Aspiring female writers in Jasper will have the opportunity to learn something from a former resident who knows all about creating works of fiction and fact.

Natasha Singh, who grew up in town and graduated from Jasper Junior/Senior High in 1990, is returning to teach an afternoon workshop on July 26. Entitled “Sun, Flower, Fruit” the workshop will run from 1-5 p.m. The following evening, Singh will participate in a reading event at the Old Fire Hall. This second session will include other local writers and also mark the launch of the newest issue of Uncalibrated, Jasper’s literary magazine.

“Natasha felt she wanted to give something back to the community and inspire people to write,” said Niki Wilson, a local who grew up with Singh and is helping to organize the workshop. Singh is currently in Pakistan doing research for a novel.

Since leaving Jasper after high school, Singh has attended the University of Toronto and Sarah Lawrence in New York state, earning a Master’s of Fine Arts in creative writing. She went on to teach writing, English and world politics at Rutgers University and is now employed as a teacher at the Collegiate School for Boys in New York, one of very few women on the faculty.

“This is a bit of a pilot we think,” Wilson said. “Natasha would be interested in doing this again if there is the interest.”

There will be about 12 spots available for the workshop, and interested writers can sign up at JAG’s Brushfire Gallery right away. The session costs $30 per person.

“I know that there will be three spots filled right away, and we’ve been getting the word out already,” said Wilson, who added that attendees should expect to come away with completed work, or at the very least, works in progress.

“People will come away with something in hand,” she said. “It might be finished, or it might be a framework to be completed over the next few days.”

Wilson and Singh shared a love for writing while growing up, and while Natasha has made a career from this passion, Wilson’s pursuits have been more private since her school days.

“I think this workshop is her way to surreptitiously force me into doing it in public,” Wilson joked.

The choice to make the workshop for women only was based on Singh’s experience.

“We wanted to make sure there was a safe place where women could come and express themselves about any topic,” Wilson said. “We’re hoping there might be some people who have been writing and are just a little shy about it.”

Local writing luminaries like Paulette Dube, Ben Gadd and Karsten Heuer have all been invited to participate in the evening reading on the 27th, but at press time, Wilson was unable to confirm the line-up for the event.