*WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE ANNOUNCEMENTS

*WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE MEMBER NEWS

*PROGRAMS AROUND AND ABOUT

*OPPORTUNITIES AND SUBMISSIONS

*CONTESTS

*SOURCES AND RESOURCES

*NEWS RANDOM AND OTHERWISE

*QUOTE OF THE WEEK

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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IMPORTANT REMINDER: The 2010-2011 Writers Circles are filling up fast! Have you registered yet? If not send me an email as quickly as you can at writerscollective@uwinnipeg.ca

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Just a reminder that the Writers’ Collective Office will be closed on Tuesdays for the summer. I will still be answering email and phone calls remotely however!

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Please check out the Writers’ Collective NEW AND IMPROVED WEBSITE (and Yes, it is still improving!) athttp://thewriterscollective.org/

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WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE TENTH ANNIVERSARY!

We are looking for submissions for the Collective Consciousness magazine about the upcoming tenth anniversary of the Collective!

Give us your thoughts, your ideas and what the Collective means to you . . .

For More Information: Contact Michael Van Rooy, Writers’ Collective Program Coordinator at writerscollective@uwinnipeg.ca or by phone at (204) 786-9468 or submit to wc.journal@gmail.com

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THIN AIR Winnipeg International Writers Festival

The new programs are here, the new programs are here! The THIN AIR 2010 Programs will be hitting the streets of Winnipeg TODAY!

That is Friday, September 03, 2010!

They are available at McNally Robinson Booksellers, all Winnipeg City Libraries, The Forks Market, and various cafes, restaurants and shopping malls around Winnipeg.

Want an online version? Check out our schedule at www.thinairwinnipeg.ca.

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WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE MEMBER NEWS

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COLLECTIVE MEMBER DEBBIE STRANGE TO HOLD PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT AT THE ASSINIBOINE PARK CONSERVATORY

Collective member Debbie Strange will have her abstract photography exhibit, The Poetry of Light, hosted at the Assiniboine Park Conservatory from December 6, 2010 to January 10, 2011.

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WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE MEMBER ARIEL GORDON TO APPEAR ON TONIGHTS KELLY HUGHES LIVE AT AQUA BOOKS!

Tonight at 7:00pm THIN AIR Director Extraordinaire CHARLENE DIEHL and two of our 2010 guests, ARIEL GORDON and JORDAN WHEELER, will be interviewed at Kelly Hughes Live: Into THIN AIR I.
Kelly Hughes Live (KHL) is Winnipeg’s only live talk show and will take place upstairs in the Stone Angel Room at 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Charlene is the brains behind THIN AIR and a talented poet and supporter of the arts in her own rights. Ariel is a Winnipeg-based writer and the author of Hump, one of the books featured in this year’s festival. Jordan is a professional writer of books and for television and movies, he will be appearing around the city at this year’s THIN AIR School Program.
KHL is an entertaining blend of comedy, music and chaos that truly has to be seen to be believed (and understood!)
This week the musical guest is Skender Sefa, classical guitarist.

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WRITING OPPORTUNITY FROM KRISTIAN ENRIGHT (WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE MEMBER)

Environmental degradation is a growing concern in Lake Winnipeg and its associated river systems. The water quality of the Lake Winnipeg watershed has been negatively affected by human activities that have changed the flow of nutrients and water into the region.
Are you concerned about the situation in the Lake Winnipeg watershed? About your own environmental impact?
Move past guilt to action! We invite creative and/or scientific responses to the environmental situation in the Lake Winnipeg region. Part of the goal is for individuals to present a vision of nature that gives it value so as to appreciate it in any way imaginable.
Selected respondents will present their work in an innovative community dialogue, in which artistic responses to the crisis will be complemented by scientific analysis of the problem and potential solutions.
Submit a finished copy of the work you would like to present (poems, plays, art pieces and scientific analysis are all welcome) to susie.k.taylor@gmail.com or quietspeaker@hotmail.com by September 10, 2010. Please send full contact information along with your submission. Try and limit your response to being presentable in a read time period of 5-10 minutes. Selected respondents will be notified by the 15th, and the event/ dialogue will be held later in September towards the end of the month.

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FINDING YOUR VOICE

A free writing group for newcomers to Canada.

An 8-week creative writing program for New Canadians that builds intercultural communications and writing skills. The group will discuss access to writing and publishing resources, provide an opportunity for networking, and help you build your writing, editing and storytelling skills. Sessions will be moderated by Janine LeGal (Writers’ Collective Member), writer and human rights activist and co-moderator Alan Balingit, journalist and new Canadian.

Basic English writing skills are necessary. This is not an English language course.

Millennium Library, Meeting Room 1, 2^nd Floor, 251 Donald Street

Tuesdays from 7-9 pm, September 7 to November 2 or Saturdays from 10 am to 12 noon September 11 to October 30.

To register call 986-6779.

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ON THE SAME PAGE VOTING CONTINUES!

Read the same book Speak the same language.

Vote! Help select the next chapter for On the Same Page!
Which Manitoba book, by a Manitoba author, do you think should get Manitobans On the Same Page this year? From the short list below, select the title you’d like for Manitoba’s biggest book club. The book that receives the greatest public support before the end of September 2010 will be featured.

The choices are:

An Ordinary Decent Criminal by Michael Van Rooy (Writers’ Collective Member)

Beautiful Girl Thumbby Melissa Steele

Dead of Midnight by Catherine Hunter (Writers’ Collective Member)

Juliana and the Medicine Fish by Jake MacDonald

To vote simply go to: http://www.wpgfdn.org/programsprojects-otsp.php#vote

And make your selection at the bottom of the page!

Currently there are 672 votes cast!

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Kerry Ryan (Writers’ Collective Member)

Date: September 28, October 13 and 26, November 3, 16 and 24

Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Location: Aqua Books, 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1H3, Phone: 204-943-7555.

Event: Writers’ Support Group with poet Kerry Ryan

Cost: $20 plus GST. Contact kelly@aquabooks.ca or 943-7555 to register.

Notes: The workshop is limited to 16 people. Bring a notebook and pen.

Ready to share your writing, but not sure where to start? Looking for an extra set of eyes but can’t commit to a writing group?

Writers working in all genres are invited to take part in a series of drop-in,workshop-style sessions hosted by Aqua Books Writer-in-Residence Kerry Ryan. Participants will be expected to both share work and give feedback to others.

Six sessions will take place over the fall. Participants can sign up in advance for workshop slots (everyone will be guaranteed three slots, but they’ll be assigned first come, first served), and are welcome to attend any/all sessions to comment on others’ work.

All participants who wish can take part in a public, wind-up reading at Aqua Books on December 1.

Kerry Ryan lives and writes in Winnipeg. Her first collection of poetry, The Sleeping Life, was published by The Muses’ Company in 2008 and nominated for the Aqua Lansdowne Prize for Poetry in 2009. She has had poetry published in a number of journals, including Prairie Fire, Grain, Room, CV2 and Carousel. Her second collection, Vs., is forthcoming from Anvil Press, fall 2010.

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THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS WITH ANITA DAHER (WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE MEMBER)

Date: Nine Thursdays this fall: September 30, October 7, 14, 21, 28, November 4, 18, 25, and December 2, 2010.

Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Location: Aqua Books, 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1H3, Phone: 204-943-7555.

Event: A Writing Intensive Workshop

Cost: $225.00 plus GST ($200 plus GST before September 1). Contact kelly@aquabooks.ca or 943-7555 to register.

Notes: The workshop is limited to 12 people. Bring a notebook and pen.

Tickle your muse and develop skills as Anita Daher leads you on a journey into the world of writing picture books, children’s periodicals, middle grade and teen novels. Take your vitamins and prepare to absorb in-depth information on the genre, and the children’s writing and publishing industry in Canada. There will be exercises, assignments, dynamic interaction, and at the end—a party!

Anita Daher has been entrenched in the book publishing industry for more than fifteen years. She feels “place” infuses her writing, and is grateful to have lived in communities like Summerside, PEI, Moose Jaw, SK, Churchill, MB, Baker Lake, NU, and Yellowknife, NT. Her short stories have appeared in Prairie Fire Magazine, and she is author of seven youth novels, including Arthur Ellis and MB Book Award finalist Spider’s Song (2006), and Arthur Ellis, Hackmatack and Diamond Willow finalist Racing for Diamonds(2006). She has led workshops across the country, and has been a popular presenter at conferences and festivals. When not teaching, presenting, or working on her own stories, Anita edits teen novels for Great Plains Publications.

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JOHN TOONE (WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE MEMBER AND BEST DRESSED MALE AT THE 2010 MANITOBA BOOK AWARDS)

John Toone will be appearing all over the place this summer and fall:
Fort Whyte Alive, Kids Event – September 19th
Brandon University, Reading and workshop – October 2nd
Tonight it’s Poetry – Saskatoon, Reading – October 3rd
Vertigo Series – Regina, Reading -October 4th
Imagination Manifesto: Book Two, McNally Launch – October 28th
Central Canada Comic Con, The Strange Market – October 30th and 31st
Have a great summer, – JT

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IT’S ABOUT THE STORIES . . . IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT THE STORIES!

An Initiative by Michael Van Rooy (Writers’ Collective Member), the Literary Arts Ambassador for the Winnipeg Cultural Capital of Canada Project 2010 ARTS FOR ALL Program!

Winnipeg has produced some of the best writers in the world and here’s the proof!

To celebrate Winnipeg’s well-earned designation as Cultural Capital of Canada for 2010 we have chosen books by Winnipeggers to offer to other Winnipeggers. These are interesting, smart, funny, touching, scary . . . just plain good books! Fiction, non-fiction, it’s all here. And there’s something for both the dedicated and casual reader!

There are several copies of each of these books and we are giving them away to anyone on a first come, first served, basis. There are only three things we ask in return:

First: Read the book! If you decide it’s not for you then hand it back or hand it forward to someone who might like it!

Second: Tell us what you think of the book! Write us a letter, send us an email or go onto Facebook and write what you think! Tell us you love the book or you hate it, whatever. We want to know!

Third: When you’re done with the book, pass it along to someone, anyone, with the same instructions. Share the wealth, share the stories. Opinions and reviews will all be posted anonymously on the Facebook page for everyone to read!

Titles

Crown Fire by David Annandale

The Dragon and the Dry Goods Princess by David Arnason

The Imagined City: A Literary History of Winnipeg edited by David Arnason and Mhari Mackintosh

Exploits of a Reluctant (But Extremely Goodlooking) Hero by Maureen Fergus

Juliana and the Medicine Fish by Jake MacDonald

Cherry by Chandra Mayor

Yuletide Bandit by Mike McIntyre

A Dry Spell by Susie Moloney

In Search of April Raintree by Beatrice (Culleton) Mosionier

Bonheur d’occasion by Gabrielle Roy

Be Wolf by Wayne Tefs

An Ordinary Decent Criminal by Michael Van Rooy

How to Comment on the Books or Ask for Another!

You can reach Michael by email at vanrooy1@hotmail.com.

You can reach Michael by regular mail at About the Stories at 103–110 Princess Street,

Winnipeg, MB, R3B 1K7.

You can go onto Facebook at the Cultural Capital Literary Arts 2010 Program page.

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PROGRAMS AROUND AND ABOUT

This week the quotes come from Alfred Elton van Vogt (1912-2000), a prominent science fiction writer born near Gretna, Manitoba. Opinions on his writings are mixed but passionate and entertaining! But, somewhere in there, I did have the thought that this really fits in with my thinking about what I wanted to do; with what has to be done by a writer in order to stay alive as a writer. A.E. van Vogt

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Pat Pattan

Date: September 7, Tuesday

Time: 1:00-3:00 pm, 5:00-7:00 pm

Location: By the Cash Desk at the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Signing When We Were Growing Up.

Cost: Free!

What was it like to be growing up when kids could spend the day at the movies for twenty-five cents, the Model-T had to be cranked up to get it started, and the streets were dark until the lamplighter lit the gas lamps? When We Were Growing Up gives a person-to-person account of life from the 1920’s to 1960’s as seen through the eyes of the children growing up during events such as WWI & II and the Great Depression. Interspersed with the stories of the 14 people featured in this book, the author Pat Pattan (née Yeo) adds her own story of her birth in 1943 and childhood growing up as a “war baby” in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Pat graduated from Manitoba Teachers College in 1963. Moving to New Jersey in 1965, she became a U.S. citizen in 1976. She has written articles and reviews for local newspapers and has had radio commercials on the air. She has two sons, Jonathan and Eric Mol. Author Pat Pattan (née Yeo), will be on-hand to sign from 1:00-3:00 pm and again from 5:00-7:00 pm.

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Linda Leonard

Date: September 8, Wednesday

Time: 7:00pm

Location: In the Atrium of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Launch of Living the Dream in Mexico: Our RV Travels and Experiences in Mexico.

Cost: Free!

Linda Leonard and her husband Paul live in Grand Marais, Manitoba, during the summer and in Zihuatanejo, Mexico in the winter.  They are both retired teachers with four grown children and three grandchildren. They spent six years RVing and travelling throughout Mexico and helped Linda’s elderly Mom to share some amazing experiences from her wheelchair. Linda has written extensively on the internet, helping many people to enjoy travelling in Mexico. 2011 will bring the publication of her next book, Living the Dream in Europe, based on their RV travels and experiences throughout Western Europe.
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Martha Brooks

Date: September 8, Wednesday

Time: 7:30 pm

Location: In the Prairie Ink Restaurant of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Launch of Queen of Hearts

Cost: Free!

Two years into the Second World War, fifteen-year-old Marie-Claire Côté begins a war of her own as she, her brother and sister, all stricken with tuberculosis, are taken to the Pembina Hills Sanatorium in rural Manitoba. Queen of Hearts is a story about surviving loss — and finding friendship, and love, in surprising places. Critically acclaimed playwright, novelist and short fiction writer Martha Brooks was born and raised in a medical family on the grounds of the now defunct Manitoba Sanatorium at Ninette, Manitoba and resides with her husband, Brian, in Winnipeg. She has penned award-winning short stories and several powerful novels for young readers, as well as several plays, all of which deal with the universal themes of love and loss. Frequently appearing on the American Library Association Best Books Lists, Brooks has been nominated four times for the Governor General’s Award – an award she received in 2002 for True Confessions of a Heartless Girl.
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Janet Lewis Anderson

Date: September 9, 2010

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: In the Atrium of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Launch of In the Arms of the Angels

Cost: Free!

Janet grew up in a small, but loving, Winnipeg family. Her parents, Janette and John Lewis, doted on their only child and so when it came time for them to leave this world, it was especially hard on her. As a way of dealing with the stress of caring for her Mother who was dying from Alzheimer’s disease, as well as with the grief of saying goodbye, she began chronicling this difficult journey. She hopes that by sharing her story, others travelling a similarly difficult road won’t feel quite so alone and that the book will serve as a source of compassion and inspiration, helping others to courageously face another day. A tribute to her late Mother, In the Arms of The Angels is truly a Mother – Daughter love story. After 31 years of service with Canadian National Railways, Janet Lewis Anderson retired in 2003 to stay home and look after her dying Mother. Marrying a year after her Mother passed away, Janet and her husband Bruce continue to reside in Winnipeg. They enjoy family get-togethers, cooking and travelling. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to The Alzheimer Society of Manitoba.
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David Zinger

Date: September 9, Thursday

Time: 7:30 pm

Location: In the Travel Alcove of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Launch of Zengage: How to Get More INTO Your Work to Get More OUT of Your Work

Cost: Free!

Zengage combines the ancient art of Zen with the modern science of engagement. Zen meditation promotes direct acts of wisdom and understanding that lead to enlightenment. Engagement only happens when individuals take the time to understand themselves and act accordingly. This collection of inspiration is designed to help the reader connect in a deeper way with themselves and others, to help create a more meaningful life at work and at home. To help them learn the art of living by paying full attention to whatever they are doing in the moment. David Zinger, M.Ed, is a global expert on employee engagement and founder of the Employee Engagement Network. His website has over 1,000 articles on the topic. Mr. Zinger has worked with employee engagement from British Columbia to Barcelona and Warsaw to Winnipeg. Visit him at <www.davidzinger.com>.

David Zinger, Thursday September 9, 7:30 in the Travel Alcove. Launch of Zengage: How to Get More Into Your Work to Get More Out of Your Work.
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On the Same Page 2010-11 Nominee Read-Off

Date: September 9, Thursday

Time: 8:00 pm

Location: In the Prairie Ink Restaurant of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: On the Same Page 2010-11 Nominee Read-Off

Cost: Free!

