Gwen Higgins is a writer living in Castlegar, BC, with her husband and children.
Education
- 2023 – SFU Writer’s Studio online program – accepted first round, currently enrolled, starting January 2023.
- 2021 – 2022 Selkirk College Creative Writing Program: CRWT 100 (Creative Writing I with Leesa Dean), CRWT 101 (Creative Writing II with Almeda Glenn Miller), CRWT 200 (Studies in Writing III – Manuscript Development), and CRWT 201 (Studies in Writing IV – Manuscript Development) with Leesa Dean.
- 2020 Wesleyan Creative Writing specialization, online, non-credit, through Coursera (The Craft of Plot with Brando Skyhorse, The Craft of Character with Amy Bloom, the Craft of Setting & Description with Amity Gaige, the Craft of Style with Salvator Scibona, and Capstone Project short fiction manuscript.)
- 2015-2018 Royal Conservatory of Music Piano Pedagogy online certificates (Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced)
- 2013 CMA-BC: Certified Management Accountant Strategic Leadership Program and CMA Designation; 2015 CPA-BC CPA, CMA designation (current)
- 2009 APEGBC Professional Engineer (resigned 2020)
- 2003 UBC Vancouver – B.A.Sc. Chemical Engineering, Minor in Commerce
- 1998 College of the Rockies: Associate of Science Degree
- 1997 College of the Rockies: Liberal Arts and Sciences Certificate
Arts Memberships
- The League of Canadian Poets – Associate Member
- The Federation of B.C. Writers
- Science Writers of Canada
- Oxygen Arts Centre, Nelson, BC
Arts Community Participation and Literary Festivals
- 2023 Workshop attendee, Mapping the Wilds of Grief with Katrina Goldsaito, Hedgebrook
- 2022 Author Reading (I performed two poems from my upcoming chapbook), Oxygen Arts Centre series, mentored by Susan Andrews Grace
- 2022 Workshop attendee, Women’s History: Narrating Our Lives by Bonnie Morris, Hedgebrook
- 2022 Workshop attendee, Possibilities of Form: Using Experimentation to Invigorate your Writing with Leanne Dunic, Hedgebrook
- 2021 Stone’s Throw Writer’s Conference, poetry workshop attendee
- 2021 Selkirk College Creative Writing Program Halloween Reading Night
- 2021 BC Writers’ Summit Online – BC Federation of Writers
- 2020 Started the Castlegar Writers Facebook group and hosted in-person workshops at Millennium Park; became inactive during Covid restrictions and now exists online.
- 2019 Hosted an online series of 4 sessions for NaNoWriMo Youth using NaNoWriMo youth resources for Girl Guides across Canada. Brought in guest speaker Cynthia Sharp with the support of the BC Federation of Writers/Jacqueline Carmichael.
- 2018 St. Eugene Writer’s Conference: attended Finding Your Voice with Keith Liggett.
Literary Publishing History
Poetry
- 2021 “Soundtrack” and “Downriver”, Black Bear Review
Plays/Podcasts
- 2021 “The Dove Hill Rangers Versus the Kidd Creek Zombies”, Black Bear Review podcast