Thank you to everyone that joined us for the 2022 Fiction Course!
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2022 Fiction Course
Facilitated by Yasuko Thanh
Location: Online delivery
Dates: July 4 – 14, 2022
This is a facilitated course for six writers who have acquired and moved beyond basic skills in short or long fiction, who have published in periodicals, and who seek further development. The Fiction Course focuses on works in progress and offers group discussions and critiques, writing time, and individual critiques. Application is open to writers 19 years of age and older from Canada and abroad.
Application
Applicants will need to provide:
- Applicant information
- Emergency contact information
- $25 Application Fee (payable by e-Transfer, Visa / MasterCard, or cheque)
- Optional: A letter of intent towards a bursary or scholarship
- A brief letter outlining your writing project, including:
- Goals
- Where you are in your process
- How you would work on your project while at Sage Hill
- Any other pertinent information
- 12-page sample of your writing including:
- Five pages published
- Seven pages of work-in-progress that you’d like to develop at Sage Hill
- Your literary CV
Note:
- Writing samples up to the page requirement will be reviewed by the jury. Pages in excess will not be reviewed.
- Please combine all documents into one file to upload with the online application form.
- PDF and Microsoft Word documents are accepted.
- If you have trouble when attaching your application materials to the online form, please contact us.
Adjudication process:
All applications go through a competitive, independent peer jury process to maintain a high level of artistic merit in programs. Jury members weigh applications against a rubric of set criteria to assess the quality of writing and readiness for the experience.
Acceptance is determined by:
- Quality of work submitted
- Project description
- Experience and ability to carry out the proposed project
- Literary CV and publication history
- Which applicants would most benefit from attending Sage Hill at this point in their development
This adjudication process is usually completed about four weeks after the application deadline. You will be contacted with results after the jury has come forward with its decision.
Tuition
Online-delivery tuition: $595
What is covered?
- 10-day writing retreat as part of a small group, led by program faculty
- 1-on-1 conferences and course time with your instructor
- Critical feedback on writing submissions
- Courses and discussions on the craft of writing
- Private online meeting spaces for 1-on-1 instruction and workshops
- Access to programmed online readings and events
- Invitation to online social activities with other writers
When to make a payment:
After the jury has reviewed applications, you will be notified via email to let you know whether or not you have been accepted. You can make a payment once you have received your acceptance email.
Cancellation Policy:
- There will be a $100 cancellation fee if you withdraw after payment is made.
- If you cancel 14 days or more prior to start date: 50% of funds returned.
- If you cancel 7 days prior to retreat start date: 25% of funds returned.
- Cancellations within one week of program start dates are non-refundable. However, if it is possible to fill the spot in time, some refund may be available.
- Please note that credit card processing fees are non-refundable.
Refunds for COVID-related cancellations will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Sage Hill reserves the right to cancel upcoming or in-process programs due to COVID-related health and safety issues or mandates. If a program must be cancelled, payment will be refunded accordingly.
Payment options:
Interac e-Transfer
Interac e-Transfers can be sent to sage.hill@sasktel.net.
Cheque
Cheques can be made out to “Sage Hill Writing” and sent to: 324-1831 College Ave, Regina SK, S4P 4V5
Visa / Mastercard
Visa and Mastercard payments can be made through our website. If you need assistance, please contact us.
Please note that tuition paid by Visa or Mastercard is subject to a 3.4% processing charge.
Online schedule elements
- Classes usually meet for 1 to 2 hours each day.
- Sessions will likely take place in the late morning / early afternoon, to accommodate the various time zones of the writers taking each course.
- Each writer will also have 1-on-1 sessions scheduled with their instructor throughout the program.
- Faculty and participant readings, as well as other social activities, will take place at 5 pm CST.
- Other optional activities will be scheduled around class times.
- With online retreats, we understand that writers may continue to have responsibilities at home. We’ve found that the more time writers put into the program, including time set aside for personal writing and working with feedback received on their writing, the more they get out of the experience!
Yasuko Thanh

Yasuko Thanh is an award-winning novelist and short-story writer from Vancouver Island. She won the 2009 Journey Prize for the title story in her collection Floating Like the Dead. Her first novel, Mysterious Fragrance of the Yellow Mountains, a historical tale set in Vietnam, won the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize in 2016. Her best-selling memoir, Mistakes to Run With, reflects on her journey from a runaway to prostitute to a successful writer. She lives in Victoria with her daughter. Her latest novel To the Bridge, about a woman whose teenage daughter has attempted suicide, is forthcoming with Penguin Random House in 2023.
