The Humber School for Writers is set to host another year of its summer creative writing workshop this June that’s designed to help burgeoning and experienced writers improve their craft.

This year’s event is happening June 23 to June 28 at the Humber International Graduate School (IGS) in Toronto. It consists of orientation programming, five three-hour workshop classes, numerous writing talks and industry lectures, and a one-on-one feedback session with a mentor.

Mornings are spent in classes with one of Humber’s writing advisors and afternoons are devoted to craft and industry talks by some of Canada and the United States’ top authors, poets, publishers, editors and agents. The authors and representatives from the publishing industry will provide mentorship to those who attend the summer workshop while also participating in panels and craft talks.  

The workshop is for those who want to learn to write short stories, novels, poetry, memoirs, creative non-fiction, young adult or children’s literature. It’s also for those working on a book who want to improve their writing with feedback from established writers and peers, those who want to know more about how to find a publisher and those who want to expand their own writing community network including with authors, agents, editors and publishing professionals.

David Bezmozgis is the creative director of the Humber School for Writers and says this year’s event will have a few new twists. It’s happening at the end of June instead of the middle of July and will also be at the Humber IGS to take advantage of the advanced audio-visual capabilities and to allow the wider public to access the afternoon panels and talks.

“Your mornings will be spent in workshop sessions with your mentors, who include beloved veterans Joe Kertes and Colin McAdam, as well as Kate Cayley and Antonio Michael Downing who taught last summer and were eager to return,” said Bezmozgis. “New to the workshop, though not to Humber, is Shyam Selvadurai, author of numerous novels including the iconic Funny Boy, which was made into a film by Deepa Mehta. Teaching for the first time at Humber is Harriet Alida Lye, author most recently of the excellent novel Let It Destroy You, as well as a remarkable work of creative nonfiction, Natural Killer.”

There’s the option of purchasing tickets to the individual industry panels and craft talks that can be attended virtually.  

On June 24, Biblioasis publisher Dan Wells hosts an Ask the Publisher session while agents Hillary Jacobson (CAA) and Sam Hiyate (The Rights Factory) host the What Agents Want talk on June 26 looking at how they work with clients. On June 24, Antonio Michael Downing hosts the Connecting to Your Why discussion that explores how to harness the personal stories that spawned an author’s desire to write. There are several other talks happening throughout the week.

The deadline to register is June 21. There is limited space, and work will be evaluated for admission.  

To apply or to find more information, visit the summer workshop webpage.