The blank page can be intimidating, whether it's the start of an email, an artist statement, a novel or a newsletter. Imagination in our use of language is a skill and a resource, and is more valuable than ever in an age of chatbots and large language models. This workshop with University of Ottawa Writer-in-Residence Kate Heartfield will help participants spark new ideas and open up connections between them. Using prompts and play, participants will generate short pieces of creative writing. Participants will come away from the workshop inspired to write, with increased confidence in their own creativity and skills. Open to writers of all levels and genres, and to anyone who uses the written word in their work.
Kate Heartfield is a writer of novels including the Sunday Times and Globe and Mail bestseller The Embroidered Book, as well as dozens of short stories, novellas and interactive fiction. She usually includes speculative or fantastic elements in her work. Kate is a former journalist and a longtime teacher of creative writing and non-fiction. She has won the Aurora Award for Best Novel three times, and her work has been shortlisted for the Ottawa Book Award, the National Newspaper Award and the Nebula Award.