Writer in Residence - Allan Stratton

Thanks to Elsa Ngan who organized the fantastic Young Writers conference at the North York Public Library. After a great continental breakfast of fresh fruit, muffins and juice, the young writers and mentors settled in to a day of stimulating workshops. I was lucky to have two groups of extremely talented and hardworking writers; we shared writing problems and the various solutions we've each discovered. It's always amazing to me to know that no matter what age we are the same issues keep recurring.

One of the best things about the conference is the knowledge that there are so many others who share our passion for creating worlds and people on paper. Seeing the young wqriters sharing strories and ideas with each other over an equally fine lunch was perhaps the most inspiring part of the day for me.

Writing. What a miracle — creating squiggles of ink on paper that become human beings in our imaginations, able to make us laugh and cry!