This workshop was held at the University of Western Ontario, October 19, 2009. Organized by Adam Crymble and Jay Young.

Op-Ed Reading Groups

Group A - Dr. MacEachern, James Reaney
Group B - Dr. Vance, Adam Crymble

Schedule

Download the workshop schedule (pdf) - includes campus and London maps.

View the original workshop announcement

Venue

Monday, Oct. 19, 2009 - London, Ontario - Social Science Centre, Rm. 9420 (Dean's Office)

Hotel

Hotel Check-in (for those who required accommodation)
Windermere Manor
200 Collip Circle, London, ON
Tel: 519-858-1391
http://www.windermeremanor.com/

Mini Assignments

In addition to the brief readings, please complete the following short assignments by the dates outlined below. Since the workshop is only one day and we hope to cover a lot of material, coming prepared will help maximize the learning opportunities for everyone.

1) Op-Ed Piece
Write a 500 word “Op-Ed” (opinion piece) on a topic of your choosing. Try to write about something related to your research, broad field of study, or experience in academia. Email the piece to acrymbl@uwo.ca by Friday October 16. Submissions will be sent out to select participants who are asked to read them over prior to the workshop. During the workshop your op-ed will be critiqued in small groups. Take a look at the posted readings before you begin. Come with an idea of a suitable newspaper who might be interested in your piece.

2) Article Ideas
Come prepared with three (3) ideas that you might be able to turn into a brief magazine or newspaper article. The idea should be based on your research, broad field of study or experience in academia where possible. For each idea you should be able to explain it clearly to a stranger in under 15 seconds, including why it's interesting / important / timely and why you're qualified to write about the idea. One of the three ideas may be on the same topic as your Op-Ed piece, but you should focus on how and why you should make the idea bigger.

Readings

All readings can be found freely online. The more you read before the workshop the more you will get out of the experience. They're all 2 pages or less and they're all practical.

Background

• Jodee Redmond. "Rejection: A Fact of Freelance Writing." Freelance Writing Jobs
• Jodee Redmond. You Have a Full Plate: Do You Still Look for Work? Freelance Writing Jobs

Op-Eds

Press Releases

Magazine / Newspaper Query

Participants

• Adam Crymble - NiCHE
• Jay Young - York University, History
• Sean Graham - University of Ottawa, History
• Ian Mosby - York University, History
• Ryan O'Connor - University of Western Ontario, History
• Terry Wilde - York University, History
• Christopher Stuart Taylor - University of Western Ontario, History & Migration and Ethnic Relations
• Pat Bowley - University of Guelph, History
• Ian Milligan - York University, History
• Thomas Peace - York University, History
• Natasha Regehr - Trent University, English
• Christine McLaughlin - York University, History
• Jeremy Marks - University of Western Ontario, Geography
• Lois Fenton - University of Western Ontario, Public History
• Josh MacFadyen - University of Guelph, History
• Natasha Moulton - McMaster University, History

Writer's Guild

Many members elected to join the Writer's Guild, a group which continues to promote the popular publishing aspirations of its members.