The brochures are now printed for the Sleeping Giant Writers Festival which will be held at the old Fort. The brochures are available at all city libraries.
Peter Mansbridge will be a featured guest. Watch this spot for more info
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Writers Circle Update
You are welcome to join in on the last Wednesday of every month at Waverly Library.
Last night, the group discussed the next anthology of their work. Marianne Wahl suggested dividing the book into categories such as mystery stories, science fiction, poetry, the human condition, memoir etc and etc. In the group's latest anthology, the works were set in alphabetical order by author; but there was a general consensus that the subject categories may be more interesting to readers. Then too, writers might consider the categories when preparing their own submissions. The group will begin accepting submissions (short fiction, memoir, non-fiction as well as poetry) at the August meeting on Wednesday, August 26 at 6:30 pm. Note: because the library closes early, the meeting starts at 6:30 rather than the usual time of 7 p.m.
Judith Greencorn led a discussion on publishers and publishing. The meeting continued with a fun writing excise. Joan Baril read a short story called "Unbullshitable."
In July, Paul Gooding will speak on Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Their Life, Letters and Love. Wednesday July 29. Please note: because the library closes early, the meeting will start at 6:30 rather than 7 pm.
At the September meeting (Wednesday, September 30) Alan Wade will discuss "The First Story Tellers of the Local Ojibway."
Last night, the group discussed the next anthology of their work. Marianne Wahl suggested dividing the book into categories such as mystery stories, science fiction, poetry, the human condition, memoir etc and etc. In the group's latest anthology, the works were set in alphabetical order by author; but there was a general consensus that the subject categories may be more interesting to readers. Then too, writers might consider the categories when preparing their own submissions. The group will begin accepting submissions (short fiction, memoir, non-fiction as well as poetry) at the August meeting on Wednesday, August 26 at 6:30 pm. Note: because the library closes early, the meeting starts at 6:30 rather than the usual time of 7 p.m.
Judith Greencorn led a discussion on publishers and publishing. The meeting continued with a fun writing excise. Joan Baril read a short story called "Unbullshitable."
In July, Paul Gooding will speak on Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Their Life, Letters and Love. Wednesday July 29. Please note: because the library closes early, the meeting will start at 6:30 rather than 7 pm.
At the September meeting (Wednesday, September 30) Alan Wade will discuss "The First Story Tellers of the Local Ojibway."
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Historical Novel Society Conference
What fun. 250 historical novel writers and readers gather in Schaumburg, Illinois, to hear Diana Gabaldon, Margaret George, Edward Rutherford, and many other well knowns in the historical genre. The sub-genres of historical mystery, historical romance, historical adventure, historical biography and more were all represented. The participants were able to mingle and chat with the presenters in democratic fashion and I took advantage to meet Margaret Frazier who writes the Dame Frevisse mystery series and Anne Easter Smith who wrote A Rose for the Crown, a superb novel.
You could sign up to pitch your unpublished novels to editors and agents. You get an eight minute private time with the editor or agent of your choice. It's a scary thing to do but I took a deep breath and pitched my own novels to two editors.
The book room was jammed with the latest offerings and provided a good overview of what is now fashionable in historicals. For make no mistake, Madame Fad, (that bitch), directs what is published and what sells. The Tudor period leads the pack but is slipping back to be replaced by the Romans and the Medievals. Britain is still the setting of choice and novels featuring British royalty attract readers. According to historical mystery writer, Kathy Lynn Emerson, the next fashionable era will be the twenties and early thirties.
In the evening, the show-offs among us paraded in out historical costumes. My suffragette outfit turned out to be a winner and I was handed, for a prize, a stack of Philippa Gregory novels. Major shiver of delight. Gregory is one of my all time favourites. I also won a free membership in the organization. Next year the conference will take place in Britain.
The final evening ended with the late night sex scene ending. Historical romance, perhaps not as historically accurate as the biography types would like, is still able to steam up a room. If you get a chance, check out Jade Lee. Wild stuff.
You could sign up to pitch your unpublished novels to editors and agents. You get an eight minute private time with the editor or agent of your choice. It's a scary thing to do but I took a deep breath and pitched my own novels to two editors.
The book room was jammed with the latest offerings and provided a good overview of what is now fashionable in historicals. For make no mistake, Madame Fad, (that bitch), directs what is published and what sells. The Tudor period leads the pack but is slipping back to be replaced by the Romans and the Medievals. Britain is still the setting of choice and novels featuring British royalty attract readers. According to historical mystery writer, Kathy Lynn Emerson, the next fashionable era will be the twenties and early thirties.
