Acclaimed author Michael Winter is AU’s 2021-22 Writer in Residence

Announcements / Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

| October 1, 2021

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Michael Winter named Athabasca University’s 12th Writer in Residence

Michael Winter author photo — Michael Winter, 2021-2022 Writer in Residence

Award-winning Canadian author Michael Winter will join Athabasca University (AU) as the 2021-22 Writer in Residence.

Winter is the author of five novels, including The Architects Are Here and This All Happened, two collections of short stories, and a work of non-fiction. His work has been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, the Trillium Book Award, and the BMO Winterset Award, and has been featured in The Walrus and on CBC Radio.

As AU’s Writer in Residence, Winter will devote most of his time to writing while also serving as a resource to learners, faculty, and the writing community at large. That includes advising authors on the writing process, from manuscript to publication.

“It’s a lot of fun just to get a page from a writer and ask them a few questions,” Winter said when asked about his new role. “Like, who’s telling the story? What are the details? And, if you had to tear out one page of your manuscript, roll it up and put it in a bottle and fire it into the ocean hoping somebody would read it, what would that page be?”

Winter grew up in Newfoundland and now splits his time between there and Toronto. He teaches creative writing at the University of Guelph and previously was the Jack McClelland Writer-in-Residence at the University of Toronto. He’s also been on faculty with the Banff May Studios, taught creative writing at the University of New Orleans summer program in Madrid, Spain, and has served as a juror for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

In 2008, Winter won the Writers’ Trust Notable Author Award in honour of his body of work. His most recent book, Into the Blizzard, sets out to retrace the steps of the Newfoundland Regiment during the First World War. It was nominated for the RBC Taylor Prize.

Stay tuned for more announcements about the 2021-22 Writer in Residence, including featured talks, question-and-answer opportunities, and contest giveaways!