Which Manitoba book, by a Manitoba author, will get Manitobans On the Same Page and be the focus of Manitoba’s biggest book club this year? All four nominees will be on hand this special evening to read from their works and present their case in Prairie Ink Restaurant. Catherine Hunter, author of the nominated book The Dead of Midnight (Turnstone Press), is a teacher, editor, critic, poet, and avid reader of thrillers. She is the author of three books of poetry, three novels, and one novella. Jake MacDonald, author, short story writer and journalist, winner of three awards, including the Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize will defend his work Juliana and the Medicine Fish(Great Plains Publications). Winner of the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Writing at the 1999 Manitoba Book Awards, Melissa Steele will read from her nominated collection of short stories Beautiful Girl Thumb (Turnstone Press). Michael Van Rooy: documentarian, reporter, ex-cheese-maker. Will the B.C. ex-pat win over the readers of Manitoba with the first volume of his Monty Haaviko crime series An Ordinary Decent Criminal (Turnstone Press)? This special night might just be the one that turns the tide and is presented in association with On The Same Page, an initiative of The Winnipeg Foundation and Winnipeg Public Library that encourages Manitobans to read the same book at the same time. Visit <http://www.wpgfdn.org/programsprojects-otsp.php> to vote for the book of your choice.
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Jane Urquart

Date: September 10, Friday

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: In the atrium of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Reading & Signing Sanctuary Line

Cost: Free!

Set in the present day on a farm at the shores of Lake Erie, Jane Urquhart’s new novel weaves elements from the nineteenth-century past, in Ireland and Ontario, into a gradually unfolding contemporary story of events in the lives of the members of one family that come to alter their futures irrevocably. There are ancestral lighthouse-keepers, seasonal Mexican workers; the migratory patterns and survival techniques of the Monarch butterfly; the tragedy of a young woman’s death during a tour of duty in Afghanistan; three very different but equally powerful love stories. Jane Urquhart brings to vivid life the things of the past that make us who we are, and reveals the sometimes difficult path to understanding and forgiveness. Jane Urquhart was born in Little Long Lac, Ontario, and grew up in Toronto. She is the author of five internationally acclaimed novels, one collection of short fiction, and four books of poetry, for which she has received and been shortlisted for many awards. Her work has been translated into numerous foreign languages. Urquhart has received the Marian Engel Award, and is a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France and an Officer of the Order of Canada, as well as the recipient of numerous honorary degrees.  She lives in southwestern Ontario.

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David Korinetz

Date: September 11, Saturday

Time: 1:00-4:00 pm

Location: By the Cash Desk of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Signing Sorceress: Chronicles of the Daemon Knights

Cost: Free!

Highly recommended by the Midwest Book Review, this book finds the Sorceress Magdalen stripped of her power with deadly foes at every turn. While seeking the safe haven of Toth, she becomes an unwilling witness to the murder of a FireDrake along the way, leading to her capture by a marauding band of Imperial Dog Soldiers led by the crazed fanatic Kaspar. Sir Rodney, the Balorian knight responsible for her downfall, forsakes his duty to the order for his compulsion to rescue the woman who continues to haunt his dreams. What is one man’s desire compared to the combined might of an empire, and are things truly the way they seem? Born and raised in Winnipeg and a resident for nearly four decades, David Korinetz attended Tec Voc High School and was an employee of Bristol Aerospace for nineteen years. Now relocated to the small resort community of Penticton, B.C., David has found that living in the Okanagan valley was instrumental in allowing him to visualize the Fantasy world in which his characters live. At one time employed as everything from a prairie fish plant worker, a railway worker, to an avionics technician, David finally found his true calling as a Fantasy author.

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Dr. Paul McCutcheon
Date: September 13, Monday

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: In the Travel Alcove of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Speaking and signing The New Holistic Way for Dogs and Cats: The Stress-Health Connection.

Cost: Free!

This special presentation will cover what “holistic” philosophy really means and how it applies to our pets and ourselves, some disturbing health trends, defining stress and its implication in health, outlining the negative stress factors that are significant in our pets’ lives and examine how we can control the negative stress and encourage total pet wellness. Dr. Paul D. McCutcheon graduated from Ontario Veterinary College in 1962. He founded and is currently Director of East York Animal Clinic Holistic Centre in Toronto. Dr. McCutcheon has a long history of media involvement and was awarded Veterinarian of the Year—Ontario Veterinary Association 1979 and Canadian Veterinary Medical Association 1983. He is past President of the Toronto Academy of Veterinary Medicine and past Director of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA). Dog owners are invited and encouraged to bring their canine companions to this special event.
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Les MacDonald

Date: September 13, Monday

Time: 7:30 pm

Location: In the Atrium of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Launch of The Day the Music Died.

Cost: Free!

This new work probes into the lives and deaths of musicians that graced the airwaves and big domes from as early as 1790 to the contemporary music industry of the 1900s and through to the 21st century. The book takes an intimate look at the passing of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Elvis Presley, Brian Jones, Bob Marley, John Lennon, George Harrison, Tupac Shakur, Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, Selena, Michael Jackson, and many more. The Day the Music Died exposes the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of this much-celebrated industry, covering expected deaths from illness to the shocking news of a life taken away by suicide or murder. Les MacDonald first began writing sports articles for several sports magazines about five years ago. After writing a book about Hollywood tragedies (Hollywood’s Unhappiest Endings: Legends Never Die) he turned his attention to those that have occurred in the music industry resulting in this, his second book. Les lives with his son Tristan in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and splits his time between Winnipeg and Las Vegas,Nevada.
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Dr. Ruth Simkin

Date: September 14, Tuesday

Time: 7:30pm

Location: In the Atrium of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Reading & Signing The Jagged Years of Ruthie J. Winnipeg 1963

Cost: Free!

Eighteen year-old psychology student Ruthie J. is the bane of her traditional Jewish family. Briefly married, she drinks, swears, has casual sex and mixes with questionable characters, arguing incessantly with her father. When a bizarre car accident lands her in court, the confused teen is sent for testing and diagnosed with epilepsy – then considered a mental illness. Against her wishes, Ruthie’s family admits her to a posh Maryland mental hospital, Chestnut Lodge of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden fame, where she is put at the mercy of a sadistic psychiatrist. The Jagged Years of Ruthie J. is the story of the friendship and love of Ruthie’s fellow patients and the tale of how, with the help of a remarkable therapist, Ruthie J. managed to free herself, discover her true sexual orientation and persevere in her dream to become a physician. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Dr. Ruth Simkin practiced family medicine for several decades and subsequently became a specialist in palliative care. She has studied all over the world and is the author of medical articles on women’s health as well as Like an Orange on a Seder Plate, a feminist Passover Haggadah. Retired from medicine, she now lives and writes in Victoria, BC.
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WHOSE VOICE? A LECTURE WITH JOAN THOMAS
Date: September 14, Tuesday

Time: 7 – 8:30 pm

Location: Burns Family Classroom 218-100 Arthur Street

Event: An evening lecture on narrative voice with Joan Thomas

Cost: Free for Writers’ Guild Members, $10.00 for non-members

The Manitoba Writers’ Guild is pleased to present an evening lecture on narrative voice with Joan Thomas
Tuesday September 14, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM, Burns Family Classroom, 218-100 Arthur St.
This special event is free to Guild members, $10 for non-members
How do fiction writers choose between first and third person voice? And having picked a point of view and narrative voice, how do we negotiate its limits and exploit its possibilities? Joan Thomas will lecture on narrative voice and point of view in the MWG classroom. All fiction writers and editors are welcome.
Joan Thomas is the author of two novels, Reading by Lightning and Curiosity. Her 2008 novel, Reading by Lightning, won the Commonwealth Prize for best First Book (Canada and the Carribbean) and the Amazon.ca First Novel Award. Her second novel, Curiosity, has just been published by McClelland and Stewart. Thomas has worked as a freelance writer, reviewer, and editor, and as Writing and Publishing consultant for the Manitoba Arts Council. She has been a frequent book reviewer for the Globe and Mail since 1993 and for two years wrote a biweekly feature review in the Globe. She was co-editor (with Heidi Harms) of Turn of the Story: Canadian Short Fiction on the Eve of the Millennium (House of Anansi Press, 1999).
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Forging the Muse – A workshop with poet Chandra Mayor

Date: September 15, 22, 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27, November 3, 10, 17, 24, December 1.

Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Location: Aqua Books, 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1H3, Phone: 204-943-7555.

Event: A workshop for poets (beginning or intermediate)

Cost: $250 plus GST. Contact kelly@aquabooks.ca or 943-7555 to register.

Notes: This workshop is appropriate for beginning or intermediate poets and is limited to 10 people. Bring a notebook and pen.

Does the Muse of Poetry come to you at night, streaming with the moon through your windows, the unseen hand guiding your pen as you fill page after page with (probably rhyming) verse of unspeakable beauty and profundity, while you, the passive vehicle for this marvel, surrender yourself up to the voices of Truth and Light?

Nope, me neither. `(And if that is indeed your poetic process, you’ll probably hate my course).

“Poetry is the way we give name to the nameless so that it can be thought,” said Audre Lorde. This 12 week course will help us understand how that happens – how each of us can transform images, ideas, and emotions into words that truly communicate in our writing. We will focus on the craft of poetry and of language (image and metaphor, place and point of view, voice, form poetry, line breaks, and how to give effective readings). We’ll learn how (and why) editing and workshopping is so important. We’ll explore personal mythologies, the world(s) of publishing, performativity, and whatever else seems interesting. We’ll play, and take risks, and create a community of writers – we won’t (and shouldn’t) always agree with each other, but we’ll each understand more about what we write, why we write, and how to get closer to the poems we really want to write. The course will include lots of reading, lots of discussion, and most importantly, lots of writing (and lots of feedback).

I don’t really believe in the notion of ‘the muse.’ But I do believe in inspiration, hard work, the creative urge, and learning the skills to express it. And I do believe, absolutely, that poetry can (and does) transform the world, and ourselves. Let’s light the fires and figure out how.

Chandra Mayor’s writing has appeared in several anthologies, including Interruptions: 30 Women Tell the Truth about Motherhood,Breathing Fire 2: Canada’s New Poets, and Post-Prairie. Her first book, August Witch: poems, was short-listed for four Manitoba book awards and won the Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book. She received the 2004 John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Writer, and the following year her novel, Cherry, won the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award. The title story from her most recent book, All the Pretty Girls (conundrum), was shortlisted for a 2008 CBC Literary Award,and the collection itself won a Lambda Award for Best Lesbian Fiction. Mayor lives in Winnipeg.

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THE WHOLE CABOODLE: ADVANCED POETICS WITH TED DYCK
Date: September 26, Sunday

Time: 10 am – 3 pm

Location: Burns Family Classroom 218-100 Arthur Street

Event: Advanced Poetry Workshop

Cost: $75 or $125

Application & submission deadline September 10th
Ted Dyck will be leading an advanced poetics workshop on the major tools at a poet’s disposal (Verse, Figure, and Form) on Sunday September 26th. It will be based on work submitted by participants. More information and details of the workshop are available from Victor Enns at venns@mts.net.
Cost $75 for members, $125 for non-members (includes a MWG membership)
Minimum number of participants:7, Maxiumum number of participants: 10
Selection process: First priority will be given to published writers, then unpublished writers on a first come first served basis. It is expected that this will be a multi-level workshop and all writers are encouraged to submit.
Method: All writers ill electronically submit five poems to a maximum of eight pages of new work. Poems for discussion will be selected by the facilitator. A syllabus (poems, summaries of concepts, writing exercises, and readings) will be circulated by email to all participants a week before the workshop. All poets will have their work discussed.
Registrations for the Advanced Poetics Workshop are now being accepted. Deadline for applications, which must include the submission of work, is September 10th.
All registrations and submissions should be made by email to venns@mts.net. Fees, however, are to be paid by cheque to “The Manitoba Writers’ Guild” and mailed to the MWG, 218-100 Arthur Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 1H3.
Ted Dyck was dropped into the short-grass prairie within sight of the South Saskatchewan River breaks on, approximately, 1939, 09.03. He has studied at, graduated from, and taught at a number of colleges and universities. He has edited three anthologies of critical essays and published four collections of poetry and over 100 articles. He writes in a number of genres – poetry, fiction, essay – and operates a writing, editing, and workshopping serviced called WorDoctor. His other interests include – fly-fishing, cross-country skiikng, snooker, Bach and Gould, the classical guitar, cognac. Recently (2007-2009) he was writer-in-residence with the Festival of Words (Moose Jaw). Currently, he directs a “Writing for Your Life Program” for CMHA(SK). He lives, writes, fishes, etc. in or near Shaunavon SK. [Full bio & resume atwww.wordoc.sasktelwebsite.net/]

***

The University of Winnipeg is offering a new course, taught by two award-winning writers: ENGL-3102(1)-001 Creative Writing Field Research (one credit hour)
Fall section: “Luring the Knock: Inviting Poems to Linger” with Chandra Mayor (Writers’ Collective Member)
Saturday Oct 16 & Saturday Oct 23 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Margaret Atwood says that inspiration knocks softly, and that if you don’t answer, she goes away. Ignore the knocking often enough, and she stops coming back. How can we better equip ourselves to hear that soft knocking? How can we learn to hear knocking as insistent hammering? Better yet, how can we wedge the door permanently open, inviting images and words and rhythms—poems—to walk freely in and out of our minds, pages, and even at home in our own kitchens?
Winter section: “Building the Story” with Jake MacDonald
Saturday Jan 8 & Saturday Jan 15, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
“Building the Story” will focus on various approaches to writing a story, both fiction and non fiction. Students will study the many elements of story construction—creating the setting, introducing characters, the importance of description in immersing the reader in the world of the story, and the function of plot and dramatic action in revealing character.
Questions? call the English department Chair, Catherine Hunter, at 786-9294. For full information on the UW’s Creative Writing program, go to http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/english-index

***

OPPORTUNITIES AND SUBMISSIONS

We cannot guarantee any of the opportunities below! Please be careful and do your research. Quote: I had casually rented an apartment that cost $75 a month because I expected my writing to pay my way. A.E. van Vogt

***

THE COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS IS SEEKING SUBMISSIONS

The Collective Consciousness is the journal of the Writers’ Collective and it is published four times a year. We are always seeking submissions by members of the Collective, in fact any interested writers can submit!

Simply submit to wc.journal@gmail.com

NOTE: Okay, I can guarantee this one . . .

***

Local Call-to-Artists for Expressions of Interest

The Winnipeg Arts Council seeks an artist to create a literary-based fence for Millennium Library Park in downtown Winnipeg. The Park is undergoing a significant renovation, and will also be the site of a major public art project to mark the designation of Winnipeg as the Cultural Capital of Canada for 2010.

The artist must reside in, or in close proximity to, Winnipeg.
Budget: $90,000
Deadline for application: September 8, 2010

Interested artists must submit a complete application package to be considered. Please visit www.winnipegarts.ca for full details including eligibility criteria, application requirements and to download the Call-to-Artists as well as site plans and images.

***

THE UNITER IS LOOKING FOR WRITERS

The Uniter, the University of Winnipeg’s newspaper, is looking for writers interested in current news events. Beginning writers will be paired with a current writer and learn how to write a news story.

For more information E-mail Andrew at news@uniter.ca or come to the office for the weekly news meeting, Friday at 12:30 in room ORM14 in the Bulman Mezzanine. The meeting is open to everyone.

***

Mosaic: Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature, Special Issue: Romance
Deadline October 31, 2010 
The OED has to give some three pages to defining the word ROMANCE that, with all of its rich history, is at the center of this Mosaic Call for Papers. We invite innovative interdisciplinary literary and critical submissions for a special issue we are planning on this theme. For this issue, our interests include, but are not limited to, the following: ‘the Romantics,’ who have undergone a renascence of late; the French novel, the roman; romantic fiction; Romanticism; the state of the love story in literature and/or film; and the figure of the “romantic.” Details:http://www.umanitoba.ca/publications/mosaic/whatsnew/#CallForSubmissions

***

CARTE BLANCHE

The deadline for the fall issue of Montreal’s premier online literary journal, carte blanche (www.carte-blanche.org), is fast approaching!

Send us your poetry, fiction, nonfiction, graphic fiction, photography and translations. Upload it using our handy, new submissions manager.

Accepted fiction is now eligible for consideration to the Journey Prize, and our fiction and nonfiction may also be accepted for consideration to CellStories (www.cellstories.net), our mobile/iPhone partner.  Published authors are paid $30 per submission.

DEADLINE: September 15, 2010

www.carte-blanche.org

***

Prism International is pleased to announce that we are ready to receive entries for our 2011 literary contests!

Entry fees for all contests are $28, and additional entries can be added for $7 each. Every participant receives a one-year subscription to Prism International.

