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Program Information
Program faculty Kyo Maclear (left) and Elamin Abdelmahmoud (right)
Overview
This 12-day residency encourages the exploration of new ideas in non-fiction and experimentation in writing focusing on Memoir. Designed to challenge and stimulate, the program aims to inspire creative pieces of nonfiction and to assist the writers in their completion of manuscripts which explore memory, experience, and memoir. In this self-directed workshop-based residency, you will work closely with our esteemed faculty to expand your practice and focus on improving writing skills.
A preeminent space for long-form journalism and creative non-fiction, this residency emphasizes the strengths of thorough and articulate non-fiction, distinctive storytelling, and literary devices. Work created in this program has been published in journals, magazines, newspapers, and in books recognized at every level.
What does the program offer?
Faculty provide mentorship and one-on-one workshopping. Instructors will discuss story ideas, craft concepts such as voice and structure, and challenges writers may be encountering with their literary journalism. Writers will have time to work on their manuscripts, receive individual consultations with faculty, and participate in group discussions.
Successful applicants will receive 100% scholarship to cover tuition, on-site accommodation, and on-site meals.
Who should apply?
Literary Journalism: Memoir is designed for writers seeking a professional development opportunity in a community of peers with the guidance of an experienced writer/editor, as each participant prepares their work in progress.
Applicants should be experienced professionals, active in the diversified fields of memoir writing, including print or electronic media. This program is open to fiction and non-fiction writers, journalists, freelance critics or curators, artists, and academics, with an emphasis on those who can write for a lay audience with logic, vigour, and charm—and those who have a portfolio to prove it.
We welcome writers (18+) from all backgrounds, and all gender identities and expressions.
The Literary Journalism program is generously supported by:
Rogers Communications Chair in Literary Journalism Endowment Fund
Faculty
Kyo Maclear
Dr. Kyo Maclear is an essayist, editor, novelist and children’s author. Her books have been translated into eighteen languages, published in over twenty-five countries, and garnered nominations from the Writers’ Trust Hilary Weston Prize for Nonfiction, the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, and the National Magazine Awards. Her nonfiction books include the hybrid memoir Birds Art Life (2017), winner of the Trillium Book Award, and Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets (2023). She holds a doctorate in Environmental Humanities and teaches writing at the University of Guelph Creative Writing MFA and Humber School for Writers. She is an editor-at-large with Tundra Books/Penguin Random House Canada where she curates a collection called CRAFT.
Faculty
Elamin Abdelmahmoud
Elamin Abdelmahmoud is the host of CBC’s daily arts, entertainment and pop culture show Commotion. He is an award-winning culture writer who has written for The New York Times, BuzzFeed News, the Globe and Mail and others. Elamin is the author of the No. 1 best-selling memoir Son of Elsewhere, a New York Times notable book and a Globe 100 book. Please don’t ask him about his second book yet.
Faculty
Jen Sookfong Lee
Jen Sookfong Lee was born and raised in Vancouver’s East Side, and she now lives with her son in North Burnaby. Her books include The Conjoined, nominated for International Dublin Literary Award and a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, The Better Mother, a finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Award, The End of East, The Shadow List, and Finding Home. Jen acquires and edits for ECW Press and co-hosts the literary podcast Can’t Lit.
Professional Guest
What's Included
Single Room
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Your program fee includes a single bedroom on the Banff Centre campus for the duration of your program.
Get connected with other artists on campus and focus on your projects in a creative environment while we take care of the day-to-day essentials.
Full Flex Meal Plan
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Using a credit-based system to dine on campus, our flexible meal plans allow you to select meals according to your own needs during your stay. Banff Centre can accommodate most dietary requests.
The Full Flex meal plan is calculated at $70 credit per day, equivalent to breakfast, lunch and dinner at our Buffet service.
Showcase Your Work
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This program offers opportunities to showcase your work-in-progress in one of our performance venues.
Gym Membership
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Your program fee includes free access to the climbing gym, and fitness suite as well as discounted rates for classes at the Sally Borden Fitness and Recreation Centre.
