It's time to close the book on the tenure of the second Regional Writer in Residence, and prepare to open a new one at the same time. It's something that makes Margaret Macpherson a bit reflective. It's been a great run, she says, and she'll miss the people.
"It has been just a fabulous experience for me," she said with a satisfied sigh. "It was the perfect combination of engaging with other people and their writing and working on the solitary pursuit of my own work."
The Metro Federation of Libraries program offers an established Edmonton area author to meet with budding writers to discuss their projects and offer guidance and mentorship on their manuscripts or other projects. The writer in residence also conducts periodic workshops for the public but still maintains her own dedicated time to write her own work equal to the time she offers to others.
The author spends four months at each of the libraries in St. Albert, Fort Saskatchewan and Sherwood Park, while a counterpart writer in residence holds fort in the Edmonton Public Library for a full year.
The first program was held in 2013 with Natasha Deen and Omar Mouallem. This year, Macpherson was joined by Jason Lee Norman at the EPL. Macpherson said that the whole experience was wonderfully productive. She logged nearly 1,000 correspondences with her clients and was instrumental in starting two writing groups, all while finishing up a solid draft of her next novel.
"This job has given me the opportunity to look at writing – many different people's writing – and the process of critiquing other people's writing has helped me reflect on my own writing. It's very strange. It's a real win-win situation for the writer-in-residence because the act of critiquing and analyzing manuscripts really helps with your own writing."
Several writers who took up the offer of Macpherson's counsel say that they found tremendous value getting her words of wisdom.
"Although I participate in a weekly writer's group, I went to see Margaret because there came a point where the feedback I needed to help me improve was beyond the collective experience of the aspiring writers in our group," began Cynthia Wandler, adding that she was exceedingly thankful for the program and especially Macpherson's guidance.
"I sought her out for her professional, in-depth critique. I have worked with Writers in Residence before but because Margaret has written in the same genre as me, her insight was particularly valuable. I feel very fortunate to be able to pick the brain of a published author for free!"
Former Gazette student journalist and CBC Radio reporter Marcie Gray added that a lot of the advice she received was about motivation and the business of writing, rather than simply how to craft a compelling story. After attending one of the writer's talks about traditional publishing, she felt reinvigorated to pull out her manuscript that had been collecting dust.
"She talked about how difficult it is to get published, but she also talked about what publishers and agents are looking for. And she made one guarantee that really hit home: if your story stays in your drawer, there's no way it's ever going to be published. So I went home and pulled my story out of my drawer – well, my laptop, really – and I sent Margaret the first few chapters."
"Margaret has provided wonderful, concrete advice. Before, I felt like I was writing in a vacuum and I had no idea if what I was writing was really working. Now I feel like I'm on a good path and I'm motivated to keep going."
Farewell and hello
To help provide a proper send-off to Macpherson and Norman, the federation is hosting an event tomorrow called Writers Take Wing: A Celebration of Emerging Authors. The two writers in residence will offer readings from their works in progress, as will six of the writers that they counselled over the past 12 months. It takes place at the Stanley Milner branch of the EPL from 7 to 8:30 p.m. More information on the program can be found on its website at www.metrowir.com.
At the end of the evening, the two new writers in residence will be announced.
Macpherson's last official day at the St. Albert Public Library is set for Dec. 18. She's looking forward to tomorrow's event to have one last chance to see the people. It was all about them, after all.
"It's really a celebration of the readers. Those people are … 'readers on the cusp of awesome'!" she emphasized. "They've really moved forward."
