NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION BRANCH (NCR)
Weekly Notices for the week of November 5, 2012
19 items: 7 new events 3 new magazine calls and 5 new contests
Please send all submission & event notices to Carol Stephen atcstephen0@gmail.com
####Find writing-related services offered by our members at our CAA-NCR website http://www.canauthors-ottawa.org/hire-a-member.shtml
CAA-NCR BRANCH NEWS
ITEM 1: CAA MEMBERS, COME SHARE YOUR WORDS! Starting October, CAA-NCR members will have a chance to read from their work – published or unpublished. At each meeting two members will have eight minutes each to read, one writer of prose and one of poetry. To register for reading at the October or November meeting please e-mail Phyllis Bohonis at phyllis.bohonis@sympatico.ca The first to register for each month after this weekly notice is posted will be accepted and notified. Please state in which month you would prefer to read, October or November. Watch the weekly notices in December to register for the winter months starting in January, 2013. Remember, any member is eligible to read, you do not have to be a published writer. Prose includes books, short stories or articles either fiction or non-fiction.
ITEM 2: CAA-NCR MEETING TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13 7:00 p.m.
LOCATION: OTTAWA PUBLIC LIBRARY, METCALFE & LAURIER, in the auditorium
BLOGGING FOR WRITERS presenter, Arlene Smith
Blogging is about having something to say, not having to say something. And what writer doesn’t have something to say? Arlene will discuss how blogs improve your writing and increase your community profile. She will cover the reasons to begin blogging and the questions you need to ask yourself before you start. With some tips on timing, formatting, word choice, and promotions, you will learn how to create a sustainable blog that is just right for you.
Arlene Smith began her career shooting the rapids of the Ottawa River—with a video camera, that is. As a videographer for Wilderness Tours Whitewater Rafting, she laughed a lot and slept little as she gave people a memory of themselves crashing through towering sprays of whitewater. For twelve years she worked as a producer for Rogers TV in Ottawa. She is now a freelance writer who crafts original video and television scripts, speeches, and promotional materials. Her work has appeared on HGTV Canada, the W Network and Rogers TV. She has had short stories published in DESCANT and the Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Collection.
She blogs about inspiration, balance and outreach at www.scienceandstory.wordpress.com and she posts weekly book reviews to her blog www.wednesdaybookreview.wordpress.com.
ITEM 3: CAA NCR WRITING WORKSHOP WITH RICK TAYLOR
DATE: Saturday, November 17 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
LOCATION: ALGONQUIN COLLEGE, WOODROFFE CAMPUS 1385 Woodroffe Avenue ROOM P201
English: Taken by SimonP (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Cost: $45 for members; $75 for non-members. Parking available adjacent to Building P, and is free on weekends
WRITE ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW AND DON’T KNOW
Everyone has stories to tell. Shape your own personal experiences to craft fiction and nonfiction. Whether you are writing memoir, blogs, personal essays, humour or travel writing, you are basically writing nonfiction short stories. In both fiction and nonfiction, you employ techniques such as scene setting, characterization, description, narrative arc and dialogue.
Learn how to give voice to your own stories, whether you’ve really experienced them or have invented them. To get you writing, the workshop will include jumpstarts and examples of published fiction and nonfiction.
Richard Taylor has been at Carleton University since 1995 when he was Writer-In-Residence. Also he has taught writing in Hong Kong, Australia, Tuscany and over 100 workshops in Ottawa, and an annual summer writers’ retreat, Write by the Lake in Val-des-Monts, Quebec near a waterfall of his beautiful lake house Monet Bay.
He has published a novel, a collection of short stories, an Australian travel memoir House Inside The Waves: Domesticity, Art and the Surfing Life, and many feature magazine articles. While surfing and open water swimming around the world, he is working on an unusual book about swimming with writers, Water and Desire.
Visit Rick’s website at www.taylorswave.ca.
Spaces are limited, so register early. Contact Arlene Smith at somertonsmith@yahoo.comto register. Please respect our fragrance-free environment. (Note that lunch is not included.)
ITEM 4: CAA-NCR BRANCH DECEMBER SOCIAL
DATE: Saturday, December 1, 2012
TIME:4:00 to 8:00 p.m.
The Peace Tower at Christmas. Ottawa, Canada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
LOCATION: Regina Street near Lincoln Fields Shopping Center in Ottawa — complete directions will be provided when you RSVP.
This annual get-together is the go-to event for writers in the Ottawa area. Mark the date in your calendar. CAA-NCR Christmas socials are an opportunity to meet writing colleagues in a casual, congenial and celebratory atmosphere! All are cordially invited – members, non-members and adult guests.
