News & Notes - www.LondonWritersSociety.com

London, Ontario

NEWS, NOTES & LOCAL CONTESTS

See this page for workshops, contests, conferences and other events. (For news about our publication successes, visit our blog Our Successes.)

NEWS

September marks our one-year anniversary. Our cycle of membership renewals is about to begin. Look for your notice via e-mail. And celebrate our shared accomplishment!

EVENTS

September promises to be a busy month. A new round of book launches, festivals, contests and workshops are featured this month, including three events sponsored by the Sarnia-based Ontario Poetry Society. Be sure you scroll all the way down to the end of this page and check them out.

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2008

A festival of books and magazines, The Word on the Street's mission is to unite the country in a national, annual celebration of reading and writing and to highlight the importance of literacy in the lives of all Canadians. The festival is being held in five cities: Halifax, Toronto, Kitchener, Calgary and Vancouver. For more information visit www.wordonthestreet.ca

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PLAYWRIGHT-IN-RESIDENCE

Canadian playwright Dave Carley takes up his Writer-In-Residence position at the central branch of the London Public Library in October. He will be available to meet with aspiring playwrights, lead seminars on play writing and give public readings of his own and others' plays.

The kick-off event for this program will be on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Stevenson & Hunt Room, side "B" when Mr. Carley and Marcia Johnson, a Jamaican-born Canadian playwright, will read excerpts from their plays. No registration is required. Cost: Free.

CONTESTS

Canadian Writer’s Journal
Twice-a-year Short Fiction Contest

Awards: First place: $100; second: $50; third: $25. All winners and honourable mentions will be published in the Canadian Writers Journal and in Choice Works and will receive a free subscription to The Canadian Writer’s Journal, which comes out about 6 times a year [or as often as the editor can manage].

Entries must be original, unpublished stories, any genre, maximum length 1,200 words (accurate word count please). Manuscripts should be typed, double-spaced, and prepared in standard form except that no identification of the author is to appear on the manuscript itself. Name, address and a short biography of the author are to be submitted on a separate sheet to accompany the entry.

Manuscripts will NOT be returned; they are destroyed at the end of the competition in our fireplace. Send #10 (business size) S.A.S.E. for contest results only.

Entry fee: $5 for each story.

Entries must be postmarked by September 30th or March 31st. Entries received too late for one deadline will be held over for the next deadline date. Send entries to:

Short Fiction Contest
Canadian Writer's Journal
Box 1178
New Liskeard, ON P0J 1P0

The Fourth Annual Metcalf-Rooke Award

This year's winner will receive:

- a publishing contract with BIBLIOASIS
- a leather-bound copy of his/her book
- $1,500 cash, presented by Stephen Temple Books
- a regional book tour, including festival appearances
- a profile in The New Quarterly

The Objective of the competition is to uphold and celebrate the tradition of small-press publishing and independent bookselling in Canada, and to champion the writing of new and up-and-coming Canadian writers. Open to all Canadian writers with an unpublished book-length manuscript - either a novel or a collection of short pieces.

Deadline: Postmarked no later than September 30, 2008.

Full details here: http://www.biblioasis.com/

The 2008 CBC Literary Awards competition is now open! The deadline for submissions is November 1st, 2008. The Awards are Canada's only literary competition celebrating original, unpublished works in both official languages.

There are three categories: short story, poetry, and creative nonfiction, with cash prizes totaling $60,000, courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts, publication in Air Canada's enRoute magazine and visibility for the winners and their winning entries offered by CBC. To find out how to enter, go to www.cbc.ca/literaryawards.

The Open Heart 3 Poetry Competition sponsored by The Ontario Poetry Society is accepting entries that include the following themes: Love won, Love lost, Love of family, Love of animals, Love of humanity, Valentine poems, Bonding, Charity, Generosity, Compassion, Courage, Heart health problems, Heart wood, Broken heart, Heartach, Hard hearted, and/or Emotions carried in the heart. Poems are not to exceed 36 lines and stanza breaks count as lines.

