Online: Writing Personal Stories, Tuesday afternoons, April 11 – May 30

Writing Personal Stories 

 ~ A wealth of writing and sharing

Online: Tuesday afternoons, 1 – 3 p.m.
April 11 –  May 30, 2023 (Or to June 6 if the course fills up)
Offered on Zoom and accessible from anywhere there's internet 

Also offered this spring: “Welcome to Creative Writing,” “Writing Kid Lit,” “Intensive Creative Writing,” and “Extreme Creative Writing.” See here {and scroll down}. 

If you've ever considered writing your personal stories, this course is for you. We’ll look at memoirs, travel writing, personal essays, family history ~ personal stories of all kinds. Plus, of course, we’ll work on creativity and writing technique and have fun doing it. 

Whether you want to write a book or just get your thoughts down on paper, this weekly course will get you going. We'll reveal the tricks and conventions of telling true stories, and we’ll show you how to use the techniques of the novel to recount actual events. Weekly writing exercises and friendly feedback from the instructor will help you move forward on this writing adventure. Whether you want to write for your family and friends or for a wider public, don't miss this course.

Our guest speaker will be Tanya Bellehumeur-Allatt, author of the critically acclaimed memoir Peacekeeper’s Daughter. 

Tanya holds an MA in English Literature from McGill University and an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC. These days, she lives in Quebec’s Eastern Townships with her husband and four children. She was born in Germany to French-Canadian parents and grew up on various army bases across Canada, from Quebec’s North Shore to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. When she was twelve, her family moved to Tiberius, Israel, where her father served as a United Nations peacekeeper on the Golan Heights. When war broke out with Lebanon, Tanya and her family moved to Beirut, where they lived for seven months, at the height of the Lebanese civil war.

Tanya’s journal from 1982-1983 became the seeds of her memoir, Peacekeeper’s Daughter.

Peacekeeper’s Daughter is both a coming-of-age story and an exploration of family dynamics, the shattering effects of violence and war, and the power of memory itself to reconcile us to our past selves, to the extraordinary places we have been and sights we have seen.

Tanya is also the author of a volume of poetry titled Chaos Theories of Goodness, published by Shoreline Press. Tanya has also published numerous poems and stories (click here and here for a taste), and has been nominated for a number of awards (see here). She is currently working on  a collection of essays, plus a number of works for children and a novel for adults.

You can read an excerpt from Peacekeeper’s Daughter here, It’s available through the publisher, Thistledown Press here or order it through your local bookstore – see here.

Chaos Theories of Goodness can be ordered through Shoreline Press here.

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada's most popular blog for writers, taught creative writing at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Saint John. But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published.  

Read reviews of Brian's various courses and workshops here (and scroll down).

Fee: $193.81 plus 13% hst = $219

To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See all of Brian’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and weekend retreats here.

“The Bad Librarian” by Leslie Steeves

Based on true events.

The book’s height was a whisper compared to the tall, imposing books on either side of it and yet its deep rich, red plaid spine caught the eye of the librarian.

Before she reached for it, she thought of the usual procedure to clean-up the library’s collection. The objective was to have a healthy collection of books. Books that were current, in good condition and had a history of frequent check-outs was the goal. Those that do not meet these criteria were to be discarded.

No one could argue a case for a severely damaged book but those with a worn quality or a long shelf life created an unsettling debate of worthiness for the librarian.

Determining the value of a book was not a favourable role. Was a slightly damaged book unreadable? Was an older book unworthy?

Knowing any further action on her part would require a decision, she attempted to not touch it, but its uniqueness called to her and she could not resist holding it in her hands.

The librarian carefully pulled it off the shelf and was relieved to find herself holding a solid book which showed no obvious signs of damage. Sensing an odd feel to the cover, she looked closer and confirmed that it was a fabric dust jacket. This was not surprising given the title on the spine was The Clans and Tartans of Scotland.

There was no need to look at the publishing date to know this was most likely a reprint of a pre-1950 published book. And given its age, the subject matter would be rather exclusive. This was confirmed as the librarian opened the book saw a number of vivid colour plates of tartans and thorough descriptions of various clans.

The librarian surmised that this was a book she would enjoy reading, but she knew she was obligated to assess its condition, and relevance, to the library collection.

It was time to examine the book as scientist.

The librarian inspected the cover. For the most part it was secure but there was some frayed fabric at the bottom of the spine which would no doubt increase over time.

