JOIN THE TEAM!
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
When Words Collide 2025 - August 15-17, 2025
Call for volunteers for When Words Collide will come out in early April. For more information about the festival please visit: www.whenwordscollide.org
Call for volunteers for When Words Collide will come out in early April. For more information about the festival please visit: www.whenwordscollide.org
Employment Opportunities
PROGRAM DIRECTOR - FEATURE INITIATIVES
Full-Time – Flexible - Salary Range: $30,000 to $35,000
Projected Start Date – early to mid-May.
Job Posted April 3, 2025
The Alexandra Writers' Centre Society (AWCS) is seeking an enthusiastic and creative Program Director – Feature Initiatives to join our team. Reporting to the Executive Director this role is instrumental in ensuring the growth and development of the literary arts in Alberta, while supporting new, emerging and professional writers in all genres across the country.
The ideal candidate will have demonstrated event planning and/or program development and execution experience. They must be a clear communicator, proficient in Word and Excel, be organized, and have considerable knowledge of the literary arts in Alberta and Canada.
Key Responsibilities
The Program Director – Feature Initiatives is responsible for the organization and implementation of key annual programs and events hosted by the AWCS. This role primarily involves overseeing the development and execution of the When Words Collide Festival, Author Development Program, Writer in Residence Program, Annual Writers' Retreat, and other relevant activities that may arise (eg. Word on the Street, cSpace Showcase Events, and other member-related and community events). Working under the direction of the Executive Director, the Program Director – Feature Initiatives focuses on program development, collaboration, ensuring efficient program delivery, administrative, and marketing tasks where appropriate.
This position is primarily remote, with occasional in-office work and event attendance required. Some evenings and weekends may be required.
Key Attributes of the Successful Candidate
Benefits
The Alexandra Writers' Centre Society is committed to reflecting the diversity of our community. We believe in equality and inclusion and strongly encourage submissions from all qualified individuals regardless of gender, age, race, sexual orientation, and physical ability. If you require accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know in the application.
Due to the competitive nature of this role and anticipated volume of applications, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
Please send your cover letter and resume/CV to the attention of Executive Director, Robin van Eck (she/her) [email protected]
Applications will be accepted until the right candidate is found.
Projected Start Date – early to mid-May.
Job Posted April 3, 2025
The Alexandra Writers' Centre Society (AWCS) is seeking an enthusiastic and creative Program Director – Feature Initiatives to join our team. Reporting to the Executive Director this role is instrumental in ensuring the growth and development of the literary arts in Alberta, while supporting new, emerging and professional writers in all genres across the country.
The ideal candidate will have demonstrated event planning and/or program development and execution experience. They must be a clear communicator, proficient in Word and Excel, be organized, and have considerable knowledge of the literary arts in Alberta and Canada.
Key Responsibilities
The Program Director – Feature Initiatives is responsible for the organization and implementation of key annual programs and events hosted by the AWCS. This role primarily involves overseeing the development and execution of the When Words Collide Festival, Author Development Program, Writer in Residence Program, Annual Writers' Retreat, and other relevant activities that may arise (eg. Word on the Street, cSpace Showcase Events, and other member-related and community events). Working under the direction of the Executive Director, the Program Director – Feature Initiatives focuses on program development, collaboration, ensuring efficient program delivery, administrative, and marketing tasks where appropriate.
This position is primarily remote, with occasional in-office work and event attendance required. Some evenings and weekends may be required.
Key Attributes of the Successful Candidate
- Experience in event and conference planning and execution.
- Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines.
- Strong understanding of social media platforms, marketing tools such as MailChimp and engagement strategies, website organization and content writing.
- Be able to lead a team or programming committee.
- Excellent writing/communication skills.
- Above average knowledge of Word and Excel
- Experience in content creation tools such as Canva.
- A passion for the literary arts and understanding of the AWCS community as well as the broader communities in Calgary, Alberta and Canada.
- Able to work evenings and weekends as required for events.
- Work well alone and as a team.
Benefits
- Starting salary $30,000 to $35,000 depending on experience (based on an average 32 hours per week)
- Part of a passionate team of writers and creatives dedicated to elevating new, emerging, and professional writers and promoting the literary arts across the country.
- Employee health benefits after 3 months, plus mental health and sick days.
- Professional development opportunities
- Flexible work schedule
- Staff discounts on programs and events.
