History of the Writer-In-Residence Program
We have had a long-standing history of hosting and funding programmes for eminent writers through the assistance of the Canada Council Author Residencies Programme. Since its early years when Writers-in-Residence Morley Callaghan and W.O. Mitchell successively nurtured a generation of Windsor writers, the Department has continued to develop residencies in innovative, responsive ways.
Diverse genres
Writers-in-Residence have included novelists (Adele Wiseman; Nino Ricci), poets (Tom Wayman; Judith Fitzgerald), playwrights (Daniel David Moses), and genre-fiction writers (Peter Robinson – crime fiction; Terry Griggs – children’s).
Canadian writers from far & wide
Writers-in-Residence have come from the west (Daphne Marlatt), the prairies (Marylin Dumont; Rosemary Nixon), the east (David French), the north (Mansel Robinson), central Canada (Margaret Christakos; Christopher Dewdney; Marlene NourbeSe Philip), and abroad (Canadian poet Alan Davies).
Writers-in-Residence initiatives & projects
We have been fortunate to have writers complete manuscripts and projects during their nine-month residency. At the end of their residencies, writers Terry Griggs and Rosemary Nixon launched new books in the city. University Players has produced plays by our Writers-in-Residence, including Brebeuf’s Ghost by Daniel David Moses, and one of the last plays by David French. In conjunction with the School of Visual Art, we facilitated an inter-media multi-person performance event with Writer-in-Residence Margaret Christakos.
