Novelist and non-fiction writer Fred Stenson is UBC Okanagan’s second annual writer-in-residence. Sponsored by the Department of Creative Studies in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, this program allows 16 selected local writers to get free critiques on their work.
“We are thrilled to have Fred Stenson as our writer in residence,” says Nancy Holmes, Head of the Department of Creative Studies. “I hope all local writers attempt to take advantage of this rare opportunity to benefit from the advice of a true professional.”
Stenson is the author of 15 books — eight of fiction and seven of non-fiction. His most recent work is The Great Karoo, a historical novel about Canadian involvement in the Boer War, which received a Governor General’s Award nomination for Fiction in 2008. This completes a trio of historical novels that includes The Trade (2000), which was nominated for the Giller prize, and Lightning (2003). His most recent non-fiction book is Waterton: Brush and Pen, a combination of Brent Laycock’s art and Stenson’s essays. His titleThings Feigned or Imagined is a guide to the craft of fiction. Stenson is currently second Vice-Chair of The Writers’ Union of Canada and is the director of the Wired Writing Studio at The Banff Centre. He lives in Cochrane, Alberta.
Stenson will spend two weeks on the UBC Okanagan campus, from March 1 to 15, 2009. Besides meeting with local writers, he will give a free public reading and conduct a workshop called The Art and Craft of Historical Fiction.
Writers in the Central Okanagan are invited to have their work critiqued and to participate in a one-on-one meeting with Stenson. Appointments are limited to 16, with six of the 16 spaces reserved for UBC Okanagan students.
If you would like to be considered for an appointment, send a maximum of 15 double-spaced pages of your fiction or non-fiction (plus a one-page synopsis if it is an excerpt from a longer work). Your work should be sent in an email between January 12 and January 31 to barbra.macdonald@ubc.ca. In the email give your name, student number (if applicable), phone number, and email address. Please put “Writer in Residence” in the subject line.
For more information about the public reading or the writer-in-residence program, contact Nancy Holmes, Dept. of Creative Studies at UBC Okanagan, 250-807-9369 or nancy.holmes@ubc.ca.
To register in the workshop, contact Elaine Crebo, Community and Continuing Studies at UBC Okanagan250-807-9981 or elaine.crebo@ubc.ca.
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