It’s a pot-luck, so bring your favourite seasonal or traditional holiday dish and your own liquid refreshment. Members are invited to read seasonally-inspired poems and stories.
R.S.V.P to Sylvia Adams BY EMAIL at sylviaadams@rogers.com. Let her know you’re coming, if you are bringing any guests, and what culinary delight you will add to the menu.
ACCESSIBILITY: Let us know if you have any special needs regarding physical access so we can accommodate. NOTE: Please respect our fragrance-free environment.
CAA NATIONAL NEWS
ITEM 5: SAVE THE DATE! CANWRITE! 2013 JUNE 13-16, 2013 NEW!
Lakehead University Orillia Campus, Orillia, Ontario
Stay tuned for more information
Call for Presenters
Canadian Authors is now accepting expressions of interest in being an instructor at CanWrite! 2013, to be held at Lakehead University’s Orillia Campus in Orillia, Ontario from June 13-16.
If you are a professional member, have skills to share and are experienced in leading intensive hands-on workshops related to writing or getting published, contact us at admin@canauthors.org and we’ll tell you what we need from you.
Call for Member News
Our quarterly newsletter, Canadian Author, is about to relaunch this fall. If you have any interesting info you would like to share with your fellow writers – upcoming book launch, a new commission, a scheduled reading – send it to us and we’ll make sure it gets in. For more information, contact Courtney at admin@canauthors.org or call 1 866 216 6222 for formatting and word-length requirements.
Call for Expressions of Interest
Are you a published member of CAA? Would you like your work to be showcased in CAA’s upcoming book catalog? If so, let us know and we will send you information on cost, timing and specs. For more information, contact Courtney at admin@canauthors.org or call 1 866 216 6222
BRANCH MEMBER NEWS
ITEM 6: CAA MEMBER DYAN CROSS ANNOUNCES HER NEW BOOK FLYING ON INSTINCT: CANADA’S BUSH PILOT PIONEERS NEW!
They were nicknamed Snow Eagle, Flying Knight, Bush Angel, Punch, Doc and Wop. They worked in open cockpits and flew through cold, snow and fog without the benefit of radios, maps or weather reports. They flew over the Barrens, frozen lakes, boreal forests and mountain ranges by dead reckoning and line of sight. They landed on makeshift runways, glaciers, muskeg, tundra and glassy lakes. Comrades of the wilderness, they were Canada’s early bush pilots. These brave and enterprising pilots rolled back the boundaries of western and northern Canada, delivering mail, medicine, miners and all the supplies needed by frontier settlements. Flying such planes as Curtiss, Bellanca, de Havilland, Fairchild, Junkers, Norseman, Stinson and Vickers, they were the off-roaders of aviation, venturing where no others dared to go. Climb into the cockpit with these pioneering pilots for an exciting trip into Canadian aviation history.
Flying on Instinct: Canada’s Bush Pilot Pioneers (ISBN: 9781927051849) is another title in the Amazing Stories Canadian history series by Ottawa writer L. D. Cross and is available at Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, Chapters Indigo or, directly from Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd., Victoria, BC. ISBN: 9781927051849 Cdn$ 9.95
Dyan Cross, Ottawa WEB: http://www.koalaus.com
WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS
ITEM 7: EDITORS’ ASSOCIATION OF CANADA (EAC-NCR) WORKSHOPS
our upcoming seminars – (More information and online registration at http://www.editors.ca/training/seminars/index.html?field_branch_value_many_to_one=5 )
- Practical Proofreading – Wed. Nov. 7 (full day). Instructor: Elizabeth Macfie
ITEM 8: TWUC’s HOW TO BE YOUR OWN PUBLICIST WORKSHOP
DATE: Saturday November 10 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Four Points Sheraton Gatineau-Ottawa hotel, 35 Laurier Street, Room Renaissance B, Gatineau
Presenters Elizabeth Ruth, Ann Douglas and Kelly Duffin have designed this
day to give you the know how and confidence to creatively promote your work
whether you are an aspiring writer wanting to develop your audience before
publication; an emerging writer who needs to stay visible; or a
long-published writer looking for new tips and techniques.
If you can’t make it to Ottawa, you can take part in a Webinar version of
the workshop on Friday November 16 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST.
