Winnipeg, MB - Di Brandt has been selected as the Winnipeg Public Library’s Writer-in-Residence for 2014-2015. Starting October 1, 2014 and ending in April 2015, she will work with the public through individual consultations and group workshops, in addition to allocating time to her own writing.
Di Brandt is one of Canada's most admired poets. Her award-winning collections include questions i asked my mother, Walking to Mojàcar, and Jerusalem, beloved. She is also an acclaimed essayist and literary critic, and has collaborated with numerous other writers, artists, and musical composers. Born in Winkler, Brandt has taught creative writing at universities across Canada and currently holds a Canada Research Chair in Literature and Creative Writing at Brandon University.
“My mentoring philosophy is very simple: I try to really ‘hear’ what the writer is trying to communicate and create in the work-in-progress, and to help him or her accomplish that in its most sparkly, vivacious, engaging form,” says Brandt. Many of her former students and mentees have gone on to make careers in writing and publishing.
Established in 1985, the Library’s Writer-in-Residence program is designed to give new, emerging, and established writers a chance to have their manuscripts read and critiqued.
Manuscript copies may be submitted to the Writer-in-Residence in the following ways:
- Dropped off at any Winnipeg Public Library branch;
- Emailed to wpl.writerinres@gmail.com
- Mailed to:
Millennium Library, attention: Writer-in-Residence, Reader Services
251 Donald Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 3P5
Writers should include a cover letter containing a brief description of their writing background and the specific feedback they would like, as well as all contact information, including an email address. Manuscripts will be accepted beginning October 1. The Writer-in-Residence service is free.
Manuscripts must follow strict submission guidelines: typed in 12-point font (prose: double-spaced, poetry: single-spaced), on one side of the page only. Prose submissions should not exceed 15 pages; poetry submissions should not exceed six poems.
The Writer-in-Residence program is co-sponsored by the Winnipeg Public Library Board, the Government of Manitoba, Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library, and the Manitoba Writers’ Guild.