This workshop is designed to provide support and insight to historical fiction authors writing about traumatic events in human history. By considering insights from trauma theorists, as well as historians (such as Dominick LaCapra), we will explore what it means to craft an empathetic narrative that is both historically accurate and sensitive to survivors.

Throughout the workshop, participants will be encouraged to consider questions like:

• Who is telling this story, and why?

• How would the story be different if it were told by a health care worker? An authority figure? A bystander?

• How does this traumatic episode impact my larger novel/short story/poem?

• What is the difference between an empathetic portrayal and exhibitionist trauma?

Participants will apply these core questions to samples from published works in the historical fiction genre. Each piece will be analyzed individually, and participants will be given an opportunity to share their thoughts in a group discussion.

Upon completing the workshop, participants will be able to identify empathetic and engaging trauma narratives in fiction and will be prepared to apply this knowledge to their own creative work.

 Unleash your creative intuition through the abstract nature of ekphrastic poetry at this generative writing workshop facilitated by Canadian Poet Jen Colclough and American Poet Cara Morgan (author of Dear Diseased Body). Learn the history of ekphrasis, connect with your unique creative voice, and start an ekphrastic piece of your own.

💫 Sunday Dec 29th at 6pm EST (7pm AST)

💫 Sliding scale $10-15, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds*

💫Virtual via Google Meet

*All proceeds benefit the Mabel Wadsworth Center in Bangor, Maine. The Mabel Wadsworth Center is an independent, non-profit health center that provides high-quality, compassionate, and non-judgmental health care to people of all genders in Maine.

Do you lust after fine stationery? Have you ever thought about retreating to a small cottage near the sea to ease your melancholia? Do you wish to inform your friend that ‘Netherfield Hall is let at last’ in the most dramatic way possible? If so, come to my free writing workshop at 7:00pm, Feb. 21 at An Drochaid in Mhàbu, Cape Breton. We’ll be discussing Victorian letter writing, decorum, and how to add a touch of drama to your correspondence.

You are warmly welcome to join us for our first ever Shannon Residency Artist Presentation:

Wednesday, January 31, @ 7pm, Beinn Mhàbu.

Admission is free ~ Come on out and meet Jen Colclough. She will be discussing “The Thucydides Girl”: Writing about Mental Health, Community, and Resistance in WWI.

And in honour of Robbie Burns Day, music, haggis, and tea to follow.