A one-of-a-kind opportunity to experience the North

Berton House is a premier residency for writers in Canada. It remains one of the best experiences of my creative life. I hosted meetings and workshops with local writers, visual artists, and film makers — building bridges across different art forms. Living within the community also taught me about specific regional, ecological, and Indigenous issues. Primarily known as a novelist when I was selected, the Berton House residency allowed me to grow creatively by providing time and inspiration to develop a debut poetry collection. This Report Is Strictly Confidential has since been published. I whole-heartedly endorse the program.

The people in Dawson City were friendly and open, the town itself was quiet enough to let me get a lot of writing done but interesting and eclectic enough for me not to get bored. The walls of Berton House dripped with inspiration and motivation. You're not just a resident of the house, but of the entire town of Dawson City. It adopts you. There is a tide in that town and if you're lucky, you can float along for the ride. I came. I saw. I wrote.

It’s very isolated. I was living there during the winter when it got to negative 40 degrees — I went out hiking every day and it cleared my mind. In three days and nights — but really one endless night, because there was almost no daylight at that point — I wrote 20,000 words, and the novel kind of broke open.

The endless summer daylight and the long winter darkness generate a strange, intense energy. So do the gorgeous landscapes, the remoteness, the Northern Lights, and the active clouds. People treat you with respect there and encourage you to pursue your dreams and be who you are. Maybe that’s why I’ll always imagine going back to Dawson City.

My stay at Berton House was like stepping into another dimension. I was satisfyingly productive in a house that welcomes each newcomer. I felt the pull that Dawson City, and the North, has always exerted on people: the excitement of spring break-up, the magnificence of the landscape, the adrenaline of endless light at midsummer. I met extraordinary people, relished my new friends’ eccentricity and creativity, and cannot wait to return.

I came to Dawson City expecting to do a lot of typing; what I wasn't prepared for was how relentlessly fascinating a place it is. Here you're confronted with history at every corner, and the past looms large in a way you don't find most places in Canada. I would recommend the Berton House residency to any writer interested in getting work done — and some thinking, too.