In the evening, the show-offs among us paraded in out historical costumes. My suffragette outfit turned out to be a winner and I was handed, for a prize, a stack of Philippa Gregory novels. Major shiver of delight. Gregory is one of my all time favourites. I also won a free membership in the organization. Next year the conference will take place in Britain.
The final evening ended with the late night sex scene ending. Historical romance, perhaps not as historically accurate as the biography types would like, is still able to steam up a room. If you get a chance, check out Jade Lee. Wild stuff.
WIND, a poem by Elizabeth Kouhi
A hundred thousand
muted harp strings sweep
long phrases, as winds
sough through Boreal tree tops.
muted harp strings sweep
long phrases, as winds
sough through Boreal tree tops.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Poet Laureate Calls for Submissions
Hello NOWW members - here is a notice from the Poet Laureate of Toronto re a writing project in Thunder Bay
Advisory to Thunder Bay Writers and Artists and Cultural Stakeholders
I am subcontracted to the firm of BMI/Pace Architects and Planners for the redesign of the Thunder Bay waterfront. BMI has been commissioned by The City of Thunder Bay to include in their plans public art reflective of the culture and narratives of the Thunder Bay experience. I am engaged in finding appropriate texts for public surfaces and art installations, drawing from authors living or historical.
I would welcome the recommendation of authors and the submission of literary extracts for consideration in this project. The scope of the project is to enhance the quality of civic life in Thunder Bay by the showcasing of authors and citizens who speak of a loyalty and an aesthetic unique to Thunder Bay.
Please feel free to disseminate this invitation where it seems useful or to contact me or e-mail submissions to the following address;
pgdicicco@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Pier Giorgio Di Cicco
Poet Laureate of the City of Toronto
Principal, Municipal Mind
www.municipalmind.com
Advisory to Thunder Bay Writers and Artists and Cultural Stakeholders
I am subcontracted to the firm of BMI/Pace Architects and Planners for the redesign of the Thunder Bay waterfront. BMI has been commissioned by The City of Thunder Bay to include in their plans public art reflective of the culture and narratives of the Thunder Bay experience. I am engaged in finding appropriate texts for public surfaces and art installations, drawing from authors living or historical.
I would welcome the recommendation of authors and the submission of literary extracts for consideration in this project. The scope of the project is to enhance the quality of civic life in Thunder Bay by the showcasing of authors and citizens who speak of a loyalty and an aesthetic unique to Thunder Bay.
Please feel free to disseminate this invitation where it seems useful or to contact me or e-mail submissions to the following address;
pgdicicco@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Pier Giorgio Di Cicco
Poet Laureate of the City of Toronto
Principal, Municipal Mind
www.municipalmind.com
Friday, June 12, 2009
MARGARET GEORGE WRITES IN A TRANCE
Margaret George, best selling historical writer, told the participants at the Historical Novel Society Conference in Schaumburg, Illinois, on June 12, that she attempts to self-hypnotize herself to become her historical characters. She surrounds herself with sights and sounds which will lead her into this state--the music of the time, the perfumes or other scents, the objects such as jewellry which, for her, evoke the character. She blocks out the modern world as much as possible, removing all those things that would break the desired spell.
It was a revelation to me to learn that George's wonderful novels, The Autobiography of Henry VIII, The Memoirs of Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Mary Called Magdalene and others, were not only based on meticulous historical research but also on a desire to connect mentally with her subjects, to become them, to feel them, to time travel toward them.
The audience of 240 , most of them historical writers, seemed intrigued by her writing method. I had never considered trying to get in touch with my characters and others agreed with me. But a surprising number told me they used mood music, put up pictures of their characters or found suitable pictures on the Internet. At my table, one woman admitted feeling she was entering an altered state when she was writing, experiencing a shock when the outside world intruded. "The spell is broken," she said.
So maybe Margaret Atwood is right. Writing is an unknowable experience.
It was a revelation to me to learn that George's wonderful novels, The Autobiography of Henry VIII, The Memoirs of Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Mary Called Magdalene and others, were not only based on meticulous historical research but also on a desire to connect mentally with her subjects, to become them, to feel them, to time travel toward them.
