Cathrin Hagey finally had the time to pursue her writing in earnest once her children grew up and left the house. She researched programs across Canada that would help her work on the memoir material she had already written. 

“Humber’s Creative Writing graduate certificate had so many good reviews and was reasonably priced, so I went for it,” she said. 

Hagey began the two-semester program in 2017. 

Since then, she has appeared on the CBC Nonfiction Prize longlist – twice. 

Hagey secured a spot on this year’s list along with another Humber Creative Writing alumni, Michelle Doyle. 

The winner will be announced October 1. 

‘A fantastic and gifted teacher’ 

Hagey enrolled in the course, which is delivered online. 

She was immediately paired with a mentor who would work with her on her manuscript. 

“The mentors come to the process as people who are working, successful writers themselves. They’re embedded in the process and practice of the writer’s life. They also have years of experience being edited and mentored, so they understand the relationship from both sides,” said Humber School for Writers program coordinator Alissa York. 

York‘s writing is popular and highly respected in Canada. Her novels, short stories and essays have been featured in national newspapers and magazines and garnered many awards.  

She has been teaching and mentoring writers for over a decade and joined the faculty at the Humber School of Writers in 2017. 

York was paired with Cathrin Hagey. She helped develop the memoir material Hagey hoped to publish. 

“It was really liberating to do that and have someone of the caliber of Alissa read my material every two weeks. She is a fantastic and gifted teacher and kind human,” said Hagey. 

“She would send the work back covered in red, but it was never demoralizing because her comments were insightful and she helped me tremendously in those few months.” 

Hagey’s latest work, The Fringe, tells the story of a night from her childhood when tensions in her household caused an explosive and violent event.  

“It’s very short, but it’s not only about family violence. It’s also about the resilience of children. They carry so much strength,” she said. 

York was “very taken” with Hagey’s work from the moment they started to work together.  

“She was so courageous and had a really strong voice. She was a delight to work with.” 

Creative opportunities 

COVID-19 hasn’t affected the delivery of the Creative Writing program since it has always been based on a distance learning model. Cathrin Hagey lives in Saskatoon, while York lives in Toronto. 

“Back in the day it was all packages going back and forth in the post. It’s the same model – manuscript exchange with your mentor – but today we can also support that with a discussion group and self-directed learning resources on Blackboard ,” said York. 

The Humber School for Writers accepts applicants with degrees or diplomas, though some exceptions are made for mature applicants who have life experience. 

In addition to the certificate, students may also receive a letter of distinction. With that letter comes the opportunity to write a pitch for the program’s pitch portal, where publishing professionals can view pitches and writing samples directly. 

Many writers pursuing the graduate certificate also enrol in Humber’s Summer Workshop in Creative Writing, which is a week-long, intensive in-class workshop.  Participants listen to faculty members speak about their own writing process, take in industry panels on what agents and publishers want and network with other writers and industry professionals. 

There is a financial incentive for participants of the workshop to enroll in the two-semester program and for graduate certificate writers to attend the workshop.  

York describes another incentive: the ability to build community. 

“Finding ways to make connections is just so important to support solo work. There’s kind of a constant rededicating yourself to the importance of the work which can be challenging in a world that doesn’t always value creative work as highly as some other factors,” she said. 

For Cathrin Hagey, the course was an opportunity to finally go for it. She is currently writing a semi-autobiographical novel featuring much of the material she worked on at Humber. 

“It really changed my life. My husband had been saying for years, ‘You need to write!’” she said. 

The novel won’t be her last. She loved the program so much that she may even apply again to work on new material.