Photo Credit:
Photo credit
Leif Norman
Catherine Hunter
BIO
Biography

Catherine Hunter is a poet and novelist. Her short story "Calling You," published in Prairie Fire in 2020, won a Gold National Magazine Award. Her books with Signature Editions include the poetry collections St. Boniface Elegies, 2019 (winner of the Lansdowne Prize for Poetry and short-listed for the Governor General's Award for Poetry) and Latent Heat, 1997 (McNally Robinson Manitoba Book of the Year), and the novel After Light, 2015, the story of an Irish-American Canadian family spanning four generations and four different countries (Ireland, Brooklyn, Holland, and Canada). It's a novel about love, war, blindness, trauma, and the power of art, and yes I just called Brooklyn a country. For 30 years, Catherine enjoyed the best day job in the world, teaching creative writing at the University of Winnipeg, and she is now enjoying retirement. For the time being, she is available on remote platforms only, like radio or Zoom, where she is happy to read from her work, give talks about writing, participate in discussions, or lead writing workshops on a wide variety of topics. Her earlier books include the novella In the First Early Days of My Death (Signature, 2002), the poetry collections Necessary Crimes (Blizzard 1988), Lunar Wake (Turnstone, 1994), and three Turnstone/Ravenstone mystery novels: Where Shadows Burn (1999), The Dead of Midnight (2002), and Queen of Diamonds (2006). Her books have been nominated for many awards, and her essays, reviews, poems, and stories have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. For more information, see catherinehunter.ca or read about After Light on the website of the publisher, Signature Editions.

ADDRESS
City: Winnipeg, Province/Territory: Manitoba
EMAIL
LANGUAGES
English
PUBLICATIONS
Publications
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS
Presentation details
Audience Size
Audience size
Any size, but only on Zoom (or other remote platform).
Presentation Genre
Novels, short stories, poems.
Presentation Length
One hour to 90 minutes.
Presentation Description
Presentation description

I have experience presenting an excerpt of my work and then discussing the process of writing it, from inspiration and research through composition, including drafting, revising, and working with editors and publishers. I can cover poetry, historical novels, mystery novels, or short fiction, and answer questions about composing in any of these genres.

Presentation Fee(s)
Minimum $150 per hour (on Zoom). At this time, I am not making public appearances in person, except on special occasions--outside or with very small groups.
Workshop details
Audience Size
15 (on Zoom) I may do small groups in person under certain circumstances.
Intended Audience
18 and up. Seniors welcome.
Workshop Length
2- or 3-hour sessions. E.g., for a one-day workshop, 10:00 to noon and then 1:00 to 3:00.
Workshop Description
Workshop description

I have experience designing workshops of various lengths, depending on the topic and the depth in which we want to explore it. Options range from a one-day session, or a two-day weekend session, or a weekly series (e.g., four Saturdays in a row). For workshops that run multiple days, I provide written feedback. My schedule is flexible.

Favourite topics include: inspirations for poetry; polishing a poem; creating fictional characters; how to manage the plot of a short story; how to begin a murder mystery (opening scene and main characters); how to double-plot a murder mystery; problems in plotting a historical novel; how to write effective dialogue; the importance of setting, etc. 

My main goal in workshops is to teach skills, give useful tips, and answer participants' questions,  while at the same time allowing participants to meet each other and discuss their own writing, if they want to.  

Workshop Fee(s)
minimum $200 per hour (lower hourly rate may be negotiated for workshops that run on multiple days)
Programs & Interests
Interested in participating Union’s Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program:
All members are eligible for the Union’s Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program. Are you interested in participating in this pro
No
Interested in participating in the Northern Ontario WITS program:
The Union’s Northern Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program funds in-person visits to northern Ontario schools when possible. Ar
No