Journeys into the page: how (imaginary) travelling & movement can inspire & nurture your writing |

If you ever happen to be in British Columbia in May, find a way to reach Salmon Arm, in the Thompson Okanagan region, for the “Word on the Lake Literary Festival” (May 8-10). Salmon Arm has been ranked as the best place to live in B.C. and the sixth-best place to live in Canada by Maclean’s magazine.

On May 9, I will be giving this workshop: “Journeys into the page: how (imaginary) travelling & movement can inspire and nurture your writing”. Here is a brief description of what we will be working on:

Travel is commonly associated with exploration, adventure, stories of growth, and personal transformation. Most of the great writers of all times have tried their hand at or honed their skill through travel-based writing. In this highly interactive workshop, we will discover why this is so by taking you on a journey through memorable stories (of past masters) and highly personal experiences (yours).

Expect to be asked many questions and to have to write your answers in short, fast paragraphs. At the end of the workshop, expect to have developed a mental map of your own creative writing mind and of the reasons why it functions at its best once you have really or virtually left the comfort of home.

https://wordonthelakewritersfestival.com/sessions/journeys-into-the-page

Arianna Dagnino’s cultural and professional experience crosses many borders and five continents. Born in Genoa, Italy, she studied in London, Moscow and Boston before entering journalism and international reporting, which led her to spend several years in Southern Africa and Australia and travel across China and the Middle East.

She has published books – both in Italian and English – of fiction and creative nonfiction, as well as on the effects of digital technologies and global mobility.

Her newly-published novel The Afrikaner (Guernica Editions, Toronto, 2019) is an on-the-road tale set between South Africa and Namibia that covers the terrains of love, race and science. Arianna holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of South Australia currently teaches Italian literature and film adaptation at the University of British Columbia; together with her colleague Dr. Ernest Mathijs she has just finished writing a film script based on her novel.