The Non-Fiction Contest is first up, with a deadline of November 30th, 2010. The grand prize is $1500, and this contest is being judged by Brian Brett, a poet, novelist and non-fiction writer whose latest book, for Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life, won the Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize in 2009.

The Short Fiction Contest has a deadline of January 29, 2011. The best, unpublished story will receive $2000, as well as publication payment for our fiction contest issue. Three runner-up prizes of $200 dollars are also conferred. Works of translation are eligible. This year’s judge will be announced shortly. Hold on to your bifocals and lean on in.

The Poetry Contest also has a January 29, 2011 deadline. Each entry can be up to three poems. This year’s poetry judge is Vancouver poet laureate, Brad Cran. He is a contributing editor at Geist magazine, and you can read some of his work on their site.
Contest entries must be sent to Prism through snail mail, accompanied by an entry form and cheque or receipt of credit card payment. For entry forms and the option to pay fees by credit card, please visit Prism’s contest page.
Entries can be sent to:

Prism International

Creative Writing Program

The University of British Columbia

BUCH E462-1866 Main Mall

Vancouver, BC

V6T 1Z1

CANADA

***

SOURCES AND RESOURCES

***

For more information about McNally Robinson Booksellers check out http://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/home, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

***

To see the current list of Adult Programs at Winnipeg Public Library, please visit the address below:http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/pdfs/adultprograms.pdf.

Children’s programs: http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/pdfs/childrensprograms.pdf.

The July/August library newsletter is available at http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/pdfs/@thelibrary11.4.pdf.

The Millennium Library is at 251 Donald Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 3P5, 204-986-6450.

***

For details on Aqua Books store events, go to http://aquabooks.ca/events.php Past events are at http://aquabooks.ca/past.php. 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1H3, Phone: 204-943-7555.

***

For more information on Literary Arts programs at The Banff Centre, check out:
http://www.banffcentre.ca/writing/

***

A truly great mystery bookstore is Winnipeg’s Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore at 165 Lilac Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3M 2S1. Their telephone number is (204) 284-9100 or 1-800-468-421. Their website is at http://www.whodunitcanada.com/home.

Their hours are Mon-Thurs: 10 am to 5 pm, Fri: 10 am to 6 pm, Sat: 10 am to 5 pm and Sun: 12 pm to 4 pm.

***

Funding for Writers– this is an incomplete list of funding sources for writers, please double check dates and facts if you are interested.

Canada Council for the Arts - www.canadacouncil.ca/writing

Grants for Professional Writers Creative Writing – English: October 1; French language: April 1

Travel Grants for Professional Writers – Applicants are advised to submit their request three months ahead of time if they wish to have the results before their departure date.
Grants to Aboriginal Writers, Storytellers, and Publishers – June 1
Aboriginal Emerging Writers Residencies – June 1
Spoken Word and Storytelling Program – April 15
International Translation Grants- Any time; applications must be submitted before the translation has been completed according to the date in the contract with the translator.
Grants for Arts Promotion: Project Grants and Artists & Community Collaboration Program – March 15 and September 15

Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Awards - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/victor_martin_lynch_staunton
CBC Literary Awards - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/cbc_literary
Canada-Japan Literary Awards - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/canada_japan_literary
Governor General’s Literary Awards- Application deadlines vary, www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/ggla
Japan-Canada Fund - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/japan_canada_fund
Joseph S. Stauffer Prizes - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/joseph_s_stauffer
Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prizes – December 1, www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/molson

Manitoba Arts Council- http://artscouncil.mb.ca/english/liter_grantind.html
Major Arts Grant – January 15
Writers’ Grants – (A, B, C), May 15 and September 15
Travel/ Professional Development Grant for Writers – Four weeks prior to project
Community Connections and Access Program – April 1 and October 1
Deep Bay Artists’ Residency in Riding Mountain National Park of Canada – December 15
Special Opportunities Grant – May 15 for projects beginning after June 30
Departures - December 15
Public Readings by Manitoba Writers- Ongoing
Manitoba/New Brunswick Creative Residency – January 15

Manitoba Arts Award for Distinction – December 15

Winnipeg Arts Council – http://www.winnipegarts.ca/index.php?/grants-artists/

Individual Artist Grant Programs – A and B Grants, March 2 and September 7

Professional Development Grant Programs – no deadline

***

NEWS RANDOM AND OTHERWISE FROM THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Quote: My theory was that what I had to do was make a study of human behavior. A.E. van Vogt

***

Good Day All!

This week I have no news, too much to do to gather any interesting tidbits whatsoever!

Michael

***

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

You have to remember that I was a bright but simple fellow from Canada who seldom, if ever, met another writer, and then only a so-called literary type that occasionally sold a story and meanwhile worked in an office for a living. A.E. van Vogt

***

FOR THEORIES, CRITIQUE, PROPHECY, GREIVANCES, DESIRES, DREAMS, COMMENTS, CONCEPTIONS. NIGHTMARES, OPINIONS, BELIEFS, IDEAS, CONJECTURE, THOUGHTS, COMPLAINTS, DATA, HOPES, VISIONS, AND CONCEPTS PLEASE CONTACT

Michael Van Rooy
Program Coordinator
The Writers’ Collective
University of Winnipeg
4th Floor Library
515 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3B 2E9
(204) 786-9468.

writerscollective@uwinnipeg.ca

please give a warm welcome to Ms. Shayla E….

(insert applause here)

Hi, I am Shayla Elizabeth, a member of the Aboriginal Writers’ Collective, and I wanted to write a few words on my experience with the Speaking Crow Open Mic series.

At the beginning of 2009, one of my new year’s resolutions was to start going to the Speaking Crow on a regular basis and try to make as many of them as possible for at least a year. They are once a month, featuring a published (as in, have a book ) poet reading from their work for about 10 minutes, then it’s the Open Mic that anyone can sign up for.

I wanted to get into a regular writing habit, and also, practice being in front of a microphone. There are poets of all stripes, from having books published to first-timers, I found them all to be quite supportive, even as my most of my pieces were works-in-progress. Sometimes, the featured poet would stay, and I would even get positive feedback from them on a piece (!), which would encourage me to finish editing it.

Everyone is so welcoming, and it’s wonderful to hear other peoples’ drafts, even from the more experienced poets. It’s now September 2010, so as you can tell, my positive experience with Speaking Crow has kept me coming back for more!

Thanks Shayla. So what do you think? Do you have what it takes for the Speaking Crow Challenge? Your next opportunity is next Tuesday, September 7th when the Featured Reader will be Mariiane Mayes!!

Do you have a topic you would like to write about here? Email us, or post a comment and you too can be a guest blogger!!!

*WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE ANNOUNCEMENTS

*WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE MEMBER NEWS

*PROGRAMS AROUND AND ABOUT

*OPPORTUNITIES AND SUBMISSIONS

*CONTESTS

*SOURCES AND RESOURCES

*NEWS RANDOM AND OTHERWISE

*QUOTE OF THE WEEK

ANNOUNCEMENTS

***

IMPORTANT REMINDER: The 2010-2011 Writers Circles are filling up fast! Have you registered yet? If not send me an email as quickly as you can at writerscollective@uwinnipeg.ca

***

Just a reminder that the Writers’ Collective Office will be closed on Tuesdays for the summer. I will still be answering email and phone calls remotely however!

***

WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE TENTH ANNIVERSARY!

We are looking for submissions for the Collective Consciousness magazine about the upcoming tenth anniversary of the Collective!

Give us your thoughts, your ideas and what the Collective means to you . . .

For More Information: Contact Michael Van Rooy, Writers’ Collective Program Coordinator at writerscollective@uwinnipeg.ca or by phone at (204) 786-9468 or submit to wc.journal@gmail.com

***

WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE MEMBER NEWS

***

ON THE SAME PAGE VOTING CONTINUES!

Read the same book

Speak the same language.

Vote! Help select the next chapter for On the Same Page!
Which Manitoba book, by a Manitoba author, do you think should get Manitobans On the Same Page this year? From the short list below, select the title you’d like for Manitoba’s biggest book club. The book that receives the greatest public support before the end of September 2010 will be featured.

The choices are:

An Ordinary Decent Criminal by Michael Van Rooy (Writers’ Collective Member)

Beautiful Girl Thumb by Melissa Steele

Dead of Midnight by Catherine Hunter (Writers’ Collective Member)

Juliana and the Medicine Fish by Jake MacDonald

To vote simply go to: http://www.wpgfdn.org/programsprojects-otsp.php#vote

And make your selection at the bottom of the page!

Currently there are 585 votes cast!

***

Michael Van Rooy

Date: August 28, Saturday

Time: 2:00 pm

Location: At the Cash Desk of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Signing An Ordinary Decent Criminal.

Cost: Free!

Ex-con Monty Haaviko has done the crimes and served the time. Now, he just wants to settle down in Winnipeg with his family, find an honest job, and be an ordinary decent citizen. When three break-and-enter artists end up dead on his living-room floor, Monty’s plan to go straight derails. Wanna-be hero Detective Enzio Walsh wants to put Monty behind bars forever, and crime boss Jean Robillard, uncle to one of Monty’s house thieves, wants him dead. Together with his wife Claire, and the tricks and schemes learned from his checkered past, he just might clear his name and save his life. Michael Van Rooy writes for documentaries, magazines, newspapers, and the Internet. Michael won the 2006 Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book, and the 2009 John Hirsh Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer. Born in Kamloops, BC, he grew up in Winnipeg where he now lives with his wife and three children. This is the first volume in the Monty Haaviko series.  The third installment, A Criminal to Remember, was recently published by Turnstone Press.

An Ordinary Decent Criminal is nominated for the 2010/11 On the Same Page Project read. Visit <http://www.wpgfdn.org/programsprojects-otsp.php> to cast your vote.

***

Howdy Friend,
This is one of my new projects through Alchemical Press.  And writers, please take note:
Call/Response is a book about youth culture and live music in Winnipeg that is being produced by Mike Sanders, Nathan Terin and John Toone for the benefit of Kids Help Phone. Call/Response will not only show us the musicians, but will feature the young crowds that make for a great show. This book of art and literature will represent a collaboration of photographers, writers, visual artists, and collectors inspired by this scene.
The goal of this project is to raise money for Kids Help Phone and to raise awareness for issues facing youth. The book will sell for $25, and a minimum of $10 from each sale will be donated to Kids Help
Phone.
Youth have fueled Winnipeg’s music scene. Call/Response will tell this story in fifty-six pages, in a large 12″ by 12″ format, and using a collage of photographs, writing, and memorabilia. Call/Response will be published in February 2010 and a minimum of 1,000 copies will be distributed across Canada.
Deadline for submissions is August 31st, 2010. Visual elements could include photographs, posters, tickets, memorabilia, and other oddities. Written elements could include essays, lyrics, set lists, and other ramblings inspired by music.
Please show your support for Kids Help Phone and for live music and the arts in Winnipeg.
Official Facebook Link:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=137219839634845&v=info&ref=search
For fund raising information contact Nathan Terin at callresponsebook@gmail.com with “FUND RAISING” in the subject line.
For submissions guidelines contact Mike Sanders at callresponsebook@gmail.com with “SUBMISSIONS” in the subject line.
For other inquiries contact John Toone at john@alchemicalpress.com
*SEND IN YOUR SUBMISSIONS TODAY*
Deadline for submissions is AUGUST 31, 2010. Visual elements could include photographs, posters, tickets, memorabilia, and other oddities. Written elements could include essays, lyrics, set lists,
and other ramblings inspired by music.
You can submit up to ten photographs, posters, items of memorabilia, et cetera. You can submit up to five pieces of written work.
Images should be submitted as JPEG with a long edge no bigger than 1024 pixels and 72 dpi. If you are submitting memorabilia, please submit a photo of the piece you wish to contribute. Written works
should be submitted as RTF, TXT or DOC files.
Submissions containing the consumption of drugs and/or alcohol will not be eligible.

***

Kerry Ryan (Writers’ Collective Member)

Date: September 28, October 13 and 26, November 3, 16 and 24

Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Location: Aqua Books, 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1H3, Phone: 204-943-7555.

Event: Writers’ Support Group with poet Kerry Ryan

Cost: $20 plus GST. Contact kelly@aquabooks.ca or 943-7555 to register.

Notes: The workshop is limited to 16 people. Bring a notebook and pen.

Ready to share your writing, but not sure where to start? Looking for an extra set of eyes but can’t commit to a writing group?

Writers working in all genres are invited to take part in a series of drop-in,workshop-style sessions hosted by Aqua Books Writer-in-Residence Kerry Ryan. Participants will be expected to both share work and give feedback to others.

Six sessions will take place over the fall. Participants can sign up in advance for workshop slots (everyone will be guaranteed three slots, but they’ll be assigned first come, first served), and are welcome to attend any/all sessions to comment on others’ work.

All participants who wish can take part in a public, wind-up reading at Aqua Books on December 1.

Kerry Ryan lives and writes in Winnipeg. Her first collection of poetry, The Sleeping Life, was published by The Muses’ Company in 2008 and nominated for the Aqua Lansdowne Prize for Poetry in 2009. She has had poetry published in a number of journals, including Prairie Fire, Grain, Room, CV2 and Carousel. Her second collection, Vs., is forthcoming from Anvil Press, fall 2010.

***

Through the Looking Glass with Anita Daher (Writers’ Collective Member)

Date: Nine Thursdays this fall: September 30, October 7, 14, 21, 28, November 4, 18, 25, and December 2, 2010.

Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Location: Aqua Books, 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1H3, Phone: 204-943-7555.

Event: A Writing Intensive Workshop

Cost: $225.00 plus GST ($200 plus GST before September 1). Contact kelly@aquabooks.ca or 943-7555 to register.

Notes: The workshop is limited to 12 people. Bring a notebook and pen.

Tickle your muse and develop skills as Anita Daher leads you on a journey into the world of writing picture books, children’s periodicals, middle grade and teen novels. Take your vitamins and prepare to absorb in-depth information on the genre, and the children’s writing and publishing industry in Canada. There will be exercises, assignments, dynamic interaction, and at the end—a party!

Anita Daher has been entrenched in the book publishing industry for more than fifteen years. She feels “place” infuses her writing, and is grateful to have lived in communities like Summerside, PEI, Moose Jaw, SK, Churchill, MB, Baker Lake, NU, and Yellowknife, NT. Her short stories have appeared in Prairie Fire Magazine, and she is author of seven youth novels, including Arthur Ellis and MB Book Award finalist Spider’s Song (2006), and Arthur Ellis, Hackmatack and Diamond Willow finalist Racing for Diamonds (2006). She has led workshops across the country, and has been a popular presenter at conferences and festivals. When not teaching, presenting, or working on her own stories, Anita edits teen novels for Great Plains Publications.

***

John Toone (Writers’ Collective Member and Best Dressed Male at the 2010 Manitoba Book Awards) will be appearing all over the place this summer and fall:
Fort Whyte Alive, Kids Event – September 19th
Brandon University, Reading and workshop – October 2nd
Tonight it’s Poetry – Saskatoon, Reading – October 3rd
Vertigo Series – Regina, Reading -October 4th
Imagination Manifesto: Book Two, McNally Launch – October 28th
Central Canada Comic Con, The Strange Market – October 30th and 31st
Have a great summer, – JT

***

PROGRAMS AROUND AND ABOUT

This week the quotes come from Charles Bukowski, American poet and author (1920-1994). Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories, and six novels, eventually having over 60 books in print. In 1986 Time called Bukowski a “laureate of American lowlife.” Quote: “It’s possible to love a human being if you don’t know them too well.”

***

The River Barge Festival

Date: August 25, Wednesday to August 29, Sunday

Time: Varies

Location: The Forks

Event: The River Barge Festival

Cost: Free!

NOTE: We are still adding performers! Check back here for updated schedules. Website is:http://www.artsforall.ca/index.php/AFA/article/the_river_barge_festival_schedule

Wednesday, August 25 – Roots on the River

12:00       The Crooked Brothers
1:00         Jessee Havey and the Quirks
2:00         The D. Rangers
3:00         Kelly Hughes Live!
4:00         J.C. Campbell & Tracy Bone
5:00         Johnny Cajun
6:00         The Romi Mayes Band

Thursday, August  26  -  New Sounds / Old Friends

Hosted by Jane Testar and Tricia Cooper

12:00      Noma Sibanda & the Guerrillas of Soul
1:00        Matthew Contois
2:00        Christine Fellows
3:00        Kelly Hughes Live! (with Michael Van Rooy, Writers’ Collective Member)
4:00        Flying Fox & the Hunter-Gatherers
5:00        Greg Lowe & Jack Semple
6:00        Trio Bembe

Friday, August 27 -  Gala Evening

Hosted by Marcy Markusa and Janet Stewart

6:00        Opening ceremonies / remarks
6:30        Papa Mambo
7:45        Chic Gamine
9:15        The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra & Sierra Noble

With a light and mist installation by PO-MO Inc.

