Recently, the League discovered that Sheridan College had decided to cut the Bachelor of Arts program in Creative Writing & Publishing (CW&P). This program is one of 40 facing cuts due to decreased revenue resulting from caps on international student enrollment.

The Creative Writing & Publishing Program at Sheridan College is widely regarded as a nurturing, innovative and essential space for emerging writers and publishing professionals in Canada. It is a home for emerging writers and provides a space for poets, writers, and publishing professionals to nurture the work of this country’s next generation of writing professionals.

The League of Canadian Poets reached out to officials at Sheridan College to express our concerns and advocate for the return of the CW&P program. You can join the League and many others in expressing your concern about the loss of this program by sending a letter of your own to decision-makers at Sheridan College. You can find a list of essential contacts here.

We thank Cassidy McFadzean, Writer in Residence at Sheridan College, for alerting the League about the threat to the Creative Writing & Publishing Program and rallying the community to support this vital learning stream. You can read an op-ed that Cassidy wrote about the program cuts here.

You can find the League’s letter below:

Dear President Janet Morrison, Provost, and Sheridan Board of Governors,

I am writing to you on behalf of the League of Canadian Poets. The League is Canada’s only national professional poetry organization, representing over 1,000 professional poets. Our organization collaborates annually with poetry publishers, libraries, festivals, and poetry lovers across the country.

We are deeply concerned by Sheridan College’s recent decision to suspend the Creative Writing and Publishing (CW&P) Program. This decision will significantly affect your current and future students and the Canadian publishing and literary community.

The CW&P program is widely regarded as a nurturing and innovative space for emerging writers in the Canadian literary sector. Many of our members have taught, lectured, and worked with students from this program, and we have witnessed firsthand the talents of its graduates. Your former students are engaged in successful literary and publishing careers in Canada and beyond. This program is crucial not only for fostering creative talent, but also for ensuring the continued vibrancy of Canada’s literary sector.

Creative writing offers more than just an academic discipline; it cultivates essential skills such as empathy, communication, and critical thinking. Sheridan’s CW&P program has built a strong reputation for nurturing emerging writers and offering them a platform to develop their voices. This essential program helps shape the Canadian literary landscape, producing authors, poets, and storytellers who contribute to our cultural identity.

The success of the CW&P program cannot be overstated. We urge you to reconsider your decision to suspend the program to ensure that Sheridan College can continue to act as a leader in literary and publishing education in the future.