Closing the book, she ran her hand along the top fore-edge of the book. Its gold edge gilding was smooth. The bottom fore-edge was the same, but the side fore-edge had some uneven portions. It was obvious that one of the pages had stepped out of line and was about to escape the confines of the body.

The spine creaked as the librarian opened the book. The pages were humbly discoloured. The darkness around the edges served as a frame to the splendid writing or image on each page.

One section of the book easily opened to a 180-degree angle exposing a dry and cracked interior spine. In time the adjacent pages would separate from the spine and any attempts to correct this would be futile.

Given its vulnerable condition and age, the book was absolutely, positively a candidate for discard.

This revelation caused the librarian to tighten her hold on the book as in her mind the book deserved more respect.

Old, worn books – were they not the warmth of a library?

A well-read book should be coveted. Their worn pages, dogged-eared corners, even subtle coffee stains are earmarks of a superb book. The dreams of authors are filled with visions of their well-read books pushed to the point of exhaustion.

Older books are treasures of history. Their storyline or subject matter is rarely reproduced. What are the chances a newly published book would be about tartans? And have such superb colour plates?

Being responsible for discarding a unique book weighed heavily on the librarian’s mind, so in one last attempt to determine the book’s fate she turned to the front of the book to establish the actual publication date. There she came across a poem opposite the introductory page. The last 4 lines caught her eye.

                             Heroes fought for it.

                             Honour the name of it,

                             Drink to the fame of it –

                                              The TARTAN!

                                                     Murdoch Maclean 

Such stirring words, yet her obligation was to dispose of this book. She carried it to the circulation desk and entered her password to activate the computer. As the software loaded, she looked up and took in the familiar view of the library. She noted the parallel lines of shelves spanning out. Shelves filled with books. Books of all sizes, subjects and popularity.

The librarian lay her hand on the cover of the book. With one scan this book could be discarded.

With the beep of the ready computer, the librarian began her task. A few quick taps on the keyboard was all it took to confirm that the book had few check-outs.

She then wiped the barcode on the back of the book with a cloth. It was still viable.

The librarian stood the book upright alongside her computer by the check-out counter and resumed her duties until she was interrupted by a patron who had approached the desk to check-out her chosen books.

“Ooh! Look at this,” said the patron noticing the book on tartans. “Can I take this out?”

“Certainly,” said the librarian smiling to herself.

Score one for the bad librarian!

***

Leslie Steeves began writing to encourage the children in her class to write. In no time, writing became her passion, and now retired, she writes daily. Her work has been recognized by the WFNB (Writers Federation of New Brunswick) as I won 2^nd place in a Kidlit contest and honourable mention for a short story. Two of her articles have appeared in Our Canada magazine.

Note: For information on submitting to Our Canada, see here.

See Brian Henry’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and weekend retreats here.

 

Sunday afternoons: Writing Kid Lit course, April 2 – May 28 ~Online

Writing Kid Lit

Picture Books to Young Adult Novels

Online: Sunday afternoons, 1 – 3 p.m.
April 2 – May 28, 2023, {0r to June 4 if it fills up; n0 class May 14)
Offered online and accessible from anywhere there's internet 

Also offered this spring: “Welcome to Creative Writing” “Writing Personal Stories,”  “Intensive Creative Writing,” and “Extreme Creative Writing.” See here {and scroll down}. 

This course is for adults {or teens} interested in writing picture books, Chapter Books, Middle Grade books, or Young Adult novels. This course is accessible for beginners and meaty enough for advanced writers. Through lectures, in-class assignments, homework, and feedback on your writing, we’ll give you ins and outs of writing for younger readers and set you on course toward writing your own books.

Guest speaker Lana Button has ten published picture books, with Kids Can Press, Owlkids, Tundra, and Pajama Press, including her latest, Percy’s Perfect Friend, (Pajama Press – see here) Tayra’s NOT Talking (Kids Can Press – see here), The Cow Said Boo (Pajama Press – see here), and Tough Like Mum (Tundra / Penguin Random House – see here). She has a board book coming in September 2023 called Stay, My Baby (Orca).Lana also has picture books coming with Scholastic, with Nimbus, and with Tundra in 2024.

Lana’s picture book Tough Like Mum was recently awarded the Crystal Kite Award. Her picture books have been shortlisted for awards including The Blue Spruce, The Shining Willow, the Jean Throop IODE Award and the Rainforest of Reading, and have been recognized as Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Best Bets and the IBBY Outstanding Book for Young Children.