Saturday, August 28 – Red River Gumbo

Hosted by Larry Updike and Jon Ljungberg

12:00      Manitoba Theatre Centre presents: The History of Manitoba from the Beginning of Time to the Present in 45 Minutes
1:30        Darrelyne Bickel
2:30        The Scarlet Union
3:30        Les Surveillantes
4:30        Greg MacPherson
5:30        Magnum K.I.
6:30        Imaginary Cities
8:00        Digging Roots
9:30        Luke Doucet and the White Falcon

Sunday, August 29 – Family Day

Hosted by Al Simmons

12:00      Manitoba Theatre Centre presents: The History of Manitoba from the Beginning of Time to the Present in 45 Minutes
1:30        Rocki Rolletti and the Junior Noodle Wave
2:45        Jazz On Wheels
4:00        Fred Penner
***

Pat Pattan

Date: September 7, Tuesday

Time: 1:00-3:00 pm, 5:00-7:00 pm

Location: By the Cash Desk at the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Signing When We Were Growing Up.

Cost: Free!

What was it like to be growing up when kids could spend the day at the movies for twenty-five cents, the Model-T had to be cranked up to get it started, and the streets were dark until the lamplighter lit the gas lamps? When We Were Growing Up gives a person-to-person account of life from the 1920’s to 1960’s as seen through the eyes of the children growing up during events such as WWI & II and the Great Depression. Interspersed with the stories of the 14 people featured in this book, the author Pat Pattan (née Yeo) adds her own story of her birth in 1943 and childhood growing up as a “war baby” in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Pat graduated from Manitoba Teachers College in 1963. Moving to New Jersey in 1965, she became a U.S. citizen in 1976. She has written articles and reviews for local newspapers and has had radio commercials on the air. She has two sons, Jonathan and Eric Mol. Author Pat Pattan (née Yeo), will be on-hand to sign from 1:00-3:00 pm and again from 5:00-7:00 pm.

***
Linda Leonard

Date: September 8, Wednesday

Time: 7:00pm

Location: In the Atrium of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Launch of Living the Dream in Mexico: Our RV Travels and Experiences in Mexico.

Cost: Free!

Linda Leonard and her husband Paul live in Grand Marais, Manitoba, during the summer and in Zihuatanejo, Mexico in the winter.  They are both retired teachers with four grown children and three grandchildren. They spent six years RVing and travelling throughout Mexico and helped Linda’s elderly Mom to share some amazing experiences from her wheelchair. Linda has written extensively on the internet, helping many people to enjoy travelling in Mexico. 2011 will bring the publication of her next book, Living the Dream in Europe, based on their RV travels and experiences throughout Western Europe.
***

Martha Brooks

Date: September 8, Wednesday

Time: 7:30 pm

Location: In the Prairie Ink Restaurant of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Launch of Queen of Hearts

Cost: Free!

Two years into the Second World War, fifteen-year-old Marie-Claire Côté begins a war of her own as she, her brother and sister, all stricken with tuberculosis, are taken to the Pembina Hills Sanatorium in rural Manitoba. Queen of Hearts is a story about surviving loss — and finding friendship, and love, in surprising places. Critically acclaimed playwright, novelist and short fiction writer Martha Brooks was born and raised in a medical family on the grounds of the now defunct Manitoba Sanatorium at Ninette, Manitoba and resides with her husband, Brian, in Winnipeg. She has penned award-winning short stories and several powerful novels for young readers, as well as several plays, all of which deal with the universal themes of love and loss. Frequently appearing on the American Library Association Best Books Lists, Brooks has been nominated four times for the Governor General’s Award – an award she received in 2002 for True Confessions of a Heartless Girl.
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Janet Lewis Anderson

Date: September 9, 2010

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: In the Atrium of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Launch of In the Arms of the Angels

Cost: Free!

Janet grew up in a small, but loving, Winnipeg family. Her parents, Janette and John Lewis, doted on their only child and so when it came time for them to leave this world, it was especially hard on her. As a way of dealing with the stress of caring for her Mother who was dying from Alzheimer’s disease, as well as with the grief of saying goodbye, she began chronicling this difficult journey. She hopes that by sharing her story, others travelling a similarly difficult road won’t feel quite so alone and that the book will serve as a source of compassion and inspiration, helping others to courageously face another day. A tribute to her late Mother, In the Arms of The Angels is truly a Mother – Daughter love story. After 31 years of service with Canadian National Railways, Janet Lewis Anderson retired in 2003 to stay home and look after her dying Mother. Marrying a year after her Mother passed away, Janet and her husband Bruce continue to reside in Winnipeg. They enjoy family get-togethers, cooking and travelling. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to The Alzheimer Society of Manitoba.
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David Zinger

Date: September 9, Thursday

Time: 7:30 pm

Location: In the Travel Alcove of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Launch of Zengage: How to Get More INTO Your Work to Get More OUT of Your Work

Cost: Free!

Zengage combines the ancient art of Zen with the modern science of engagement. Zen meditation promotes direct acts of wisdom and understanding that lead to enlightenment. Engagement only happens when individuals take the time to understand themselves and act accordingly. This collection of inspiration is designed to help the reader connect in a deeper way with themselves and others, to help create a more meaningful life at work and at home. To help them learn the art of living by paying full attention to whatever they are doing in the moment. David Zinger, M.Ed, is a global expert on employee engagement and founder of the Employee Engagement Network. His website has over 1,000 articles on the topic. Mr. Zinger has worked with employee engagement from British Columbia to Barcelona and Warsaw to Winnipeg. Visit him at <www.davidzinger.com>.

David Zinger, Thursday September 9, 7:30 in the Travel Alcove. Launch of Zengage: How to Get More Into Your Work to Get More Out of Your Work.
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On the Same Page 2010-11 Nominee Read-Off

Date: September 9, Thursday

Time: 8:00 pm

Location: In the Prairie Ink Restaurant of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: On the Same Page 2010-11 Nominee Read-Off

Cost: Free!

Which Manitoba book, by a Manitoba author, will get Manitobans On the Same Page and be the focus of Manitoba’s biggest book club this year? All four nominees will be on hand this special evening to read from their works and present their case in Prairie Ink Restaurant. Catherine Hunter, author of the nominated book The Dead of Midnight (Turnstone Press), is a teacher, editor, critic, poet, and avid reader of thrillers. She is the author of three books of poetry, three novels, and one novella. Jake MacDonald, author, short story writer and journalist, winner of three awards, including the Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize will defend his work Juliana and the Medicine Fish (Great Plains Publications). Winner of the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Writing at the 1999 Manitoba Book Awards, Melissa Steele will read from her nominated collection of short stories Beautiful Girl Thumb (Turnstone Press). Michael Van Rooy: documentarian, reporter, ex-cheese-maker. Will the B.C. ex-pat win over the readers of Manitoba with the first volume of his Monty Haaviko crime series An Ordinary Decent Criminal (Turnstone Press)? This special night might just be the one that turns the tide and is presented in association with On The Same Page, an initiative of The Winnipeg Foundation and Winnipeg Public Library that encourages Manitobans to read the same book at the same time. Visit <http://www.wpgfdn.org/programsprojects-otsp.php> to vote for the book of your choice.
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Jane Urquart

Date: September 10, Friday

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: In the atrium of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Reading & Signing Sanctuary Line

Cost: Free!

Set in the present day on a farm at the shores of Lake Erie, Jane Urquhart’s new novel weaves elements from the nineteenth-century past, in Ireland and Ontario, into a gradually unfolding contemporary story of events in the lives of the members of one family that come to alter their futures irrevocably. There are ancestral lighthouse-keepers, seasonal Mexican workers; the migratory patterns and survival techniques of the Monarch butterfly; the tragedy of a young woman’s death during a tour of duty in Afghanistan; three very different but equally powerful love stories. Jane Urquhart brings to vivid life the things of the past that make us who we are, and reveals the sometimes difficult path to understanding and forgiveness. Jane Urquhart was born in Little Long Lac, Ontario, and grew up in Toronto. She is the author of five internationally acclaimed novels, one collection of short fiction, and four books of poetry, for which she has received and been shortlisted for many awards. Her work has been translated into numerous foreign languages. Urquhart has received the Marian Engel Award, and is a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France and an Officer of the Order of Canada, as well as the recipient of numerous honorary degrees.  She lives in southwestern Ontario.

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David Korinetz

Date: September 11, Saturday

Time: 1:00-4:00 pm

Location: By the Cash Desk of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Signing Sorceress: Chronicles of the Daemon Knights

Cost: Free!

Highly recommended by the Midwest Book Review, this book finds the Sorceress Magdalen stripped of her power with deadly foes at every turn. While seeking the safe haven of Toth, she becomes an unwilling witness to the murder of a FireDrake along the way, leading to her capture by a marauding band of Imperial Dog Soldiers led by the crazed fanatic Kaspar. Sir Rodney, the Balorian knight responsible for her downfall, forsakes his duty to the order for his compulsion to rescue the woman who continues to haunt his dreams. What is one man’s desire compared to the combined might of an empire, and are things truly the way they seem? Born and raised in Winnipeg and a resident for nearly four decades, David Korinetz attended Tec Voc High School and was an employee of Bristol Aerospace for nineteen years. Now relocated to the small resort community of Penticton, B.C., David has found that living in the Okanagan valley was instrumental in allowing him to visualize the Fantasy world in which his characters live. At one time employed as everything from a prairie fish plant worker, a railway worker, to an avionics technician, David finally found his true calling as a Fantasy author.

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Dr. Paul McCutcheon
Date: September 13, Monday

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: In the Travel Alcove of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Speaking and signing The New Holistic Way for Dogs and Cats: The Stress-Health Connection.

Cost: Free!

This special presentation will cover what “holistic” philosophy really means and how it applies to our pets and ourselves, some disturbing health trends, defining stress and its implication in health, outlining the negative stress factors that are significant in our pets’ lives and examine how we can control the negative stress and encourage total pet wellness. Dr. Paul D. McCutcheon graduated from Ontario Veterinary College in 1962. He founded and is currently Director of East York Animal Clinic Holistic Centre in Toronto. Dr. McCutcheon has a long history of media involvement and was awarded Veterinarian of the Year—Ontario Veterinary Association 1979 and Canadian Veterinary Medical Association 1983. He is past President of the Toronto Academy of Veterinary Medicine and past Director of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA). Dog owners are invited and encouraged to bring their canine companions to this special event.
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Les MacDonald

Date: September 13, Monday

Time: 7:30 pm

Location: In the Atrium of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Launch of The Day the Music Died.

Cost: Free!

This new work probes into the lives and deaths of musicians that graced the airwaves and big domes from as early as 1790 to the contemporary music industry of the 1900s and through to the 21st century. The book takes an intimate look at the passing of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Elvis Presley, Brian Jones, Bob Marley, John Lennon, George Harrison, Tupac Shakur, Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, Selena, Michael Jackson, and many more. The Day the Music Died exposes the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of this much-celebrated industry, covering expected deaths from illness to the shocking news of a life taken away by suicide or murder. Les MacDonald first began writing sports articles for several sports magazines about five years ago. After writing a book about Hollywood tragedies (Hollywood’s Unhappiest Endings: Legends Never Die) he turned his attention to those that have occurred in the music industry resulting in this, his second book. Les lives with his son Tristan in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and splits his time between Winnipeg and Las Vegas,Nevada.
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Dr. Ruth Simkin

Date: September 14, Tuesday

Time: 7:30pm

Location: In the Atrium of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Reading & Signing The Jagged Years of Ruthie J. Winnipeg 1963

Cost: Free!

Eighteen year-old psychology student Ruthie J. is the bane of her traditional Jewish family. Briefly married, she drinks, swears, has casual sex and mixes with questionable characters, arguing incessantly with her father. When a bizarre car accident lands her in court, the confused teen is sent for testing and diagnosed with epilepsy – then considered a mental illness. Against her wishes, Ruthie’s family admits her to a posh Maryland mental hospital, Chestnut Lodge of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden fame, where she is put at the mercy of a sadistic psychiatrist. The Jagged Years of Ruthie J. is the story of the friendship and love of Ruthie’s fellow patients and the tale of how, with the help of a remarkable therapist, Ruthie J. managed to free herself, discover her true sexual orientation and persevere in her dream to become a physician. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Dr. Ruth Simkin practiced family medicine for several decades and subsequently became a specialist in palliative care. She has studied all over the world and is the author of medical articles on women’s health as well as Like an Orange on a Seder Plate, a feminist Passover Haggadah. Retired from medicine, she now lives and writes in Victoria, BC.
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WHOSE VOICE? A LECTURE WITH JOAN THOMAS
Date: September 14, Tuesday

Time: 7 – 8:30 pm

Location: Burns Family Classroom 218-100 Arthur Street

Event: An evening lecture on narrative voice with Joan Thomas

Cost: Free for Writers’ Guild Members, $10.00 for non-members

The Manitoba Writers’ Guild is pleased to present an evening lecture on narrative voice with Joan Thomas
Tuesday September 14, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM, Burns Family Classroom, 218-100 Arthur St.
This special event is free to Guild members, $10 for non-members
How do fiction writers choose between first and third person voice? And having picked a point of view and narrative voice, how do we negotiate its limits and exploit its possibilities? Joan Thomas will lecture on narrative voice and point of view in the MWG classroom. All fiction writers and editors are welcome.
Joan Thomas is the author of two novels, Reading by Lightning and Curiosity. Her 2008 novel, Reading by Lightning, won the Commonwealth Prize for best First Book (Canada and the Carribbean) and the Amazon.ca First Novel Award. Her second novel, Curiosity, has just been published by McClelland and Stewart. Thomas has worked as a freelance writer, reviewer, and editor, and as Writing and Publishing consultant for the Manitoba Arts Council. She has been a frequent book reviewer for the Globe and Mail since 1993 and for two years wrote a biweekly feature review in the Globe. She was co-editor (with Heidi Harms) of Turn of the Story: Canadian Short Fiction on the Eve of the Millennium (House of Anansi Press, 1999).
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Forging the Muse – A workshop with poet Chandra Mayor

Date: September 15, 22, 29, October 6, 13, 20, 27, November 3, 10, 17, 24, December 1.

Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Location: Aqua Books, 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1H3, Phone: 204-943-7555.

Event: A workshop for poets (beginning or intermediate)

Cost: $250 plus GST. Contact kelly@aquabooks.ca or 943-7555 to register.

Notes: This workshop is appropriate for beginning or intermediate poets and is limited to 10 people. Bring a notebook and pen.

Does the Muse of Poetry come to you at night, streaming with the moon through your windows, the unseen hand guiding your pen as you fill page after page with (probably rhyming) verse of unspeakable beauty and profundity, while you, the passive vehicle for this marvel, surrender yourself up to the voices of Truth and Light?

Nope, me neither. `(And if that is indeed your poetic process, you’ll probably hate my course).

“Poetry is the way we give name to the nameless so that it can be thought,” said Audre Lorde. This 12 week course will help us understand how that happens – how each of us can transform images, ideas, and emotions into words that truly communicate in our writing. We will focus on the craft of poetry and of language (image and metaphor, place and point of view, voice, form poetry, line breaks, and how to give effective readings). We’ll learn how (and why) editing and workshopping is so important. We’ll explore personal mythologies, the world(s) of publishing, performativity, and whatever else seems interesting. We’ll play, and take risks, and create a community of writers – we won’t (and shouldn’t) always agree with each other, but we’ll each understand more about what we write, why we write, and how to get closer to the poems we really want to write. The course will include lots of reading, lots of discussion, and most importantly, lots of writing (and lots of feedback).

I don’t really believe in the notion of ‘the muse.’ But I do believe in inspiration, hard work, the creative urge, and learning the skills to express it. And I do believe, absolutely, that poetry can (and does) transform the world, and ourselves. Let’s light the fires and figure out how.

Chandra Mayor’s writing has appeared in several anthologies, including Interruptions: 30 Women Tell the Truth about Motherhood, Breathing Fire 2: Canada’s New Poets, and Post-Prairie. Her first book, August Witch: poems, was short-listed for four Manitoba book awards and won the Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book. She received the 2004 John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Writer, and the following year her novel, Cherry, won the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award. The title story from her most recent book, All the Pretty Girls (conundrum), was shortlisted for a 2008 CBC Literary Award,and the collection itself won a Lambda Award for Best Lesbian Fiction. Mayor lives in Winnipeg.

