I’m looking forward to co-facilitating Tapping the Stream: Summer Writing Retreat this July 4–10 alongside Shaena Lambert at Hollyhock.
Learn more and register: hollyhock.ca/programs/
The Festival of Literary Diversity returns April 26–May 3, 2026, with both virtual programming (April 26–29) and in-person events in Brampton.
Learn more at thefoldcanada.org.
Don't miss today's conversation—recorded live at @powells.bsky.social, in downtown Portland, Oregon—with poet Canisia Lubrin about The World After Rain
milkweed.org/between-the-...
@silver-press.bsky.social @catapultbooks.bsky.social
@uguelphcwmfa.bsky.social
The 2026 Creative Nonfiction Contest, presented by the Creative Nonfiction Collective Society in partnership with subTerrain, is now open.
Full details and submission guidelines are available through the CNFC website.
I’m glad to share this upcoming Incite event from the #VancouverWritersFest, presented in partnership with the #VancouverPublicLibrary. On February 10, #MaggieHelwig will be in conversation with Jackie Wong, speaking about ENCAMPMENT: RESISTANCE, GRACE, AND AN UNHOUSED COMMUNITY.
I’m grateful to The British Columbia Review for this generous and thoughtful review by Lee Reid of OFF THE MAP: VANCOUVER WRITERS WITH LIVED EXPERIENCES OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, which I co-edited with Seema Shah and Kate Bird.
Read the full review: tinyurl.com/bcreviewofft...
Applications for the 2025 Upstart Parent-Writers’ Residency are open, and the deadline has been extended to January 10.
Full application details on the U&C website.
Congratulations to Rowan McCandless, the winner of the free prose consultation! I’m looking forward to our conversation and to connecting around writing. Thank you to everyone who participated.
The Writers’ Union of Canada has opened submissions for the 33rd annual Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers. This long-running competition highlights new voices in Canadian fiction and nonfiction, offering a $2,500 prize and publication consideration for the winner and eleven finalists.
There are still a few spaces available for this immersive, week-long retreat in Montréal, bringing writers together to engage deeply with environmental writing in a time of urgency and possibility.
Learn more and apply at tinyurl.com/crossbroderretreat
VMI’s Connected Studio, a series of six community writing sessions, is open to writers throughout 2026.
Led by Elee Kraljii Gardiner, this year’s guest experts include Rachel Letofsky, Catriona Strang, Petra Chambers, and Dr. Bronwen Tate.
Register: tinyurl.com/vmiconnectedstudio
I’m so grateful to have shared an evening of powerful readings and rich literary dialogue with these wonderful poets: Justyna Krol, Cabil Martinez, and Kyle McKillop.
The next Dead Poets Reading will be on January 11, 2026 at Outsiders and Others. Hope to see you there!
I’m glad to share this upcoming webinar from The Writers’ Union of Canada: Author & Editor with Margo LaPierre, hosted by Kevin Burns.
Author & Editor
Thursday, November 27, 2025
11:00 am PST
Hosted on Zoom
Live captions available
The 2026 CNFC–subTerrain Creative Nonfiction Contest is now open. This year’s contest judge is the award-winning author Ayelet Tsabari. First prize is $1000, and CNFC members receive 50% off entry fees. The deadline to enter is February 28, 2026. Full details are available on the CNFC website.
I’m now accepting new mentorship applications through the Vancouver Manuscript Intensive. Work one-on-one with me to refine your manuscript, deepen your craft, and shape your project toward completion.
Learn more and apply at vancouvermanuscriptintensive.com.
I’m looking forward to reading the work of H.D. at the next #DeadPoetsReadingSeries on November 16 in Vancouver! I’ll be joining Justyna Krol, Cabil Martinez de la Cruz, and Kyle McKillop as we celebrate the voices of poets who have passed but continue to shape our literary landscape.
On November 26 at 10 AM MT / 12 PM ET, I’ll be joining Jenny Chen and Connor Lafortune for The Intersection of Creative Nonfiction and Poetry, a conversation hosted by the Creative Nonfiction Collective Society.
Register here: creativenonfictioncollective.ca/programming/...
I’m excited to announce a giveaway for my newsletter subscribers! One winner will receive a free prose consultation with me.
To enter, make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter and fill out the short form at tinyurl.com/betsywarland... by November 13.
Know a #writer of exceptional promise with a manuscript in progress, who has faced significant barriers to fulfilling that promise? Let them know about the #YosefWoskVMIFellowship! Applications are open until November 10, 2025.
Apply at www.vancouvermanuscriptintensive.com
As we prepare to open submissions for the #WarlandAward on Nov 1, we extend our deepest gratitude to #AlisonBraid for her wonderful work and wish her all the best in her next chapter. We're delighted to welcome @selenamercuri.bsky.social to the team as the new coordinator for the Warland Award.
On Sunday, Nov 2 at 2 PM PST, join Gail Anderson-Dargatz for Step Outside and Jumpstart Your Writing, a live online workshop all about getting out of your comfort zone to find new stories and creative energy.
You can register here: bcwriters.ca/event-6349094
I’m so pleased to see OFF THE MAP featured on the #RedeyeCollectivepodcast. Co-editor Seema Shah and contributor Pari Mokradi discuss the anthology’s journey to publication, and its focus on #Vancouverwriters with lived experience of mental health issues.
Listen here: tinyurl.com/offthemapint...
DARK MATTER: WOMEN WITNESSING – DREAMS BEFORE EXTINCTION brings together 67 writers, poets, and artists.
From September 22 to October 12, go to writersradio.ca to listen live at the beginning of every hour, 24/7, as Lisa Weil and her team of editors read from and discuss this powerful anthology.
Writing prompts can be a doorway into seeing your own work with fresh eyes. This exercise from BREATHING THE PAGE invites you to experiment with narrative proximity.
#WritingPrompt #BreathingThePage #BetsyWarland #AmWriting #CreativeWriting #NarrativeVoice #WritingExercise #WritingCommunity
Four books that have captured my attention lately:
-SPLIT TOOTH by Tanya Tagaq
-OUR STRANGERS by Lydia Davis
-MAMASKATCH by Darrel J. McLeod
-DELIRIUM FOR SOLO HARP by Nadine McInnis
For students and emerging writers, here’s an opportunity worth knowing about: EVENT Magazine is offering reduced contest entry fees and subscriptions for post-secondary students this year.
More details at www.eventmagazine.ca
Unlock your story, one inquiry at a time.
Join me this October in Memoir of Inquiry, a three-week online course starting October 7, 2025.
Seats are limited—only 9 spots! Register here: www.sfu.ca/continuing-s...
I’m grateful for this thoughtful new review of LOST LAGOON by Cynthia Sharp for her Substack series The Zen of Writing. 🌊
Read the full piece here: cynthiapoetauthor.substack.com/p/the-unobtr...
#BetsyWarland #LostLagoon #BookReview #CanadianLit #PoetryCommunity #WritingLife #TheZenofWriting
Many thanks to The British Columbia Review and reviewer Natalie Virginia Lang for these kind words about BREATHING THE PAGE. 💙
#breathingthepage #betsywarland #bookreview #thebcreview #writersonwriting #amwri̇ti̇ng #writingcommunity
As writers, one of the greatest challenges is sustaining ourselves over the long journey of creation and publication. Not just perseverance, but an irreducible devotion to the act of writing itself.
#breathingthepage #writingcommunity #amwri̇ti̇ng #authorcommunity #writers #betsywarland #onwriting
