Allie McFarland is the author of Disappearing in Reverse (UCalgary Press, 2020) and Pretty Delicate (AOS 2023). She completed her MFA in Writing at the University of Saskatchewan, where she wrote her SSRHC-funded and award-nominated thesis, Pretty Delicate. Allie received the Dr. Grant MacEwan Literary Arts Scholarship (2015) for her poetic suite “Lullaby”, which was published as part of her chapbook, Marianne’s Daughters (Loft on 8th, 2018). Allie is a bi settler from Treaty 7 territory (Calgary) who currently resides on the unceded territories of the Scia’new / Beecher Bay First Nation with her partner and excitable puppy. She oversees the UVSS advocacy groups operating at the University of Victoria. You can find more of her work at: alliemcfarland.ca
Intro to creative writing workshopping, with a focus on how to do group critiques and purpose of workshopping creative writing. Can be tailored to individual group needs. I have presented a version of this to Pearson College students (ages 17-20) who were workshopping spoken word poems for a city-wide competition, and another version to Unquiet Minds (a writing group for at-risk youth ages 13-24, and which included people who struggle with literacy) who were writing toward a group anthology. My goal is to cover how to give and take useful feedback, and what useful feedback looks like.
I'll collaborate with the teacher(s) to find a presentation or class workshop that works with the material being taught in school. I have a special interest in sci-fi / fantasy writing, character-driven narratives, and lyrical poetry. I can also do deep dives on different point of views / narration styles and how / when to incorporate them into different pieces.