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THE WHOLE CABOODLE: ADVANCED POETICS WITH TED DYCK
Date: September 26, Sunday

Time: 10 am – 3 pm

Location: Burns Family Classroom 218-100 Arthur Street

Event: Advanced Poetry Workshop

Cost: $75 or $125

Application & submission deadline September 10th
Ted Dyck will be leading an advanced poetics workshop on the major tools at a poet’s disposal (Verse, Figure, and Form) on Sunday September 26th. It will be based on work submitted by participants. More information and details of the workshop are available from Victor Enns at venns@mts.net.
Cost $75 for members, $125 for non-members (includes a MWG membership)
Minimum number of participants:7, Maxiumum number of participants: 10
Selection process: First priority will be given to published writers, then unpublished writers on a first come first served basis. It is expected that this will be a multi-level workshop and all writers are encouraged to submit.
Method: All writers ill electronically submit five poems to a maximum of eight pages of new work. Poems for discussion will be selected by the facilitator. A syllabus (poems, summaries of concepts, writing exercises, and readings) will be circulated by email to all participants a week before the workshop. All poets will have their work discussed.
Registrations for the Advanced Poetics Workshop are now being accepted. Deadline for applications, which must include the submission of work, is September 10th.
All registrations and submissions should be made by email to venns@mts.net. Fees, however, are to be paid by cheque to “The Manitoba Writers’ Guild” and mailed to the MWG, 218-100 Arthur Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 1H3.
Ted Dyck was dropped into the short-grass prairie within sight of the South Saskatchewan River breaks on, approximately, 1939, 09.03. He has studied at, graduated from, and taught at a number of colleges and universities. He has edited three anthologies of critical essays and published four collections of poetry and over 100 articles. He writes in a number of genres – poetry, fiction, essay – and operates a writing, editing, and workshopping serviced called WorDoctor. His other interests include – fly-fishing, cross-country skiikng, snooker, Bach and Gould, the classical guitar, cognac. Recently (2007-2009) he was writer-in-residence with the Festival of Words (Moose Jaw). Currently, he directs a “Writing for Your Life Program” for CMHA(SK). He lives, writes, fishes, etc. in or near Shaunavon SK. [Full bio & resume at www.wordoc.sasktelwebsite.net/]

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The University of Winnipeg is offering a new course, taught by two award-winning writers: ENGL-3102(1)-001 Creative Writing Field Research (one credit hour)
Fall section: “Luring the Knock: Inviting Poems to Linger” with Chandra Mayor (Writers’ Collective Member)
Saturday Oct 16 & Saturday Oct 23 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Margaret Atwood says that inspiration knocks softly, and that if you don’t answer, she goes away. Ignore the knocking often enough, and she stops coming back. How can we better equip ourselves to hear that soft knocking? How can we learn to hear knocking as insistent hammering? Better yet, how can we wedge the door permanently open, inviting images and words and rhythms—poems—to walk freely in and out of our minds, pages, and even at home in our own kitchens?
Winter section: “Building the Story” with Jake MacDonald
Saturday Jan 8 & Saturday Jan 15, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
“Building the Story” will focus on various approaches to writing a story, both fiction and non fiction. Students will study the many elements of story construction—creating the setting, introducing characters, the importance of description in immersing the reader in the world of the story, and the function of plot and dramatic action in revealing character.
Questions? call the English department Chair, Catherine Hunter, at 786-9294. For full information on the UW’s Creative Writing program, go tohttp://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/english-index

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OPPORTUNITIES AND SUBMISSIONS

We cannot guarantee any of the opportunities below! Please be careful and do your research. Quote: “Genius might be the ability to say a profound thing in a simple way.” Charles Bukowski

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THE COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS IS SEEKING SUBMISSIONS

The Collective Consciousness is the journal of the Writers’ Collective and it is published four times a year. We are always seeking submissions by members of the Collective, in fact any interested writers can submit!

The next deadline is June 1, 2010. Other issues will have deadlines at the beginning of September and December.

Simply submit to journal@thewriterscollective.org

NOTE: Okay, I can guarantee this one . . .

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Local Call-to-Artists for Expressions of Interest

The Winnipeg Arts Council seeks an artist to create a literary-based fence for Millennium Library Park in downtown Winnipeg. The Park is undergoing a significant renovation, and will also be the site of a major public art project to mark the designation of Winnipeg as the Cultural Capital of Canada for 2010.

The artist must reside in, or in close proximity to, Winnipeg.
Budget: $90,000
Deadline for application: September 8, 2010

Interested artists must submit a complete application package to be considered. Please visit www.winnipegarts.ca for full details including eligibility criteria, application requirements and to download the Call-to-Artists as well as site plans and images.

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Short story contest

Want to see YOUR story published in Writers’ Forum?

Three great prizes every issue

1st £300 2nd £150 3rd £100

All types of story are welcome, be it crime, comedy, romance, thriller, literary, twist in the tail, horror, SF etc

Stories MUST be between 1000 and 3000 words

Entry fee is £6 or just £3 for subscribers.

If your story is shortlisted you will be notified and we will ask you to send a photo of yourself and a brief biography via email.

Optional feedback for just £5

Our judges Sue Moorcroft and Jan Jones can provide a page of personalised critique to help you improve your writing. The fee is just £5. You will receive feedback by email if you enter online or please include a stamped addressed envelope if you are entering by post.

To enter send an email with your story attached as a Word-compatible file (.doc or .docx or .rtf). The document must be set out on plain A4, with double line spacing and good margin widths. Please indent the first line of paragraphs using either a tab or paragraph formatting (not spaces). On a title page give your name, address, phone number, email address, story title and wordcount. The address to send your entry to is: storycomp@writers-forum.com

Your entry will be forwarded to the judges as soon as all fees due have been paid and your subscriber status has been confirmed.

For more information go to: http://www.writers-forum.com/comps.html

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Teachers’ Secrets Competition

Got a tall tale or a saucy secret?
Know some hot gossip or smooth moves?
Now is your chance to pass on details of your curricular exploits… Intrigued?
Then read on…
Now’s the time for all of you creative teachers out there to put pen to paper and tell us your teachers’ secrets.

All you have to do is write a poem or short story (max 250 words) about one of your secrets whether it’s in the classroom, playground, office, canteen or even the toilet!

The best entry will then be picked to win an Apple Ipad.

Inspiration

Tales from the Classroom
Teacher’s Pet
The Dreaded Head
Terrible Children
Top Secret Teacher Information
Dinner Hall Dilemmas
Playground Wars

Rules

Open to all teachers and school employees
One entry per person (no limit per school)
Free to enter
No restrictions on theme or style
Include your name and postal address

Closing Date: 30th September 2010.

How to Enter

Via Online Upload: You can upload your entry directly to us using our Online Upload page. Remember to fill in all fields. For this go to:http://www.forwardpress.co.uk/competitions/teachers-secrets-competition

Via Email: You can email your entry to inbox@forwardpress.co.uk including your name and address. Make sure you include ‘Teachers’ Secrets’ in the subject line.

Via Post: Write your poem or story on a sheet of paper, along with your name and address and mail it to
Freepost RLTS-TLTX-YYSK,
Teachers’ Secrets Competition,
Remus House,
Woodston,
Peterborough,
PE2 9JX.

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SOURCES AND RESOURCES

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For more information about McNally Robinson Booksellers check out http://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/home, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

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To see the current list of Adult Programs at Winnipeg Public Library, please visit the address below: http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/pdfs/adultprograms.pdf.

Children’s programs: http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/pdfs/childrensprograms.pdf.

The July/August library newsletter is available at http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/pdfs/@thelibrary11.4.pdf.

The Millennium Library is at 251 Donald Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 3P5, 204-986-6450.

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For details on Aqua Books store events, go to http://aquabooks.ca/events.php Past events are at http://aquabooks.ca/past.php. 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1H3, Phone: 204-943-7555.

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For more information on Literary Arts programs at The Banff Centre, check out:
http://www.banffcentre.ca/writing/

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A truly great mystery bookstore is Winnipeg’s Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore at 165 Lilac Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3M 2S1. Their telephone number is (204) 284-9100 or 1-800-468-421. Their website is at http://www.whodunitcanada.com/home.

Their hours are Mon-Thurs: 10 am to 5 pm, Fri: 10 am to 6 pm, Sat: 10 am to 5 pm and Sun: 12 pm to 4 pm.

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Funding for Writers – this is an incomplete list of funding sources for writers, please double check dates and facts if you are interested.

Canada Council for the Arts - www.canadacouncil.ca/writing

Grants for Professional Writers Creative Writing – English: October 1; French language: April 1

Travel Grants for Professional Writers – Applicants are advised to submit their request three months ahead of time if they wish to have the results before their departure date.
Grants to Aboriginal Writers, Storytellers, and Publishers – June 1
Aboriginal Emerging Writers Residencies – June 1
Spoken Word and Storytelling Program- April 15
International Translation Grants – Any time; applications must be submitted before the translation has been completed according to the date in the contract with the translator.
Grants for Arts Promotion: Project Grants and Artists & Community Collaboration Program – March 15 and September 15

Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Awards - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/victor_martin_lynch_staunton
CBC Literary Awards - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/cbc_literary
Canada-Japan Literary Awards - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/canada_japan_literary
Governor General’s Literary Awards- Application deadlines vary, www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/ggla
Japan-Canada Fund - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/japan_canada_fund
Joseph S. Stauffer Prizes - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/joseph_s_stauffer
Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prizes – December 1, www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/molson

Manitoba Arts Council - http://artscouncil.mb.ca/english/liter_grantind.html
Major Arts Grant – January 15
Writers’ Grants – (A, B, C), May 15 and September 15
Travel/ Professional Development Grant for Writers – Four weeks prior to project
Community Connections and Access Program – April 1 and October 1
Deep Bay Artists’ Residency in Riding Mountain National Park of Canada – December 15
Special Opportunities Grant – May 15 for projects beginning after June 30
Departures - December 15
Public Readings by Manitoba Writers- Ongoing
Manitoba/New Brunswick Creative Residency – January 15

Manitoba Arts Award for Distinction – December 15

Winnipeg Arts Council – http://www.winnipegarts.ca/index.php?/grants-artists/

Individual Artist Grant Programs – A and B Grants, March 2 and September 7

Professional Development Grant Programs – no deadline

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NEWS RANDOM AND OTHERWISE FROM THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Quote: “Joan of Arc had style. Jesus had style.” Charles Bukowski

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Good Day All!

Michael

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Melissa Steele has been selected as the Winnipeg Public Library’s Writer-in-Residence for 2010-2011.

Starting October 1, 2010 and ending April 2011, Melissa will work with the public through individual consultations and workshops, in addition to allocating time to her own writing.

Melissa Steele won the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Writer at the 1999 Manitoba Book Awards. She has taught Creative Writing at the University of Manitoba, acted as a mentor with the Manitoba Writers’ Guild and worked as a radio journalist. Her fiction has appeared in journals including Prairie Fire, Zygote, and City Magazine. She is the author of two story collections, Donut Shop Lovers and Beautiful Girl Thumb, both from Turnstone Press. Melissa is currently on the shortlist for the 2010/2011 On The Same Page community reading campaign. She lives in Winnipeg.

Established in 1985, the Library’s Writer-in-Residence program is designed to give new, emerging, and established writers a chance to have their manuscripts read and critiqued. Copies of manuscripts may be dropped off at any Winnipeg Public Library branch, emailed to wpl.writerinres@gmail.com or mailed to Millennium Library, attention: Writer-in-Residence, Reader Services, 251 Donald Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 3P5. Writers should include a cover letter containing a brief description of their writing background and the specific feedback they need, as well as all contact information including an email address. Manuscripts will be accepted beginning October 1. The Writer-in-Residence service is free.

Manuscripts must follow strict submission guidelines: typed in 12-point font (prose: double-spaced, poetry: single-spaced), on one side of the page only. Prose submissions should not exceed 15 pages; poetry submissions should not exceed six poems.

The Writer-in-Residence program is co-sponsored by the Winnipeg Public Library Board, the Government of Manitoba, and Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library.

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THE 2010 THIN AIR FESTIVAL PROUDLY ANNOUNCES ITS ENTIRE LINE UP
THIN AIR proudly announces that THE ABORIGINAL WRITERS COLLECTIVE, ISMAILA ALFA, DAVID ARNASON, DAVID BERGEN, SANDRA BIRDSELL, GILES BLUNT, BATHELEMY BOLIVAR, MARTHA BROOKS, MARGARET BUFFIE, REYNALD CANTIN, DAVID CARPENTER, RHEAL CENERINI, SIMONE CHAPUT, NATE CRAWFORD, DONNA CREIGHTON, DORA DUECK, AMY JO EHMAN, KEN FINKLEMAN, THEODORE FONTAINE, ARIEL GORDON, NORA GOULD, MARCEL GOSSELIN, CAROLYN CRAY, JAN HORNER, JUDITH KEENAN, ROGER LAFRENIERE, RACHELLE LAMOUREUX, MICHAEL LISTA, IGNATIUS T. MABASA, GREG MACARTHUR, SHARON MCCARTNEY, kevin mcpherson eckhoff, JENNY MUNDAY, GEORGE MURRAY, BETRAND NAYET, UMA PARAMESWARAN, SHANE PEACOCK, LAURENT POLIQUIN, CRAIG FRANCIS POWER, SINA QUEYRAS, DOMINIQUE REY, LAWRENCE SCANLAN, CAROLYN SMART, A.J. SOMERSET, ALLAN STRATTON, COLLEEN SYDOR, JOAN THOMAS, ANNE VILLENEUVE, MICHAEL WEX, JORDAN WHEELER, EVA WISEMAN and RICHARD B. WRIGHT will ALL be attending the 2010 THIN AIR Winnipeg International Writers Festival which runs from September 19-26.
These authors come from all across the country and represent some of the best and brightest in Canada’s vibrant literary world. Dealing with an infinity of subjects the festival is bringing books and authors designed to appeal to readers of all persuasions.
About the Festival
In September each year, Winnipeg welcomes writers from Canada and around the world for a week of readings, lectures, interviews, conversations, book launches, and other events. That week of literary feasting—which reaches out into the rural areas of the province as well—is THIN AIR, the Winnipeg International Writers Festival. With programming for adults and children, in English and French, THIN AIR is an infusion of energy into the thriving literary culture of this city.
For more information please contact Michael Van Rooy, Publicist, publicist@thinairwinnipeg.ca or contact the THIN AIR office at info@thinairwinnipeg.ca or 927-7323

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Prairie Fire Writers Receive Six Nominations at Western Magazine Awards

Prairie Fire, Manitoba’s magazine of Canadian writing, learned recently that writers published in its pages in 2009 have been shortlisted in a number of categories at the annual Western Magazine Awards.

Stephen Gauer (Toronto) has been shortlisted in the Fiction category for his story, “Hold Me Now” (30,2).

Two writers have been shortlisted in the Human Experience category: Jane Wells (Toronto) for “Waking in the Valley of the Shadow” (30,2) and Laurie Block (Brandon) for “God of the Father” (30,2).

Two writers have been shortlisted in the category of Gold Award Best Article – Manitoba. Laurie Block (Brandon) earned two nominations, one for “God of the Father” (30,2) and the other for “Buenos Aires Cats” (29,4). Mary Horodyski (Winnipeg) has been shortlisted for “The Geography of Ambiguity” (30,2).

In addition, Prairie Fire is one of four magazines shortlisted in the category of Magazine of the Year – Manitoba.

Winners will be announced in Vancouver on October 15, 2010.

Ms Horodyski’s essay won the Silver Award in the Personal Journalism category at the National Magazine Awards held earlier this year in Toronto. Mr. Block is a past winner in the category of Gold Award Best Article – Manitoba.

For more information: Andris Taskans, Editor; Janine Tschuncky, Managing Editor

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Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library

Are gathering gently used books, CDs, DVDs and old records for the Friends’ Annual Used Book Sale.

Your donations are appreciated year-round. You can drop them off at any Winnipeg Library Branch. Just clearly mark them “FRIENDS.”

Pick up can be arranged for a large number of books by calling 488-3217.

Unfortunately we do not need old computer manuals, encyclopedias and textbooks.

And Remember that the 2010 Book Sale is October 23 and 24 at Grant Park High School!

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Show me a man who lives alone and has a perpetually clean kitchen, and 8 times out of 9 I’ll show you a man with detestable spiritual qualities.” Charles Bukowski

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FOR THEORIES, CRITIQUE, PROPHECY, GREIVANCES, DESIRES, DREAMS, COMMENTS, CONCEPTIONS. NIGHTMARES, OPINIONS, BELIEFS, IDEAS, CONJECTURE, THOUGHTS, COMPLAINTS, DATA, HOPES, VISIONS, AND CONCEPTS PLEASE CONTACT

Michael Van Rooy
Program Coordinator
The Writers’ Collective
University of Winnipeg
4th Floor Library
515 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3B 2E9
(204) 786-9468.

