Ian Roy is a writer, screen printer, and educator. His work has appeared in numerous magazines and journals, including The Antigonish Review, Arc, Geist, Long Con Magazine, Maisonneuve, and The New Quarterly. His essay, "Have a Good Life, originally published in The New Quarterly, was included in The Best Canadian Essays 2026 anthology. Ian is the author of six books, including the short story collection, People Leaving, which was short-listed for both the City of Ottawa Book Award and the Upper Canada Writers’ Craft Award. His other books include a collaborative art-book (The Longest Winter), a poetry collection (Red Bird), another story collection (Meticulous, Sad and Lonely), and a novel for children called The Girl Who Could Fly. Astrid, Aghast, Ian's most recent book, is a collection of stories published by Gaspereau Press in 2026. Ian lives in Canada.
In this presentation I discuss literary process: where we, as artists and writers go looking for material, how we manipulate that material and turn it into fiction.
In this workshop, Ian Roy will walk you through the life of a short story: from that first spark of an image or idea, to writing the first draft—and the second and third and possibly fourth—and then on to the crucial editing stage. By closely reading stories and passages from some of the masters of the short story—Anton Chekhov! Alice Munro! Gabriel Garcia Marquez! Kathleen Collins! George Saunders! Lydia Davis! And more!—the participants of this workshop will explore all the elements that go into making a story a story.
Ian will also discuss the logistics of what comes after the story is written: from submitting stories to magazines and journals to applying for literary grants and residencies. Instruction, advice, personal anecdotes! This workshop has it all!
The idea of writing a whole book can be intimidating, but starting off with one story—or one chapter—can make it a lot more manageable. In this workshop, we walk through the process of writing one story: from the first creative spark of an idea, to that final (final!) draft.
