SCS has a long history of literary prowess and we’re very excited to showcase and share the talents of our community members including alums, past parents, past staff, and friends! Please join us on Saturday, October 4 for a day of learning, celebration, and literary camaraderie.
Tickets are $25 per person and include lunch.
Please complete the registration form below and you will be sent a ticket purchase link.
Keynote Speakers
Agenda
Registration and refreshments
9:00-9:30 a.m.
Â
Session 1 Workshops
(Workshop Descriptions Provided Below)
9:30-10:30 a.m.
Ruth Ohi, Past ParentÂ
Amy Stuart, Friend of SCSÂ
Patricia Westerhof, Past StaffÂ
Â
Opening Keynote
10:45-11:45 a.m.
Anne Michaels, Friend of SCS, in conversation with Principal Martha Perry ’85
Â
Book Fair and Lunch
11:45 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Browse Ben McNally’s curated selection of books from the participating authors
Â
Session 2 Workshops
(Workshop Descriptions Provided Below)
1:15-2:15 p.m.
Karen Grose ’85
Jane Mason ’84
Ashleigh Rains ’00
Â
Closing Keynote
2:30-3:30 p.m.
Sheila Heti ’95 in conversation with Martha Perry ’85 Â
Keynote Speakers
Anne Michaels, Friend of SCS
Winner of the 2024 Giller Prize for her novel, Held.
Anne Michaels is a novelist and poet. Her books are translated into more than forty-five languages and have won dozens of international awards, including the Orange Prize, the Guardian Fiction Prize, the Lannan Award for Fiction, the Prix Transfuge and the Commonwealth Poetry Prize for the Americas. Among many other honours she is a Royal Society of Literature International Writer, a Guggenheim Fellow, has received honorary degrees, and has served as Toronto’s Poet Laureate. Her novel Fugitive Pieces was adapted as a feature film and was chosen as one of the BBC’s 100 Novels that Shaped the World. In 2024, her novel Held was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Prix Femina, and was named as one of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Guardian, The Observer, El Pais, and many others.
Sheila Heti ’95
Sheila Heti ’95 is the author of eleven books, including two books for children, a play, and the novels Alphabetical Diaries, Motherhood, Pure Colour and How Should a Person Be? Her books have been translated into twenty-seven languages. Pure Colour was the recipient of the 2022 Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction, and the Vine Award for Canadian Jewish Literature. She was named one of “The New Vanguard” by The New York Times, a list of fifteen writers from around the world who are “shaping the way we read and write fiction in the 21st century.” She is a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow. In 2022, she was the Franke Visiting Fellow at Yale, and an Associate Research Scholar and Lecturer in Religious Studies. The Washington Post called her “one of the freshest, funniest and most ingenious humans writing today… one of our best living authors.” Sheila lives in Toronto.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS AND BIOS
Karen Grose ’85
Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem: Writing a Compelling Whodunit
A killer mystery keeps readers up until two in the morning, unable to rest until the crime is solved. The genre features intriguing premises, clues and twists, and unforgettable sleuths with backstories that drive them to investigate. This presentation will demystify the craft of writing opening pages to captivate readers and share how to raise the stakes, add tension, and use structure, subplots, and themes to deepen the story. Karen will share sources of inspiration and tips she’s learned throughout her writing career.
Karen Grose ’85 is from Toronto, Canada. Her debut novel, The Dime Box, was selected by Amnesty International for its 2021 Book Club. The Chinese language version, retitled as The Lost Daughters, was published by Sharp Point Press, Taiwan, in 2023. Karen’s second novel is Flat Out Lies and All June Left Behind is her third. Karen has flash, poems, and short stories in journals and anthologies, both in print and online. She is a member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters-in-Crime-Toronto and National, and the #thrillsandchills writing group. Track her down on X: @kgrose2, Instagram: @karengrosewrites, Facebook, or at www.karengrose.ca.
Jane Mason ’84
How (and Why) Do You Go About Writing and Publishing a Non-Fiction Book Based on Your Expertise?
The “why” is important – maybe even more important than the “how”. This session will focus on writing a work of non-fiction. How do you know when you have something important to say? Why do you think it will help people? How many people will it help? These are important questions because the people it will help are the people who will buy your book. Attendees will learn about selecting a topic, creating the outline, gathering data/content, fact checking and testing, and so on. The session will also include a short component on publishing options.
Jane Mason ’84 has over 25 years of experience working with established and new-in-role executives in both multi-national companies and start-ups. Along the way, she founded what became an award-winning social enterprise called Virtuous Bread to effect positive social change through bread. She has written three books about bread and one book about Mexican cooking. She is currently working on a book that helps leaders in start-up organizations learn why and how to have the difficult conversations that will drive extraordinary growth. Jane has also completed the manuscripts for four picture books for children and is currently going through the process of getting these published.