Deadline: December 25, 2008. Open to Canadian Residents Only. For more information visit www.theontariopoetrysociety.ca.

The 2008/09 Poetry London Reading Series invites entries from all London poets and emerging poets, and from Poetry London Workshop participants. Awards of $100 and $50 will be given to the first and second place poems respectively. Entries must be received by February 9, 2009. For more information visit www.poetrylondon.ca.

Keep Track Of Contests With The Help Of These Resources:

Creative Writers Opportunity List: CRWROPPS.

A wonderful FREE resource, you can bookmark this site and check it periodically or sign up for e-mail notifications. If you sign up for notifications, you will receive them on daily basis, and for all types of literary contests. We strongly suggest, therefore, that you set up one or more e-mail filters so that these e-mails are automatically routed to specific folders where you can peruse them at your leisure.

The Canadian Writers Contest Calendar CWCC

Published each year, this is the definitive guide to Canadian contests.

WORKSHOPS

HOW TO WRITE AND SELL ROMANCE NOVELS
An Editor And An Author Tell All

When: Saturday, November 22, 2008
Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: $45.00 in advance. Registration begins September 15th.
Place: London Central Library, Stevenson and Hunt Room, 251 Dundas Street, London, Ontario ON N6A 6H9

The London Writers' Society is excited to announce that we have partnered with the London Public Library to bring you this workshop with Brian Henry and guest author Brenda Harlen.

Get the inside story. Whether you want to write chick lit (like Bridget Jones’s Diary,) or a traditional Harlequin-style romance, this workshop will show you how. Learn the "secret formulas" and how to brainstorm a story line. Find out how much money authors earn and where the best opportunities are to get published now.

A book editor for 25 years, workshop leader Brian Henry spent seven years with Harlequin, the world’s largest romance publisher. He has helped many of his students to get published. To contact him e-mail: brianhenry(at)sympatico.ca.

Brenda Harlen is the author of 15 romance novels for Silhouette books including her current Silhouette Special edition The Prince’s Cowgirl Bride. Two more of her romances are due to be released this autumn. For more about Brenda and her books visit www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/brenda-harlen/.

Registration opens on Sept 15th and we expect this workshop to sell out, so register early. Mail your cheque to: Writing Romance Seminar, Program Services Desk, London Public Library, 251 Dundas Street, London, ON N6A 6H9.

Other Brian Henry workshops:

Wed, Sept 3: “Writing Short Stories,” St. Catharines

Sat, Sept. 13: “How to Get Published,” Mississauga

Wed afternoons, Sept 17 - Dec 10: “Intensive Creative Writing,” Burlington

Sat, Sept 20: “How to Write and Sell a Romance Novel,” Kingston

Sun, Sept 21: “How to Get Published,” Ottawa

Mon afternoons, Sept 22 - Nov 24: “Welcome to Creative Writing,” Oakville

Thurs, Oct 2: Blue Pencil Room (one-on-one: me, you, and your best piece of writing), Stouffville

Sat, Oct 4: “Real Characters, where to find them, how to create them,” Guelph

Wed evenings, October 15 - Dec 10, “Welcome to Creative Writing,” Mississauga

Sat, Oct 18: “Writing Your Life and Other True Stories,” Stouffville

Sat, Oct 25: “How to Build Novels and Short Stories,” Georgetown

Sat, Nov 8: “Dialogue - the writers’ most important tool,” Burlington

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

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READ YOUR WORK ON THE AIR:

Bill Paul, who hosts Straight Talk on Fanshawe's 106.9 has offered LWS a 30-minute slot in which members can read excerpts from their work. This is open to any LWS member whether you write poetry, fiction or non-fiction.

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FOREST CITY WRITERS:

"Forest City Writers group is an informal group of writing friends who meet to discuss our current writing projects. We meet on the last Tuesday of each month from 7 - 9 p.m. at the Central Library, in the area adjacent to the Little Red Roaster. We are looking for a few more friends to join us."

