2025 is the 10th year of Writes of Spring. Over 100 poems by Manitoba writers have appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press, sharing their vision of who we are and where we live.
To celebrate, this year there will be NO THEME. That’s right, you can submit a short poem on ANY THEME. As long as it’s short!
Ariel Gordon will be joined by Plume Winnipeg’s Charlene Diehl as co-editor to properly celebrate this milestone.
We are open to any interpretation of this theme.
Here are some basic reminders:
- – You must be a Manitoba resident to submit;
- – You may submit up to five previously-unpublished poems IN ONE DOCUMENT, in English or French. Each poem must be a maximum of 25 lines, but the shorter the better;
- – You must provide a short bio (30 words or less);
- – By submitting to Writes of Spring, you are agreeing to be photographed, have your work published in the Winnipeg Free Press on April 26, and perform at a Writes of Spring launch at McNally Robinson Booksellers on April 27 at 2:00 pm;
- – 12 poems will be selected. (We always get more submissions than we can use. But if you don’t succeed this year, keep writing and submit again next year!);
- – Selected poets will receive $75. This year’s artists’s fees will be generously supported by the Winnipeg Arts Council;
- – The deadline to submit is March 30, 2025.
Writes of Spring is committed to a diversity of voices: emerging, PoC, urban, spoken word, Indigenous, established, rural, Black, 2SLGBTQ+, newcomers, and page poets.
Questions? Please contact WritesofSpring@thinairwinnipeg.ca
Ariel Gordon (she/her) is a Winnipeg/Treaty 1 territory-based writer, editor, and enthusiast. She is the ringleader of Writes of Spring and poetry editor for eco-journal The Goose. Her most recent book of poems is Siteseeing: Writing nature & climate change across the prairies (At Bay Press, 2023), written in collaboration with Saskatchewan poet Brenda Schmidt and nominated for a Saskatchewan Book Award.
Charlene Diehl is a writer, editor, performer, former English professor, and the long-time Director of Plume Winnipeg, the literary programming hub in Winnipeg. She has published poetry, essays, reviews, and a memoir, Out of Grief, Singing: a memoir of motherhood and loss. She co-edited a jazz magazine for a dozen years and is the producer of the Izzy Asper Jazz Performances. In 2019, she was honoured with the Winnipeg Arts Council’s Making a Difference Award for her contributions to the local arts community.