We are very proud and excited to announce the new Steven Heighton Fellowship, which commences in 2025. The Fellowship was created by the Al Purdy A-frame Association (APAFA) – in collaboration with the Department of English and Creative Writing at Queen’s University and Kingston WritersFest – to provide recipients with a blend of benefits and…

The Al Purdy A-frame Association (APAFA) is pleased to announce it has been awarded an Operating grant from the Ontario Arts Council (OAC). The grant program supports not-for-profit organizations that promote Canadian literature, engage literary artists in arts education activities, and assist literary artists to hone their craft. All these activities are part of the…

Al Purdy’s widow, Eurithe, has launched a literary prize to recognize the best new book of poetry in Canada, the Canadian Press reported. The Al and Eurithe Purdy Poetry Prize will offer a $10,000 award annually to a poet who embodies “exceptional talent and a profound connection to the Canadian spirit,” said a release. Eurithe…

FROM THE LIBRARY TO THE CEMETERY: A TALK AND A WALK Poet Phil Hall will talk about his work, including his new book, Vallejo’s Marrow, and will read especially from his long poem about Al Purdy called “An Oak Hunch.” This will be followed by a group walk to Al Purdy’s grave in the Ameliasburgh…

Over the past few years we have offered online workshops to enthusiastic response. The goal is to give access to high-quality and imaginative workshops at an affordable cost. A-frame Pastiches: Writing in Tribute to Al Purdy Two 90-minute sessions with John Barton March 23 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET April 6 11 a.m.…

Anna Swanson, an A-frame writer-in-residence in 2019, has made the 2023 CBC Poetry Prize longlist for Sweetness | מתיקות. From the announcement: Anna Swanson (she/her) is a queer Jewish writer and librarian based in St. John’s and currently completing an MFA at the University of Guelph. Her writing is interested in themes of chronic illness,…

Last week there was a small gathering at the A-frame. Paul Elter and Eurithe Purdy hung the Architectural Conservancy Ontario’s 2023 Special Jury Award. Paul accepted the award on behalf of the Al Purdy A-frame Association on Oct. 12. You can watch a short video of the award here. Eurithe is days away from completing…

The Al Purdy A-frame Association has won a 2023 Special Jury Award bestowed by Architectural Conservancy Ontario, “for their efforts to restore the historic property and writer’s retreat, an important part of Canadian cultural and literary heritage.” The award was announced at the ACO gala held in Toronto on October 12. Representing the APAFA at…

The Al Purdy A-frame Association is very pleased to announce that Eurithe Purdy will be matching all donations to the A-frame Foundation Project up to $10,000, from now until her birthday on November 10, 2023. The Al Purdy A-frame Association runs a highly successful nationally recognized writer-in-residence program from the former home, a local heritage…

The Al Purdy A-frame Association has been nominated for the Margaret and Nicholas Hill Cultural Heritage Landscape Award for their efforts to restore the historic property and writer’s retreat, an important piece of Canadian cultural and literary heritage. The award is one of several annual heritage citations by Architectural Conservancy Ontario (ACO). Award recipients will…