Literary arts

The Mountain Writers Intensive is a three-week residency for twelve writers in fiction, nonfiction, journalism, or poetry. Ideal for projects on mountain narratives, adventure, environmental journalism, and the human connection to landscape, the program emphasizes literary excellence and narrative development. Writers enjoy dedicated time to create, connect with peers, and receive mentorship in Banff’s inspiring mountain setting. The residency overlaps with the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, offering opportunities to engage with visiting authors, editors, and publishers.

In our Computational Writing residency, participants can better engage with computing to develop their own systems, whether their goals are conventional book publication or other manifestations of literary art. Methods participants can engage include (but are not limited to) templates, document schemata, grammars, Markov processes, rule-based transformation of existing texts, simulation of characters and settings, vector-space models and word embeddings, and work with LLMs —including fine-tuning them and training them from scratch.

Edmonton’s Broad View International Film Festival is proud to present two new documentaries made by Albertan filmmakers:

SEND AND RECEIVE / 12 min / Directed by Dominique Keller 
International in scope, this short documentary explores the importance of postal workers in small communities and the relationships they form with their clients. 

Music in the Manuscripts: A Night of Readings and Songs

December 18, 7 pm, Highlands United Church

Join us for an evening celebration of three NEW books that rock to the power of song.

From carols to opera to protest songs, Edmonton authors Janice MacDonald, Gail Sidonie Šobat, and Carissa Halton will share how music inspired their stories. Readings will be punctuated by music and singing (with special guests) in the sonorous sanctuary of Highlands United Church.

Alberta Council for the Ukrainian Arts' (ACUA) presents their annual Ukrainian Christmas Market, re-imagined this season as a Night Market, featuring art, crafts, food, gifts, and Ukrainian goods, all in time for the holiday shopping season. Doors open at 4:00 p.m. and close at 8:00 p.m in their Boutique and Gallery. All ACUA Members get early shopping access at 3:00 p.m. Drinks and food will be available for sale while you're shopping.

University of Alberta Press is holding an open house and reception to welcome Director and Publisher Darcy Cullen and Acquisitions Editor Kay Rollans. 

Wednesday, December 3
3 to 5 pm. Remarks at 4 pm 
Henderson Hall | 1-17 Rutherford Library South | University of Alberta
Everyone is welcome!

https://ualbertapress.ca/events/open-house-to-welcome-director-and-publisher-darcy-cullen-and-acquisitions-editor-kay-rollans/

The Unleash WIP Award offers writers support in the amount of $500 to supplement costs to support the completion of a book-length work of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Writers will receive editorial feedback, coaching meetings, and an excerpt/interview feature in Unleash Lit. For submission details and guidelines, see the following: https://unleashpress.submittable.com/submit

Application Deadline January 28, 2026

Program Dates May 11, 2026 - May 29, 2026

The residency encourages exploration of cultural knowledge, lived experience, and creative expression in shaping stories. Deepen your understanding of different protocols and practices of storytelling from Indigenous perspectives, whilst further developing an existing work within a supportive, land-based, and peer-informed environment. Program highlights include: