2:00 PM: 'The Artist's Way' Book Club with Maeghan Hackinen
  

  
  

  TUESDAY

  9:00 AM: Morning Pages (60 minutes)  

  11:00 AM: 'River Writing: Unlocking Flow Through Creative Constraints' with Heidi Hunter

  2:00 PM: 'So This Is Burnout (And What Can We Do?)' with Tara Avery

  
  

  WEDNESDAY

  9:00 AM: Morning Pages (60 minutes)   

  11:00 AM: Midweek Check-in and Social

  2:00 PM: 'Prescription for a Midlife Creative Crisis' with Rachel Muller

  
  

  THURSDAY

  9:00 AM: Morning Pages (60 minutes)   

  11:00 AM: 'Writing with Purpose: Finding Your Work's Mission' with Anna Eastland

  2:00 PM: 'How to Write When the World Is on Fire' with Finnian Burnett

  
  

  FRIDAY

  9:00 AM: Morning Pages (60 minutes)  

  11:00 AM: Stay Tuned!

  2:00 PM: Wrap-up and Look Forward Social 

  
  

  ZOOM LINK
  

  • The Zoom link will be included in your registration confirmation and in follow-up reminders.

  • We will be using the same zoom link for the duration of the event.

  • Please watch your email for a confirmation of registration email.

  • If you do not receive it within 24 hours of registration, please check you spam folders.

  • Contact us at hello@bcwriters.ca if you have not received your confirmation by Thursday September  to ensure we can get you the needed information.

  
  

  RECORDINGS

  • Sessions, (except social/discussion-based events) will be recorded and made available for 45 days after the last session.

  
  

  WHAT TO EXPECT

  • Our goal is to help you on your journey to publication. You do not need to be ready to publish to attend. Participants who have a work in progress, an idea for a project, or have a finished manuscript will benefit the most from these sessions.

  • Sessions will be a combination of talks, activities, and workshops.

  • Most sessions will be 1 hour in length. Q&A may extend the session longer, but participants are not required to stay.

  • Participants are encouraged to have a pen and paper handy for all sessions.

  • If you are working on a specific project, it is advisable to consider who you plan as your intended audience to help you get the most out of the sessions. Don’t stress about this, but it is helpful to consider if you are writing for the general population, a specific community, or friends and family.

  
  

  RATES

  • FBCW MEMBERS: $60
  • GUEST: $75
  • SCHOLARSHIP: Limited scholarship-based discounts are available for those experiencing financial difficulties.  Please email us at hello@bcwriters.ca to inquire.

  
  

  POLICIES

  RECORDINGS

  • Our presenters are provided with contracts that stipulate the length of time that recordings are available. We are obligated to respect these contracts. No extensions are possible.

  • Reach out if you have any tech challenges related to access of the recordings by October 31st so that we can help you in the timeframe available.

  REFUND POLICY

  • Full refunds will be issued up to September 26th.

  • Refunds for half of registration fees will be be issued until October 5th 11:59pm.

  • No refunds are possible after October5^th at 11:59pm except in the case of severe illness, death, or other urgent situations determined on a case-by-case basis.

  INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

  • We are an organization that cherishes the work of writers and artists. To that end, we ask that all participants respect the intellectual property of our presenters, recordings, and material shared. Do not reproduce or distribute Writing Intensive materials without written permission.

  • Similarly, if other participants share information or excerpts from their projects, please respect their intellectual property.

  LIABILITY

  • In registering, participants understand and agree that the Federation of BC Writers (FBCW), its board, staff, presenters, and members are not liable for any damages or losses arising and waive any of the above from any and all liability.

  • The FBCW provides a space for presenters to share their experiences and insights with participants. The writing industry is a complex and ever-changing environment.  As such, the FBCW does not endorse any specific information shared in our programming as being complete or accurate in all scenarios. Participants have a responsibility to research and make informed decisions on any information given or implied.

  • Difficult and triggering topics can arise as part of artistic practices that are unforeseeable for staff, volunteers, and other participants. The FBCW is not liable for any damages or harms caused by participating in our programming.

