Deadline to apply for bursaries for writing workshop
The P.E.I. Writers' Guild will host the second workshop in its Writing for Healing series on Oct. 12 at the Haviland Club in Charlottetown and has a limited number of bursaries available.
The full-day workshop will be led by Susan Doiron, a therapist and educator, who will guide participants through a therapeutic journalling workshop, based on her own program entitled “Journalling with Soul.”
The Guild has a limited number of bursaries available for this workshop. To apply, email peiwritersguild@gmail.com by the end of today.
The cost, which includes a catered lunch and nutritional breaks, is $85 for guild members and $95 for non-guild members. There is no cost for the openmic event. Those interested can register via peiwritersguild.com. For information, contact Sophia Ball, guild secretary and Writing for Healing co-ordinator (peiwritersguild@gmail.com).
For the workshop, Doiron will incorporate breath meditation, guided meditation, reflective prompts, and journalling exercises. Participants will learn how to effectively journal to make ideas more tangible, moving from insight and ideas to affirmation and action.
The idea to host a workshop series on therapeutic writing was inspired by guild members after observing that individuals participating in guild workshops, open mic events and the annual Island Literary Awards seem to be gravitating toward writing as a method of working through mental health challenges and obstacles.
The first workshop in the series took part in July, and an open mic for participants of both sessions is scheduled for November.
“We had a great turn out for the first Writing for Healing workshop,” said Sophia Ball.
“There’s definitely a pull toward therapeutic writing, with people who wouldn't otherwise consider themselves a writer taking part in the practise.”
Ball notes that engaging in therapeutic writing, such as journalling, is an accessible activity.
P.E.I. Writers’ Guild President, Maureen Duffy Cobb hopes that this series will appeal to those who may not have previously considered engaging in the act of writing before.