The Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture

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The Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture at the University of Manitoba, the first institute of its kind in North America, is a place for creativity, for scholarly research into oral and literate cultures, and for making connections between the University and the community. Opened in the fall of 2008, the Centre provides crucial support for students, faculty and community members who are working to create their own stories or who are studying the stories of others. The Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture is an interdisciplinary, research-based facility that permits artists, scholars and students from diverse backgrounds to explore the transformative possibilities of the spoken and written word.

10/20/2026

Our next workshop is on October 21st, Writing in Cyberspace – For Cyborgs Seeking Tips on Humanmaxxing

📍St. John’s College, Senior Common Room
⏰3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

This workshop is free and open to everyone!

10/13/2026

Workshop #2 is THIS Wednesday! South Asian Q***r Feminisms – Reading, Writing & Practicing.

📍 St. John’s College, Senior Common Room
⏰ 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

This workshop is free and open to everyone!

10/05/2026

Welcome back to the Fall semester! We have 6 exciting workshops coming up with our Fall 2026 Writer-in-Residence, Sindhu Rajasekaran, with the first one being THIS Wednesday at 3pm!

Workshop 1 – Q***r Decolonial Storytelling
October 7, 2026
St. John’s College, Room 201
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Workshop 2 – South Asian Q***r Feminisms – Reading, Writing & Practising
October 14, 2026
St. John’s College, Senior Common Room
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Workshop 3 – Writing in Cyberspace – For Cyborgs Seeking Tips on Humanmaxxing
October 21, 2026
St. John’s College, Senior Common Room
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Workshop 4 – Creative Writing Workshop I (Fundamentals)
October 28, 2026
St. John’s College, Room 111 (Quiet Room)
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Workshop 5 – Creative Writing Workshop II (Next steps)
November 4, 2026
St. John’s College, Room 111 (Quiet Room)
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Workshop 6 – Applying to International MFA & PhD Programs
November 18, 2026
St. John’s College, Room 111 (Quiet Room)
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

We can't wait for you to come join us this semester. The workshops are free and open to everyone!

05/01/2026

Introducing Fall 2027 Writer-in-Residence

Born and raised on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tseil-Waututh peoples (colonially known as “Vancouver”), now based in Tkaronto (“Toronto”), C.E. Gatchalian (he/him/his) is a Filipinx diasporic q***r author, playwright, poet, screenwriter, editor, dramaturge, teacher and consultant of Tagalog, Ilocano, and Spanish ancestry. The author of six books and co-editor of two anthologies, he was the 2013 recipient of the Dayne Ogilvie Prize and a three-time Lambda Literary Award finalist. His plays have been produced nationally and internationally, as well as on radio and television. Formerly Artistic Producer of the frank theatre company, he is currently Community Engagement Producer for CultureBrew.Art. His memoir, Double Melancholy: Art, Beauty and the Making of a Brown Q***r Man, was published in 2019 by Arsenal Pulp Press, and he co-edited Magdaragat: An Anthology of Filipino-Canadian Writing, the first anthology of Filipino-Canadian writing brought out by a commercial press, published by Cormorant Books in 2024. Fun facts: he co-parents a handsome black feline named Loki and loves the very white music of ABBA. cegatchalian.com

Photo: Raymond Shum, Tempest Photo

04/29/2026

Introducing Winter 2027 Writer-in-Residence 📝

Steve Locke is a writer, poet, arts educator, and community facilitator from Winnipeg in Treaty One territory. As a winner of titles including Winnipeg Individual Slam Champion and Winnipeg Grand Slam Champion, his disarming and engaging spoken word performances exploring mental health and existential questions in the era of late stage capitalism have been featured on community and festival stages across the country, including The Victoria Spoken Word Festival, The Saskatoon Poetic Arts Festival, The Winnipeg Spoken Word Festival, and The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, and at Winnipeg’s Writers, Fringe, and Improv festivals. On the page, his fiction, poetry, and reviews have appeared in The Winnipeg Free Press, The Winnipeg Review, oratorealis, CV2, poetryisdead, and Prairie Fire magazines. In classrooms and community spaces facilitating mentorships, workshops, and residencies, he works with poets of all ages to build confidence in self-expression through the written and spoken word. He is a Co-Director of the Winnipeg Poetry Slam and in October 2024, he published “Birds of a Feather: A Graphic Poem,” a collaborative project with artist Adam Pagtakhan of Midnight Sun Creative.

04/27/2026

Introducing Fall 2026 Writer-in-Residence

Sindhu Rajasekaran is an academic, filmmaker, and author of four books spanning across genres. Her debut novel Kaleidoscopic Reflections was nominated for the Crossword Book Award. She has written a collection of short stories, So I Let It Be, and a critically acclaimed book of non-fiction, Smashing the Patriarchy. Her most recent book is Forbidden Desire – How the British Stole India’s Q***r Pasts & Q***r Futures, published by Simon and Schuster.

Her writing interweaves personal history with political inquiry, examining power, desire and identity. Sindhu’s poetry and creative nonfiction have been published in reputed literary magazines including Room, Asia Literary Review, and New Writing Scotland. Her work is also part of international anthologies – Very Much Alive: Stories of Resilience, Q***r in a Wee Place: Small Nations, Sexuality & Scotland, and Does Your Hand Shake, Vladimir?

A recipient of the Dean’s Global Research Award at the University of Strathclyde, Sindhu has a PhD in creative writing. She specialises in q***r South Asian pasts, decolonial storytelling, and creative epistemologies. She has presented papers at several conferences such as the Association of Asian Studies in South Korea, the Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Network in the UK, and the Annual Conference on South Asia in the US. She teaches creative writing and conducts theory workshops for universities, cultural organizations, and research networks.

Sindhu has also produced an award-winning feature film and worked as a communications consultant. She is founder and curatrix of The Subjective Space – where she curates dialogue that pushes boundaries and reimagines how we think about art, gender and representation.

04/23/2026

2025/2026 yearly recap! Thank you to our amazing Writers-in-Residence, Melanie Dennis Unrau and Sonya Ballantyne.
It was a great year for the Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture! ,

Attendees of Melanie's workshops in the fall learned about climate and work, and shared their poetry in a chapbook. Steve Locke, future writer-in-residence, offered a slam poetry workshop and gave people a chance to perform their own poetry.

Attendees of Sonya’s workshops got to learn about graphic novels, film and screenwriting, and Sonya brought special guests to share their knowledge and experience in drawing, writing and filmmaking.

Thank everyone for the amazing 2025/2026 year. See you in the Fall!

Address

St. John's College/92 Dysart Road/University Of Manitoba Fort Garry Campus
Winnipeg, MB
R3T2M5

Website

https://umanitoba.ca/arts/centre-creative-writing-and-oral-culture

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