From Canada: Writing in the liminal spaces of illness and disability

  • Saturday, March 11, 2023
  • 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
  • ONLINE

Registration

Registration is closed

What makes 'Sick-lit' so appealing? Why are readers drawn to stories about some of the most unpleasant biological conditions and the human capacity to survive them? This workshop will share how writers can tap into the creative space that exists in the transient, liminal spaces of living with illness and disability, and the importance of self-care and the simple things that can make a difference. The workshop is designed to be a collaborative and interactive discussion about what it means to live with chronic illness and how to put these traumatic experiences into (healing) words. A list of readings (memoirs/poetry) by female writers to inspire ideas will be provided; there will be an opportunity to share a sample of your work and/or develop something new from word prompts and application of literary techniques that make illness writing unique and alluring.

Melissa Williams is a writer with an acquired disability. She recently completed mentorships under award-winning authors David Bergen and Becky Blake. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Arts from the University of Gloucestershire. Her MA dissertation explored the flourishing genre of ‘autopathography’ – the telling of illness from a patient’s perspective. Thematically, her writing explores the struggles and grief that result from living with disability, as well as some of the social issues faced by this community including access, inclusion, isolation, and the search for belonging in a world designed for the able-bodied. Her prose and poetry have been featured in Voices Anthology, Wicked Shadow Press, The Dribble Drabble Review, among others, and she was a featured poet at the March '22 Emerging Writers Reading Series. She is currently working on a memoir about her experience in acquiring a rare illness, Transverse Myelitis. She lives in Toronto, near the beach and several coffee shops, with her two sons and their Siamese cat. @meljowilliams