writing Archives - Queen's Journal

Omar El Akkad reflects on his writing journey

Written on January 28, 2022. Posted in Arts, Literature.

In November 2021, Queen’s graduate Omar El Akkad took home the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel What Strange Paradise. It’s been a long journey for El Akkad, ArtSci ’05, born in Egypt and moved to Canada at sixteen. He fondly looks back on the time he spent at Queen’s—most of which he spent working...

Carolyn Smart talks retirement and legacy

Written on January 14, 2022. Posted in Arts.

At the end of the 2020-21 year, longtime creative writing professor Carolyn Smart retired from teaching to focus on her family and personal work. Smart’s legacy as a mentor is impressive. She taught and inspired hundreds of writers in her time, including current Queen’s Writer-in-Residence Omar El...

Writer Patricia Robertson hosts short story workshop

Written on November 19, 2021. Posted in Arts, Literature.

Canadian writer Patricia Robertson will host a virtual short story workshop on Nov. 23 through the Kingston Frontenac Public Library (KFPL). Robertson, 73, was born in British Columbia and currently teaches at the University of Winnipeg’s English department. She’s the author of three books of stories...

'Quilt' launches inaugural issue

Written on May 31, 2021. Posted in Arts, Literature.

Editor’s Note: One member of The Journal’s Editorial Board contributed to Quilt. The first issue of Quilt launched on May 7. Founded by the 2020-21 English department student council, Quilt is the first publication on campus to publish both literary essays and creative writing. Editors-in-Chief Daniel...

Annual writers’ festival makes literature local

Written on September 24, 2019. Posted in Arts.

Back again for its eleventh year, the Kingston WritersFest is setting up shop downtown for five full days over the next week. From Wednesday, Sept. 25 to Sunday, Sept. 29, 70 authors will gather at the Holiday Inn and the Residence Inn by the waterfront to share their knowledge with aspiring writers...

Exploring literary pathways at Kingston WritersFest

Written on October 2, 2017. Posted in Arts.

Running from September 27 to October 1, Kingston WritersFest returned for its ninth consecutive year. With a roster of some 60 different authors, the annual festival aims to promote various forms of the written word within the Kingston community. This year, Kingston Writersfest offered readings, conversations...

The Path to being published

Written on September 28, 2017. Posted in Arts.

Practice makes perfect, but for writers it’s not always that easy. Anyone attempting to break into the writing world knows it can be a scary endeavor. Dealing with a fluctuating industry, it’s the place where you essentially have to try to add your name to the same lists as Shakespeare and Charles...

No Subtitles for Saxton Award

Written on April 6, 2017. Posted in Arts.

It was their own experience at Queen’s that pushed student playwrights Bushra Afreen, ArtSci ’17, and Nina Ricciarelli, ArtSci ’16, to write a piece depicting the daily experiences of being a minority in a predominantly white community. Last month, Afreen and Ricciarelli were awarded the J.C.W Saxton...

Creative writing illuminated from the other side

Written on June 27, 2016. Posted in Arts.

“Language, which is useful in the province of the intellect is a relatively clumsy vehicle in the expression of emotion and of narrative movement,” Carol Shields wrote in her work Narrative Hunger and the Possibilities of Fiction. I had never heard of Carol Shields before I held her latest work....

Indie publishers and self-publishing: the future of authorship

Written on January 12, 2016. Posted in Arts.

As the literary marketplace becomes increasingly digital, self-publishing authors and smaller independent publishers may soon eclipse big publishing moguls. In 2013, Amazon revealed that “a quarter of the top 100 bestselling Kindle books on Amazon.com in 2012 were published via Kindle Direct Publishing...

Acclaimed authors talk freedom of expression

Written on September 29, 2015. Posted in Arts.

The muzzling of free press, the dismissal of media and the act of writing as activism were topics of a Kingston WritersFest discussion on Friday night. The panel event, entitled “Freedom to Speak, Freedom to Act”, was one of over 50 events taking place last weekend. The events are part of Kingston’s...

Student entrepreneur to speak at TEDx

Written on February 12, 2015. Posted in Features.

When Afraj Gill emigrated from India in 2000, he never thought he’d write for The Globe and Mail while in university. Gill, Comm ’15, is a budding entrepreneur that has cultivated experience in the fields of technology, politics and writing. The 22-year-old is scheduled to speak about education at...

Beyond bars

Written on October 25, 2013. Posted in Arts.

While people were buzzing over last summer’s Netflix series Orange is the New Black, a universal truth remained. The lives of female prisoners isn’t a topic commonly discussed, nor is it a neutral one. The prison system tends to be a very touchy subject. But Kelly Rose Pflug-Back wants to change that. Pflug-Back...

Engaging in a national dialogue

Written on October 18, 2013. Posted in Arts.

Wednesday night at Stauffer Library took a new perspective on an educational turn. This year’s “Write Thinking” speaker series was kicked off by Queen’s alumnus, historian and author John Boyko, BEd ’80, with his new book Blood and Daring: How Canada fought the American Civil War and Forged a Nation. The...

Glorious grammar

Written on October 4, 2013. Posted in Editorials.

It’s time we re-discovered the magic of syntax. Those are words I never thought I’d write, considering most of my text messages are comprised of emoticons. My new passion for sentences came from a strange source — a beginner Latin course this summer. In May, I scoffed when my professor told us that...

Lived experience and learning: Kingston Writersfest

Written on October 2, 2013. Posted in Lifestyle.

A guffaw, a chuckle and an unaccounted-for smile – they’re the telltale signs of another Kingston WriterFest filled with cultural and philosophical insight. It’s the powerful moments of experience – while meeting our favourite authors – that continue to inform our understanding of ourselves and the...

‘Write the best story that’s in you’

Written on October 1, 2013. Posted in Arts.

You do it for the love of it. Or at least that’s what current writer-in-residence, Tim Wynne-Jones, says to aspiring writers at Queen’s. For one term each year, the department of English welcomes a writer who participates in various literary events and offers mentorship to students involved in creative...

Wiki-, wiki-, what?

Written on April 1, 2011. Posted in Editorials.

Writing a term paper might be a lot easier in the near future if a group of British scholars get their way. The so-called “Wikipedians” of Imperial College hope to turn Wikipedia into an official research tool, in acknowledgement of its enormous popularity among students. Vinesh Patel—a medical student—founded...

Tag: writing

Omar El Akkad reflects on his writing journey

Carolyn Smart talks retirement and legacy

Writer Patricia Robertson hosts short story workshop

'Quilt' launches inaugural issue

Annual writers’ festival makes literature local

Exploring literary pathways at Kingston WritersFest

The Path to being published

No Subtitles for Saxton Award

Creative writing illuminated from the other side

Indie publishers and self-publishing: the future of authorship

Acclaimed authors talk freedom of expression

Student entrepreneur to speak at TEDx

Beyond bars

Engaging in a national dialogue

Glorious grammar

Lived experience and learning: Kingston Writersfest

‘Write the best story that’s in you’

Wiki-, wiki-, what?

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