The Writers' Collective

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Writers’ Collective is looking for a Program Coordinator.

The Program Coordinator is primarily responsible for member and partner relations and organizing and administering Collective programs and events. Applicants must be dedicated, reliable, community minded, able to work independently and with different groups of people.  Experience in preparing grant applications is an asset, as is experience with the local writing and publishing community.  Should have multi-tasking skills, excellent communication (both written and verbal) and networking skills. Must have facility with various computer programs including Excel spreadsheets.  Experience with financial transactions would be an asset.  Must be willing to work some evenings and weekends.  Commitment to and interest in the local writing scene is an asset.

This is a contract position, with a minimum one year commitment required.  Hours are flexible, range from 25 to 30 per week.  Annual contract fee is $17,700.

Contract and training to begin as soon as possible.  Please send resume with references and cover letter to:  Writers’ Collective, 4th Floor Library, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9.  Applications may also be submitted by email to: .  Applications must be received by Friday, February 25. Any questions or clarifications, please email . Thank you for your interest, only those chosen for an interview will be contacted.

WORKSHOP: The Book of The and Another Book of The: Idea Generation – The Indispensable Core of Creativity with Robert Kelly PhD – University of Calgary

Saturday, March 5, 10 am to 1 pm, Gallery 1C03 (University of Winnipeg), $20 for Writers’ Collective members, $40 for non-members, Email  to register.

Bring your ideas and sense of humour as artist and educator, Robert Kelly leads us through an exploration of the many dimensions of creativity with focus on the dynamic of idea generation and invention.  Join us in an active process of idea generation and development as we explore strategies for engaging in creative culture through cooperative design. Experience the joy of collaborative creativity with fellow workshop participants as we generate infinite possibilities through various methods of idea generation including a designer‘s version of “speed dating“. We will also examine the concept of creativity and its vocabulary through contemporary creativity theory and creative practice. Be prepared to think, laugh, and share as we explore the world of creativity and idea generation where outcomes are unknown throughout this 3 hour workshop.

ROBERT KELLY

Educator and artist Robert Kelly is an associate professor in the Faculty of Arts and an adjunct associate professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary. He is co-editor of the book entitled Creative Expression, Creative Education: Creativity As A Primary Rationale For Education. He is currently researching and developing two new volumes on creativity in education focused on developing personal and professional creativity entitled Creative Journey and the methodology of creativity in educational practice entitled Educating For Creativity.

Robert has received numerous awards for teaching excellence and is featured on the University of Calgary’s Great Teachers website. He is currently pioneering four new courses on creativity in educational practice in the new Masters of Education program at the University of Calgary.  Robert Kelly has done numerous keynote presentations, lectures and workshops across Canada on the topic of creativity.

As artist, his most recent work is his conceptual Minutia installation showing in March at Gallery 1C03 at the University of Winnipeg consisting of eleven books of concrete poetry on lecterns, based on the sentence fragment “the first time I heard the sound of a page turning.” His other major bodies of work include his painted Concept of Raven series and his newly developed White Noise outdoor installation project.

www.robertkelly.ca

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MEMBER NEWS

The 8th Teaching? Readings, Aboriginal Writers’ Collective of Manitoba (Kate Vermette, AWC and WC member), March 10
Courage – the Bear.  Honesty – the Sabe.  Wisdom – the Beaver.  Love – the Eagle. Truth – the Turtle.  Respect – the Buffalo.  Humility – the Wolf.
These Seven Sacred Teachings and their animal spirit representatives are central to Aboriginal Tradition.  Through their trademark use of humour – subversive and full of wit – the Aboriginal Writers’ Collective of Manitoba asks:  what would the Eighth Teaching be?
Join us for this free adult program as Sir William Stephenson Library presents members of the Aboriginal Writers’ Collective of Manitoba performing original work.
Sir William Stephenson Library, 765 Keewatin Street, Thursday, March 10, 7 – 8 p.m.
No registration needed!  Just drop in.
Questions?  Call:  986-7070. For more information, visit http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/outreachservices.asp

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PROGRAMS AROUND AND ABOUT

Haut-parleurs!

