Meet the EWG
We are an active group of writers, who invest in other writers. Our talented members are diverse and work in a variety of genres. Together, we are committed to supporting and serving all types of writers from Southeast Saskatchewan.
Our Story
The History of EWG
The Estevan Writers Group was founded in 1986. Over the past 35 years, the group has included over 30 members.
The group met for over 30 years at the Estevan Public Library, moving to the Estevan Art Gallery & Museum, then to the Estevan Comprehensive School, and finally online in 2020.
Members have written in a variety of diverse genres; many have published over the years. For more information about current members, please see below.
The EWG Board of Directors
Victoria Koops
EWG Chairperson
Victoria Koops is an emerging writer in Saskatchewan, Canada, where she currently lives and creates on beautiful Treaty 4 territory. She writes Young Adult fiction about teenage angst, geek culture, and social justice. Her first novel is forthcoming from Groundwood Books (Spring 2024).
Victoria is a member in good standing of the Estevan Writer’s Group, Saskatchewan Writers Guild, and Writers’ Union of Canada. In the summers of 2016 and 2021, she attended the Sage Hill Writing Experience and completed a mentorship with Merilyn Simonds in 2020. So far, this writing thing has been a wild adventure, and she’s just getting started!
Website: www.victoriakoops.com
Andrea McClelland
EWG Vice-Chairperson
Andrea was born into a family that didn’t have a TV for entertainment, if you can fathom such a thing. In turn, from the moment she learned to read and write, she was penning tales galore, writing of worlds far, far away from her own. Creative by nature, writing has always been a passion for her and she is never short of ideas. As an avid reader as well, she is constantly drawing inspiration from various authors and learning how to hone her own writing techniques. Andrea spends the majority of her time writing historical and contemporary fiction, although she is not afraid of a challenge and will attempt any genre at least once. She is currently working on a historical novel with the hopes of sending it out for publication by the end of the year.
Website: N/A
Betty McGillivray
EWG Secretary
Betty was born in Mossbank, SK. She has her Bachelor of Education degree and currently lives in Estevan, SK with her husband, Lyle. She has two sons, who make her very proud. Betty has always loved reading and writing. She has recently rejoined the writers’ group since she retired from teaching and has time again for writing. She has written some children’s stories and a couple of Christmas concerts but she is back to working on her manuscript. Betty’s work-in-progress is a collection of humorous short stories about events in her life. This project has been over 20 years in the making, and she is very happy that the first draft is completed. She is now editing it and hopes to get it published to fulfill her dream of being a published author. You are never too old to dream!
Website: N/A
Nikki L. Wirtz
EWG Treasurer
Nikki was born in Estevan, left Estevan and moved back to Estevan, the last of which is a family tradition (on her mother’s side). She insists on using her middle initial on all things for no real reason and all three of her names are exactly five letters long. While unpublished for fiction, she’s credited as an author on several scientific papers, none of which she actually wrote. Her grandest accomplishments are finishing a B.Sc. in chemistry at the blazing speed of six years, amassing three thousand followers on Google Plus and camping on a four character long Twitter handle that is also a common noun.
Website: Many 🙂 They’re all secrets 🙂
Current EWG Members
Kyle Brokenshire
Member Since 2017
Kyle Brokenshire is an author and podcaster from the R.M. of Coalfields, writing fantasy, horror and science fiction. Host of Kyle and Cody’s Cult Cinema Cast, Available wherever you listen to podcasts.
Twitter @LordBrokenshire
Nicole (Nicki) Flaman
Member Since TBA
Nicki grew up on the family farm southwest of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan with her two younger sisters. She started writing around the age of fifteen, when her imagination was no longer content being confined to her brain. Nicki writes short stories, poems, and has been working on a fantasy novel for the last twenty years. The only work she has had “published” is a poem she wrote about her grandfather that was used on his memorial card in 2006. After dropping out of University and working a few different jobs across three provinces, she decided to go back to school and get her Business Accounting diploma from SIAST. Nicole married her long-term boyfriend on October 31, 2009, and they’ve made their home in Assiniboia where she works at a private Accounting firm and he works in a restaurant. In her spare time Nicole likes to read the books she keeps piling on her bookshelves, watch movies and play games, and of course, write!
Website: N/A
Maggie Holmes
Member Since TBA
Maggie grew up mostly in the village of Pierson, MB. Reading didn’t come easy to Maggie. School in general was a challenge but she graduated and went on to take a Cosmetology course in Brandon, MB. She returned to Pierson and ran a busy hair shop in her home, for 28 years. She and her husband have four grown daughters. There were many challenges in Maggie’s life while
raising her children and in life itself. Through tear-filled prayers and blind faith, answers came. As well as getting help for many of life’s problems, she also found her God given purpose. This has taken Maggie on to a speaking circuit encouraging others in four provinces and two states as well as into writing.
Maggie now has a love for reading, writing and drawing. She has written a novel and is working on a second, hoping to have them published within a couple of years. The Estevan Writer’s Group has played a key role in Maggie’s development as a writer.
Website: www.maggiemaeholmes2015.weebly.com
Ashley Lilley
Member Since 2022
“This picture is not me.
I don’t drink coffee, for one. Call me crazy. You won’t be the first. Secondly, my house doesn’t look like a furniture catalogue… not even a little bit.
I don’t wear white slippers… who the heck wears white slippers? Do these same people have magically clean floors? Do they have fairies who keep watch at the door to remind their children not to track dirt everywhere? (Cause, I want in on that, if it exists.)
I am no longer of the age where I will choose to sit on the floor when there’s a perfectly good sofa RIGHT THERE.
Oh, and then there’s the laptop. I rarely write on a laptop.
I write in overflowing notebooks, the back of grocery receipts, and scribble one-word prompts on the back of my hand to try to save a thought for after my children go to bed. I write mostly non-fiction. I am a story collector, and share real-life tales of hurt, hope, and healing. My most frequent topics are mental health and special needs parenting.
Welcome to my messy world.” — A word from Ashley Lilley
Website: www.ashleylilley.com
Maureen Ulrich
Member Since 1998
Maureen was born in Saskatoon, but grew up in Edmonton and Calgary. She started writing horse stories when she was 11 and historical fiction during her high school years. In 1976 she returned to Saskatoon to attend university and graduated in 1980 with an education degree. Her first teaching assignment was in Lampman in the SE corner of the province, and she has pretty much been there ever since. Maureen didn’t have much time for writing during the 80’s because she was too busy getting married, finishing a BA, teaching middle years at Estevan Junior High, and raising two wonderful daughters. However, in 1996 she was asked to write a student production, and the floodgates opened. Two titles Sam Spud: Private Eye (2007) and The Banes of Darkwood (2010) are available through www.samuelfrench.com. Maureen is still writing plays and staging them under Menagerie Productions. In 1999, Maureen started a YA manuscript about girls’ hockey – which Coteau Books published as Power Plays in 2007. This was followed by Face Off(2010) and Breakaway (2012). In her free time – of which there is not a great deal – Maureen loves to read and write, hang out at rinks and ball diamonds, golf, ski, and ride her motorcycle.
Website: www.maureenulrich.ca.
Interested in Joining?
We would love to have you join the EWG. For more information follow the link below or email estevanwritersgroup@gmail.com.
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