The Alexandra Writers' Centre Society is committed to reflecting the diversity of our community. We believe in equality and inclusion and strongly encourage submissions from all qualified individuals regardless of gender, age, race, sexual orientation, and physical ability. If you require accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know in the application.
Due to the competitive nature of this role and anticipated volume of applications, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
Please send your cover letter and resume/CV to the attention of Executive Director, Robin van Eck (she/her) [email protected]
Applications will be accepted until the right candidate is found.
SESSIONAL INSTRUCTORS NEEDED | CONTRACT BASIS | ONGOING
AWCS Programming Cycle
Winter Term - January to March
Spring Term - April to June
Summer Term - July and August
Fall Term - September to December
Winter Term - January to March
Spring Term - April to June
Summer Term - July and August
Fall Term - September to December
WE ARE CURRENTLY ACCEPTING COURSE/WORKSHOP PROPOSALS FOR OUR SUMMER & FALL 2025 TERMS
For ONLINE classes, instructors MUST be comfortable using the Zoom video conferencing platform for online class delivery. AWCS will provide instructors with a username and password to access the complete (paid) version of the program.
Most in-person classes will take place at the Alexandra Writers’ Centre in Calgary, however, we are accepting proposals from Edmonton and Lethbridge instructors. If you have a venue already in mind, that would be helpful. If not, we have some connections.
Please feel free to submit as many proposals as you would like. If something doesn’t fit in one term, it might fit in the next.
We are looking for proposals for the following:
We are always in need of:
We are always open to fresh and innovative ideas, sometimes we even come up with them ourselves. If you have something outside these formats that you have tried or would like to try, please feel free to send them our way. You never know. It might be exactly what we were looking for and we didn't even know it.
TO MAKE IT AS EASY AS POSSIBLE FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED, THE IDEAL PROPOSALS WILL INCLUDE:
Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have. We are always looking for new writing instructors—If you know anyone who may be interested in teaching for the AWCS, send them our way!
Send your proposals and/or questions to Robin van Eck [email protected]
We are always looking for new writing instructors—If you know anyone who may be interested in teaching for the AWCS, send them our way!
For ONLINE classes, instructors MUST be comfortable using the Zoom video conferencing platform for online class delivery. AWCS will provide instructors with a username and password to access the complete (paid) version of the program.
Most in-person classes will take place at the Alexandra Writers’ Centre in Calgary, however, we are accepting proposals from Edmonton and Lethbridge instructors. If you have a venue already in mind, that would be helpful. If not, we have some connections.
Please feel free to submit as many proposals as you would like. If something doesn’t fit in one term, it might fit in the next.
We are looking for proposals for the following:
- Micro-workshops (2-3 hours in length max)
- Multi-Week Classes (these classes can be 2-3 hours in length and may run from 4-12 weeks) Daytime or evening classes.
- One-Day Workshops or Weekend Intensives (4-5 hours per day)
We are always in need of:
- memoir with workshopping included. (preferred weekly)
- general creative nonfiction and personal essays (preferred weekly)
- novel courses, short story courses or general fiction courses. (preferred weekly)
- poetry - April is poetry month so send lots.
- Genre specific courses – science fiction/fantasy, psychological thriller/horror, romance, historical fiction, dystopian/near future
- Submitting – including query letters and synopses
- Short craft-based workshops (character development, setting/world building, POV, voice, dialogue, showing vs telling and so much more)
- Creative exploration and word generation.
We are always open to fresh and innovative ideas, sometimes we even come up with them ourselves. If you have something outside these formats that you have tried or would like to try, please feel free to send them our way. You never know. It might be exactly what we were looking for and we didn't even know it.
TO MAKE IT AS EASY AS POSSIBLE FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED, THE IDEAL PROPOSALS WILL INCLUDE:
- Class Title
- Class Blurb/description (not sure what a blurb should look like, please see what we are currently offering.)
- Class Length (number of weeks/hours per class)
- Online or in-person delivery Days and Times available (please give multiple options)
- Instructor Bio
Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have. We are always looking for new writing instructors—If you know anyone who may be interested in teaching for the AWCS, send them our way!
Send your proposals and/or questions to Robin van Eck [email protected]
We are always looking for new writing instructors—If you know anyone who may be interested in teaching for the AWCS, send them our way!
