Education and Influences
Honours BA in English and History, York University, 1974
(Included the Creative Writing Course with Irving Layton)
Bachelor of Education, University of Toronto, 1975
(Included Permanent Type A Teaching Certification)
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A two day Photography workshop co-facilitated by artist/writer Cheryl Andrews and photographer Arni Stinnissen. August 25th and 26th, 2014.
www.cherylandrews.wordpress.com
www.arniworks.com
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The Ellen Bass “Writing for Our Lives” Poetry Workshop
Sept. 28 – Oct. 5th, 2013 in La Serrania, Mallorca, Spain.
www.laserrania.com/wkshps/
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Blue Heron Bookstore workshop April 14th, 2013: Master Class with Alissa York
Blue Heron Bookstore workshop March 3rd, 2013: Building an Audience for Your Novel & The Art and Science of Outlining with Terry Fallis.
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The Radical Restoration Writing and Yoga Retreat in Hatillo, Costa Rica Feb 12th – 26th, 2013.
Facilitated by Susan Lynn Reynolds, Deepam Wadds and Esana Lotfy.
Under their excellent guidance I wrote four short fiction pieces and nine poems, most of them publishable.
Radical Restoration Writing and Yoga Retreat
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Algonkian Pitch Conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Oct 24th – 28th, 2012.
An intensive 3 day event where authors fine tune their pitches, guided by Michael Neff and Barbara Kyle, and then pitch them to agents and acquisition Editors from the New York publishing houses.
Terrifying and inspirational at the same time. I learned so much about the business.
Getting Published (May 28th, 2011) full day workshop facilitated by Robyn Read.
Wordfest, Oct. 12th to 17th, 2010.
A writing conference hosted by the University of Calgary and The Banff Centre.
It culminated in the creation of The Canadian Creative Writers and Writing Programs (CCWWP).
Deepening Your Writing workshop Jan. 17th, 2009 at Stouffville Public Library
presented by Charlene Jones and Kate Gilderdale
Writescape Writing Retreat: Turning Leaves, Fall, 2009 in Elmhirst, Ontario.
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Doing it in Public Writers’ Conference Feb 29 – March 1st, 2008 at Trent U in Peterborough, Ontario.
Workshops with Alexis O’Hara, Derek Beauliru and Angela Rawlings.
Highlight: Writing in Your Own Absence with Christian Bok.
Day in Applied Psychoanalysis conference on Sept 27th, 2008 hosted by the University of Toronto.
Highlights: presentation by former American Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, and Canadian poet Ken Sherman.
The Self Publishing Workshop, 2008. Latest trends in on-line printing houses, Rich Helms
Up Close and Personal, fictional character development techniques, with Ruth Walker (2008)
Writescape Writing Retreat November 1st and 2nd, 2008 at the Kempenfelt Conference Centre in Barrie, Ontario,
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The Play’s The Thing, writing convincing dialogue, with Jessica Outram (2007)
Vocable – A Creative Toolbox Workshop
– full day workshop facilitated by a.rawlings and Ciara Adams (2007)
The Art of Sexuality, Laura Hollick, Hamilton (2007)
Invited to join The League of Canadian Poets in June, 2007.
The Long Haul, writing the great novel, Barry Dempster (2007)
WordPress Workshop, keys to being a great web and blog designer, Rich Helms, Durham College (2007)
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