Details and registration at http://www.writersunion.ca/pd-workshops
OTTAWA REGION SUBMISSION CALLS AND OPPORTUNITIES
ITEM 9: BYWORDS.CA SUBMISSION CALL
DEADLINE: November 15 for the December issue
Bywords.ca considers previously unpublished poetry from emerging and established poets for our online monthly magazine. We consider work by current and former residents, students and workers of Ottawa. We also publish poems by contributors to our predecessor, the Bywords Monthly Magazine. FOR SUBMISSION INFORMATION VISIT www.bywords.ca and click on Guidelines. Amanda Earl, Managing Editor. Check out Bywords.ca’s literary events calendar here: http://www.bywords.ca/calendar/index.php. The calendar contains up-to-date info on NCR readings, book signings, writers’ circles, literary festivals, spoken word showcases & slams. Event submissions can be sent to events@bywords.ca. If you need more info, please Amanda know.
ITEM 10: CALGARY DISTINGUISHED WRITERS PROGRAM SEEKS WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE
Murray Fraser Hall, University of Calgary Campus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Calgary Distinguished Writers Program encourages submissions from promising Canadian writers for the position of Canadian Writer-in-Residence, a ten-month residency at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Arts from August 15, 2014 to June 15, 2015. Submissions must be received or postmarked by January 31, 2013 to be considered.
This is a unique opportunity for early to mid-career Canadian writers to devote their time to writing and to advancing their writing careers. Applications for the position are encouraged from writers from diverse genres—including literary fiction or non-fiction, poetry, scriptwriting, and playwriting. Candidates will have one to four published and/or performed works to their credit, and are expected to propose a project or projects that they will undertake during their term as Canadian Writer-in-Residence. They will preferably, but not necessarily, hold a university degree. FOR MORE INFO AND SUBMISSION DETAILS SEE: http://english.ucalgary.ca/news/residency-opportunity-calgary-distinguished-writers-program
IN THE INTEREST OF WRITERS HELPING WRITERS
ITEM 11: A B SERIES PRESENTS:
JOHN GIORNO, INTERNATIONALLY CELEBRATED PERFORMANCE ARTIST & POET
DATE: Wednesday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION: National Arts Centre/Centre national des Arts
With performances by special guests, IAN KETEKU, BRANDON WINT and JOHN SOBOL
JOHN GIORNO (born 1936) is an American poet and performance artist. He founded the not-for-profit production company Giorno Poetry Systems and organized a number of early multimedia poetry experiments and events, including Dial-A-Poem. He became prominent as the subject of Andy Warhol’s film Sleep (1963). He is also an AIDS activist and fundraiser, and a long-time practitioner of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He lives in New York City.
ITEM 12: PLAN 99 PRESENTS: DEBUT FICTION WITH SCOTT FOTHERINGHAM & ALICE PETERSON NEW!
DATE: Saturday, November 10 5:00 P.M.
LOCATION: THE MANX PUB 370 ELGIN ST. OTTAWA
Scott Fotheringham used his experience as a research scientist in New York to write this novel. He holds a PhD from Cornell University in molecular genetics, and a BSc from the University of Guelph. He left Manhattan and a life in science to live in the country. He now lives and writes near Ottawa, after a sojourn near Halifax. The Rest is Silence is his first novel.
New Zealander-Canadian Alice Petersen was the 2009 winner of the David Adams Richards Award, offered by the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick. Her stories, published in Geist, The Fiddlehead, Room, and Takahe, have variously been shortlisted for the Journey Prize, the Writers’ Union of Canada competition, the CBC Literary awards, and the Metcalf Rooke Award. Petersen lives in Montreal with her husband and two daughters. All the Voices Cry (Biblioasis, 2012) is her first collection.
ITEM 13: OTTAWA AUTHORS & ARTISANS FAIR 2012 NEW!
DATE: Sunday Dec. 2: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
(Set-up begins at 8:30 a.m.; take-down at 4:30 p.m.)
LOCATION: Jack Purcell Centre, 320 Jack Purcell Lane at Elgin Street Room 203 – 2nd Floor (there is an elevator to the 2nd floor)
Table Rental Fees: OIW members: $35 full table; $20 half table;
Non-members; $40 full table; $25 half table
Registration and Information: Email your confirmation to George Laidlaw:
gwjlaidlaw@gmail.com Make your cheque out to Ottawa Independent Writers
and send it to: George Laidlaw 2863 Old Almonte Rd. Carp ON K0A 1L0
Contact: email: gwjlaidlaw@gmail.com
ITEM 14: NOV. 5 TO NOV. 11 EVENTS AT COLLECTED WORKS NEW
1242 WELLINGTON STREET WEST AT HOLLAND Check Facebook for full details or visit http://www.collected-works.com/pages/events.htm
Wednesday, November 7 – 7:00 p.m. Kayt Sukel presents her book, Dirty Minds
You’ve wondered. I’ve wondered. Today we might get some answers! Tonight we have the chance to get some answers as Kayt Sukel presents from her book Dirty Minds: How Our Brains Influence Love, Sex an Relationships.