  PARTICIPANT EXPECTATIONS

  • The FBCW is an organisation that celebrates diversity and inclusion and that taking part in the program means that participants are expected to be respectful, inclusive, and support the dignity of all people regardless of age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, ancestry, language, ability, nationality, ability, health status, religion, and socioeconomic status. All people have identities that intersect the categories above. Examples of behaviour that undermine the above are: crude jokes, unwanted communication, statements minimising others’ experiences/histories, and threats.

  • Participants are expected to arrive a few minutes before sessions start.  This allows for any technical issues to be resolved without the group being disrupted.

  • If a participant is late, we ask that they refrain from asking “what did I miss” type questions so that the event can proceed smoothly.  Staff and facilitators will do the best they can to assist if vital information has been shared, but the recording should be able to resolve any questions of this nature.

  • We ask that participants be mindful of the amount of time they speak at events. All participants should have the ability to join in. Participants are expected to keep comments on topic and under a minute so that as many people as possible can participate.

  • Participants understand that if they are muted, it is not an intentional slight to them, but is needed to keep the session moving forward.  Participants can be muted at the discretion of the FBCW facilitators.

  • Difficult topics can arise participants understand that we cannot always know or understand other people’s histories. To help make the space as welcoming and safe as possible, if a participant’s is to share information or read excerpts from works that contain certain themes (outlined below), they will identify this prior to reading it to the group. (e.g. sexual assault, extreme violence, self-harm/eating disorders/suicide ideation, abortion/miscarriage, mental illness, graphic adult content).

  • Participants are expected to understand, be sensitive to, and respect the fact that the work of writers, and their opportunity to read their work may be triggering and/or therapeutic to them. Artistic works require vulnerability and the safety to be vulnerable, especially with sensitive topics. Participants agree to do their best to maintain a safe and supportive space for the sharing of the work, regardless of its nature.

  ACCOMMODATIONS AND ACCESSIBILITY

  • The Federation of BC Writers strives to make our events accessible to folks across ability and neurodivergence. We will do what we can to make our programming available to all people.

  • Our programming is based on zoom which means there are some limitations on what can be accomplished, but also advantages such as closed captioning and the ability to join from anywhere.

  • Accommodations are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

  • Accommodations that would significantly hinder the ability of other participants to be involved or participate are not possible.

  • Some accommodations may be beyond our financial and administrative capabilities. In such cases, we will seek funding or alternatives if possible.

  • Sessions normally last for an hour. Participants are welcome to step way from their computers if they need to while turning off their camera and microphone, but we will not be able to fill people in on what they missed. Participants are asked to return to the recording in such instances.

  
  

  
  

  Show details
• October Writers' Social

  • When
    7 Oct 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:15 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  
  

  Join us for a Writers' Social on Tuesday, October 7 from 7:00 - 8:15 PM Pacific by registering here (bcwriters.ca/events-for-writers) and a Zoom link for the event will be sent to you. When it’s time for the event you can click on the Zoom link to join the event.

  
  

  Many of us strive for a connection with our fellow writers. This members-only monthly event is designed to bring us together for casual chats with breakout rooms. Join us to talk craft, career, and connection for about 75 minutes over Zoom. Meet new people and get the most out of being a part of a provincial organization! Below are the proposed discussion groups for this month's meeting (subject to change). Please email meaghan@bcwriters.ca if you would like to suggest a discussion topic for an upcoming meeting. See you there!

  
  

  Discussion Groups:

  • All about poetry 
  • Resource share: swap favourite writing tools, online resources, and books
  • Self Publishing Sites (Amazon, IngramSpark, Friesen Press, etc.)
    
  • CNF/memoir writers connect
  • Audiobook distribution: deals and pitfalls
  • Connecting writers with chronic illnesses
  • Novel writing
  • General writing discussion

  
  

  Digital Doors Open at 6:55 pm, Event Starts at 7:00 PM Pacific

  Show details
• Writing Circle Spotlight: Dark Fiction

  • When
    28 Oct 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:15 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  
  

  Just in time for Halloween, join us Tuesday, October 28 at 7:00 pm Pacific for our first Writing Circle Spotlight featuring the Dark Fiction Writing Circle with host Meaghan Hackinen and readers Kelli Etheridge (group facilitator), Louise Dumayne, Desiree Friesen, Kim Harbridge, Michelle C Jacobs, and Kristyn Pacione.