Box Office Discounts
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Enjoy special artist rates for ticketed performances or complimentary access to events.
Participant Resources
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Enrich your experience and get to know other artists on campus by taking advantage of the activities and support provided by our Participant Resources team.
Studio space
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Each participant will be allocated a private writing space on campus.
Paul D. Fleck Library and Archives
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The Paul D. Fleck Library and Archives - Current Services
The Library is delighted to support Banff Centre Participants, Artists, and Faculty with the following services:
- Open hours: 9:30 am to 1 pm, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
- Access to collections, including program relevant books, scores, artists’ books, recordings, periodicals, and object library.
- Library accounts for borrowing materials.
- Digital Library, on campus and remote access.
- Library research assistance, by appointment.
- Archives research, by appointment only.
Please email library@banffcentre.ca or archives@banffcentre.ca for more information or assistance.
Fees & Financial Assistance
Application fee: $65 for individuals or groups ($35 for applicants who identify as Indigenous).
Application Fees are non-refundable.
Individual group members must pay an additional registration fee of $35 on acceptance.
*Scholarship of 100% is available and will be applied to cover tuition, meals and accommodation costs.
If you would like to be considered, please complete the Financial Aid section when uploading your supporting materials.
Banff Centre will issue official tax receipts for eligible tuition fees and financial assistance and awards as required by the Income Tax Act. You will receive a T2202 (Tuition and Enrolment Certificate) for eligible tuition fees paid and a T4A (Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income) for applicable financial assistance and awards.
Help fund your experience at Banff Centre. View a compiled list of national and international opportunities here.
How to Apply
Learn more about the steps to Complete Your Application.
Resume
A 1-3 page resume or C.V. describing academic, professional, and other relevant experience.
Cover Letter
A one-page cover letter explaining why you are interested in this program and what you hope to achieve by attending it.
Project Proposal
An outline of one to three pages describing the project the applicant proposes to work during the residency.
Portfolio
Please provide one sample from your in-progress memoir project, not exceeding 10 pages in total.
Financial Assistance
Be sure to complete the Financial Aid question in SlideRoom to be eligible for financial assistance.
Adjudication
Participants are selected by impartial adjudicators on the basis of their submitted material. The successful candidates will be selected from the field of applicants on the basis of writing skill, literary merit, and the relevance and originality of their project idea. Consideration will also be given to the likelihood that the writer’s work will benefit from the program.
Applicants will be notified of their status as soon as adjudication is complete.
Eligibility
Applicants are usually accomplished, professional journalists and writers who have been published in national or international magazines, newspapers, anthologies, or literary journals. However, writers with less experience have also been accepted to the program based on merit, the proposed project and writing skill.
Applicants must be ages 18+ at the time of the program start date.
Note: Past participants of Literary Journalism are not eligible. Those accepted as participants to the program who subsequently find themselves unable to attend for the full program schedule are asked to withdraw and re-apply another year. This program is not open to current faculty members of any other Banff Centre programming. Applications will not be accepted from any applicants who have participated in a Banff Centre program in the last 12 months.
International Applicants
Banff Centre welcomes domestic and international applicants for this program. Please note, Banff Centre programs do not meet Canadian Student Visa eligibility requirements, you must obtain a Visitor Visa to enter Canada. Accepted individuals are responsible for identifying and complying with the immigration requirements to enter Canada as a visitor from their country of origin. Current wait times to receive a visa are much longer than normal, so applicants who require a Visitor Visa should check the current expected processing times prior to applying.
All programs, faculty, dates, fees, and offers of financial assistance are subject to change. Program fee is subject to applicable taxes. Non-refundable fees and deposits will be retained upon cancellation. Any other fees are refunded at the discretion of the Banff Centre. The application deadline is 11:59 p.m. MDT.
Contact Admissions
For questions on preparing your application, please contact Admissions:
Toll Free Number (Canada + USA)
1.800.565.9989
Phone
403.762.6180