LITERARY EVENTS IN TORONTO

Toronto Arts Online

Author Readings

LITERARY EVENTS IN SARNIA

On August 17, The Ontario Poetry Society launched a new Canadian poetry anthology here in London. LWS members Ingrid Dicaire and Clyo Beck attended the launch which featured a number of Sarnia poets who read work from that anthology.

If you are passionate about poetry, you will want to get a copy of Sounding the Seconds¹ edited and compiled by Sarnia poets Adele Kearns Thomas and Lynn Tait. And, if you are near Sarnia on the following dates, check out these literary events.

LITERARY CELEBRATION - Cultural “Salotto Letterario” Event

When: Sunday, September 7, 2008 from 2 to 4 p.m.
Where: Back hall of The Dante Club, 1330 London Road, SARNIA , Ontario
Admission: FREE.

Two Sarnia writers will launch their books: Fast Forward and Other Stories, a collection of 24 stories by Delia De Santis; and Moments to Treasure, a chapbook of haiku/other poems by Carmen Ziolkowski. Bright’s Grove poet Joseph A. Farina will also read from his forthcoming collection Ghosts of Water Street and Lambton County singer/songwriter Ezio De Santis will perform from his repertoire of songs. For more information, contact Delia at deliadesantis(at)yahoo.com or 519-869-6852.

BOOK LAUNCH & ESSAY CONTEST

When: Sunday, September 14, 2008 from 2 to 4 p.m.
Where: The Walter Petryschuk Turret Room, The Lawrence House Centre for the Arts, 127 Christina Street South, SARNIA , Ontario
Admission: FREE.

Lambton County historian Bob McCarthy’s Dinner for Nine - A Novel About My Great-Grandparents will be introduced along with three area poetry chapbooks: The Heaviness of Rain by Lois Nantais, Swaddled in Comet Dust by Debbie Okun Hill, and Moments to Treasure by Carmen Ziolkowski. Three Sarnia arts groups (the Lawrence House, Writers in Transition (WIT), and Shawn McKnight of Energy Exchange) have joined forces and will launch a new annual writing contest for Sarnia/Lambton residents. Open mic readings by members of Writers in Transition will follow. For further information, call the Lawrence House 519-337-0507 or Writers in Transition (Lois) at 519-864-4225.

SPOKEN WORD

When: Friday, September 26, 2008 from 8 to 10 p.m.
Where: The Walter Petryschuk Turret Room, The Lawrence House Centre for the Arts, 127 Christina Street South, SARNIA , Ontario
Admission: FREE

An informal evening of storytelling, poetry reading, and humour by professional and amateur writers, poets, and storytellers. Share your own work, read the work of your favorite writer, or just sit back and enjoy this open mic event scheduled for the last Friday of every month except December, July and August. Hosted by two Lambton County writer/poets: Debbie Okun Hill (vice-president, The Ontario Poetry Society) and Ryan Gibbs (English professor, Lambton College ). No pre-registration required. Everyone welcome. For further information, e-mail spoken-w(at)hotmail.com or call The Lawrence House (519) 337-0507.

FUTURE SPOKEN WORD DATES:

Friday, October 24, 2008 (A week early due to Halloween following on the last Friday.)
Friday, November 28, 2008
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009

Officially registered as a not-for-profit provincial poetry organization in October 1999, T.O.P.S. welcomes new members. It offers poets camaraderie and friendship for emotional support and encouragement in all aspects of poetry including writing, performing, and publishing. It currently has about 200 members. For further information check the T.O.P.S. website at www.theontariopoetrysociety.ca

¹ The 156-page, perfect-bound, soft-covered anthology features selected poems by 63 members of The Ontario Poetry Society including award-winning and life-time members Allan Briesmaster, John B. Lee, and Elana Wolff as well as well-known poets April Bulmer, Flavia Cosma, Sonja Dunn, Kate Marshall Flaherty, Bernice Lever and London and area poets Karen Calaiezzi, Gayanne Dewar, Monika Lee (Komoka), and Don Mulcahy (Strathroy).