  Register here (bcwriters.ca/events-for-writers) and a link will be sent to you. When it's time for the event, click on the link to join the live Zoom event. To find our more about the FBCW's online Writing Circles visit https://bcwriters.ca/circles. We look forward to seeing you there!

  Digital Doors Open at 6:55 pm!

  *This event will be recorded.

  Kelli Etheridge lives on Vancouver Island. She loves dark beer, dark coffee, and dark fiction. While horror is her favourite genre, she’s gentle in life. She adopts rescued dogs, she doesn’t kill mosquitos, and she swerves for the monstrous banana slugs on the road. Despite that, she’s certain she’d make it to final girl status in a horror movie. Works-in-progress include a historical paranormal novel and a dystopian novella. Her story, Devour, appeared in the Graveside Press anthology, Bite, December 2024. Her short story, Infanticipation, will appear in the horror anthology, Choices, by Renaissance Press later in 2025. Find Kelli online: https://kellietheridgeauthor.com/ 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Louise Dumayne lives off-road and off-grid in the remote Yukon wilderness with her husband, Neil, and a retired sled dog called Blaze. She won the Lush Triumphant Short Fiction Award in 2021 with Impact. The Demon Fufu was shortlisted for the Federation of BC Writers Short Fiction Award. Other publishing credits include Deep Pool Bridge (Understorey Magazine, 2021) and The Bear (Words and Women IV, Unthank Books, also Highly Commended, Words and Women Short Story Competition). Spring Break Up was published in Riverside Review (Klondike Institute of Arts and Culture). She is a graduate of The Writer’s Studio (Simon Fraser University) and is currently writing a supernatural thriller called Crooked Creek, set in the Yukon in winter.

  
  

  
  

  Desiree Friesen lives in Abbotsford, BC, and started writing later in life after a career as a Chartered Accountant. She enjoys entering writing contests and has several top 10 placings in round 1 of the NYC Midnight challenges, including 3^rd for the 500-word fiction challenge in 2024. She primarily writes dark or unsettling short fiction but has been known to come up with an occasional poem. She loves donuts, horror movies, and spending time at her second home at Bridge Lake.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Kim Harbridge (she/her) is a writer and editor of speculative, scary, and otherwise strange fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Strange Horizons, Pulp Literature, and The Years’ Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction (vol. 2). She is grateful to live in Burnaby, BC, on the ancestral and unceded homelands of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim speaking peoples. In her non-writing life, she is a voracious consumer of horror movies, crime novels, and Haribo Tangfastics. Find her online at www.kimharbridge.com. Kim Harbridge’s participation is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts through The Writers’ Union of Canada. 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Michelle C Jacobs is of Kanien7keha:ka First Nations and European descent, currently residing on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Similamix people. She is an author and an artist, specializing in weaving fibres, beads, and words. Michelle has several short stories published in online magazines and anthologies, and her artwork can be found all over the world. She has Facebook pages “Beadwork By Michelle" and "Michelle C Jacobs-Author" and an under-construction website: www.michellecjacobs.ca.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Kristyn Pacione (she/her) is a Toronto-born writer embracing her new West Coast life on Vancouver Island, BC. A lifelong pluviophile, tea addict, and lover of the macabre, she is pursuing her dream of writing dark and twisted tales inspired by her quiet coastal town. She has a BA in Anthropology and Museum Studies, and her new adult dark fantasy novel was selected for mentorship through the Humber School for Writers Postgraduate program in Creative Writing (2020). Her current work-in-progress is an adult gothic fantasy novel influenced by her years working in museums and archives, which may or may not have been haunted.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Meaghan Hackinen (FBCW host): is a bike-obsessed bookworm on a lifelong hunt for exceptional cycling routes, both on and off the pavement. Her cross-continental bike race memoir, Shifting Gears, was released by NeWest Press in 2023 and is available in print, ebook, and audiobook. When she's not lost in the mountains or chasing the sunset, find her online: meaghanhackinen.com.