Ruth Ohi, Past Parent
Making Picture Books as an Author/Illustrator
Using samples from Ruth’s latest author/illustrated books, this session will demonstrate what’s involved in creating picture books. From submissions to finals, topics such as portfolios, where ideas come from, book dummy submissions, roughs, revisions, working with an editor/art director/illustrator and more will be discussed, with time for Q&A.
Ruth Ohi is the illustrator of over 60 books, 23 of which she is also the author. Her latest author/illustrated work is Blanket (Groundwood Books), a “Quill & Quire Books of the Year” Selection, an International Board on Books for Young People “Silent Books Selection” (Canada), “CBC Best Canadian Books for Kids & Young Adults” Selection, and a Canadian Children’s Book Centre Starred Best Book. Other notable author/illustrated books include Choose Kindness, Scribble, and the Fox and Squirrel Series (all published by Scholastic Canada). Ruth is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and lives in Toronto, Canada. Her books have been published in Korea, China, the United States, Belgium, Turkey, Holland, Australia, and translated into Spanish, Hebrew, and Bahasa Indonesian. Ruth is also the illustrator of We Belong Here (written by Frieda Wishinsky/ Scholastic Canada) and Friends for Real (written by Ted Staunton/ Scholastic Canada). You can find Ruth on Instagram @RuthOhi or www.RuthOhi.com
Ashleigh Rains ’00
Every Great Script Begins with a Voice – Yours
This workshop introduces the fundamentals of screenwriting, starting with the most essential questions: Why this story? Why now? And why you? Through script readings and analysis, participants will explore how a story is created through character, conflict, and structure. By the end of the workshop, writers will be encouraged to have a story concept or opening pages of a screenplay rooted in their authentic voice.
Ashleigh Rains ’00 is a Canadian writer and storyteller working across film, television, and prose. Her screenplays have been optioned and recognized in several U.S. competitions, while her prose has been published, most recently in the Heartland Society of Women Writers’ anthology (w)holes. She co-created, co-wrote, and produced the television series With A Twist. A Canadian Screen Award-winning producer, Ashleigh is the founder of C’mon Mort Productions, a company committed to telling stories by and about women. Her feature and short film projects have won awards and screened at international festivals including VIFF, Whistler, Newport Beach, HollyShorts, and Seattle. Ashleigh also serves as Festival Director at the Canadian Film Fest. She is an alumna of Queen’s University, Canada’s National Ballet School, RADA, NSI Totally Television, the Corus Media Management Accelerator, Stowe Story Labs, The Writers Lab, and the TIFF Series Accelerator.
Amy Stuart, Friend of SCS
“Start to Finish” Storytelling
Do you have a story idea swirling around in your head, or a personal story that needs to be told? This workshop is for aspiring writers interested in telling “start to finish” stories, either memoir or fictional. The session will focus on the most important detail: how to get started. Attendees will look at how to plan and organize ideas, how to build them out, how to conquer writers’ block, and how to set aside time regularly to move the literary project forward.
Amy Stuart’s fourth novel, A Death at the Party, emerged as a longstanding #1 bestseller. She is the author of three other bestselling novels—Still Mine, Still Water, and Still Here. Amy’s other love is hockey. She is one of only a handful of women head coaches in the GTHL, the world’s largest youth competitive hockey league. In 2024, she co-wrote Mats Sundin’s #1 bestselling memoir, Home and Away. She was born in Toronto, where she still lives with her husband and their three sons. They also spend much of their time on Prince Edward Island, where Amy’s family is originally from. Find her on Instagram @amystuartwriter.
Patricia Westerhof, Past Staff
Publishing 101: A Beginner’s Guide
Where should you start if you want to get your writing published in Canada? How do you get published in literary magazines? Should you publish your work online? Are writing contests worth it? What scams should writers know about? What’s the difference between a corporate and independent press and which is better? Do you need a literary agent to get your book published? How do you get an agent/editor interested in your manuscript? Bring your questions about the publishing process and join Patricia Westerhof to learn about finding an audience for your creative writing.
Patricia Westerhof is the author of The Canadian Guide to Creative Writing and Publishing, Catch Me When I Fall, and The Dove in Bathurst Station. She also co-authored The Writer’s Craft, a textbook on creative writing that’s been used widely across Canada. Her stories and articles have appeared in Room, The Feathertale Review, Write, West End Phoenix, and The Dalhousie Review. Her current project, a comic novel, was inspired by her recent experience of having been forced to write an index. Patricia, who holds an MA in Education, taught English at St. Clement’s School for nineteen years. Currently teaching creative writing classes at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies, she’s the recent winner of a University of Toronto Excellence in Teaching award.
Additional Notes:
Participating authors’ books will be available for purchase. Lunch will be provided.
Bookmark the date and join us for the SCS literary event of the season: it’s guaranteed to be a real page turner!
REGISTRATION:
Please fill out the form below to register (one per attendee). The link to purchase tickets will be sent to you upon completion.