Mississauga Writers Group
June 2015
Heart to Heart
collaboration for this novel, I had few places to turn to for that “sympathetic ear” and good advice.
During this time the Mississauga Writers Group (MWG), and the Writers & Editors Network
(WEN) would have been valuable allies for me, but I wasn’t aware of their existence!
Both MWG and WEN seek to promote and encourage writing in all its forms, through networking
with its diverse membership, and asking guest speakers to come and address their meetings.
Novice and experienced writers alike come away with valuable “tips and tricks” that they can use
to not only improve their writing, but also help to prepare their finished manuscript for
publication, whether by trying to “sell” it to the commercial publishers, or by self-publishing. Both
these groups produce their own electronic magazines (e-zines) and anthologies, which offer
another way for authors to have their work reach a wider readership. Exposure to the public is
everything if one is to get their work discovered, and the participation in such publications is
invaluable. This inclusion in the group’s work also gives the novice a feeling of accomplishment,
and the seasoned author gets another “notch” on their writer’s resume.
Having grown in both membership and status, MWG and WEN are now, regularly invited to local
events where they help to demonstrate the creativity flourishing within the municipality’s borders
(for MWG it’s largely Mississauga, while for WEN it’s mostly Toronto). For instance, the
Mississauga Writers Group recently attended Mississauga’s annual Jane’s Walk. It is also a regular
at the Mississauga Central Library’s literary festivals during the spring and the fall. The library has
also asked them if they would be at their up-and-coming Culture Festival this summer. This public
exposure that the writer’s group gains at such events, is good for its individual membership too,
whether it be personally meeting potential readership, gaining new membership for the group, or
just being able to sell your work at the group’s booth.
These writers groups, like writers themselves, cannot live in isolation; nor would they want to,
even if they could. Hence, groups can and sometimes do seek to cross-pollinate ideas and
experiences, whether it be through its individual membership (I am a member of both MWG and
WEN, and I know that some MWG members are also members of the Streetsville Writers Group
and others besides), or by making appearances at each other’s sessions. The Mississauga Writers
Group (MWG) meets on either the second or the third Saturday of every month (see its latest
schedule at its webpage), at the Mississauga Central Library, 2 nd floor, and has an open invitation
to the public to join them from 10:00 am until 12:00 pm. The Writers & Editors Network (WEN)
meet every third Saturday of every month except August, for a breakfast and guest speaker’s
address at the Canadiana Restaurant, Dundas and Kipling, in west Toronto. To explore each group