Quoi? Lecture publique, micro libre, tous peuvent lire
Où? La librairie Aqua Books, 274, rue Garry
Quand? 22 février 2011, 19 h 00
Qui? Poète invité : Laurent Poliquin, et les gens du public qui veulent lire

En février il fait bon passer une veillée à se réchauffer au soleil des mots et des histoires. En écouter des histoires, mais aussi en raconter, raconter ses propres histoires. Un auteur est invité, ce soir-là ce sera Laurent Poliquin. Il vient de publier à Paris et sera très heureux de nous présenter ses poèmes. Ensuite, tous ceux qui veulent lire leurs textes (longs ou courts) le pourront. Après chaque lecture, bien sûr, on applaudit!

Alors oui, on lit en français chez les Anglais. C’est à «l’hôtel de ville culturel» de Winnipeg, la librairie Aqua Books, 274, rue Garry. Haut-parleurs! est une initiative de la librairie Aqua Books et du Collectif Post-néo-rieliste dont le but est d’encourager l’émergence de nouveaux talents de la littérature du Manitoba français.

Haut-parleurs! c’est une occasion de voir et d’entendre des écrivains donner vie à leurs mots. Haut-parleurs! c’est une salle au plancher craquant, c’est un bruit diffus de circulation, c’est une voix qui nous envoute, ce sont des rencontres, des surprises, des retrouvailles. Haut-parleurs! c’est le 22 février 2011, à 19 h 00, à la librairie Aqua Books, 274, rue Garry.

ANNUAL FREEDOM TO READ MARATHON, Presented by The Manitoba Writers’ Guild and The Winnipeg Public Library, February 25th, 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM, Millennium Library

This cross-country initiative founded by the Book and Periodical Council encourages Canadians to reflect upon and reaffirm their intellectual freedom.  Participants can exercise their rights by doing a 10-minute reading from a selection of banned or challenged books.  A variety of banned/challenged books will be provided to choose from, or participants are welcome to bring their own banned selection.  Ten minute slots can be reserved by calling 986-6779. For more information on Freedom to Read visit:http://www.freedomtoread.ca/

Yellow Dog Reading change of date: Louise B. Halfe and Beatrice Mosionier will now be reading on February 28th at the Yellow Dog Tavern – Monday February 28, 7:30 PM, Yellow Dog Tavern (386 Donald next to the Carnegie Deli)

The Manitoba Writers’ Guild continues its third season of readings at the Yellow Dog Tavern featuring writers from Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Newfoundland in 2010-2011. Individual admission is $10.00 at the door, reservations recommended. Reservations can now be made at   or by calling 204-944-8013. The series features 20 minute readings by two authors, followed by a conversation illuminating the lives and work of the featured writers.  For a full list of readings visit:http://www.mbwriter.mb.ca/.

Beatrice Mosionier (formerly Beatrice Culleton) was born in 1949, in St. Boniface, Manitoba, Canada. She attended George Brown College (1970) in Toronto, and Banff School of Fine Arts (1983). She was raised in foster homes, as were her brother and two sisters, because of her parents’ alcoholism. Following the death of two sisters to suicide, Beatrice decided to write In Search of April Raintree. First published in 1983, it has become a Canadian classic. Beatrice is the author of several children’s book including: Spirit of the White Bison, Christopher’s Folly, and Unusual Friendships: A Little Black Cat and a Little White Rat. Her second novel, In the Shadow of Evil, was published in 2000. Her most recent book is the memoir Come Walk With Me, published by Portage and Main Press in 2009.

Louise Halfe, Sky Dancer, was born in Two Hills, Alberta. She was raised on the Saddle Lake First Nation and attended Blue Quills Residential School. Halfe made her debut as a poet in Writing the Circle: Native Women of Western Canada, the acclaimed anthology of life-writings by Native women. Halfe’s first book of poetry, Bear Bones and Feathers, won the Milton Acorn Award for 1996 and was short-listed for the Spirit of Saskatchewan Award. Blue Marrow, published by McClelland and Steward in 1998, is a mixture of prose and poetry resurrecting voices from the past. Blue Marrow was short-listed for the Governor General’s Award. Louise’s third book of poetry, The Crooked Good, published in 2007 by Coteau, won the Saskatoon Book Award and the Saskatoon Publishers Award and was short listed for the Pat Lowther Memorial Award.The Crooked Good is an epic poem based on the Cree Legend of the Rolling Head, interwoven with the lives of four generations of women. Louise served as the first aboriginal Poet Laureate of Saskatchewan from 2005-2006. Her work is widely published in anthologies and magazines.

