Carol Shields Writer-in-Residence Program

Welcome Sharon Bala!

The English Department is thrilled to announce that Sharon Bala will be the 2025 Carol Shields Writer-in-Residence (online) from February 24 to March 21.

Sharon Bala's best-selling debut novel, The Boat People, won the 2020 Newfoundland & Labrador Book Award and the 2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, was short listed for several awards, and is in translation in four languages. She won the Writers' Trust/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize in 2017. Her short fiction has been published in: Best Canadian Stories 2024, The Journey Prize 29, Hazlitt, Grain, PRISM international, The New Quarterly, Maisonneuve, and elsewhere. Sharon is a member of The Port Authority, a St. John's writing group. Visit her at sharonbala.com.

Emerging writers, students, and community members are encouraged to reach out to Sharon at sh.bala@uwinnipeg.ca for a free consultation about their writing during her residency.

Inaugural Reading and Q&A with the 2025 Carol Shields Writer-in-Residence Sharon Bala

Carol Shields Memorial Lecture: Wednesday, March 19 | 12:30-1:20 p.m.
– Hosted by Jenny Heijun Wills

With an aim to enlighten and amuse, this light-hearted lecture explores the cultural and geographical influences that have shaped the English language. 

Manuscript Evaluations/Consultations: February 25-March 20, 2025

Please fill out the Google form to request a 50-minute online appointment with Sharon Bala

UWinnipeg students, staff, faculty and alumni have priority registration. Residents of Manitoba may also schedule an appointment if there is availability.

If you are not ready to submit a manuscript, Sharon is also available to meet about the broader aspects of writing and publishing. CW/English students are strongly encouraged to schedule an appointment.

Once you submit your form, please wait 48 hours before following up: sh.bala@uwinnipeg.ca