Collingwood Writers' Collective

Writing is a tough and lonely business.  When I was first hired at the Collingwood Public Library in the summer of 2013, several local writers approached me, hoping that the library would organize some kind of writers' support group.  I called a meeting and twenty-four people showed up. I was flabbergasted. Over the past two years that group has shaken down to about ten or twelve stalwarts, but new people keep joining all of the time.  I had to give the group a name, so I chose The Collingwood Writers' Collective.

Twice a month, on the first and third Tuesdays, we meet in the FreeSchools Room and share what we have been working on.  Each person brings several poems or 1000-1500 words of prose and reads aloud to the group.  We try to provide constructive feedback--tell the writer what is working and perhaps what is not, and try to suggest ways to make it better.  We check our egos at the door.  It's not a writers' workshop, rather a writers' mutual support group.

Having said that, we have brought some instructors to the library. Susan Swan, Karen Hood-Caddy, and Brian Henry have run workshops at the library.  Becoming a published writer, which is the goal for most of us, is becoming easier with self-publishing and eBooks, but earning a living through your writing is becoming more difficult.  A recent survey published by the Writers' Union of Canada showed that the annual income of Canadian writers has decreased by 27% since 1998, and that the average Canadian writer earns $12,879.00 per year (and these are professional writers who belong to the Union).

Still, we have had some successes. Several of our members have published poems and stories in literary magazines, and one, Arlene F. Marks, published her sci-fi novel, The Accidental God, in 2014, and has found a publisher for a second novel, which will be published in 2016.

Arlene reading from her novel at our book launch

--Ken Haigh