CMU School of Writing Application Deadline: March 1, 2011

Now in its fifth year, the School of Writing has helped hundreds of writers receive creative support and guidance. The School of Writing at CMU functions with small classes that work closely and intensively together, and feature peer editing and workshop ping. Along with the classroom experience, students have one-on-one meetings with instructors to work on manuscripts. Classes meet every day for five days. Students will encounter well-known authors who visit for special readings and seminars. There is time for writing and reflec tion on CMU’s beautiful north campus. The week concludes with a keynote speaker and a banquet. There are four courses in 2011: Fiction (taught by Marina Endicott), Creative Nonfiction (Myrna Kostash), Life Writing (Joanne Klassen), and Preaching (Allan Rudy-Froese).

Applicants for the School of Writing should be 18 years old or over. Classes are limited to ten students. In order to apply for all the courses except Life Writing, please submit an application form and a portfolio of the writing you would like to develop during the School. (An excerpt is fine; length is approximately 5-10 pages typed, double-spaced.) No portfolio is needed for Life Writing.

Tuition for the 2011 School of Writing at CMU is $575, tax included. This includes five days of lunches and coffee breaks and the Friday evening banquet. Some financial support is available; see our website for details.

The application deadline is March 1, 2011.

More information is available on the CMU website:  www.cmu.ca/schoolofwriting

League of Canadian Poets National Poetry Month blog: submission deadline March 1

April is National Poetry Month, a time dedicated to reading, writing, speaking and promoting poetry in Canada. To ensure that the word of National Poetry Month is heard across the country, the League of Canadian Poets sponsors readings and performances across Canada and produces a blog that features the works of LCP members.

This year, National Poetry Month will celebrate poets, libraries and the Public Lending Right Commission. Together, they work to cultivate Canadian poetry in our communities, nurturing creators and free access to their work. As such, the theme for the 2011 LCP National Poetry Month blog is: nurture / nourrire.

Submission Guidelines: Please send 1 poem (published or unpublished) on the theme of nurture / nourrire to: . In the subject line please type NPM blog and where the submission is from. For example: NPM blog, Toronto. All submissions must be electronic and cannot exceed 200 words. Send poem and bio in MS word document AND within the body of your e-mail. Submissions will be accepted beginning February 15, 2011. Submissions will not be accepted after March 1, 2011.

Poems will be published to the blog, http://lcpnationalpoetrymonth2011.wordpress.com/, starting on April 1, 2011. Poems will be accepted on a first come first serve basis and taking into account geographical region. We are looking for representation from all over Canada. You will receive an email acknowledgment of your submission within the week. Contact information must include: How long you have been a member with the LCP, your name, Province/Territory and city where you live. Biographical statements should be no longer than 50 words, including internet links. For more information, contact NPM blog administrator Ariel Gordon at .

READING: Jennifer Still & Holly Luhning, Wednesday, March 2, 7 pm at McNally Robinson.

A thrilling reading of fiction and poetry that will mark the first of our prairie reading tour from our newest books: Quiver (Jennifer Still, HarperCollins) and Girlwood (Holly Luhning, Brick Books), respectively. The event will be followed by a Q&A book chat with the ever-charming and award-winning Winnipeg poet and reviewer, Ariel Gordon.

“Girlwood” grows out of a decidedly Winnipeg landscape; the title is a play on the author’s childhood home located on Girdwood Crescent, an East Kildonan townhouse development built along the CPR rail line in the 70′s. But the haul of Still’s content is much more internal. The poems follow the rhythms of the tracks into the psyche of a girlhood, a self-becoming, that travels far beyond physical boundaries deep into the wild entanglement of mother-daugher connection. In Girlwood, Jennifer Still’s second collection, her poems come of age: they take the dare; they cross out of sapling and into maturity’s thicket. But the poems don’t leave the girl behind, they bring her along: as sylph, as raconteur, as witness, as pure, unstoppable bravado.

Holly Luhning’s debut novel, Quiver (HarperCollins 2011) has been described by Eden Robinson as “a gripping psychological thriller that has combined the complexity and careful detail of a novel with the beautiful and terrible simplicity of drama.” Holly Luhning has received a Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor’s Arts Award, and her collection of poetry, Sway (Thistledown Press 2003), was nominated for a Saskatchewan Book Award. Holly lives in Toronto.

