Groundwork

lay the groundwork

Idiom
:To provide the right conditions

Groundwork is a new generative workshops series in Toronto aiming to provide space for queer writers to access writing time and a writing community, away from institutionalized pressures or expectations.

The workshop will be led by Knowah Holder (she/her/they) and Elena Senechal-Becker (she/her).

Knowah is a writer, researcher and restaurant professional. She’s most recently been published in The White Wall Review with her work Saving Meals and Devouring People. Every now and then Knowah populates her substack Your Own Fan Club with poetry, prose and autofiction addressing Black Trans Femininity and insatiable desires.

Elena Sénéchal-Becker is a freelance writer and translator working in the publishing industry.
When she's not daydreaming about queer parenthood and new relationship models, she writes about lesbian self-help, ~the abject~ and online communities.

The structure of the workshop is designed to provide an hour to an hour and a half of writing time, with guided interactive prompts. The last half-hour will be reserved for chilling, chatting and connecting — feel free to migrate to Grape Witches downstairs after this!

Our workshop is not bound by any writing style, genre or previous achievements. We wish to welcome all writers at all points in their literary journey. Please bring paper and writing utensils!

The workshop's first iteration will be held on June 2nd at 6pm in the Grape Witches Salon at 1247 Dundas St W. Tickets are PWYC (recommended amount $5-10) and go directly to paying for the salon space. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Grape Witches is a leader in diversifying and democratizing Toronto’s wine scene. We’ve added a couple of words from their home page for those who are unfamiliar with the space.

We began as, and always will be, industry veterans on a mission. Founded in 2015, Grape Witches began as a series of parties and educational events pouring the rare and delicious organic, biodynamic and natural wine we loved. The dream? To share the incredible flavours, places and people that made us work in wine - without the stuffy attitude. Fast forward through a few hundred parties big and small; from geeky winemaker events to sweaty dance parties to the world's largest natural wine booze cruise (yes, actually!!), and you'll find us on March 7th 2020 (lol) signing the lease to our first space and launching our natural wine agency, Grape Witch Imports.

Grape Witches is now an incredible team of people working to make natural wine approachable & available like never before. We are a bustling natural wine store with over 350 constantly rotating wines in store and online. We are Dundas West's cutest back patio - complete with functioning fountain (!). We are an exciting natural wine agency, representing over 30 of our favourite wineries directly. And we are Ontario's most unique Wine Club, offering a fully customizable and expertly curated monthly pack at various price points. And yes, we still love events! Find out more about our entire team below.

We regret that the upstairs salon is not wheelchair accessible.

For any and all questions DM us on instagram or email us at GroundworkTO@gmail.com