Why does love make us so crazy? This is a lively and funny examination of the big questions about love and sex from the perspective of the latest brain science.Philosophers, theologians, artists, and boy bands have waxed poetic about the nature of love for centuries. But what does the brain have to say about the way we carry our hearts? As technology advances to allow us more focused examination of the intricate dance our brains do with our environment, we can use science to shed new light on humanity’s oldest question, “What is this thing called love?”
Thursday, November 8 – 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. R. Bruce MacDonald presents his book The North Star of Herschel Island
The North Star of Herschel Island was built in 1935 for two Canadian Inuit fur trappers who used the ship to transport their winter’s catch of fur to Herschel Island, Aklavik, Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk in exchange for their up-coming winter’s supplies. During the Cold War the Canadian government asked North Star’s captain to fill the ship with volunteers and sail to Banks Island to hold it for Queen and country in order to assert Canadian Arctic sovereignty. For this he received a special award from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The ship was later used for sail training with Inuit, surveying the B.C./Alaska boundary, oil exploration and a Cambridge University charter to search for mermaids.
In researching the book. MacDonald traveled to the high Arctic and visited with Inuit elders who shared their memories and their photo albums with him. The themes of Inuit strength and perseverance when the rest of the country was struggling with the Great Depression, her role in Canadian Arctic sovereignty and her trading grounds in the same area that is regularly in the news due to the search for the Franklin ships and the turmoil around the oil industry are all tied together in North Star of Herschel Island.
Friday, November 9 Open Mic at Collected Works – 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
So far in our relaunched Open Mic series we’ve had the world premiere first concert of a local folk band, the return of the Guitar Gods, an amazing fifteen year old girl’s first live performance (that wowed EVERYBODY) some interesting political poetry, some stand up comedy and something that sounded like a barn yard after hours that I am assured were bag pipes and therefore, a legitimate form of artistic expression. We also had a visit from a guy who sounded more than a little bit like Elvis. Lord only knows what’s going to happen this week.
Saturday, November 10 – 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Meet Mike Martin, author of The Walker on the Cape
Back again for an afternoon of signing books and telling stories is author Mike Martin, writer of the wonderful mystery, The Walker on the Cape.
If you’re looking for an excellent atmospheric small-town thriller akin to any of the great BBC mystery series on the telly, then this might just be the book for you! Come meet Mike and see what’s next for his heroes!
ITEM 15: COMING NOVEMBER 1: NANOWRIMO
What: National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000 word, (approximately 175 page) novel by 11:59:59, November 30.
When: You can sign up anytime to add your name to the roster and browse the forums. Writing begins 12:00:01 November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at 11:59:59. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.
ITEM 16. EDITORS’ ASSOCIATION OF CANADA NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION BRANCH ANNUAL WINE & CHEESE NEW!
DATE: NOV. 21 7:30 P.M.
LOCATION: CAPITAL HILL SUITES HOTEL 88 ALBERT ST. OTTAWA
(no hotel parking available. Plenty of street and municipal parking.)
The admission fee for all is $10.
Don’t know Jack? Feta up with working alone? Blue for some company? Well, fear not. It’s that time of year again, it’s the Annual EAC Wine & Cheese event. Great cheeses and superb wines.Mark your calendars for November 21st
We’re gearing up for our swanky wine and cheese soirée — for food, wine, networking opportunities, and fun. The Editors’ Showcase will be the highlight of the evening. So if you have some editing work you wish to showcase, let us know in advance and bring it along for show & tell, or come to hear about editing accomplishments!
Attendance confirmation is required NO LATER than November 14th.
Hope to see you there! RSVP to ncr@editors.ca
ITEM 17: MEDIA CLUB OF OTTAWA MEETING NEW!
DATE: Monday, November 19 from 6:00 P.M. -8:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Library and Archives Canada, room 16
Guest Speaker Kate Heartfield, deputy editorial pages editor
Ottawa Citizen
Cost, which includes a light meal: Members $15, Non-Members $20,
students with ID free.
RSVP 613-521-4855
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ITEM 18: FIRST EDITION READING SERIES 2012 -Fall Schedule
LOCATION: Backbeat Books, Music & Gifts 6 Wilson Street West, Perth, On. 613-466-0663
TIME: All readings begin at 7:00 p.m.
- Nov. 17: Tanis Rideout, Grace O’Connell, & Mike Blouin.
- Nov. 24: Sarah Tsiang, Sandra Ridley, & Christine McNair.
