The Manitoba Writers' Guild was inaugurated in August 1981 at Aubigny, Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, as a grassroots organization for and of Manitoba writers. The Guild has grown from the twenty members who joined after that first meeting to a membership of over 600. The Manitoba Writers' Guild's primary aim is to promote and advance the art of writing, in all its forms, throughout Manitoba. Its official publication is a quarterly magazine called WordWrap.

The Guild organizes many events during the year (some of them jointly, with other organizations), including the 24-Hour Freedom to Read Marathon, Poetry in Motion and Manitoba Book Week events, Brave New Words: The Manitoba Writing and Publishing Awards

Brave New Words: The Manitoba Writing and Publishing Awards

Brave New Words: The Manitoba Writing and Publishing Awards is a gala, held annually in April in Winnipeg, Manitoba, celebrating the best of Manitoban publishing from the previous year...

 (with McNally Robinson

McNally Robinson

McNally Robinson Booksellers is a family-operated chain of Canadian independent bookstores founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1981. It is managed by Holly and Paul McNally and their daughter Victoria .- Overview :...

 booksellers). They also administer the province's public readings program and otherwise offer several educational sessions for writers. As well, they run the Patricia Blondal Memorial Writers' Retreat near Gimli

Gimli, Manitoba

Gimli is a a rural municipality located in the Interlake region of south-central Manitoba, Canada, on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg. It is about north of the provincial capital Winnipeg...

, Manitoba, every summer.

The Manitoba Writers' Guild office is in the Artspace Building in the Exchange District

Exchange District

The Exchange District is a National Historic Site of Canada in the downtown area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Just one block north of Canada's most famous intersection, Portage and Main, the Exchange District comprises approximately twenty city blocks and nearly 150 buildings.- History :The...

 in downtown Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

. In 2006, the Guild had a performance stage at the Winnipeg Folk Festival

Winnipeg Folk Festival

The Winnipeg Folk Festival is a summer folk music festival held in Birds Hill Provincial Park, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It features a variety of folk artists from all around the world, as well as a number of local folk performers....

, to celebrate its 25th anniversary, which featured workshops, literary readings and an open mic session.