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2025 Poetry Course

Facilitator Michael Trussler

Location: Online Delivery

Dates: July 30 – July 9, 2025

This is a facilitated, online course for eight poets who have published some work and are working towards manuscript completion. The course offers a small group context; focus will be on writing time, individual critiques, and on group discussions dealing with technical, philosophical, or conceptual issues in contemporary poetry. Application is open to writers 19 years of age and older from Canada and abroad.

Application

Applicants will need to provide:
  • Applicant information
  • Emergency contact information
  • $30 Application Fee (payable by e-Transfer, Visa / MasterCard, or cheque)
  • Optional: A letter of intent towards a bursary or scholarship
  • A brief letter outlining your writing project, including:
    • Goals
    • Where you are in your process
    • How you would work on your project while at Sage Hill
    • Any other pertinent information
  • 12-page sample of your writing including:
    • Five pages published
    • Seven pages of work-in-progress that you’d like to develop at Sage Hill
  • Your literary CV

Note:

  • Writing samples up to the page requirement will be reviewed by the jury. Pages in excess will not be reviewed.
  • Please combine all documents into one file to upload with the online application form.
  • PDF and Microsoft Word documents are accepted.
  • If you have trouble when attaching your application materials to the online form, please contact us.
Adjudication process:

All applications go through a competitive, independent peer jury process to maintain a high level of artistic merit in programs. Jury members weigh applications against a rubric of set criteria to assess the quality of writing and readiness for the experience.

Acceptance is determined by:

  • Quality of work submitted
  • Project description
  • Experience and ability to carry out the proposed project
  • Literary CV and publication history
  • Which applicants would most benefit from attending Sage Hill at this point in their development

This adjudication process is usually completed about four weeks after the application deadline. You will be contacted with results after the jury has come forward with its decision.

Tuition

Application Fee: $30
Online Program Tuition: $845

What is covered?

  • 10-day writing retreat as part of a small group, led by program faculty
  • 1-on-1 conferences and course time with your instructor
  • Critical feedback on writing submissions
  • Courses and discussions on the craft of writing
  • Private online meeting spaces for 1-on-1 instruction and workshops
  • Access to programmed online readings and events
  • Invitation to online social activities with other writers

When and how to make a payment:

After the jury has reviewed applications, you will be notified via email to let you know whether or not you have been accepted. You can make a payment once you have received your acceptance email.

Tuition payments can be made by:

  • E-transfer to sage.hill@sasktel.net (preferred)
  • Cheque mailed to: Sage Hill Writing, 324 – 1831 College Ave., Regina, SK, S4P 4V5
  • Visa or Mastercard (no Amex) by calling 306-537-7243. Please note that credit card payments are subject to a 2.4% processing fee.

Cancellation Policy:

  • There will be a $100 cancellation fee if you withdraw after accepting a spot in a course.
  • If you cancel 14 days or more prior to start date: 50% of tuition is due to Sage Hill. If your tuition has been paid, we will issue a refund of the amount paid less 50% of the total tuition amount.
  • If you cancel 7 days prior to retreat start date: 75% of tuition is due to Sage Hill. If your tuition has been paid, we will issue a refund of the amount paid less 75% of the total tuition amount.
  • Cancellations within one week of program start dates are non-refundable. However, if it is possible to fill your spot in the program, some refund will be available. 
  • Please note that credit card processing fees are non-refundable.

Refunds for COVID-related cancellations will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Sage Hill reserves the right to cancel upcoming or in-process programs due to COVID-related health and safety issues or mandates. If a program must be cancelled, payment will be refunded accordingly.

Online schedule elements

  • Classes usually meet for 1 to 2 hours each day.
  • Sessions will likely take place in the late morning / early afternoon, to accommodate the various time zones of the writers taking each course. 
  • Each writer will have 1-on-1 sessions scheduled with their instructor throughout the program.
  • With online retreats, we understand that writers may continue to have responsibilities at home. We’ve found that the more time writers put into the program, including time set aside for personal writing and working with feedback received on their writing, the more they get out of the experience!

Michael Trussler

Michael Trussler writes primarily poetry and creative non-fiction. His work has been anthologized both domestically and internationally. He has received Saskatchewan Book Awards for poetry, non-fiction and short stories. His memoir concerning mental illness, The Sunday Book, was published by Palimpsest Press in 2022. Two poetry collections have recently appeared: Rare Sighting of a Guillotine on the Savannah (Mansfield Press, 2021) and The History Forest (University of Regina Press, 2022). Radiant Press and Icehouse Press will be publishing the poetry collections Realia and 10:10 respectively in 2024. All of his work engages with the beauty and violence of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, though his most recent writing specifically explores what it means to be alive at the beginning of the Anthropocene. 

(Photo credit: Amy Snider)

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