Yet, this is not as discouraging as you might think, good research is not to be undervalued, look long enough and you can find the perfect publication for what you are working on, and just because the one you wanted turned you down, doesn’t mean their isn’t a really fine publication right around the corner just waiting for a writer just like you to come along… it’s like dating, open your mind a little bit and suddenly there’s just too many options to count…

Here’s some good places to look, some good lists of Literary Magazines to start you on your quest for finding your literary soul mate… and you don’t have to mention your height, body type or what you what you would do on a first date or anything! It’s MUCH less intimidating than that, it’s only LiTeRaTuRe after all!

NewPages.com – a great source for all things American Lit – browse here for some great publications.

Canadian Literature Magazine’s Links page is full of great Canadian Lit Mags – click here and see for yourself

Places for Writers is another great resource, plenty of ‘off the beaten track’ type publications to be found here

and even Wikipedia has a good list (we are thoroughly convinced there is nothing Wiki can’t do), a quick search of Literary Magazines pulls up an extensive and international list that should keep you busy for quite some time, click here!

have a happy quest everyone!

Our Weekly Update, last seen in such wonderful places like Your In-Box is now Online!!!

Lookie Lookie….

AUGUST 18, 2010 WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE UPDATE

*WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE ANNOUNCEMENTS

*WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE MEMBER NEWS

*PROGRAMS AROUND AND ABOUT

*OPPORTUNITIES AND SUBMISSIONS

*CONTESTS

*SOURCES AND RESOURCES

*NEWS RANDOM AND OTHERWISE

*QUOTE OF THE WEEK

ANNOUNCEMENTS

General apologies to all members of the Collective! Updates should now be back on track!!!!!

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Just a reminder that the Writers’ Collective Office will be closed on Tuesdays for the summer. I will still be answering email and phone calls remotely however!

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Please check out the Writers’ Collective NEW AND IMPROVED WEBSITE(and Yes, it is still improving!) athttp://thewriterscollective.org/

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WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE TENTH ANNIVERSARY!

We are looking for submissions for the Collective Consciousness magazine about the upcoming tenth anniversary of the Collective!

Give us your thoughts, your ideas and what the Collective means to you . . .

For More Information: Contact Michael Van Rooy, Writers’ Collective Program Coordinator at writerscollective@uwinnipeg.ca or by phone at (204) 786-9468 or submit to wc.journal@gmail.com

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WRITERS’ COLLECTIVE MEMBER NEWS

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ON THE SAME PAGE VOTING CONTINUES!

Read the same book Speak the same language.

Vote! Help select the next chapter for On the Same Page!
Which Manitoba book, by a Manitoba author, do you think should get Manitobans On the Same Page this year? From the short list below, select the title you’d like for Manitoba’s biggest book club. The book that receives the greatest public support before the end of September 2010 will be featured.

The choices are:

An Ordinary Decent Criminal by Michael Van Rooy (Writers’ Collective Member)

Beautiful Girl Thumb by Melissa Steele

Dead of Midnight by Catherine Hunter (Writers’ Collective Member)

Juliana and the Medicine Fish by Jake MacDonald

To vote simply go to: http://www.wpgfdn.org/programsprojects-otsp.php#vote

And make your selection at the bottom of the page!

Currently there are 559 votes cast!

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Michael Van Rooy

Date: August 28, Saturday

Time: 2:00 pm

Location: At the Cash Desk of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Signing An Ordinary Decent Criminal.

Cost: Free!

Ex-con Monty Haaviko has done the crimes and served the time. Now, he just wants to settle down in Winnipeg with his family, find an honest job, and be an ordinary decent citizen. When three break-and-enter artists end up dead on his living-room floor, Monty’s plan to go straight derails. Wanna-be hero Detective Enzio Walsh wants to put Monty behind bars forever, and crime boss Jean Robillard, uncle to one of Monty’s house thieves, wants him dead. Together with his wife Claire, and the tricks and schemes learned from his checkered past, he just might clear his name and save his life. Michael Van Rooy writes for documentaries, magazines, newspapers, and the Internet. Michael won the 2006 Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book, and the 2009 John Hirsh Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer. Born in Kamloops, BC, he grew up in Winnipeg where he now lives with his wife and three children. This is the first volume in the Monty Haaviko series.  The third installment, A Criminal to Remember, was recently published by Turnstone Press.

An Ordinary Decent Criminal is nominated for the 2010/11 On the Same Page Project read. Visit <http://www.wpgfdn.org/programsprojects-otsp.php> to cast your vote.

***

Howdy Friend,
This is one of my new projects through Alchemical Press.  And writers, please take note:
Call/Response is a book about youth culture and live music in Winnipeg that is being produced by Mike Sanders, Nathan Terin and John Toone for the benefit of Kids Help Phone. Call/Response will not only show us the musicians, but will feature the young crowds that make for a great show. This book of art and literature will represent a collaboration of photographers, writers, visual artists, and collectors inspired by this scene.
The goal of this project is to raise money for Kids Help Phone and to raise awareness for issues facing youth. The book will sell for $25, and a minimum of $10 from each sale will be donated to Kids Help
Phone.
Youth have fueled Winnipeg’s music scene. Call/Response will tell this story in fifty-six pages, in a large 12″ by 12″ format, and using a collage of photographs, writing, and memorabilia. Call/Response will be published in February 2010 and a minimum of 1,000 copies will be distributed across Canada.
Deadline for submissions is August 31st, 2010. Visual elements could include photographs, posters, tickets, memorabilia, and other oddities. Written elements could include essays, lyrics, set lists, and other ramblings inspired by music.
Please show your support for Kids Help Phone and for live music and the arts in Winnipeg.
Official Facebook Link:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=137219839634845&v=info&ref=search
For fund raising information contact Nathan Terin at callresponsebook@gmail.com with “FUND RAISING” in the subject line.
For submissions guidelines contact Mike Sanders at callresponsebook@gmail.com with “SUBMISSIONS” in the subject line.
For other inquiries contact John Toone at john@alchemicalpress.com
*SEND IN YOUR SUBMISSIONS TODAY*
Deadline for submissions is AUGUST 31, 2010. Visual elements could include photographs, posters, tickets, memorabilia, and other oddities. Written elements could include essays, lyrics, set lists,
and other ramblings inspired by music.
You can submit up to ten photographs, posters, items of memorabilia, et cetera. You can submit up to five pieces of written work.
Images should be submitted as JPEG with a long edge no bigger than 1024 pixels and 72 dpi. If you are submitting memorabilia, please submit a photo of the piece you wish to contribute. Written works
should be submitted as RTF, TXT or DOC files.
Submissions containing the consumption of drugs and/or alcohol will not be eligible.

***

Kerry Ryan (Writers’ Collective Member)

Date: September 28, October 13 and 26, November 3, 16 and 24

Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Location: Aqua Books, 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1H3, Phone: 204-943-7555.

Event: Writers’ Support Group with poet Kerry Ryan

Cost: $20 plus GST. Contact kelly@aquabooks.ca or 943-7555 to register.

Notes: The workshop is limited to 16 people. Bring a notebook and pen.

Ready to share your writing, but not sure where to start? Looking for an extra set of eyes but can’t commit to a writing group?

Writers working in all genres are invited to take part in a series of drop-in,workshop-style sessions hosted by Aqua Books Writer-in-Residence Kerry Ryan. Participants will be expected to both share work and give feedback to others.

Six sessions will take place over the fall. Participants can sign up in advance for workshop slots (everyone will be guaranteed three slots, but they’ll be assigned first come, first served), and are welcome to attend any/all sessions to comment on others’ work.

All participants who wish can take part in a public, wind-up reading at Aqua Books on December 1.

Kerry Ryan lives and writes in Winnipeg. Her first collection of poetry, The Sleeping Life, was published by The Muses’ Company in 2008 and nominated for the Aqua Lansdowne Prize for Poetry in 2009. She has had poetry published in a number of journals, including Prairie Fire, Grain, Room, CV2 and Carousel. Her second collection, Vs., is forthcoming from Anvil Press, fall 2010.

***

Through the Looking Glass with Anita Daher

Date: Nine Thursdays this fall: September 30, October 7, 14, 21, 28, November 4, 18, 25, and December 2, 2010.

Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Location: Aqua Books, 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1H3, Phone: 204-943-7555.

Event: A Writing Intensive Workshop

Cost: $225.00 plus GST ($200 plus GST before September 1). Contact kelly@aquabooks.ca or 943-7555 to register.

Notes: The workshop is limited to 12 people. Bring a notebook and pen.

Tickle your muse and develop skills as Anita Daher leads you on a journey into the world of writing picture books, children’s periodicals, middle grade and teen novels. Take your vitamins and prepare to absorb in-depth information on the genre, and the children’s writing and publishing industry in Canada. There will be exercises, assignments, dynamic interaction, and at the end—a party!

Anita Daher has been entrenched in the book publishing industry for more than fifteen years. She feels “place” infuses her writing, and is grateful to have lived in communities like Summerside, PEI, Moose Jaw, SK, Churchill, MB, Baker Lake, NU, and Yellowknife, NT. Her short stories have appeared in Prairie Fire Magazine, and she is author of seven youth novels, including Arthur Ellis and MB Book Award finalist Spider’s Song (2006), and Arthur Ellis, Hackmatack and Diamond Willow finalist Racing for Diamonds (2006). She has led workshops across the country, and has been a popular presenter at conferences and festivals. When not teaching, presenting, or working on her own stories, Anita edits teen novels for Great Plains Publications.

***

John Toone (Writers’ Collective Member and Best Dressed Male at the 2010 Manitoba Book Awards) will be appearing all over the place this summer and fall:
Fort Whyte Alive, Kids Event – September 19th
Brandon University, Reading and workshop – October 2nd
Tonight it’s Poetry – Saskatoon, Reading – October 3rd
Vertigo Series – Regina, Reading -October 4th
Imagination Manifesto: Book Two, McNally Launch – October 28th
Central Canada Comic Con, The Strange Market – October 30th and 31st
Have a great summer, – JT

***

PROGRAMS AROUND AND ABOUT

This week the quotes come from a variety of Canadian writers living and dead. Quote: Canada is not really a place where you are encouraged to have large spiritual adventures. Robertson Davies

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A Night of Aboriginal Humour Featuring writers Maracle, Sinclair & Greyeyes

Date: August 19, Thursday

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: Aqua Books, 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1H3, Phone: 204-943-7555.

Cost: Free!

Lee Maracle is the author of a number of critically acclaimed literary works including, Sojourners and Sundogs, Ravensong, Bobbi Lee, andI Am Woman. She was born in North Vancouver and is a member of the Sto: Loh nation. Lee Maracle currently teaches in the Aboriginal Studies program at the University of Toronto and the Centre of Indigenous Theatre, and is mother to four and grandmother to seven. Her newest book, First Wives Club: Coast Salish Style, is out in June 2010 from Theytus Books.

*

Niigonwedom James Sinclair is originally from Ste. Peter’s (Little Peguis) First Nation in Manitoba, Canada and currently lives in Winnipeg. His creative work has appeared in Prairie Fire and Tales from Mocassin Avenue: An Anthology of Native Stories while his scholarly work will appear in three upcoming critical texts with Broadview Press, Michigan State University Press, and Wilfred Laurier Press.

*

Better known as a freelance journalist/columnist within the Aboriginal community, Trevor Greyeyes, a registered citizen with Peguis First Nation, is working hard to change that with his short story writing and poetry. His work explores the contemporary urban Aboriginal experience using a wry sense of humour to explore themes of Aboriginal identity and the changing roles of Aboriginal people in society.

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Jacquelyne Luce
Date: August 19, Thursday

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: Travel Alcove of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Reading and signing Beyond Expectation: Lesbian/Bi/Queer Women and Assisted Conception

Cost: Free!

An in-depth study of lesbian, bi, and queer women’s experiences of thinking about and trying to become a parent, Beyond Expectation chronicles eighty-two women’s experiences, from 1980 to 2000, during a period that saw significant changes to the governance of assisted reproduction and the status of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender parents and same-sex partners. Beyond Expectation looks closely at the changing contexts in which women’s experiences occurred and draws attention to complex issues such as ‘contracting’ relationships, mediating understandings of biology and genetics, and decision-making amidst various social, legal, and medical developments. The stories of her interviewees are juxtaposed with the wider public discourses about lesbian/bi/queer parenting and reproductive technology, highlighting gaps in existing legislative reforms. Most importantly, Beyond Expectation foregrounds the lived experiences of lesbian, bi, and queer women as they negotiate kinship at the intersection of reproduction, technology, and politics. Jacquelyne Luce specialises in research about the relationships between gender, sexuality, bodies, medicine, science and policy. She grew up in Winnipeg and then studied cultural and medical anthropology in Toronto, before moving to British Columbia to do the fieldwork forBeyond Expectation. She now lives in Germany, where she is doing research on patients’, parents’ and health professionals’ experiences with new technologies and experimental therapies.
***

Melissa Steele

Date: August 21, Saturday

Time: 2:00 pm

Location: At the Cash Desk of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: On the Same Page Event. Signing copies of Beautiful Girl Thumb

Cost: Free!

Melissa Steele’s characters are looking for love, but they’re willing to settle. They don’t dare to feel flat-out greed or lust or hate. Instead they wander around, repeating the mantra “everything is okay.” It isn’t. These brutally funny stories provide valuable advice on destroying friendships, flirting with your marriage counsellor, cheating at Diplomacy, dumping your boyfriend via Call Waiting, and enrolling your children in the right elementary school programme. Steele spoons up bitter medicine for modern life and burns away the veneer of everyday politeness. Melissa Steele won the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Writing at the 1999 Manitoba Book Awards. This collection of short stories won the 2007 Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction in addition to making the shortlist for the 2007 Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award and the 2007 McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award. She has taught writing and literature and worked as a radio journalist. Her fiction has appeared in journals including Prairie Fire, Zygote, and City Magazine. She is the author of two story collections,Donut Shop Lovers and Beautiful Girl Thumb, both from Turnstone Press. She lives in Winnipeg.

Beautiful Girl Thumb is nominated for the 2010/11 On the Same Page Project read. Visit <http://www.wpgfdn.org/programsprojects-otsp.php> to cast your vote.
***
Julie Kirpatrick

Date: August 22, 2010, Sunday

Time: 2:00 pm

Location: In the Travel Alcove of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Reading and Signing The Camino Letters

Cost: Free!

When Canadian writer and lawyer Julie Kirkpatrick decided to walk the ancient pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago in the summer of 2009 she was not looking for a life-changing experience. It was to be a holiday in the fresh air, a break from the hectic routine of her law practice and its endless to-do lists, and a chance to catch up with her teenage daughter. Thinking that it would help to pass the time she asked 26 friends to set tasks for her – one task for each of the 26 days of the walk. At the end of each day she would write a letter to the day’s taskmaster. But the tasks came as unexpected gifts, full of meaning and love, and what began as a light-hearted diversion soon became a journey into the labyrinth of her life.

***

Nejeed Kassam (ed.)

Date: August 23, Monday

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: In the Atrium of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Conversation and launch of High on Life: Stories of Hope, Change and Leadership

Cost: Free!

***

Chantel Simmons

Date: August 24, Tuesday

Time: 8:00 pm

Location: In the Prairie Ink Restaurant at the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Reading& Signing Love Struck.

Cost: Free!

When twenty-seven-year-old image consultant Poppy Ross discovers that her handsome and seemingly devoted husband Parker is having an affair, she is dumbfounded. Before she has chance to confront him, however, he is struck by lightning. When he regains consciousness, he has lost his short-term memory—including that of the affair. Given a chance to erase history and possibly save her marriage, Poppy decides to remake herself in the mistress’s image, so that Parker might never be tempted to stray again. Her quest to become his perfect woman has disastrous and hilarious results—and just might turn out to be the worst thing possible for their relationship.  Chantel Simmons is an author, editor and consumer trends tracker. Her first novel, Stuck in Downward Dog, was a Winnipeg Free Press bestseller, a Chatelaine Best Beach Book and Book of the Month, and a Vancouver Sun Editor’s Choice. She has worked at ELLE Canada, Sweetspot.ca, TV Guide, Elevate andThe Toronto Sun, and has contributed to FASHION, Best Health, Reader’s Digest, MoneySense, HGTV, Foodtv.ca and WNetwork.com. She lives in Toronto with her husband and their cat, Mr. Baz.
***

Editor and activist Nejeed Kassam

Date: August 24, Tuesday

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: Aqua Books, 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1H3, Phone: 204-943-7555.

Event: High on Life: Stories of Hope, Change, and Leadership Book Launch

Cost: Free!

