Fall 2024
Whether you’re writing a memoir, novel, or biography, researching your relatives can lead to never before exposed secrets, and drudge up painful memories. In this workshop, you will learn tactics to induce your living family to share information, as well as how much to share in return and when. We’ll discuss ethical quandaries and your roles as the writer and researcher. We’ll cover digital tools for conducting research on family members, and discuss the ethical quandaries that can arise.
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Just write a historical novel, they say. It’ll be fun, they say. But no one warns you about how much information you’ll collect. How will you find what you need when you need it? This workshop will provide step-by-step examples of methods and tools to help the aspiring historical novelist get organized, avoid feeling overwhelmed, and focus on what really matters: the story.
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Is there anything more jarring than an incongruous colloquialism in a historical novel? Or more boring than a shoe-horned info-dump? If you’re wondering how to elegantly weave your hard-won research into your novel, this workshop is for you. We’ll cover writing techniques to naturally insert essential information, the value of ‘scaffolding’ in early drafts, and how to reverse-engineer your narrative. This workshop will include in-person writing exercises.
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Spring 2024
Rest in Peace? Tips for Researching Dead Relatives, a workshop by Anna Shannon, hosted by the Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society.
Organizing History: How to Stay Sane While Researching a Historical Novel, a workshop by Anna Shannon, hosted by the Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society.
2023
North/West Passages reading series, The Writers’ Union of Canada. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of The Writers’ Union of Canada, this reading series featured the following Alberta writers: Anna Shannon, reading from “The Tenant,” Lori Hahnel (“Flicker”), Katherine Koller (“Winning Chance”), Sharon Butala (“Leaving Wisdom”), paulo da costa (“Trust the Bluer Skies”). The event was hosted by Jacqueline Carmichael, author of “Heard Amid the Guns: True Stories from the Western Front, 1914-1918.”
Writers’ Guild of Alberta Mentorship Program. To celebrate the completion of the mentorship program, apprentices provided a reading of their work-in-progress to the public.
Launch for issue 28 of NōD Magazine at Shelf Life Books. Anna Shannon read her published flash “Turf.”
2021
Literary Taxidermy Reading Series. Anna Shannon read her short story, “The Tenant,” which was a finalist for the 2020 Literary Taxidermy Prize, and was published in 32 Stories.