  Show details
• Sunday Webinar: Step Outside and Jumpstart Your Writing with Gail Anderson-Dargatz

  • When
    2 Nov 2025
  •  
    2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  Step Outside and Jumpstart Your Writing

  with Gail Anderson-Dargatz

  Member Price: $18

  Non-Member Price is $28

  **This event will be recorded. Registrants can access the recording for 30 days.
  

  Workshop/Event Description

  Whether we're reworking our project or starting a new one, we need to feed our muse. Stepping outside our comfort zone recharges our writing like nothing else. Gail will offer strategies for finding our stories out there in the big wide world, and for engaging our senses so we can engage our readers.

  Expected Takeaways

  • Learn to interview and seek out experience to feed your writing.

  
  

  Pick Up Gail's Latest Book

  Here

  
  

  Intended audience:

  Writers of every skill level

  Bio:

  Gail Anderson-Dargatz’s novels The Cure for Death by Lightning and A Recipe for Bees were both short-listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and were international bestsellers. Her thrillers The Almost Wife and The Almost Widow were national bestsellers, and The Almost Widow was shortlisted for the Crime Writers of Canada Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada. Gail also writes hi-lo books for the educational market. She began her writing career as a journalist and her non-fiction work has been published in several publications over the years. A Chatelaine piece was short-listed in the National Magazine Awards.
  
  Gail taught for nearly a decade in the CW MFA program at UBC and now works as an editor and mentor. For more, visit her website: gailanderson-dargatz.ca

  
  

  Digital doors open at 1:55 pm, event starts at 2:00 pm

  
  

  Show details
• November Writers' Social

  • When
    11 Nov 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:15 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  
  

  Join us for a Writers' Social on Tuesday, November 11 from 7:00 - 8:15 PM Pacific by registering here (bcwriters.ca/events-for-writers) and a Zoom link for the event will be sent to you. When it’s time for the event you can click on the Zoom link to join the event.

  
  

  Many of us strive for a connection with our fellow writers. This members-only monthly event is designed to bring us together for casual chats with breakout rooms. Join us to talk craft, career, and connection for about 75 minutes over Zoom. Meet new people and get the most out of being a part of a provincial organization! Below are the proposed discussion groups for this month's meeting (subject to change). Please email meaghan@bcwriters.ca if you would like to suggest a discussion topic for an upcoming meeting. See you there!

  
  

  Discussion Groups:

  • All about poetry 
  • Flash fiction and short pieces
  • CNF/memoir writers connect
  • Writing in the age of AI
  • All about poetry
  • Satisfying endings
  • Connecting writers with chronic illnesses
  • General writing discussion

  
  

  Digital Doors Open at 6:55 pm, Event Starts at 7:00 PM Pacific

  Show details
• Sunday Webinar: Creative Chaos: Unblocking your creativity through play and weirdness

  • When
    16 Nov 2025
  •  
    2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  Creative Chaos: Unblocking your creativity through play and weirdness 

  with Finnian Burnett

  Member Price: $18

  Non-Member Price is $28

  **This event will be recorded. Registrants can access the recording for 30 days.
  

  Workshop/Event Description

  Struggling with creative block? Craving a jolt of inspiration or a way to tap into your idea factory? This  generative writing workshop is designed to spark your creativity, shake up your routine, and help you rediscover the joy of writing. Together, we’ll read short examples for inspiration, dive into playful prompts, and participate in guided writing sprints. Come prepared to experiment, play, and embrace the sheer fun of putting words on the page.

  Expected Takeaways

  • Fresh pages of new writing

  • Ideas to take back to your next writing practice

  • Finding the joy in your writing, even when you have deadlines

  
  

  Pick Up Finnian's Latest Book

  Here

  
  

  Intended audience:

  Writers of every skill level

  
  

  Bio:

  Dr. Finnian Burnett is a writer whose work explores the intersections of the human body, mental health, and gender identity. They are a recipient of a Canada Council for the Arts grant and a finalist in the 2023 CBC nonfiction prize.. Finnian’s work appears in Blank Spaces Magazine, Geist, Pulp Literature, CBC books, and more. Their two novellas-in-flash, The Clothes Make the Man and The Price of Cookies, are available through Ad Hoc Fiction and Off Topic Publishing. A third collection is forthcoming in the spring. Finnian lives in British Columbia and enjoys walking, Star Trek, and cat memes. Finnian is represented by Stacey Kondla of The Rights Factory.

