Support your creativity: Take part in a HeartWork Session
HeartWork Sessions
Welcome to the HeartWork Sessions, an exploration space for writers and readers. HeartWork is a place where you can dive deeper into your life and writing journey.
Are you manuscript curious? From a writer’s earliest inclinations of preparing their work, through to manuscript development, editorial, sales & marketing, and preparing to publish, PSP meets you where you are, and navigates you through the publishing process
—every step of the way.
Developed and guided by Pownal Street Press founders, the HeartWork sessions will also include writing courses and workshops by Pownal Street authors, on the topics which our books bring to you.
Delivered both online and in person, HeartWork aims to be an inclusive environment for writers of all ages, stages, and pages. Our sessions, taking place throughout the year, will offer a variety of tones, atmospheres, and themes, from how to get started on a book project, to how to finish that very last chapter of your memoir.
For writers, the HeartWork sessions can help you plan, build the outlines, and out set the scenes that will begin to define your book.
For readers, our personal inquiry sessions are led by our authors and facilitated by Pownal Street Press to deepen our readers’ connection to self.
The sessions are built around various themes and deal with the topics found on Pownal Street Press’s bookshelf: from building healthy relationships, to instituting a mindfulness practice, or learning how to start a grief journal.
HeartWork Session 1.0
Bringing Your Book to Life
Over the course of our work bringing books to life, we’ve noticed that the place writers get stuck the most is not the middle or the end—it’s the beginning! You have a great idea for a book, but what comes next?
If you are a writer struggling to get started, these introductory sessions may be just right for you. Join Writer and Editor Maureen Duffy and Publisher Genevieve Loughlin as they help you build the dreamscape of your memoir or poetry book. Chapter by chapter, word by word, you will see your manuscript come to life!
With these four 1.0 sessions, HeartWork takes you inside a writer’s mind, and offers you the invitation to tap into your creative self. With practical advice from how to set goals for your writing and maintaining your way through the chapters, HeartWork aims to give our writers a community of people to cheer you on as you meet your goals of developing your first manuscript. Participants will gain insider knowledge from PSP’s founders on publishing your work. This is your opportunity to learn from an experienced team and gain insights on how to move your writing career forward. Through our online campus, you will connect with like-minded writers, and develop friendships and collaborations with a community of authors dedicated to their craft.
Course Goals:
Hook, Line & Sinker
Thursday, January 23rd, 11:30–1:00pm EST
During this session, we think big about your idea. Books are often described on the back in a short paragraph, but to do this, you have to distill your thoughts. In this session we move from the “big picture” to bite-sized chunks. More manageable, right? Poetry or essay? In this session, we talk tone, mood, and atmosphere, then dig into the meat of our content—theme.
Building Your Frame
Thursday, January 30th, 11:30–1:00 pm EST
This session explores the development of your book’s structure. It can be helpful to think of a book as seasons of the year. When we build an outline, we begin to slot in the topics into weeks and months. With the narrative arc in mind, we will begin to build the table of contents (whether or not we use it in the end!). Introductions, forewords, author’s notes, dedications, epigraphs, and afterwords should all be considered in a work of nonfiction. Come ready to put the pieces of your work together.
Free Write & Office Hours
Thursday, February 6, 11:30–1:00 pm EST
With often busy schedules, this third section is meant to be a catch-up for your own thought process and creativity centre. If you have a question for Mo on the writing process or Genevieve on the publishing process, we are happy to host an “office hours” session for writers to ask us questions in a private zoom room. Writers are asked to sign up in advance for these private Q&As, and they will be limited to 10 minutes each.
The End of the Beginning
Thursday, February 13th, 11:30–1:00 pm EST
By now, your book should be shaping up in your mind. “The End of the Beginning” deals with how to build a successful writing practice, from finding an accountability partner (gym buddy) to sharing a Google calendar, scheduling writing updates together, and reading each other’s work. Weekly goals, monthly goals, book coaches, ghostwriters, and editorial deadlines can all come into play now.
Includes:
- R6 weeks of access to PSP Slack Online Campus
- R4 live 90-minute sessions (recordings will be provided if you can’t meet in person)
- RWeekly writing prompts, exercises, and encouragement are provided in Slack
Option to add a 60-minute 1:1 session with the Editorial Director ($150 CDN + HST) *session to be booked before end of your HeartWork session.
Investment:
$450 CDN + HST – 2 payments of $225
About Pownal Street Press
We provide end-to-end support for nonfiction and picture book clients, and partner with authors to create distinct books that serve their own markets, all the while working with our distributors to offer retail sales distribution to our customer base, whether that’s in Canada or in the US.
Mo Duffy
Mo Duffy (she/her) is the Co-Founder and Editorial Director of Pownal Street Press. After teaching English Language Arts for ten years, she received her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction in 2015, and is the author of Unpacked: from PEI to Palawan (Pottersfield Press, 2017), The Chemistry of Innovation: Regis Duffy and the Story of DCL (Island Studies Press, 2021), Crescent Moon Friends (Acorn Press, 2022), and A is for Anne (2023). Her work has been featured in The Globe and Mail, Montreal Writes, Write Magazine, Literary Mama, The Malahat Review, and Atlantic Books Today. Mo is currently working on her next nonfiction collection, Radiant White Light, and lives in beautiful Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Genevieve Loughlin
Genevieve Loughlin (she/her) is the Co-Founder and Publisher of Pownal Street Press. A graduate of the Masters of Publishing program at Simon Fraser, Genevieve has worked in the publishing industry for over two decades. She began her career in the marketing department of Raincoast Books during the Harry Potter years and moved on to be an award-winning sales representative for Canadian and international publishers for the Atlantic and Ottawa Valley regions. Genevieve now calls Charlottetown her home and is passionate about creating beautiful books.
Ready to Take the Leap? Join the HeartWork Community Today and Turn Your Writing Dreams into Reality.
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Cancellation Policy
All registration fees are payable at the time of registration by credit card. In some cases participants may have the option to do a payment plan.
- We are able to provide a full refund of registration fees if you cancel at least one week prior to the start date of the workshop.
- We are able to provide a 50% refund of registration fees if you cancel within one week of the start date of the workshop.
- We are unable to provide a refund in any amount for a cancellation made on or after the start date of the workshop.