Find out more about Lana and her books at www.lanabutton.com and connect with her on social media on Twitter @LanaButton and Instagram lanabutton.

Guest speaker Kira Vermond is an award-winning writer with over 2,000 articles to her name. She has been a frequent contributor to the Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, CBC and Today's Parent.

Kira is the author of seven nonfiction books for young readers:  Trending: How and Why Stuff Gets Popular, which won the Yellow Cedar Award (more here); Why Does  My Shadow Follow Me? (see here) and Why Don’t Cars Run on Apple Juice (more here); Half-Truths and Brazen Lies (more here);  Why We Live Where We Live (more here);  Growing Up: Inside and Out (nominated for an Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading Award); and The Secret Life of Money: A Kid's Guide to Cash, which was my son’s and daughter’s favourite book  the year it came out, although my kids are four years apart.

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada's most popular blog for writers, taught creative writing at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Saint John. Brian is the author of a children's version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Tribute Publishing). But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published.  

Read reviews of Brian's various courses and workshops here (and scroll down).

Fee: $193.81 plus 13% hst = $219

To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See all of Brian’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and weekend retreats here.

Two big contests: CANSCAIP's Writing for Children Competition and My Jewish Identity Contest for high school students

Note: You can hang out and chat with quick brown foxes and vixens on my Facebook page (here). Just send a friend request to Brian Henry.

Also, if you’re not yet on my newsletter, send me an email, including your locale, to: brianhenry@sympatico.ca ~ Brian

 

#MyJewishIdentity Contest 2023

Open to high school students in Canada. All submissions will be made public. 

Tell us why Israel is a vital part of your Jewish Identity for a chance to win $1800!

Video/Short Film: Video should be 2–5 minutes in length.

Podcast: Podcast should be a minimum of 2 minutes in length. This can be submitted as an audio or visual file, or with a link (if it is published on a platform).

Op-ed: Op-ed can be published on any online blog or news forum and submitted as a link OR submitted as a PDF (without being published elsewhere).

Song: Song should be a minimum of 2 minutes in length. Lyrics should be original. Can be submitted as audio or video.

Visual Art Piece: Please submit as an image or video.

Poem: Please submit your poem in PDF format.

Short story: Story should be a minimum of 750 words. Please submit in PDF format.

Dance: Please submit a recording of your dance in a video file format.

TikTok/Reel: Submission must be between 1–3 minutes long and must be submitted as a video file. Caption must include #MyJewishIdentity and a link should be provided if it is posted.

Deadline May 4, 2023. Full details and Contest entries here. 

 

CANSCAIP’s 2023 Writing for Children Competition is open for entries!

Through its Writing for Children Competition for unpublished writers, CANSCAIP (Canadian Society for Children’s Authors Illustrators and Performers) aims to encourage and promote not-yet-published kid lit writers across Canada.  

Entries for the Competition are by reading age: Picture Book – Ages 2–8 or Pre-K to Grade 3;  Middle Grade (includes Chapter Books) – Ages 8–12 or Grades 3–7; and Young Adult – Age 12–18 or Grades 7 to 12.   

Previously submitted entries can be re-submitted. Maximum length of an entry is 1,500 words.  

Written feedback for every entry is a unique benefit of the Competition. Every entry gets a paragraph of written evaluation, and sometimes more.  All entries get evaluations from the first round of reading. Entries that proceed to second round also get evaluations from those readers. Entries proceeding to the shortlist get evaluations from each jury member. 

Former CANSCAIP finalist Jennifer Mook-Sang
now has three children's books

The Competition's volunteer readers and juries are published CANSCAIP Members. The readers and jurors evaluate entries in the categories of their books; e.g., picture book authors evaluate picture book entries.  The evaluation comments and suggestions can be very helpful for writers working on their craft. Many writers enter the Competition every year for feedback on the stories they're working on.     

Four writers receive $500 for the winning entry of a Middle Grade, and Young Adult manuscript and two $500 prizes for winning picture books; two finalists in each of these categories are also selected.

The entry registration fee for CANSCAIP members is $30 for 1 entry, $50 for 2 and $75 for 3. For the General Public: $40 one entry; $60 two entries; $90 three entries. For information on joining CANSCAIP as a Friend (i.e., as an unpublished author), see here.

Deadline May 31, 2023. Guidelines here.

*** 

See Brian Henry’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and weekend retreats here.