**Please NOTE all readings are on Saturdays at 7 p.m. @ Backbeat Books, Music & Gifts in Perth, Ontario.**
ITEM 19: MAGAZINE SUBMISSION CALLS:
NEW! The travel itch is an irresistible on-line read and the next best thing to experiencing Canada and the world firsthand. It offers fresh Canadian perspectives on travel that entertain and inform while agitating the itch to go. We are hunting for original travel articles from blossoming and bloomed Canadian writers about their travel experiences at home or abroad. We’re also seeking gripping travel images and film, book and restaurant reviews. Submission guidelines are at http://www.thetravelitch.com/pages/submissions.html.
filling Station is accepting poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction and non-fiction submissions for an upcoming themed issue: Experimental Writing by Women. Guidelines are available at: http://www.fillingstation.ca/submit. Deadline: February 15.
Dragnet Magazine is accepting fiction submissions. Details can be found at: http://dragnetmag.net/?page_id=21
Event Poetry and Prose is accepting submissions. Guidelines are available at: http://eventmags.com/about-2/submission-guidelines/fiction-poetry/.
Grain Magazine is accepting submissions. For more details, visit: http://www.grainmagazine.ca/submissions.html
NEW! The French Literary Review: We are looking for lively, contemporary poems; short stories; extracts from novels which stand on their own; articles; paintings/drawings/photographs, all of which should have a French connection. Submission deadlines: 30th July & 30th December. Please send submission to: B. DORDI, Chemin de Cambieure, 11240 Cailhau, Aude, France
http://www.poetrymagazines.org.uk/magazine/index.asp?id=103
SUBMISSION CALL FROM POSTSCRIPTS TO DARKNESS We are looking for works of short weird and uncanny fiction (of up to 3000 words) Details can be found at: http://pstdarkness.wordpress.com/submissions/
http://www.liternational.com/submissions/
NEW! Leaf Press Anthology: Newborns Leaf Press is gathering poems for an anthology about the newly born, the almost born, the journey in-between. Deadline Jan. 30, 2013 Please send your poem to: poems@leafpress.ca Guidelines and additional information http://www.leafpress.ca/guidelines.htm
Tesseracts Seventeen: Speculating Canada from Coast to Coast to Coastis now OPEN for submissions. Submissions will close February 28, 2013. Tesseracts 17 is seeking submissions from Canadians in all provinces and territories (and abroad). Authors, please make sure you list where you were born and where you are living. Details can be found at:
http://www.edgewebsite.com/books/tess17/t17-catalog.html
UPCOMING WRITING CONTESTS
Darker Times Fiction, a monthly short story competition for stories of 3,000 words and less in the horror genre or on the subject of ‘darker times’. All of the information can be found on the website – www.darkertimes.co.uk . It’s open to UK and international writers and ends on the last day of each month.
MONTHLY TWITTER WRITING CONTEST! DEADLINE: LAST DAY OF THE MONTH AT 11 AM
Scribendi.com is hosting a weekly writing contest that I think would be of interest to your audience. How it Works: The first day of every month at 11 AM, we will announce the topic. Entrants must write a 140-character-or-less tweet, mention @Scribendi_Inc, and summarize the topic. The contest closes the last day of the month at 11 AM.
Summarize This! promotes concise and precise writing skills in a fresh, fun way (http://www.scribendi.com/summarize_this). Prizes range from free editing to Scribendi.com swag.
NEIL POSTMAN AWARD FOR METAPHOR (no fee) Rolling Deadline. Although primarily known as an educationist and a media critic, Neil Postman was, at his core, a “noticer”—and he particularly noticed what we do with metaphor and how metaphor shapes and creates our cognitive world. Postman maintained that words (and words, in truth, are metaphors) are as much the driver of reality as they are the vehicle. Consequently, metaphor was not a subject to be relegated and limited to high school poetry units wherein a teacher drones on about the difference between “like” and “as” and considers the job finished. For Postman, the study of metaphor was unending and metaphors were as crucial as they were omnipresent; they served to give form to and dictate experience. In honor and remembrance of Neil Postman, who died on October 5, 2003, we have established the Neil Postman Award for Metaphor. The motivation for the award is simple and two-fold: To reward a given writer for his or her use of metaphor, and to celebrate (and hopefully propagate) Postman’s work and the typographical mind. Each spring the editors will choose one poem from all of the submissions received by Rattle during the previous year. The author of the chosen poem will receive $500. There are no entry fees or special submission guidelines. Send up to 5 unpublished poems plus a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to: Rattle, 12411 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, CA 91604. To browse previous winners, and for information on how to submit electronically, visit our website: www.rattle.com
