Humber School for Writers

How do you keep writing without worrying about what people will think?

For the award-winning novelist Shyam Selvadurai, the answer is simple: focus on the work first.

“I write my book in a sort of cocoon, and then figure out what to do about its reception.”

In a world where we're constantly sharing, posting, and seeking feedback, it can be easy to let other people's opinions into the creative process too soon. Sometimes, the most important thing a piece of writing needs is space to grow before it's seen by anyone else.

What about you? Do you prefer to share your work early, or keep it private until it's finished?

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Shyam Selvadurai is the author of the novels Funny Boy, Cinnamon Gardens, Swimming in the Monsoon Sea, The Hungry Ghosts, and Mansion of the Moon. His work has won the WHSmith/Books in Canada First Novel Award, Lambda Literary Award, the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year Award, a Canadian Screen Award, and the New York Cinema Independent Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and has been shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award for Fiction, the DSC South Asia Literature Prize, the Trillium Award, the Aloa Literary Award, and the Premio Internazionale Riccardo Bacchelli.

Shyam Selvadurai will run the Literary Fiction 1 workshop at the Humber School for Writers Summer Workshop. Register or learn more about it: https://bit.ly/3RLXZLr

Are you afraid of writing something “too personal”?
Some of the most meaningful writing begins when we stop trying to sound general and start writing earnestly. Marina Endicott, The Humber School for Writers mentor, encourages writers to explore personal experiences experiences deeply, as it is the way to help readers explore theirs. Read the full article by The Globe and Mail: https://tgam.ca/4w8VPoO

What’s something you’ve been hesitant to write about lately?

Meet Vanessa!

Vanessa is a fourth-year student in Humber’s Bachelor of Creative and Professional Writing Program. Thanks to the encouraging BCPW community, she’s explored a wide range of writing forms, and found some new favourites!

Are you interested in expanding your writing practice? Click the link below to learn more about the Bachelor of Creative and Professional Writing!



https://mediaarts.humber.ca/programs/bachelor-of-creative-and-professional-writing.html

Delighted to see not one, but TWO Humber School for Writers mentors on the shortlist for the 2026 CBC Short Story Prize. Congratulations to Kate Cayley and Carrie Mac!

Want to study with Kate? Apply now to start our online program in September 2026!

Interested in studying with Carrie? Applications are open for January 2027!

Click the link below to learn more.

https://humber.ca/explore-programs/programs/creative-writing --overview

🎉 Congratulations to Molly Shanahan, recipient of the second of two 2026 By the Lake Book Club Scholarships! This particular scholarship is awarded to a student who is working on a manuscript through our Creative Writing graduate program.

By the Lake Book Club is a partnership presentation between City of Toronto Culture and the Humber Polytechnic Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design.

A big thank you to the Assembly Hall's By the Lake Book Club Scholarship Fund for providing this award!

🎉 Congratulations to Randi Palmer, recipient of one of two 2026 By the Lake Book Club Scholarships! This particular scholarship is awarded to a student in their third year of study in the Bachelor of Creative and Professional Writing Program. By the Lake Book Club is a partnership presentation between City of Toronto Culture and Humber Polytechnic Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design.

A big thank you to the Assembly Hall's By the Lake Book Club Scholarship Fund for providing this award!

Why do some books get published and not others? How can you make your manuscript more attractive to publishers? Get all of these questions (and more) answered at MOTIVE, the Toronto International Festival of Authors' annual festival of crime and mystery books!

Happening June 6, 2026, Pitch Perfect is MOTIVE's free panel featuring our Professional Book Publishing professors and Karen Sullivan, the publisher and founder of Orenda Books. Click the link below for more information and to plan your weekend at the festival! https://festivalofauthors.ca/event/pitch-perfect/

Meet Grant!

Grant is a fourth-year student in Humber’s Bachelor of Creative and Professional Writing Program. He finds the BCPW to be the perfect place for storytellers who want to hone their craft and find their community.

Does this sound like you? Click the link below to learn more about the Bachelor of Creative and Professional Writing!



https://mediaarts.humber.ca/programs/bachelor-of-creative-and-professional-writing.html

There’s one week left to submit to Humber’s Bachelor of Creative and Professional Writing High School Flash Fiction contest! Here’s how:

1. Visit the Bachelor of Creative and Professional Writing (BCPW) page on Humber’s website: https://bit.ly/4tA1Gls Click on “Student Experience.”

2. Scroll down and click “Submit Your Stories Here” in the Flash Fiction Contest section.

3. You’ll be brought to Arrival Magazine’s Submittable page. Click “Submit,” and fill out the form to submit your story! (*If you don’t have one already, you will need to create a free Submittable account.)

Send in your flash fiction story by May 1st at 11:59 PM for a chance to win cash prizes and publication!

Meet Sidura Ludwig, one of six mentors for this year's Summer Workshop in Creative Writing. A multitalented writer of stories, a novel, and works for young readers, she will lead the workshop on writing for children.

Sidura's writing has won the Vine Literary Award for Fiction and been shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed Award and a Winnipeg Book Award.

Click the link below to learn more about Sidura and the Summer Workshop in Creative Writing.

https://mediaarts.humber.ca/future-students/explore/school-for-writers/summer-workshop-in-creative-writing.html