Nationally bestselling, award-winning author Donna Morrissey joins Laurier community for winter 2023

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Photo of a Laurier campus building
Photo of a Laurier campus building
Photo by Sadiya Teeple

Acclaimed writer, Donna Morrissey, is Laurierโ€™s Edna Staebler Writer-in-Residence for the winter 2023 term.ย ย 

โ€œShe’s kind of a force of nature, this funny and fascinating kind of woman who has emerged on the Canadian Literature writing scene like she was shot out of a cannon,โ€ said Tanis MacDonald, Associate Professor in the faculty of English and Film studies and member of the Writer-in-Residence committee.  

The Writer-in-Residence program was  established through a bequest from the late Canadian writer, Edna Staebler. 

โ€œEvery year, a committee chooses a working writer to come and spend ten weeks at Laurier and they are the Writer-in-Residence,โ€ said MacDonald. โ€œThe idea there is that a writer receives an opportunity to come to Waterloo and work with Laurier students and writers in the community.โ€  

The chosen writer in residence functions within two fields.  

โ€œThe responsibilities are to spend 60 per cent of their time writing their own work, this is absolutely what Edna Staebler wanted โ€ฆ 40 per cent of the time they do things in the community,โ€ said MacDonald. โ€œItโ€™s different from being a professor, theyโ€™re not teaching โ€ฆ they are not grading the students, they are talking with them like a writing professional.โ€  

From Canadaโ€™s East Coast, Morrissey is a multiple-award winning author of seven novels and two screenplays.

I just want everybody to have real, hands-on tools that they can use when theyโ€™re doing their own writing โ€“ because everything that I am going to talk about and teach is directly applicable, you can go home and just start applying it.

Donna Morrissey

โ€œ[The Writer-in-Residence program] is a great resource and I really encourage everyone to come and talk to Donna โ€ฆ I think she’s a really good person to talk to about the possibilities there are to be a writer,โ€ said MacDonald.  

Morrissey will stay in Waterloo for the duration of the residence.  

โ€œI really want to experience Ontario and to be in the university setting around students because next to writing, teaching is what I love best, so this was a perfect program for me,โ€ said Morrissey.  

Throughout the term at Laurier, Morrissey will adhere within the two fields of responsibility.  

โ€œIโ€™m excited to start [the] new work that this program is allowing me to do. It is giving me time and a place to write,โ€ said Morrissey. โ€œThe goal for me is to really become involved in this new novel that Iโ€™m starting, I want to get a real firm grip onto this book.โ€  

Morrissey also touched on involvement concerning the Laurier student body.  

โ€œIโ€™m excited to put on some workshops, do some readings and introduce my work,โ€ Morrissey said.  

โ€œI just want everybody to have real, hands-on tools that they can use when theyโ€™re doing their own writing โ€“ because everything that I am going to talk about and teach is directly applicable, you can go home and just start applying it.โ€ย 

Resources provided by the writer in residence are available university wide. โ€œIt is really a resource for anyone in the university who is interested in writing,โ€ said MacDonald.  

Morrisseyโ€™s residence will begin on Jan. 16, 2023.  

โ€œBe kind. Iโ€™m a little shy โ€ฆ Iโ€™m in your hood so please greet me with a smile,โ€ said Morrissey .  

โ€œIโ€™m just really excited to come and to be there โ€ฆ just to be in the university atmosphere again. Itโ€™s inspiring to even be thinking about it,โ€ said Morrissey. 

More information on the Writer-in-Residence program can be found on the university’s website. 

โ€œโ€ฆI would tell students in finding out a little bit more about the program, [Morrissey is] going to be giving a public talk, weโ€™ll be holding a reception for Donna on January 26,โ€ said MacDonald.


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