The audience of 240 , most of them historical writers, seemed intrigued by her writing method. I had never considered trying to get in touch with my characters and others agreed with me. But a surprising number told me they used mood music, put up pictures of their characters or found suitable pictures on the Internet. At my table, one woman admitted feeling she was entering an altered state when she was writing, experiencing a shock when the outside world intruded. "The spell is broken," she said.
So maybe Margaret Atwood is right. Writing is an unknowable experience.
NOWW MAGAZINE LAUNCH
NOWW announces the launch of the all-new, bigger and better 2009 edition of
807: A Northwestern Ontario Literary Review
on Monday, July 6, 2009 at 7 p.m.
at the Waverley Resource Library,
The magazine includes the winning entries from the 2009 Writing Contest
and our first feature,
“Pork Chops, Wanigoostigwan, and the Politics of Here” A wide-ranging debate by Joe Fiorito, Mary Frost and Charles Wilkins .
Enjoy some refreshments and short readings from the magazine.
Members, please come out and pick up your free copy of the magazine. Additional copies will be available for $8 or two for $15.
If you can hand deliver any other copies, please pick them up at the launch as well,because it will cost us $3 per copy to mail them.
The June newsletter will be enclosed.
HELP! HELP! HELP!
Are you interested in writing and blues music?
Do you have experience with newsletters?
The Board of Directors of the
Thunder Blues Society
NEEDS YOU!
The Board has a Director position open for
NEWSLETTER EDITOR.
· “Nothin’ But the Blues!” is a quarterly publication usually 4 to 8 pages in length.
· If this position is NOT filled, our newsletter will cease to publish.
For further information and/or to apply
Contact
info@thunderbaybluessociety.ca
Do you have experience with newsletters?
The Board of Directors of the
Thunder Blues Society
NEEDS YOU!
The Board has a Director position open for
NEWSLETTER EDITOR.
· “Nothin’ But the Blues!” is a quarterly publication usually 4 to 8 pages in length.
· If this position is NOT filled, our newsletter will cease to publish.
For further information and/or to apply
Contact
info@thunderbaybluessociety.ca
Thursday, June 4, 2009
WRITER ALERT!! CBC LITERARY AWARDS
The 2009 CBC Literary Awards competition is now open!
The deadline for submissions is November 1st, 2009.
The Awards are Canada's only literary competition celebrating original, unpublished works in both official languages. There are three categories: short story, poetry, and creative nonfiction, with cash prizes totalling $60,000, courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts, publication in Air Canada's enRoute magazine and visibility for the winners and their winning entries offered by CBC.
To find out how to enter, visit our website at http://www.cbc.ca/literaryawards
We are also now on Facebook! Please look us up: CBC Literary Awards/Prix Littéraires Radio Canada
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CBC-Literary-Awards-Prix-litteraires-Radio-Canada/104251286101 Sincerely,The Awards Teamwww.cbc.ca/literaryawards 1-877-888-6788
The deadline for submissions is November 1st, 2009.
The Awards are Canada's only literary competition celebrating original, unpublished works in both official languages. There are three categories: short story, poetry, and creative nonfiction, with cash prizes totalling $60,000, courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts, publication in Air Canada's enRoute magazine and visibility for the winners and their winning entries offered by CBC.
To find out how to enter, visit our website at http://www.cbc.ca/literaryawards
We are also now on Facebook! Please look us up: CBC Literary Awards/Prix Littéraires Radio Canada
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CBC-Literary-Awards-Prix-litteraires-Radio-Canada/104251286101 Sincerely,The Awards Teamwww.cbc.ca/literaryawards 1-877-888-6788
Monday, June 1, 2009
Charlie Strikes Again!!
Join us as we celebrate the publication of
HIGH ON THE BIG STONE HEART
And Further Adventures in the Boreal Heartland
By Charles Wilkins
(Finalist for 2009 Trillium Book Award)
Saturday, June 13, 2009
From 12 noon - 4:00 pm
*light refreshments available
Finnish Book Store
168 Algoma Street South
Thunder Bay, Ontario
P7B 3P9
HIGH ON THE BIG STONE HEART
And Further Adventures in the Boreal Heartland
By Charles Wilkins
(Finalist for 2009 Trillium Book Award)
Saturday, June 13, 2009
From 12 noon - 4:00 pm
*light refreshments available
Finnish Book Store
168 Algoma Street South
Thunder Bay, Ontario
P7B 3P9
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.JPG)
