The Creative Writing Circle may be new, but the writing community is strong at UCalgary
By Cameron Sauder, September 30 2025—
The UofC Creative Writing Circle aims to be a “beam of light” for aspiring writers whose creative journeys have been stuck in the shadows.
In her first year at the University of Calgary, Emcher Sison turned to clubs to find friends and extracurricular fulfillment. A lover of writing for as long as she can remember, Sison was immediately drawn to the U of C Creative Writing Circle and signed on as a junior executive. Imagine her disappointment, then, when she found that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the club was “dead.”
Unfortunately, it’s a common story for student clubs to have seen stark declines in membership as a result of the pandemic. Still, five years later, many clubs that were forced underground have been making a resurgence.
Sison, now entering her second year as CWC president, said that “the creative writing community [at] U of C is thriving” thanks to the combined efforts of her and her supportive team of executives: Kinda Hamie, Madison Watai, Sharar Zaman and Gabriel Mitchell.
Last year, Sison and the team began the work of gaining new members and re-entering the community by hosting writing-themed social events every month, complete with creative prompts and games.
“We wanted more people to be more engaged, to be proactive [and] having fun,” said Sison.
The club gave members opportunities to hone and publish their work with campus organizations — like The Firework and the UofC Poetry Club — while meeting people with similar interests, talking about their projects, and making “lifelong friends.”
“This year, I aim to ensure the creative writing community thrives even more,” said Sison.
Plans to further develop the environment the CWC has fostered include assigning genres to their social events — think fantasy/sci-fi, horror/mystery, fan fiction and romance/poetry nights — collaborating more with the Faculty of Arts at the university and hosting more developmental workshops. The CWC wants to get as many students as possible in touch with writing resources, like the writer-in-residence, and with people who can give them detailed feedback on their creative work.
“Since most of our members […] are outside the Faculty of Arts, […] they don’t have access to workshops within the creative writing courses that they offer here in school,” she said, explaining that most of their members are actually from the Faculty of Science.
But even for students with access to creative writing classes, the CWC offers a laid-back environment where there’s no stress about grades and no pressure to produce masterpieces — even if, as Sison puts it, she’s read many pieces that “definitely deserve recognition.”
Most importantly, the U of C Creative Writing Circle provides a space for students to pursue their creative passions amidst the stress and chaos of pursuing a university degree, and it gives creative writers at UCalgary the opportunity to meet like-minded people.
“From what I got [from members], it’s one of the most memorable clubs just because they get to find their own circles — I’m using a pun there,” said Sison. “Even for myself, I didn’t have that many friends before I managed the club, and now I get to meet people; I got to meet my executives, who are now my best friends.”
The Creative Writing Circle may have crumbled under the pandemic, but Sison and her team have successfully resurrected one of the most important spaces for creative writers at the university. The CWC has many plans for the new term, including the sale of their 2024 chapbook in October, so make sure to keep an eye on this rising club.
Interested students should watch for CWC posters around campus. Alternatively, they can check out the CWC’s Instagram page (@uofc_cwc) or head over to SUClubs and check out their LinkTree website, where previous club chapbooks are available for viewing.