Pictou County Writers Group

The Pictou County Writers’ Group was formed in 2001 in co-operation with the Pictou Antigonish Regional Library to support local writers and to promote the natural relationship that exists between writers and libraries (and readers!)

The group is open to writers with any level of experience, writing in any genre and our mission is to:

• Create a positive and supportive environment in which writers of all genres will feel comfortable.
• Offer encouragement and assistance to writers in every aspect of their writing careers.
• Provide a venue for writers of all levels and educations to have their work heard in a non-judgmental forum.

We meet twice a month, throughout the year, as follows:

The first Tuesday of the month from 6:30pm in the Program room of the Westville Library and the third Monday of the month from 11:00am in the Program Room of the New Glasgow library.

Both meeting are two hours long and consist of business, writing exercises & workshops and an opportunity for people to share their writing and receive feedback (if wanted) in a friendly, informal setting.

Our membership ranges in age from 20 to 75 plus and includes poets, songwriters, novelists, screenwriters, journalists, children’s writers and non-fiction writers.  Among our group you will meet photographers, visual artists, weavers/spinners and musicians, all of whom love to write.

Each year, the library sponsors a “Writer in Residence” programme.  The Writer in Residence attends monthly meetings and hosts free creative writing workshops.  Previous writers have included: Sue Goyette; Linda Little; Harry Thurston; Sheldon Currie; Pat Wilson; Chris Wood and George Henaut.

We also maintain a presence at literary events, such as the annual “Read by the Sea” festival in River John.  Because of the support of our sponsoring organization, we have the opportunity to attend many writing and publishing worshops in addition to public reading and open-mic events in the community.  We are dedicated to helping our members get published and we have published two anthologies to date, East River Anthology and A Ribbon runs Through It.  Currently, we are working on a third antholgy, tentatively titled Fish Tales.

If you are interested in joining our group, or just learning more about us, please feel free to attend one of our meetings.  Everyone is welcome.  If you would like more information, please don’t hesitate to call Steve at the New Glasgow Library at (902) 755-6031 or toll free 1-866-779-7761.