  
  

  Digital doors open at 1:55 pm, event starts at 2:00 pm

  
  

  Show details
• Book Club for Writers: "How to Talk About Writing" with special guest Barbara Turner-Vesselago

  • When
    20 Nov 2025
  •  
    2:00 PM - 3:15 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  
  

  Member Price: Free (with donation options)

  Non-Member Price: $10

  **Digital doors open at 1:55 pm; event starts at 2:00 pm Pacific Time

  **Portions of this event will be recorded and made available to registrants to view for 30 days. Breakout room discussions will not be recorded.

  
  

  The Federation of BC Writers invites you to participate in our newest programming initiative: Book Club for Writers! This online book club for writers offers an opportunity to read and discuss books related to the craft of writing. Book Club events are 75 minutes long and feature a combination of small group discussion using breakout rooms, large group discussion in the main room, as well as an opportunity to hear the author, contributor, editor, or special guest’s insights and ask questions.

  
  

  Our final 2025 pick is How to Talk About Writing: A Fundamental Shift in Perspective (Vivid Publishing). We are thrilled to have the author, Barbara Turner-Vesselago, join us! Register here (bcwriters.ca/events-for-writers) to receive the event link, discussion questions, and reminders. Purchase the book, review the discussion questions, and when it's time for the event, click on the link to join the live Zoom event. We look forward to seeing you there!

  
  

  BOOK BLURB:

  This book provides invaluable advice for all who long to respond constructively to writers who seek their input, but who don’t know how or where to begin.  With insight and clarity, Barbara Turner-Vesselago distils the essentials of ‘How To Talk About Writing’ into six revolutionary discoveries

  Seasoned writing mentors and editors will be inspired to abandon old paradigms of editorial criticism. Those new to giving feedback will find straightforward tips—easy to comprehend and instantly rewarding to apply.

  PRESENTER BIO:

  Barbara Turner-Vesselago is the author of two successful writing books and a mentor to hundreds of published authors worldwide. Informative and user-friendly, this is a vital guide for writers’ groups, university seminars, and even for frank and informal one-on-one discussions between friends.

  STEPS:

  
  

  1. Register here to receive the discussion questions and event link

  2. Purchase your print or electronic version of the book

  3. Read the book and consider the discussion questions (emailed two weeks before meeting)

  • Order How to Talk About Writing from your local bookstore
  • Purchase direct from the publisher
  • Purchase from Amazon
  • Purchase ebook from Kobo or Kindle

  4. Join the Book Club meeting using the Zoom link to discuss your responses and hear from our presenter!

  
  

  Please email Meaghan@bcwriters.ca if you have any questions, or would like to suggest a book.

  Show details
• December Writers' Social

  • When
    9 Dec 2025
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:15 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  
  

  Join us for a Writers' Social on Tuesday, December 9 from 7:00 - 8:15 PM Pacific by registering here (bcwriters.ca/events-for-writers) and a Zoom link for the event will be sent to you. When it’s time for the event you can click on the Zoom link to join the event.

  
  

  Many of us strive for a connection with our fellow writers. This members-only monthly event is designed to bring us together for casual chats with breakout rooms. Join us to talk craft, career, and connection for about 75 minutes over Zoom. Meet new people and get the most out of being a part of a provincial organization! Below are the proposed discussion groups for this month's meeting (subject to change). Please email meaghan@bcwriters.ca if you would like to suggest a discussion topic for an upcoming meeting. See you there!

  
  

  Discussion Groups:

  • All about poetry 
  • Editing and revision
  • CNF/memoir writers connect
  • Travel writing
  • All about poetry
  • Connecting writers with chronic illnesses
  • General writing discussion

  
  

  Digital Doors Open at 6:55 pm, Event Starts at 7:00 PM Pacific

  Show details