Carol Shields Writer-in-Residence Program
Welcome Sharon Bala!
The English Department is thrilled to announce that Sharon Bala will be the 2025 Carol Shields Writer-in-Residence (online) from February 24 to March 21.
Sharon Bala's best-selling debut novel, The Boat People, won the 2020 Newfoundland & Labrador Book Award and the 2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, was short listed for several awards, and is in translation in four languages. She won the Writers' Trust/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize in 2017. Her short fiction has been published in: Best Canadian Stories 2024, The Journey Prize 29, Hazlitt, Grain, PRISM international, The New Quarterly, Maisonneuve, and elsewhere. Sharon is a member of The Port Authority, a St. John's writing group. Visit her at .
Emerging writers, students, and community members are encouraged to reach out to Sharon at sh.bala@uwinnipeg.ca for a free consultation about their writing during her residency.
Inaugural Reading and Q&A with the 2025 Carol Shields Writer-in-Residence Sharon Bala
Carol Shields Memorial Lecture: Wednesday, March 19 | 12:30-1:20 p.m.
– Hosted by Jenny Heijun Wills
With an aim to enlighten and amuse, this light-hearted lecture explores the cultural and geographical influences that have shaped the English language.
Manuscript Evaluations/Consultations: February 25-March 20, 2025
Please to request a 50-minute online appointment with Sharon Bala
UÂ鶹´«Ã½ students, staff, faculty and alumni have priority registration. Residents of Manitoba may also schedule an appointment if there is availability.
If you are not ready to submit a manuscript, Sharon is also available to meet about the broader aspects of writing and publishing. CW/English students are strongly encouraged to schedule an appointment.
Once you submit your form, please wait 48 hours before following up: sh.bala@uwinnipeg.ca