Written based on the stories of 17 young leaders—spread across nine countries and four continents—this book is a beautiful medium in which incredible young people have shared their stories, wisdom, and experiences. It has provided an opportunity for catalysts of change to come together and share their collective knowledge with the world: to start an incredible and necessary global conversation.

100% of the proceeds from High on Life are being donated to the Canadian non-profit organization Networks for Change.

You’ll often find Nejeed Kassam with a smile on his face; he loves his life—it’s awesome! Every morning, he gets to wake up and be a writer, speaker, and most-importantly, an aspiring change-maker. Nejeed holds a holds a Bachelors of Arts (Hons) from McGill University and currently attends law school at Osgoode Hall in Toronto, Canada. Nejeed is the founder international NGO’s End Poverty Now and Networks for Change. He is currently working at a number of endeavours, including writing two books and working as the Executive Director at Networks for Change.

***

***

The River Barge Festival

Date: August 25, Wednesday to August 29, Sunday

Time: Varies

Location: The Forks

Event: The River Barge Festival

Cost: Free!

NOTE: We are still adding performers! Check back here for updated schedules. Website is:http://www.artsforall.ca/index.php/AFA/article/the_river_barge_festival_schedule

Wednesday, August 25 – Roots on the River

12:00       The Crooked Brothers
1:00         Jessee Havey and the Quirks
2:00         The D. Rangers
3:00         Kelly Hughes Live!
4:00         J.C. Campbell & Tracy Bone
5:00         Johnny Cajun
6:00         The Romi Mayes Band
Thursday, August  26  -  New Sounds / Old Friends

Hosted by Jane Testar and Tricia Cooper

12:00      Noma Sibanda & the Guerrillas of Soul
1:00        Matthew Contois
2:00        Christine Fellows
3:00        Kelly Hughes Live! (with Michael Van Rooy, Writers’ Collective Member)
4:00        Flying Fox & the Hunter-Gatherers
5:00        Greg Lowe & Jack Semple
6:00        Trio Bembe
Friday, August 27 -  Gala Evening

Hosted by Marcy Markusa and Janet Stewart

6:00        Opening ceremonies / remarks
6:30        Papa Mambo
7:45        Chic Gamine
9:15        The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra & Sierra Noble

With a light and mist installation by PO-MO Inc.

Saturday, August 28 – Red River Gumbo

Hosted by Larry Updike and Jon Ljungberg

12:00      Manitoba Theatre Centre presents: The History of Manitoba from the Beginning of Time to the Present in 45 Minutes
1:30        Darrelyne Bickel
2:30        The Scarlet Union
3:30        Les Surveillantes
4:30        Greg MacPherson
5:30        Magnum K.I.
6:30        Imaginary Cities
8:00        Digging Roots
9:30        Luke Doucet and the White Falcon
Sunday, August 29 – Family Day

Hosted by Al Simmons

12:00      Manitoba Theatre Centre presents: The History of Manitoba from the Beginning of Time to the Present in 45 Minutes
1:30        Rocki Rolletti and the Junior Noodle Wave
2:45        Jazz On Wheels
4:00        Fred Penner
***

David Arnason

Date: 26 August, Thursday

Time: 7:30 pm

Location: In the Prairie Ink Restaurant of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Reading & signing Baldur’s Song.

Cost: Free!

Blessed with an ear for music and a fine voice, Baldur finds his fortune but not his love. Smitten at an early age, Baldur is haunted by Lara—a girl of  fey spirit destined to be both his muse and tormenter. The daughter of an intimidating and well-connected businessman, Lara leads Baldur from the small Manitoba community of New Iceland to the bustling streets of nineteenth-century Winnipeg. Along the way Baldur is befriended by a young Johnny Ashdown and together they cash in on the boom days of Canada’s early west. In this modern Icelandic saga, Baldur is buffeted by chance and opportunity in a competitive, unforgiving new world, seeking his one true love. David Arnason is a Professor in the English Department at the University of Manitoba. In addition to helping to found Turnstone Press, Queenston House Press and the Journal of Canadian Fiction, he has also written and edited dozens of books, and published a plethora of poetry, short stories, drama, criticism, and non-fiction.

***

Best of Fest

Date: August 26, Thursday

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: Aqua Books, 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1H3, Phone: 204-943-7555.

Event: Showing of 2010 Winnipeg Fringe hit Padre X, starring Marc Moir

Cost: $10.00

Marc Moir’s Padre X is the amazing true story of John Weir Foote, the only Canadian Army chaplain to win the Victoria Cross for valor during WWII. The play begins in 1948 at a train station in Ontario. While waiting for a delayed train, Foote recalls his years in the army, his experiences at Dieppe, and the three years he spent as a prisoner of war. This is a remarkable story of an extraordinary man. What makes it all the more remarkable is that this is the first time it has ever really been told.

***

Pat Pattan

Date: September 7, Tuesday

Time: 1:00-3:00 pm, 5:00-7:00 pm

Location: By the Cash Desk at the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Signing When We Were Growing Up.

Cost: Free!

What was it like to be growing up when kids could spend the day at the movies for twenty-five cents, the Model-T had to be cranked up to get it started, and the streets were dark until the lamplighter lit the gas lamps? When We Were Growing Up gives a person-to-person account of life from the 1920’s to 1960’s as seen through the eyes of the children growing up during events such as WWI & II and the Great Depression. Interspersed with the stories of the 14 people featured in this book, the author Pat Pattan (née Yeo) adds her own story of her birth in 1943 and childhood growing up as a “war baby” in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Pat graduated from Manitoba Teachers College in 1963. Moving to New Jersey in 1965, she became a U.S. citizen in 1976. She has written articles and reviews for local newspapers and has had radio commercials on the air. She has two sons, Jonathan and Eric Mol. Author Pat Pattan (née Yeo), will be on-hand to sign from 1:00-3:00 pm and again from 5:00-7:00 pm.
***

Martha Brooks

Date: September 8, Wednesday

Time: 7:30 pm

Location: In the Prairie Ink Restaurant of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Launch of Queen of Hearts

Cost: Free!

Two years into the Second World War, fifteen-year-old Marie-Claire Côté begins a war of her own as she, her brother and sister, all stricken with tuberculosis, are taken to the Pembina Hills Sanatorium in rural Manitoba. Queen of Hearts is a story about surviving loss — and finding friendship, and love, in surprising places. Critically acclaimed playwright, novelist and short fiction writer Martha Brooks was born and raised in a medical family on the grounds of the now defunct Manitoba Sanatorium at Ninette, Manitoba and resides with her husband, Brian, in Winnipeg. She has penned award-winning short stories and several powerful novels for young readers, as well as several plays, all of which deal with the universal themes of love and loss. Frequently appearing on the American Library Association Best Books Lists, Brooks has been nominated four times for the Governor General’s Award – an award she received in 2002 for True Confessions of a Heartless Girl.
***

Janet Lewis Anderson

Date: September 9, 2010

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: In the Atrium of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Launch of In the Arms of the Angels

Cost: Free!

Janet grew up in a small, but loving, Winnipeg family. Her parents, Janette and John Lewis, doted on their only child and so when it came time for them to leave this world, it was especially hard on her. As a way of dealing with the stress of caring for her Mother who was dying from Alzheimer’s disease, as well as with the grief of saying goodbye, she began chronicling this difficult journey. She hopes that by sharing her story, others travelling a similarly difficult road won’t feel quite so alone and that the book will serve as a source of compassion and inspiration, helping others to courageously face another day. A tribute to her late Mother, In the Arms of The Angels is truly a Mother – Daughter love story. After 31 years of service with Canadian National Railways, Janet Lewis Anderson retired in 2003 to stay home and look after her dying Mother. Marrying a year after her Mother passed away, Janet and her husband Bruce continue to reside in Winnipeg. They enjoy family get-togethers, cooking and travelling. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to The Alzheimer Society of Manitoba.
***
Jane Urquart

Date: September 10, Friday

Time: 7:00 pm

Location: In the atrium of the McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Event: Reading & Signing Sanctuary Line

Cost: Free!

Set in the present day on a farm at the shores of Lake Erie, Jane Urquhart’s new novel weaves elements from the nineteenth-century past, in Ireland and Ontario, into a gradually unfolding contemporary story of events in the lives of the members of one family that come to alter their futures irrevocably. There are ancestral lighthouse-keepers, seasonal Mexican workers; the migratory patterns and survival techniques of the Monarch butterfly; the tragedy of a young woman’s death during a tour of duty in Afghanistan; three very different but equally powerful love stories. Jane Urquhart brings to vivid life the things of the past that make us who we are, and reveals the sometimes difficult path to understanding and forgiveness. Jane Urquhart was born in Little Long Lac, Ontario, and grew up in Toronto. She is the author of five internationally acclaimed novels, one collection of short fiction, and four books of poetry, for which she has received and been shortlisted for many awards. Her work has been translated into numerous foreign languages. Urquhart has received the Marian Engel Award, and is a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France and an Officer of the Order of Canada, as well as the recipient of numerous honorary degrees.  She lives in southwestern Ontario.
***

The University of Winnipeg is offering a new course, taught by two award-winning writers: ENGL-3102(1)-001 Creative Writing Field Research (one credit hour)
Fall section: “Luring the Knock: Inviting Poems to Linger” with Chandra Mayor (Writers’ Collective Member)
Saturday Oct 16 & Saturday Oct 23 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Margaret Atwood says that inspiration knocks softly, and that if you don’t answer, she goes away. Ignore the knocking often enough, and she stops coming back. How can we better equip ourselves to hear that soft knocking? How can we learn to hear knocking as insistent hammering? Better yet, how can we wedge the door permanently open, inviting images and words and rhythms—poems—to walk freely in and out of our minds, pages, and even at home in our own kitchens?
Winter section: “Building the Story” with Jake MacDonald
Saturday Jan 8 & Saturday Jan 15, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
“Building the Story” will focus on various approaches to writing a story, both fiction and non fiction. Students will study the many elements of story construction—creating the setting, introducing characters, the importance of description in immersing the reader in the world of the story, and the function of plot and dramatic action in revealing character.
Questions? call the English department Chair, Catherine Hunter, at 786-9294. For full information on the UW’s Creative Writing program, go to http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/english-index

***

OPPORTUNITIES AND SUBMISSIONS

We cannot guarantee any of the opportunities below! Please be careful and do your research. Quote: It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others. John Andrew Holmes

***

THE COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS IS SEEKING SUBMISSIONS

The Collective Consciousness is the journal of the Writers’ Collective and it is published four times a year. We are always seeking submissions by members of the Collective, in fact any interested writers can submit!

The next deadline is June 1, 2010. Other issues will have deadlines at the beginning of September and December.

Simply submit to wc.journal@gmail.com

NOTE: Okay, I can guarantee this one . . .

***

Attention Writers, Poets, Illustrators,
Applications are invited from creative writers for the term position of Saskatoon Public Library/Canada Council for the Arts Writer in Residence from September 1, 2011 to May 31, 2012.  Remuneration: up to $30,000 for a nine-month term. Criteria are based on Canada Council guidelines; position subject to Canada Council funding.
Applications, including reference letters, must be received by 5 p.m. Monday,
November 1, 2010.
For more details visit http://www.saskatoonlibrary.ca/UserFiles/File/WiR_2011-12-4.pdf
For more information contact:
Carol Johner,
Manager, Community Relations
Chair, Writer in Residence Selection Committee
Saskatoon Public Library
(306) 975-7530
c.johner@saskatoonlibrary.ca

***

The World’s Most Notorious Literary Marathon

Can you produce a masterwork of fiction in a mere 72 hours? The International 3-Day Novel Contest is your chance to find out. The contest has run every Labour Day Weekend since 1977 and now attracts writers from all over the world. It’s a thrill, a grind, and an awesome creative experience. How many crazed plotlines, coffee-stained pages, pangs of doubt and moments of genius will the next contest bring forth? And what might you think up under pressure?

Registration is now open for the 33rd Annual 3-Day Novel Contest. See the rules + registration page, story and FAQ, then email us at info@3daynovel.com with questions or to join our mailing list.

***

Local Call-to-Artists for Expressions of Interest

The Winnipeg Arts Council seeks an artist to create a literary-based fence for Millennium Library Park in downtown Winnipeg. The Park is undergoing a significant renovation, and will also be the site of a major public art project to mark the designation of Winnipeg as the Cultural Capital of Canada for 2010.

The artist must reside in, or in close proximity to, Winnipeg.
Budget: $90,000
Deadline for application: September 8, 2010

Interested artists must submit a complete application package to be considered. Please visit www.winnipegarts.ca for full details including eligibility criteria, application requirements and to download the Call-to-Artists as well as site plans and images.

***

SOURCES AND RESOURCES

***

For more information about McNally Robinson Booksellers check out http://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/home, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

***

To see the current list of Adult Programs at Winnipeg Public Library, please visit the address below:http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/pdfs/adultprograms.pdf.

Children’s programs: http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/pdfs/childrensprograms.pdf.

The July/August library newsletter is available at http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/pdfs/@thelibrary11.4.pdf.

The Millennium Library is at 251 Donald Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 3P5, 204-986-6450.

***

For details on Aqua Books store events, go to http://aquabooks.ca/events.php Past events are at http://aquabooks.ca/past.php. 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 1H3, Phone: 204-943-7555.

***

For more information on Literary Arts programs at The Banff Centre, check out:
http://www.banffcentre.ca/writing/

***

A truly great mystery bookstore is Winnipeg’s Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore at 165 Lilac Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3M 2S1. Their telephone number is (204) 284-9100 or 1-800-468-421. Their website is at http://www.whodunitcanada.com/home.

Their hours are Mon-Thurs: 10 am to 5 pm, Fri: 10 am to 6 pm, Sat: 10 am to 5 pm and Sun: 12 pm to 4 pm.

***

Funding for Writers – this is an incomplete list of funding sources for writers, please double check dates and facts if you are interested.

Canada Council for the Arts - www.canadacouncil.ca/writing

Grants for Professional Writers Creative Writing – English: October 1; French language: April 1

Travel Grants for Professional Writers – Applicants are advised to submit their request three months ahead of time if they wish to have the results before their departure date.
Grants to Aboriginal Writers, Storytellers, and Publishers – June 1
Aboriginal Emerging Writers Residencies – June 1
Spoken Word and Storytelling Program- April 15
International Translation Grants – Any time; applications must be submitted before the translation has been completed according to the date in the contract with the translator.
Grants for Arts Promotion: Project Grants and Artists & Community Collaboration Program – March 15 and September 15

Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Awards - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/victor_martin_lynch_staunton
CBC Literary Awards - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/cbc_literary
Canada-Japan Literary Awards - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/canada_japan_literary
Governor General’s Literary Awards- Application deadlines vary, www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/ggla
Japan-Canada Fund - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/japan_canada_fund
Joseph S. Stauffer Prizes - www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/joseph_s_stauffer
Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prizes – December 1, www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/molson

Manitoba Arts Council - http://artscouncil.mb.ca/english/liter_grantind.html
Major Arts Grant – January 15
Writers’ Grants – (A, B, C), May 15 and September 15
Travel/ Professional Development Grant for Writers – Four weeks prior to project
Community Connections and Access Program – April 1 and October 1
Deep Bay Artists’ Residency in Riding Mountain National Park of Canada – December 15
Special Opportunities Grant – May 15 for projects beginning after June 30
Departures - December 15
Public Readings by Manitoba Writers- Ongoing
Manitoba/New Brunswick Creative Residency – January 15

Manitoba Arts Award for Distinction – December 15

Winnipeg Arts Council – http://www.winnipegarts.ca/index.php?/grants-artists/

Individual Artist Grant Programs – A and B Grants, March 2 and September 7

Professional Development Grant Programs – no deadline

***

NEWS RANDOM AND OTHERWISE FROM THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Quote: Canada has no identity and never has had an identity. Any sense of identity we have is our sense of density. Marshall McLuhan

***

Good Day All!

I have been dealing with technical difficulties but all should be fine now . . . my apologies for the delay in the updates!

