A little about our beginnings...

Nancy Rorke and Janet Bellinger began the Headwaters Writers’ Guild on December 9, 2003 at a table in the upstairs level of the Orangeville Public Library. They were inspired by a group they attended in Honeywood led by Ed Wildman who had taken a course from Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones, in Taos, New Mexico.
​They were thrilled to have Ed join their new group on December 30, 2003 until his death in June 2004. 

Since its inception, the Headwaters Writers' Guild has been a group where writers meet to: 

• share their writing, 
• provide encouragement, inspiration and motivation.

Our main focus is on writing.

While there are no membership fees, we do ask for a serious commitment.
Members should be willing to participate in the group's activities to the best of their abilities. 
Members are also encouraged to give effective, positive, feedback of others writers' work. 
​We like to maintain a positive atmosphere to encourage, inspire and support one another.

About Our Meetings

***Due to COVID-19 the Orangeville Public Library remains closed at this time. Our meetings have been cancelled until we are able to meet in person again. Please follow us on social media or check back for more information!

Each meeting has a designated leader, determined in advance. A member can request to be added to the leadership rotation after 6 month's membership.
 At the beginning of the meeting we discuss any group business. Following that, anyone who brought something along to read can do so. We suggest a 5-minute time limit, 10-minutes maximum with members approval. Members are invited to give positive feedback.
 Leaders will provide writing prompts for the group which can be in the form of written prompts, pictures, objects, or any other creative idea that may motivate and inspire group members to write. Allotted time to write is determined by size of group and time left in the meeting. This can be anywhere from 15-30 minutes
 After writing everyone may read their writing to the group. Members have the option of passing if they do not feel comfortable sharing what they have written. The next meeting will be announced at the conclusion of the meeting.

The Headwaters Writers’ Guild and the Orangeville Public Library partner together to bring a variety of literary events and opportunities for local writers to the community. This includes open mic events, writing workshops, author visits and the annual Words the Orangeville Way (WOW) literary festival hosted at the Mill Street Library in the fall.  ​https://www.orangeville.ca/orangeville-public-library

Where to Find Us on Social Media