NON PROFIT THE WRITERS FOUNDATION OF STRATHCONA COUNTY

By Mandy Eve-Barnett Author Mandy Barnett and Glenda Sheard

The Writer’s Foundation of Strathcona County (WFSC) was formed by six members in 2001 and became incorporated in 2005. Throughout the 16 years of operation, the non-profit has maintained its mandate to provide support for writers any age, at any stage of their writing careers. This simple yet focused directive keeps the WFSC on track every year allowing the group to contribute back to the community whenever possible.

Over the years, the group has introduced new and improved ways to connect with our local, and not so local, writing community. Membership fees are only $20 per year. Fundraising efforts organized by volunteers from the WFSC and sponsorship and/or grant monies are invested in programs and services open to not only our members but the community at large. We were honoured to receive the Pride of Strathcona Award in 2011, in celebration of our contributions to the community in the category of Arts, Culture & Heritage. Writing Opportunities

The WFSC proudly supports young writers by referring them to workshops and camps geared toward young writers. It is our intent to continue to encourage and support young writers with an eye to the future sustainability of the WFSC - today’s young writers are our leaders. We have held an annual writing contest (three years) for children from 4 to 12 years. It encourages youth to write and has been successful. In light of this the Foundation is publishing an anthology of the submitted stories. Monthly Writing Circle sharing meetings are held the first Tuesday of the month – year-round – at the Sherwood Park library. In light of COVID, we have utilized virtual access for members and non-members to join these meetings. Information for all meetings can be obtained through social media, including our website and Facebook page. Membership is not required to attend. We welcome diverse writing styles and give constructive critique as well as exercises to flex our writing muscles with prompts, discussions on a variety of writing related subjects as well as giving members the opportunity to network. Registration is through our website.

Our other monthly meeting is Poets in the Park, held on the third Wednesday of each month and is currently held online. It offers poets and anyone interested in this discipline to share their work, learn about the craft and network. To join the meeting, RSVP on the website calendar to register your attendance and a link will be emailed prior to the meeting.

The Foundation also offers monthly creative writing workshops on the last Saturday of every month. These workshops cover a multitude of writing subjects and include writing exercises. Currently the meetings are online, and registration is through the website.

Our Conference, which celebrated 16 years in 2021, allows WFSC members as well as anyone else interested in writing to learn from professional experts in an interactive and relaxed atmosphere. Each year a theme is chosen, and related workshops offered to enable writers the opportunity to gain insightful and informative knowledge to enhance their writing career in multiple disciplines.

The conference allows networking as well as providing information to writers through our connections to local and distant authors, our partnerships with other organizations, and our relationship with presenters and community sponsors. It also provides literary value to our members and the public, in general. Again, during COVID this event will be hosted virtually. We keep the costs of the conference to a minimum to enable as many writers to attend as possible.

Our other annual event is Words in the Park, which has enjoyed success year after year. It attracts more than 35 authors per year to attend. The event has been situated in the Agora within the Strathcona County Community building for many years. In 2020, as we celebrated 14 years of the event, we hosted a series of virtual workshops and promoted local authors via our Facebook page. The Foundation has also published several books with contributions of members.

1. Writing Prompt Journey – is a collection of writing prompts to inspire with member responses to those prompts. 2. Writing Prompts - The Journey Continues this next edition includes more writing prompts and inspiration. 3. From a Solitary Drop – celebrates the foundation’s 10-year anniversary and not only gives an historical timeline to the foundation but gives other groups the inspiration to start their own group. 4. Your Lifetime of Stories – is a ‘how to begin’ guidebook for anyone wondering how to start writing their memoir. This book was created after several presentations were given to other organizations on the subject and a workbook was requested to accompany them. Further to that the WFSC holds writing groups in a couple of senior residents with memoir and telling stories as its base. 5. Postcards from Canada - was produced in 2017 to celebrate Canada 150. It is a collection of stories from WFSC members relating to their experiences within Canada. 6. Upcoming: Two poetry anthologies based on the

April poetry challenges set on the WFSC website. The

Great Escape and When Life Changes.

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Mandy Eve-Barnett is a multi-genre author writing children’s, YA and adult books. She is also the secretary for the Writer’s Foundation of Strathcona County and in membership for more than eight years