One of Geist's all-time most popular writing workshops!

Life writing—What does it mean to write from life? What part of life do I write about? Which parts are worth writing about? And how will my mother—or anyone I'm close to—react after reading it?

This workshop is for you, if: you are working on (or thinking about) a memoir, true story or personal essay; you are embarking on the life-writing adventure for the first time, or; you are underway with a manuscript, or with a revision.

You will spend the afternoon writing a lot and talking a little in exercises designed to help you get things moving, find your voice, find out what you're really writing about and focus your project. The workshop will also cover the ethical questions of writing and publishing true stories—all in the inspiring company of other writers.

This workshop makes the perfect Mother's Day gift—we've got a special bundle offer below if you'd like to treat your mom or mom-type person to an exciting afternoon of writing.

Jane Silcott is a Vancouver writer and a mentor with Vancouver Manuscript Intensive and the University of King's College MFA Program in Creative Nonfiction. Her writing has been published in Geist and other literary magazines and has been recognized by the CBC Literary Awards, the National and Western Magazine Awards and the Creative Nonfiction Collective of Canada. Jane's debut collection of personal essays, Everything Rustles (Anvil Press), was a finalist for the Hubert Evans Non-fiction Prize.

Writing From Life
Location: The Writers' Exchange, 881 East Hastings St., Vancouver, BC
Date: Saturday, May 13, 2017
Time: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Price: $50 (includes a 1-year subscription to Geist for yourself or a friend!)
Mother's Day Special: $75 for you and your mom (includes 2 subscriptions to Geist!)

Click here to get more details and register for Writing From Life.

Want your work read by a wider audience? Want to make sure your work finds a home with the right publisher? Want to make connections with the literary community?

This workshop will help you understand and develop digital marketing tools to enhance your online presence. You will learn the skills needed to take control of marketing and selling your creative work.

Whether you're self-publishing or working with a publisher, this workshop will give you a greater understanding of what you can do to increase your digital reach. Areas covered include:

• How to break through the online clutter
• What social media platforms are right for you?
• Is Snapchat something you should be looking at? Is Twitter dying?

Over the course of this 3-hour intensive, through a blend of case studies and exercises, Suzanne and Trevor will walk you through the process of deciding which online platforms are right for you and what kind of content is best for the social media channels you use.

Prior to the workshop, please send a one page summary of your publishing project with the main question you want to have answered during the workshop. Also include a description of your existing social media presence (including handles) and tell us whether you've already published or are gearing up to launch.

Trevor Battye is a partner at Clevers Media, a consulting firm specializing in marketing, branding and website development. Suzanne Norman is a lecturer in the publishing program at SFU, specializing in book publishing and digital strategies.

Self Promotion for Writers
Location: The Writers' Exchange, 881 East Hastings St., Vancouver, BC
Date: Saturday, June 3, 2017
Time: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Price: $50 (includes a 1-year subscription to Geist for yourself or a friend!)
Workshop Bundle: If you're interested in signing up for more than one of our workshops, give us a call at (604) 681-9161 to discuss bundle pricing.

Click here to get more details and register for Self Promotion for Writers.