Writing The Unspoken
OLD QUEBEC CITY, AUGUST 27TH – SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2026
In the heart of Old Quebec, where the St. Lawrence River meets centuries of hushed history–old stone walls hold the secrets of a continent. We gather to explore the stories that usually go untold. Our 2026 conference, Writing the Unspoken, moves beyond the traditional lecture hall and into the intimate sanctuary of the Royal Suite at Hotel Port Royal. Here, beneath exposed beams and beside a shared table, we join masters of the craft–Amy Bloom, Josip Novakovich–to dismantle the silences that haunt our work. Whether it is the “complexities of the heart, the absurdity of exile, or the physical traces of history, etched into the cobblestones outside our door, we invite you to break bread with us and finally find the words for what has, until now remained unsaid.”
Old Quebec City
Royal Suite
This “ancient hotel setting” is situated on Rue Saint-Pierre, the building features exposed brick and stone masonry that reflect the 19th-century merchant era of the Old Port.
Royal Suite Terrace
Authors Teaching Workshops
Third Author will be announced shortly
AMY BLOOM
Amy Bloom is the author of four novels: White Houses, Lucky Us, Away, and Love Invents Us; and three collections of short stories: Where the God Of Love Hangs Out, Come to Me (finalist for the National Book Award), and A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You (finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award). Her most recent book is the widely acclaimed New York Times bestselling memoir, In Love. She has written for magazines such as The New Yorker, New York Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, Elle, The Atlantic, Slate, and Salon. Her first book of nonfiction, Normal: Transsexual CEOs, Crossdressing Cops and Hermaphrodites with Attitudes, is a staple of university sociology and biology courses.
Amy Bloom’s short stories have appeared in Best American Short Stories, Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards, and numerous anthologies here and abroad. She has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, O Magazine and Vogue, among many other publications, and has won a National Magazine Award for Fiction. Her work has been translated into seventeen languages.
She has written many pilot scripts, for cable and network, and she created, wrote and ran the excellent, short-lived series State of Mind, starring Lili Taylor.
JOSIP NOVAKOVICH
Josip Novakovich is a Croatian-American writer who now lives in Canada
Novakovich emigrated from Croatia to the United States at the age of 20, attending Vassar, Yale and the University of Texas. He has published a dozen books, including a novel, April Fool’s Day (in ten languages), four story collections (Infidelities, Yolk, Salvation and Other Disasters, Heritage of Smoke) and three collections of narrative essays, as well as two books of practical criticism.
His work was anthologized in Best American Poetry, the Pushcart Prize and O.Henry Prize Stories. He has received the Whiting Writer’s Award, a Guggenheim fellowship, the Ingram Merrill Award and an American Book Award. He is currently a professor of creative writing at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.
He was shortlisted, for his entire body of work, for The Man Booker International Prize 2013.
Workshop Descriptions
Participants have the option of taking all three workshops
AMY BLOOM
This is open to anyone interested in the better sentence, the stronger story, the process of making characters come alive and writing prose that illuminates, without being showy, self-conscious or self-promoting.
Samuel Beckett (everyone’s favorite cheerleader) said: Try. Fail. Try again. Fail better.
We’ll tackle trying and failing and failing better, with time to look at work you’re in the middle of and some generative exercises.
I take your work seriously.
JOSIPH NOVAKOVICH
How do we write about the “unspeakable” violence of war, disorientation, living in exile or the fiction of a life lived between borders without falling into cliche? Join award-winning author Josip Novakovich for a deep dive into the architecture of the “absurd.” Known for his “mongrel” perspective and “cruelly whimsical” storytelling. Novakovich leads writers through the process of finding humor and humanity in the darkest of historical silences.
Whether you are writing a memoir of immigration or a novel set in a landscape of conflict, this session will challenge you to speak the truths that history books often leave out.
Guest Authors
To be annouced shortly
DAILY SCHEDULE
Including: Group Daily MEAL PLAN
Chef-Curated Lunches and Dinners
August 27th
9:00 am Morning Workshop —Fresh Croissants on the Workshop Table.
11:30 Lunch:
Charcuterie Platter with Freshly Baked Bread.
Chouquettes nature.
1:00 – 4:00 Afternoon Workshop
5:00 Discussion or Readings
6:30 Dinner:
Endive and Pear Salad
Coquilles St. Jacques: Classic French dish with Sea Scallops poached in white wine, cream and mushrooms. topped with Gruyere cheese, mash potatoes and breadcrumbs.