Michael

***

Federal Court of Appeal rules in favour of Access Copyright on K-12 tariff judicial review

Toronto – July 26, 2010 – Canadian creators and educational publishers have won a six-year legal battle to receive reasonable compensation for the reproduction of copyright-protected teaching materials used in the classroom, according to a decision by the Federal Court of Appeal.
In 2009, the Copyright Board of Canada certified a tariff to compensate creators and publishers for the photocopying of their works in K – 12 Schools. Ministers of Education of all the provinces and territories with the exception of Quebec, along with close to a hundred individual school boards, had asked the Federal Court to review the decision.
However the Federal Court found that the Copyright Board’s decision was reasonable in light of the evidence before it. The Board had heard that over 250-million pages of textbooks and other materials are copied for use in K-12 schools every year.
“This is an important decision for rights holders not just in the education sector, but in every field of creative endeavour,” said Maureen Cavan, Executive Director, Access Copyright.
“The decision is bitter-sweet when you consider that the federal government’s proposed changes to the Copyright Act could impair future compensation for reproduction of materials used in education,” said Roanie Levy, General Counsel, Access Copyright.
What’s being photocopied today by the primary, secondary and post-secondary education sector is the equivalent of 3 million books a year. “That’s 3 million books that have not been sold. As long as reproduction is compensated, creators and publishers and the thousands of knowledge workers supported by this industry can survive. Take away the compensation, and you will jeopardize a Canadian industry that provides Canadian children and their teachers with Canadian content,” Cavan added.

Access Copyright, The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency, is a not-for-profit organization founded by Canadian creators and publishers to meet the needs of users of copyright protected works, while ensuring fair compensation for that use. Access Copyright represents nearly 9,000 Canadian writers and publishers. Access Copyright works with organizations in all sectors to help them operate legally by providing access to licences that allow for the legitimate use of published copyright protected materials.

***

THE AnX at AT  491 Portage Avenue  (FORMER GREYHOUND BUS DEPOT)

As you know, The University is currently renovating 42,000 square feet on the main floor at 491 Portage Avenue. The University is creating a new, modern 6,000-square foot bookstore inside the former bus depot, which will be the anchor tenant in a retail plaza. The AnX will also accommodate the new UWinnipeg Balmoral Transit Terminal.

It is estimated these renovations will be complete by November 2010. Until then, the University of Winnipeg Bookstore will continue to serve students and the campus community from its current location.

BOOKSTORE LOCATION: Main floor, Centennial Hall, 515 Portage Avenue

BOOKSTORE HOURS: Please note the bookstore is open for orders 24/7 via the website athttp://www.universityofwinnipeg.bkstr.com

Summer:

Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm (closed on weekends.)

September:

Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 7:00 pm (effective Tuesday, September 7)
Special Saturday opening on September 11 from 10 am to 5:00 pm

BOOKSTORE CONTACT: (204) 786-9706, universityofwinnipeg@bkstr.com

***

TWUC PROTESTS PROPOSED CENSUS CHANGES

The Writers’ Union of Canada shares the concern expressed by so many about the federal government’s misguided plan to make the long-form version of the census voluntary. As has been made abundantly clear, most notably by Chief Statistician Munir Sheikh, who has resigned his post over the proposed change, the move will significantly weaken the reliability of the census data for use by organizations, businesses and individuals across the country, while costing more money in the short run and apparently placating only the handful of people who have objected to filling out the long form.

Writers have long used Statistics Canada census data to give an accurate reflection of the changing country to Canadians, and The Writers’ Union of Canada in particular regularly uses the data when preparing briefs on cultural issues to present to governments and others. Undercutting the reliability of the statistics will not only make it more difficult to present options based on fact and evidence, it will literally make it more difficult to see and know ourselves as a changing people and nation.

“The federal government has talked a lot about transparency in recent years,” TWUC Chair Alan Cumyn said, “but clear information is at the heart of transparency. This decision to gut the census is a huge step toward muddying the waters.”

The Writers’ Union of Canada urges Industry Minister Tony Clement and Prime Minister Stephen Harper to heed the advice of so many and protect the current incarnation of the long-form census.

The Writers’ Union of Canada is a national organization representing professional authors of books. Founded in 1973, the Union is dedicated to fostering writing in Canada, and promoting the rights, freedoms, and economic well being of all writers. For more information, please visit www.writersunion.ca.

***

B.C. Arts Official Complains About the Province

According to an article in the Globe and Mail Jane Danzo (former chair of the British Columbia Arts Council) has made some strong comments about arts funding in the province. She was especially incensed over the cuts to the council from $19.5 million to $7.9 million, against recommendations from a biparti9san standing committee on finance.

The article was written by Marsha Lederman and came out on August 18. It can be found at:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/former-arts-official-condemns-bc-government/article1676352/

***

Authors Protest Censorship at Texas Teen Lit Festival

Four Young Adult writers have withdrawn from the annual Teen Lit Fest in a suburb of Houston called Humble. They withdrew in support of writer Ellen Hopkins who had been disinvited from the festival (scheduled in January 2011) over the nature of her novels which deal with subjects like drug addiction and teenage prostitution.

The authors who withdrew include Tera Lynn Childs, Melissa de la Cruz, Matt de la Pena and Pete Hautman.

***

The End of Libel Tourism in the US

Last week US President OBama signed the Speech Act that prohibits federal courts from recognizing foreign libel judgments in the US that do not pass First Amendment tests. This stops U.S. authors from being sued in foreign courts with more lax libel laws, such as the United Kingdom.

The most egregious example of libel tourism took place in 2007 when Saudi billionaire Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz forced Cambridge University Press to rescind publication of Alms for Jihad. Copies of the book were pulped, libraries were asked to pull the book from shelves, damages were paid and the Press also had to issue a public apology.

Mahfouz had sued against the U.S. publisher in a U.K. court. Previously he had used the same tactics to quash four other titles in various countries.

***

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

The parent who could see his boy as he really is, would shake his head and say “Willie is no good; I’ll sell him.” Stephen Leacock

***

FOR THEORIES, CRITIQUE, PROPHECY, GREIVANCES, DESIRES, DREAMS, COMMENTS, CONCEPTIONS. NIGHTMARES, OPINIONS, BELIEFS, IDEAS, CONJECTURE, THOUGHTS, COMPLAINTS, DATA, HOPES, VISIONS, AND CONCEPTS PLEASE CONTACT

Michael Van Rooy
Program Coordinator
The Writers’ Collective
University of Winnipeg
4th Floor Library
515 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3B 2E9
(204) 786-9468.

writerscollective@uwinnipeg.ca

But for those of you who are definitively nOt haters, you should check out the Poetry Foundation website…. oooo Nelly (who IS Nelly anyway?) there is some good stuff to be found there…

not only does it have the Poetry Tool - how great a name is ThAt?! It’s a database where you may search their plentiful archives by poet or poem, first line or title, subject or occasion?!?!

and the very hip – Harriet: The Blog – named after the magazine’s historical founder Harriet Moore but oh so very current,

BuT this is the website where you also find links and issues of the timeless Poetry Magazine!!!! eeeee  - I think this is how normal people feel when they watch their aging Rock icons in Reality TV shows -

For those of you who don’t know Poetry Magazine is considered the epitome of the Lit Mag! The uber sophisticated of the literati sheeeek! Poetry is to poetry geeks what Vogue is to fashion geeks! Just ask Wiki, (good ol’ Wiki) who tells us,

“The magazine discovered such poets as Gwendolyn Brooks, James Merrill, and John Ashbery.[1] T. S. Eliot’s first professionally published poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” was first published by Poetry. Contributors have included Ezra Pound, William Butler Yeats, Rabindranath Tagore, Marianne Moore, Charlotte Wilder, Wallace Stevens, H. D., William Carlos Williams, Basil Bunting, Yone Noguchi, Carl Rakosi, Dorothy Richardson, Peter Viereck, Louis Zukofsky, Charles Reznikoff and Carl Sandburg, among others. The magazine was instrumental in launching the Imagist and Objectivist poetic movements.” (insert girly claps here!!!)

The Magazine has always been known for its ear to the ground of what’s hot in poetry (see, poetry can be so HaWt!), Poetry has been around since 1912 when founder Harriet Moore (the Gene Simmons in this scenario) wrote the magazine’s mission statement as,

“The Open Door will be the policy of this magazine—may the great poet we are looking for never find it shut, or half-shut, against his ample genius! To this end the editors hope to keep free from entangling alliances with any single class or school. They desire to print the best English verse which is being written today, regardless of where, by whom, or under what theory of art it is written. Nor will the magazine promise to limit its editorial comments to one set of opinions.”

Nowadays Poetry is headed up by Christian Wiman, prints 300 poems per year out of approximately 90,000 submissions!!! Not really the Open Door scenario Harriet had in mind I think, but I suppose with that kind of historical acclaim comes high demand, and not only does the mag have amazing roots and widespread critical success, it also boosts a circulation of 30,000! An extraordinary number for a publication dedicated solely to poetry!

(And they have the most beautiful covers – google Poetry Magazine and click on Images to see a full array)

So there you go, have a looksie, get inspired… Even the submission page is neato, they have a tracking tool that let’s you see where you poems are in the submissions process. They think of everything!

And they read all year!

So do it!

Submit something today!!!

(Photo cred to the beautiful people at artslink)

I am most looking forward to this Speaking Crow and hearing more from the poet and fiction writer who wrote some very divine poetry like,

“So we sit here, over the darkness,
over the rippling black water
where unsteady stars waver.
We wait for trains.”

and this,

“We take our turns at the window, staring
at the cottonwood grove across the river
noting the casual sway and flicker of leaves
when the wind combs through.”

ok one more,

“My silence seems inevitable

as if I cannot afford to give anything away.

As if I have given it all already, given it to you”

~Go and checky her website for more info… and come out to Aqua Books on August 3rd!!

Michelle Elrick is a poet and fiction writer from British Columbia and Manitoba. Growing up on a mountain overlooking the Fraser Valley contributed to a sense of perspective that has continued to develop in her writing. Now on Canada’s great plain, she lives in an attic overlooking the rooftops of Winnipeg. Her first book, a collection of poems titled To Speak, was published by The Muses’ Company in 2010. In addition, her work has appeared in The Fiddlehead, Canadian Literature, Event and other magazines, and performed at festivals and events in Vancouver, Winnipeg, London, Kingston and Belfast. She is currently deep in a second draft of her novel, Dust House, surfacing on occasion to play the banjo and walk the dog.

Are you excited yet???

The Writers Collective of Manitoba celebrates being TEN years young this fall and to celebrate this wonderful milestone, we will be producing a SPECIAL ISSUE of the Collective Consciousness AND have a GALA NIGHT featuring some of our talented members, past and present.

More on the GALA in a future post, but for now, save the date:

Saturday, September 11th!!

What we would like to do now is invited members of all shapes, sizes, no matter where you are in your writing, whether a you are a hobby writer, or a professional wordsmith, we would like you to SUBMIT something for our special issue. SUBMIT and SUBMIT often. We would like these celebrations to reflect ALL members of the Collective.

Submissions can be fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, or other art forms. Please no more than 20 pages at a time! But other than that, we are not limited in in any way, send us what you are working on right now, write us a piece telling what the Collective  means to you, send us your latest poetic masterpiece, the Collective has always been about the LOVE of writing, not the rules of writing.

KNOW NO BOUNDS.

SHOW DON’T TELL.

WE WANT TO SEE WHAT YOU ARE WORKING ON!!

Send it all along to: ink@thewriterscollective.org….

NOW GO WORK!

The Writers’ Collective supports, encourages and recognizes the work of new and emerging writers. We are here to help you practice your craft, whether it’s poetry, fiction, memoir or something else entirely. We’ll help you make connections – to other writers, to readers, to mentors – and get involved in the writing community in Manitoba.

Founded in 2000, the Writers’ Collective offers a range of programs and services to help you hone your craft, whether you write for pleasure or profit.

The Writers’ Collective is supported by grants from our funders, in-kind support from our partners, program fees and donations from members. We are a registered charity and issue charitable tax receipts for all donations received.

tomorrow for instance, come down and get our wonderful Program Coordinator to sign a copy of his great new book…

Michael Van Rooy, Date: July 9, Friday, Time: 6:00-8:00 pm

Location: In the Chapters store at Polo Festival at 695 Empress Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3G 3P6, Telephone: 775-5999.

Event: Signing A Criminal To Remember

Michael will be at the Polo Festival Chapters store signing his latest book so come down and say HI! And check out his website, http://www.michaelvanrooy.com/

….and next week…..

GRAPHIC STORYTELLING WORKSHOP, Date: July 13 and July 20, Tuesdays, Time: 7:00-9:00 pm

Location: In the Travel Alcove of McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3M 2A6, Phone: 204-475-0483, Toll Free 1-800-561-1833.

Cost: $10.00 with all proceeds going to the Manitoba Writers’ Guild.

Join the Fight! Make Comics! Join Manitoba Book Award nominees John Toone (Writers’ Collective Member) and GMB Chomichuk, (check out his Alchemical Press here) the authors and artist of The Imagination Manifesto, in these two special graphic-storytelling workshops.  These nights will take you from pen to page, from finding your storytelling strengths to finding a publisher. Bring your portfolio, scripts, concepts, ideas and an open mind for these evenings of discussion and creative brainstorming. Registration is $10 and can be paid at McNally Robinson Booksellers, Grant Park. All proceeds benefit the Manitoba Writers’ Guild.

…. and July 15th seems to be a popular deadline. So here’s a quick list, you only have precious few days people, get on it!!

Cabinet Magazine “Like the 17th-century cabinet of curiosities to which its name alludes, Cabinet is as interested in the margins of culture as its center. Presenting wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary content in each issue through the varied formats of regular columns, essays, interviews, and special artist projects, Cabinet’s hybrid sensibility merges the popular appeal of an arts periodical, the visually engaging style of a design magazine, and the in-depth exploration of a scholarly journal” See their full submiss. guidelines here. Issue 39, Fall 2010 issue, with a themed section on “Learning”; July 15, 2010

…. and how about a contest?…

Room Magazine says, “It’s that time of year again—sharpen your pencils or fire up your laptop and send us your fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction contest entries. Deadline: Entries must be postmarked no later than July 15, 2010. Entry Fee: $27 per entry (includes a complimentary one-year subscription to Room). Payment by cheque or money order made out to Room.
Non-Canadian entries: $39 Canadian dollars. Prizes: 1st prize in each category – $500, 2nd prize – $250. Winners will be published in a 2011 issue of Room. Other manuscripts may be published.” Full details here

Last Thursday Canada celebrated its 143^rd birthday.  Compared to most nations on this globe our national identity is still very, very young.

Now examine the timeline of our literary history against that of the rest of the world–the Norton Anthology of World Literature cites the first great narrative of world literature to be “Gilgamesh,” written down on clay tablets around 2000 B.C. — and we are not just in our infancy, we are essentially the newest of the newborn.  And if you think about it, for newborns we’re doing just fine:   we are more or less sitting at the equivalent of Einstein coming up with the theory of relativity when he was still at the “twinkle in his father’s eye” stage.

On Canada Day I chose to spend most of the hot and sticky daylight hours in the air conditioned comfort of my apartment pondering weighty questions (Okay, so I got involved in one of those interminable internet rambles where one click leads to another which leads to another . . .) like, “I wonder if there is a comprehensive list somewhere of all the published Canadian writers since Confederation?”  Well, there is. In fact there are. Several.  Check them out for yourself.

There are also (this is what happens when you just keep clicking away at all those lovely little blue links) several notable articles out there begging the question, “What is Canadian literature?”  The crux of this issue seems to be rooted in the obvious reality that Canada as a nation, first and foremost, is just plain huge geographically.  Add to this the fact that we are (for the most part) a nation of immigrants and  have chosen to embrace the ideal of multiculturalism, and that leaves the scholars with a great deal of serious head scratching to do.

You see, if they try to break down Canadian writing by region that strategy only works so far.  Eventually they have to deal with the reality of the author born in Halifax, raised in Winnipeg and currently residing in Tuktoyaktuk, who writes passionate prose/poetry/plays/cookbooks from the cultural perspective of his/her Thai/Russian/Somali (insert cultural heritage of your choice here) roots.  Makes us a very interesting place to be doesn’t it?

Another common theme in the discussion of Canadian literature is that we, as a literary entity, still haven’t “found” ourselves.  It is remarked that we have an adolescent inclination to mask serious subject matter in humour (remember biology classes in the 7^th grade?), to involve ourselves in deep and heart-felt searches for identity, and to engage in an ingenuous veneration of the underdog.

But then again, we are also valued on the world literary stage for our perspectives on dealing with the complexities of multiculturalism, our seeming reverence for and acceptance of the often brutal realities of nature, and our ability to view the world through the somewhat jaundiced, but highly polished, lenses of  self-deprecation and satire.  Not bad when you consider we still haven’t really found our way out of our swaddling clothes.

So we are young. And being young we are bubbling with ideas and we are overflowing with ideals. We are eager to prove ourselves to the world, wanting all the while to appear completely unfazed at finding ourselves in a room full of grownups wearing ties.  We are growing.  Every day we are soaking in the information offered by the world around us; garnering wisdom (hopefully) from the lessons of the past.  And we are writing.  Just imagine what awaits us on the day we let go and begin walking by ourselves.