Ariel Gordon is a Winnipeg-based writer whose first book of poetry, Hump, was published in spring 2010 by Palimpsest Press. How to Prepare for Flooding, a collaboration with designer Julia Michaud, is forthcoming from JackPine Press in 2011. When not being bookish, Ariel likes tromping through the woods and taking macro photographs of mushrooms.

WORKSHOP: Writing for Online Publications with Shel Zolkewich
Saturday March 5, 1:00pm – 4:00pm, in the Burns Creative Classroom, 210-100 Arthur Street (in the Artspace building)

Cost: $30 for members, $35 for non-members (includes a MWG membership to the end of June 2011)

The publishing world is changing. At one time, print was king, but as we see more and more newspapers fold and magazines reduce page counts, another format is taking over. Some see it as a sad situation, but let’s look at it as an opportunity to jump into the ever-growing field of online publications. We’ll take a look at the various forms of online publications and opportunities for online work, and walk through the steps you need to know to sell your services.

To register please email  or call 204-944-8013 with your name and send your cheque made out to the Manitoba Writers’ Guild to:
218-100 Arthur Street, Winnipeg MB, R3B 1H3.  Thank you!

Shel Zolkewich writes about the outdoors, travel and food when she’s not playing outside, on the road or eating. Her recent adventures have included harvesting walleye aboard a commercial fishing boat on Lake Winnipeg and making a long overdue trip to Ukraine with her dad Merv.  She writes for Up! Magazine, Going Places, Travel Manitoba, Manitoba Canola Growers, West Magazine, Homesav, the Winnipeg Free Press, AOL.ca,  The Globe & Mail and EnRoute.  Visit Shel’s website at: http://shelzolkewich.com and visit her on twitter:http://twitter.com/shelzolkewich

A POETRY WORKSHOP WITH BARRY DEMPSTER

The Manitoba Writers’ Guild Poetry Workshop is one of four MWG workshops for published writers in 2010-2011. Registrants must have one book publication of 48 pages or more by a recognized Canadian publisher.

The Barry Dempster Poetry Workshop will be held on Sunday March 13 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., MWG Burns Creative Classroom (218-100 Arthur Street). Deadline for applications, including the submission of work: March 1, 2011.

Cost: $100 for members, $130 for non-members (fee includes a MWG membership to the end of June 2011)

Selection Process: Anyone who has had a book professionally published by a reputable publisher will be accepted for the workshop on a first come first served basis until the maximum number of participants is registered.  Maximum number of participants: 8

Application Procedure:  All writers will electronically submit up to 8 pages of new work that they want discussed during the workshop, and two or three questions relating to the work submitted or to the writing process in general. These will be circulated by email to all participants a week before the workshop, and will be discussed during the workshop session. Submissions should be clearly marked, with names on every page (header/footers preferred). Submissions should also include a brief bio including a publishing history, which will also be circulated to other group members.

Registrations for this poetry workshop are now being accepted. All registrations and submissions should be made by email to . Fees are to be made payable to the Manitoba Writers’ Guild by cheque and mailed to 218-100 Arthur Street, Winnipeg, MB R3B 1H3.

Barry Dempster is the author of fifteen books, including a novel, The Ascension of Jesse Rapture, a children’s book, two volumes of short stories and eleven collections of poetry.   He has been nominated for the Governor General’s Award twice and has won a Petra Kenney Award, a Confederation Poets’ Prize, a Prairie Fire Poetry Contest and the Canadian Authors’ Association Jack Chalmers Award for Poetry for his 2005 collection, The Burning Alphabet.  In 2009, he published two new books of poetry: Love Outlandish, published by Brick Books, and Ivan’s Birches, with Pedlar Press. A new collection, Blue Wherever, will be published by Signature Editions in the spring of 2010.  He lives in Holland Landing, Ontario, where he runs a film series and two book discussion groups.

Call: Aqua Books Emerging Writers-in-Residence

Aqua Books’ successful Writer-in-Residence program has historically included such local luminaries as Anita Daher (YA fiction), the late Michael Van Rooy (crime fiction), Amy Karlinsky (art writing), David Robertson (graphic novel), Kerry Ryan (poetry) and Carolyn Gray (fiction).

