Writing 2520A: Write Now! - Writers on Writing

Learn about writing from writers

Interested in creative writing, in learning about different genres and styles of writing, and in getting insights into the business and craft of writing from working writers? Consider taking Writing 2520A: Write Now! Writers on Writing.

Write Now! is organized around a series of lectures by writers. Every week, a new writer visits the class to read from their work, talk about their writing and their career, and answer questions. The writers include novelists, poets, playwrights, podcasters, graphic novelists, comic book writers, young adult authors, etc. Lectures cover topics such as inspiration, overcoming creative blocks, revision, publishing and literary citizenship.

This course offers students a unique opportunity to learn from a wide variety of writers about the craft of writing and the creative life while improving their own writing.

Coming Fall 2025

Guest lectures are open to all students, staff and faculty.

Presented by Writing 2520A, the Department of English and Writing Studies & the Creative Writers Speaker Series at Western, everyone is invited to hear some of Canada’s best established and emerging writers read from their work and talk about their craft.

Saad T. Farooqi

Born in Saudi Arabia, Saad T. Farooqi moved to Pakistan before his first birthday. There, he survived three separate kidnapping attempts before he was eight. His family eventually settled in the United Arab Emirates. After initially enrolling in electrical engineering to please his parents, Saad graduated with a BA in English Literature from the American University of Sharjah. He then earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Kingston University, London.

Saad immigrated to Canada in 2015 and resides in London, Ontario. At Kingston University, he studied under several notable authors, including Rachel Cusk and Elif Safak.

His short stories and poems have appeared in various magazines in the US, UK, and UAE. His debut novel, White World, was published by Cormorant Books in 2024.

Lily Chu

Toronto romance writer Lily Chu loves ordering the second-cheapest wine, wearing perfume all the time, and staying up far too late with a good book.

Four of her books have been released in audio as Audible Originals, performed by Phillipa Soo (The Stand-In, The Comeback, The Takedown, and Drop Dead) and John Cho (Drop Dead). Lily’s best-selling stories are critically acclaimed and have spent multiple weeks at number one in Audible Top Plus Listens, have been named in Best of the Year lists, and recommended in the New York Times. Translation rights have been sold for multiple languages.