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TD Culture Lab: Breakthrough to Writers’ Success

Join us for TD Culture Lab: Breakthrough to Writers’ Success, a professional development day for new, emerging, and established writers to hone their craft and learn to navigate the writing industry.

A day of workshops and networking for new, emerging, and established writers of all genres. Learn about the writing industry from professionals in the field, network with fellow writers, and explore the next steps to achieving your writing career goals.

Workshop sessions include: Self-editing Your Work (Joyce Wayne), Pitching Your Book (Michelle Hillyard), Beating Writers Block (Dawn Grimmer), Funding and Career Opportunities (Sheridan’s Creative Writing & Publishing Program), and a Publisher’s Panel (led by Peta-Gay Nash) comprised of leading publishers discussing current literary trends, and peer-networking.

Meet writers from across Mississauga and learn to take your craft to the next level. Learn about the writing industry from professionals, pick up resources from industry booths, and learn from peers during the networking lunch.

About TD Culture Lab: Breakthrough to Writers’ Success

Date: Sunday, September 17, 2023
Time: 9:30am to 5:00pm
Venue: Clarke Memorial Hall
Address: 161 Lakeshore Road West, Mississauga, ON, L5H 1G3
Tickets: $10/ticket, available through Eventbrite

Lunch and coffee/refreshments will be provided. While we will do our best to accommodate food allergies and dietary preferences, we do not guarantee alternative meals will be available. Please contact MAC for more information.

About the Workshops:

Beyond the Ordinary (Dawn Grimmer)

Put your pen to paper and get writing!  Dawn Grimmer will lead you through writing prompts and share real life experience of how to stay focused and motivated so you can break through writer’s block.  She will also discuss using AI effectively.

Perfecting Your Pitch (Michelle Hillyard)

You know there are readers out there who would love to read your writing. But how do you convince them that they need to? This workshop will discuss finding the heart of your story, and give tips on how to pitch it to readers or to an agent.

Publisher’s Panel (Peta-Gaye Nash)

Marty Award winning author Peta-Gaye Nash leads a panel discussion with leading local literary publishers.  Learn about how AI is affecting writers and the publishing industry.  And discover if publishers are giving more diverse and marginalized writers an opportunity to become published?…plus many other timely topics and trends will be discussed.

Self-Editing Your Work (Joyce Wayne)

Revising and editing your writing is the surest route to finding an agent or a publisher. Today, publishing houses and magazines expect your fiction, non-fiction or poetry submissions to be ready to publish. Experienced writer and publisher Joyce Wayne will illustrate how multiple revisions of your written work greatly enhance the opportunity to be published. Bring: 3 typed pages of your writing to edit during this workshop.

Grants, Residencies and Opportunities for Writers

Presented by Sheridan College’s Creative Writing & Publishing Program, attendees will learn about grants they can apply to for funding projects, residencies and retreats for writing, and other opportunities and programs that can help writers further their craft and grow their career.

Networking Lunch & Industry Tables

Lunch provided for all registrants. Take time to meet other authors, talk to the presenters and panelists, and reflect on the morning’s sessions.

Ask questions and learn from colleagues at our “Industry Tables” set up throughout the space for networking and knowledge sharing.


TD Culture Lab: Breakthrough to Writers’ Success is sponsored by TD Bank Group and produced by the Mississauga Arts Council with Courtney Park Writers Group and Mississauga Writers Group. Special thanks to Sheridan’s Creative Writing & Publishing program.