The history of the Emerging Writer-in-Residence has been just as storied. Poet Marika Prokosh was our inaugural Emerging WiR in 2009, which was followed in 2010 by visual artist/writer hannah_g in July and writer/editor/actor David Jón Fuller in January.

In 2011, we’re planning to have two Aqua Books Emerging Writer-in-Residence, in April and July.

The details: The Emerging Writer-in-Residence will occupy one of Aqua’s Writer’s Studios, located on the Aqua Books’ second floor for the length of their term, rent-free. The Emerging Writer-in-Residence will also be the featured reader for that month’s edition of Aqua’s Soapbox Open Mic reading series. Aqua Books would like to invite Winnipeg writers of every genre to apply to the Emerging Writer-in-Residence program. No previous publishing experience is necessary, but applications should include a five-page sample of your work in addition to a resume and cover letter.

Please send applications to: Kelly Hughes, Aqua Books, 274 Garry Street, Winnipeg, MB R3C 1H3

The application deadline for both opportunities is March 22, 2011.

For more information, please contact Aqua Books owner Kelly Hughes at 943-7555 or .

WAC: Call for Nominations for the 2011 Winnipeg Arts Council Awards, Deadline April 5

The 5th annual WINNIPEG ARTS COUNCIL AWARDS will be presented at THE MAYOR’S LUNCHEON FOR THE ARTS, a celebration that recognizes and promotes the arts, artists and partnerships that make Winnipeg a centre for cultural achievement. The Luncheon will be held on Thursday, June 9, 2011 at the Fairmont Winnipeg.

Three awards will recognize excellence and creativity in the arts:  the ON THE RISE Award, the MAKING A MARK Award and the MAKING A DIFFERENCE Award. Each award recipient will receive a cash prize of $2,500.  The ARTS CHAMPION Award will honour an individual, a business or an organization that has demonstrated sustained support to the arts in Winnipeg. The award will be a unique work of art.

The ON THE RISE Award recognizes the demonstrated promise of an emerging, professional Winnipeg artist in any discipline. The jury may consider nominees of any age who have recently embarked on an artistic career.

The MAKING A MARK Award applauds an established professional Winnipeg artist in any discipline, who is receiving critical recognition for excellence in their art practice in Winnipeg and beyond.

The MAKING A DIFFERENCE Award celebrates the contribution of a Winnipeg artist or arts administrator to the growth and development of the arts in any discipline in Winnipeg. This award will likely go to someone well-established in their field.

The ARTS CHAMPION Patron Award will honour an individual, an organization or a business that has demonstrated sustained support to the arts in Winnipeg.

NOMINATIONS DEADLINE: Nomination packages, including signed, original nomination forms and supporting material must be received at the Winnipeg Arts Council no later than 4 pm, Tuesday, April 5, 2011. For more information and to download the nomination guidelines, please visit our website http://www.winnipegarts.ca/index.php?/wac-arts-award/.

Musicworks Magazine (Toronto, ON): Call to Writers, Deadline May 16

Get Published!  Win Prizes! Musicworks magazine is holding a Writing Contest with great prizes, and opportunities to get your work published. CBC.ca wrote a great article about our new contest here if you’d like to see what they had to say.  Contest entry details are below.  We look forward to receiving your submissions – good luck! Click here to find out about our contest: http://contest.musicworks.ca

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NEWS

Programs in the works: a poetry workshop, spring contests and more!

A fund has been set up for Michael Van Rooy’s family. For information about making a donation, contact Aqua Books.

There will be a tribute to Michael in March, organized by Thin Air, Turnstone Press and McNally Robinson. “Michael Van Rooy: The Writer,” an evening of readings and stories, will take place Thursday, March 3, at 7:30 pm in Prairie Ink Restaurant at McNally Robinson. More details to come.

Please note that we do not have access to the most up-to-date mailing list at this time. Please let us know of any changes or additions that are necessary to bring us up to date.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back. ~ Louis Riel

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FOR INFORMATION, ASSISTANCE AND GENERAL COMMISERATION, PLEASE CONTACT

The Writers’ Collective
University of Winnipeg
4th Floor Library
515 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3B 2E9

And find us on Facebook! Search “The Writers Collective of Manitoba”

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