Ruby Finch Books offers classes on creative writing and wellness, taught by author Julianne Harvey online as well as in person at public libraries and in community education spaces.
Classes are offered in various genres (fiction, creative nonfiction, screen, etc.). Writers who attend classes will have early registration options for the weekend creative retreats coming in 2025.
Please subscribe to our Substack newsletter for class descriptions, dates, and fees, and check below for FAQs on registration and the upcoming class schedules!
Write Your Novel or Memoir – ONLINE – 2024/25 Class Schedule
Plan Section: October 20 – November 19, 2024
Start Section: January 5 – February 4, 2025
Continue Section: February 23 – March 25, 2025
Finish Section: April 13 – May 13, 2025
To register, please email julianne@rubyfinchbooks.com (4 spaces remaining)
In-Person Teaching Schedule – 2024
Write Your Novel or Memoir – Parkgate Library, North Vancouver: Monday, January 22 from 1-2 pm
Write Your Memoir: Key Building Blocks – Port Moody Library: Friday, March 1 from 1:30 – 3 pm
Write Your Novel or Memoir – Clearbrook Library, Abbotsford: Saturday, March 9 from 2 – 3 pm
Write Your Memoir: Key Building Blocks – White Rock Library: Saturday, April 13 from 2 – 3:30 pm
Write Your Novel or Memoir – City of Langley Library: Saturday, April 27 from 1 – 2 pm
Sharing Life Memories – Kent Street Activity Centre in White Rock: Thursday, May 2 from 1 – 3 pm
Write Your Novel: Key Building Blocks – White Rock Library: Saturday, May 11 from 2 – 3:30 pm
Conversation Cafe – Kent Street Activity Centre in White Rock: Tuesday, June 11 from 1 – 3 pm
Online Teaching Schedule (Monthly Series for Alexandra Writers’ Centre in Calgary) – 2024
The Writing Well Author Nurture Series Establish Your Unique Identity: Tuesday, April 9 from 11 am – 12:30 pm PST
The Writing Well Author Nurture Series Trust Your Intuition: Tuesday, May 14 from 11 am – 12:30 pm PST
The Writing Well Author Nurture Series Create an Inspiring Writing Routine: Tuesday, June 11 from 11 am – 12:30 pm PST
FAQs for Write Your Novel or Memoir Online Writing Classes
How does registration work?
- Email julianne@rubyfinchbooks.com and tell Julianne which set of classes you want to register for. You will receive an invoice via email and your registration is not complete until you pay via e-transfer or by credit card. Then you will receive more information on the class and your Canvas log-in link by email (when the class is full and ready to begin).
Can I register for all four sections of the class at once?
- You sure can and we’d love to have you! There are only 10 spaces available in each class for writers, and registration is not complete until you have paid your $125 per section (in Canadian funds). But you do not have to pay until each section of the class starts, unless you want to secure your registration for all sections. We’ve designed these courses for maximum flexibility (and fun!).
Can I get a refund if I can no longer take the class?
- Absolutely! Full refunds are given up to two weeks before the class begins. After that, your tuition goes toward a future class date.
How will these online classes work?
- Classes will be held online through a learning platform called Canvas. Each week, there will be an open window for engagement and discussion with Julianne and the other writers in the class. The window will be 48 hours, from Sunday at noon PST to Tuesday at noon PST to allow for writers in different time zones to participate when convenient for them.
- Each week, the class will cover a craft element, a process focus, a creative practice, low-stakes writing exercises, and check-ins for writing goals set by each writer for their project. During the active participation window, Julianne will pose discussion questions based on the craft/process/creative practices instruction, and writers will answer in the discussion forums on Canvas. During the rest of the week, writers will work on their manuscripts. The focus will be on building community, confidence in our own unique literary voices, and learning key craft techniques in a fun, supportive, and flexible atmosphere.
Oh no – registration for the class I want is full! What now?
- Email julianne@rubyfinchbooks.com and ask to go on the wait list. More classes and sections may be offered depending on interest or you’ll have first chance at registration for the next set of classes.
What genre do I have to write?
- There’s no “have to” about anything here! You write the book you long to write. Any genre, any length, any format. These courses are flexible and adaptable to you and your unique literary interests, talents, and abilities!
Can I get published when I finish the course?
- We’ll talk about publishing (oh, the heartbreak and excitement of that process!), but the focus of these classes is on craft, creative practices, belief in ourselves, and learning to love the process of writing itself and what writing can do to heal us and help us evolve and grow. Publishing offers no guarantees to anyone, but my goal in these classes is to encourage you and help you manage expectations around writing and how that work may be perceived by others.
What can I expect each week in the online class?
- You can expect mindfulness practices like deep breathing and one-word feeling check-ins. There will be journaling, writing prompts, sharing, laughing, and lots of practice in low-stakes/low-pressure environments. We will read for each other and offer generous and kind feedback in a structured and safe manner. You can expect relationships to develop and grow with other writers and with your own creative practice. Julianne will be there to offer help and one-on-one mentorship and encouragement. And if you decide to continue on for all twenty weeks, you can expect a completed first draft of a book if you are committed to writing one in that time frame!
Sounds like a fun time! How do I sign up?
- Email julianne@rubyfinchbooks.com and tell Julianne you’d like to register (or ask any other questions you may have). I look so forward to meeting you and writing with you!
Ruby Finch Books 