Vegetarian dinner: King Oyster Mushrooms St Jacques
Served with Sparkling Cider
Lemon Tart
August 28th
9:00 Morning Workshop–Fresh Croissants on the Workshop table
11:30 Lunch
Quebec Style Salad Nicoise — tuna, romaine lettuce, red onion, cherry tomatoes, capers, boil potatoes, parsley, lemon zest, black olives, egg, green beans
Vegetarian–without tuna
Cookies
1:30 – 4:00 Afternoon Workshop
6:30 Dinner
Crispy
Coq au Vin with chicken, red wine, onions, mushrooms, morels, carrots, thyme, parsley. Served with Scallop Potatoes
Raspberry Clafoutis
5:00 Discussion or Readings
August 29th
9:00 Morning Workshop, Baguette and local Quebec Cheese on Workshop table
11:30 Lunch
Lobster and Lions Mane Roll with garden salad
vegetarian–Lions Mane Roll
Blueberry Ice Cream
1:30 – 4:00 Afternoon Workshop
5:00 Discussion or Readings
Free Night Out for Dinner
August 30th
9:00 Morning Workshop, Croissants served on workshop table
11:30 Lunch
Boreal Salad with cucumber, fresh blueberries, feta cheese, watermelon, bocconcini with fresh basil. Served with fresh baked bread
Maple Leaf Cookies
1:30 – 4:00 Afternoon Workshop
5:00 Discussion or Readings
6:30 Dinner
Frisee Salad w/Baked Goat Cheese
Grilled Duck Breast marinated in juniper berries and cognac. Served with Scallop Potatoes and vegetable
vegetarian: crispy mushroom “duck”, king oyster mushrooms with five-spice, garlic and hoisin sauce
Dark Chocolate Mousse
August 31st
9:00 Morning Workshop, Croissants served on workshop table
11:30 Lunch
Meat or Vegetarian Pies served with Crispy Green Salad with a maple vinaigrette
Pouding Chômeur
1:30 -4:00 Afternoon Workshop
5:00 Discussion or Readings
6:30 Dinner
Pate de Campagne with cornichons and grainy Dijon mustard
Grilled Spicy Maple Prawns, marinated in smoked paprika, garlic, red chili, olive oil over Wild Rice
Vegetarian: Mushroom Pate, Chickpea and Avocado Salad with cucumber and feta cheese
Tarte au Sucre (sugar Pie) served with vanilla ice cream
Ice Wine
September 1st
9:00 Morning Workshop, Yogurt Bar with Boreal Berries on workshop table
11:30 Lunch
Open Face Canadian Maple Smoked Salmon on Rye, Whipped Cream Cheese with Lemon Zest, Black Pepper and fresh dill. Served with Garden Salad with shaved radishes
Vegetarian: smoked carrot lox with cream cheese and garden salad
Raspberry Tart
1:30 – 4:00 Afternoon Workshop
5:00 Discussion or Reading
6:30 Final Night Celebration: Restaurant: CHEZ RIOUX & PETTIGREW, Michelin recommended
COST
WRITERS’ CONFERENCE
Maximum of 18 participants, Daily Workshops, readings, discussions and Guest Authors, Daily lunches and 5 dinners
$1,871
Choice of HOTEL ROOMS — 6 nights
I have reserved rooms in the following hotels.
August 27th – September 2nd
~ 3-Stars Le Monastere des Augustines–400 year old Monastery
Includes. Silent breakfast
Remodeled rooms:
Shared two twin bedroom w/Shared bathroom $825 per person (2 people)
Single room for one person w/Shared bathroom $1,140
~ 4-Stars Hotel des Coutellier
Includes Breakfast
Superior Double room with two Double beds with/ private bathroom $1,130 per person (2 people)
~ 3-Stars Hotel Atypig
Includes Breakfast
Room with Queen Size Bed w/private bathroom $1,356.00
~ 4-Stars Hotel Port Royal our base hotel
Breakfast Not included
Superior Deluxe Double Room with Kitchenette $1,625.00
~ 3.5-Stars Auberge du Trevor
Breakfast Not included
Double Bedroom. with bathroom $1,639
Deluxe Queen Room with Park View, $2,024
Contact
Nancy Gerbault Director
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