“Perla” by Carolina De Robertis, reviewed by Charlene Jones

Alfred A. Knopf/Random House, June 2012, 235 pages, $25.95

Take a slice contemporary history. Combine it in equal measures as a love story, a coming of age story and a story of the friction and love between parents and children. Now as the blend rises, see the whole as a tale about Argentina’s Dirty War; see the book as De Robertis revenge for the exile of her Argentinian ancestors, see the story as a statement of redemption and rebirth against all possible human horror and you have Perla. 

Sublime writing falls from page one of this riveting tale. Alone in her parents’ home Perla discovers a stranger has entered but there is no sign of where or how he got in. De Robertis describes her protagonist’s sensations: “I could not feel my limbs, I was all wire and heat, the room crackled with danger.”

Any place you read this novel breathes with true imagination.

This ability to make her writing breathe with life guarantees her a place among the great stream of South American writers such as Borges, Gabrielle Marquez and Isobelle Allende.

For example, writing of something as commonplace as books, she suggests: “These are not books that open often, nor do they want to. On the contrary, they seem to say to their own words, you are captives, we won’t let you out, you cannot fight us.”

The books then become conveyors of De Robertis’s main theme, the horrific oppression of some Argentinians during the Dirty War.

It is difficult to write about one’s love affair with books and writing without sounding false, or syrupy. De Robertis celebrates her love of language, unselfconsciously, and with elegance. Consider her description of reading from the lips of the protagonist: “The words seep right into your mind. They pour into your secret hollows and take their shape, a perfect fit, like water...”

The symbol of water dominates the book. Water as grave, water as sustenance, water as imaginative cauldron and ultimately water as womb.

Breadth of vision and the ability to construct tension from the first page maintains the drama as the events wind and twist through each step taken toward the inexorable truth about Perla, her parents, her lineage and her country. It is a journey well worth taking. 

Charlene Jones has two books of poetry to her credit, as well as several individual poems published in many North American magazines, and is at work on her first novel. In addition, Charlene writes for the Musselman’s Lake Residents Association website (here), is the Musselman Lake Correspondent for the Stouffville Free Press. You can read some of Charlene’s poetry here and here, reviews here and here, and a short personal essay here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

“When the Stars are Aligned” by Barbara Lawson

I'll admit I'm a worry wart, but not a hand-wringer. In other words, it's not all that obvious to those around me that I am worrying over something. And I do tend to worry over the least minutiae.

I don't wring my hands and I don't eat the entire contents of my fridge. In fact, I'm not tense to the point of jumping when the phone rings. I don't pace the floor. I appear, for all intents and purposes, to still be myself.

In moments of actual worry, when I am waiting to hear the outcome of a decision, a game or a test, my mother's words come to me. "It will happen if the stars are aligned."

I am uncertain what this means, in the symbolic sense of course.

I am a skywatcher and so I am aware when the stars actually do align. And by stars, I mean planets, since stars don't shift with respect to each other in their universal paths. They shift away from us seasonally but not in relation to their neighbouring stars. They are too far away to show any real shifting of position.

Orion's belt always has three stars, Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka. They remain the three points of the belt around the waist of the constellation of Orion and is one of the most recognizable objects in the night sky after the dippers, big and little.

The planets, on the other hand, are much, much closer to us than these constellations made of distant star clusters. The planets dance in the night sky, appearing like the swirling skirts of a lady on the hand of a capable leading man, disappearing into the crowd of couples as the strains of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik carry gently over the breeze.

The planets swish in and out of our vision in the same graceful manner. Sometimes the trails of Mercury can be seen in the wee hours of the morning, just before sunrise. And Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, illuminates the face of the moon with her late evening glory. Unlike the stars, they are not always there.

Were we on another planet, we would see our beloved Earth as a spot in the sky, glowing with the same sunshine that emanates from the yellow dwarf we call our sun. We might even wish upon it, mistaking it for a genuine twinkle in the night sky. 

Star light, star bright

First star I see tonight
I wish I may, I wish I might
Have the wish I wish tonight.

This childish mantra, coupled with the vastness of the universe laid out above my head very effectively removes my worries. They just don't seem that big anymore.

Barbara Lawson has tried her hand at many careers including university administrator, college instructor, wildlife rescuer and community volunteer. But the closest to her heart is writing. She has published articles in local magazines including Mind-Body-Spirit, maintains a blog called Write Under My Nose, and is working on her first novel. Barbara lives with her domestic partner as well as four cats, a dog, birds and two fish tanks in their home in Kingston, Ontario. Visit Barb’s blog here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Short story contest for grade 7 & 8 students and Playwriting contest and mentoring project for adults

Write Across Ontario Writing Contest for Grade 7 & 8 students
"After the incredible success of the first Write Across Ontario student writing contest, Open Book is proud to partner with Planet IndigenUs, Authors at Harbourfront Centre and Lit On Tour for Round Two of this province-wide competition. 

"This time, Grade 7 and 8 students are asked to write a story of 250-500 words that begins with a story starter by Aboriginal Canadian author Brian Wright-Mcleod. Two winners will be selected from each grade. These fine young writers will be awarded $500 each and publication in the Open Book Magazine. 

Deadline: November 10, 2012. 

Read the overly long and confining story starter and other contest details here. 

Theatre InspiraTO's Playwriting Contest & Mentoring Project 
Write a ten-minute play. See it on stage! 

There are three options.  Option One and Two are part of Theatre InspiraTO's Playwriting Contest and are open to everyone without age or geographic restriction. You can only submit one play and apply to only one option.  Option three, the Mentoring Project, is only open to Canadians.  There are no submission fees.   

Theatre InspiraTO's Playwriting Contest

Option One: Submit a ten-minute play where the first line of dialogue in the play is: "I see a rabbit."

Option Two: Submit a ten-minute play where the character or characters must leave their home in the next hour and never return.    

Deadline to submit a play:  Dec. 17, 2012 (midnight E.S.T.)

We accept previously produced plays.  The playwright must own the rights to the play up to the end of June 2013 (i.e. plays cannot be owned by a publisher).   Any style is acceptable except musicals. 

Twelve ten-minute plays will be selected and performed. 1st Prize: $500.

The InspiraTOFestival will find the cast, crew and market your play.

The submission must be a play. A ten-minute play is distinct from a sketch, or a skit; it is a compact play, with a beginning, middle and an end. You need a character facing obstacles in pursuit of some specific goal. You need rising action, conflict, and a climactic moment. Your play must tell a complete story.  

The submission must be 10 minutes.  Generally speaking scripts (including the stage directions, character names and dialogue) that are over 1,900 words are more than ten minutes long on stage.  This does not mean that all plays under 1,900 words are under ten minutes.  Read the play out loud and time it (keeping in mind all the pauses).  You don't want your hard work rejected because it was too long.

Authors retain copyright and full ownership of their plays.

Option Three: Theatre InspiraTO's Playwrights' Mentoring Project 

This is open to Canadians only who have written a play and wish to fully explore the power of the ten-minute play.  You do not have to have written a ten-minute play. There are no registration fees.

Fill out the submission form. In the biography section also state why you feel the Playwrights' Mentoring Project is ideally suited to your playwriting aspirations. Submit a sample of a play you have written (not more than 15 pages).  For the submission form, click here.  

Twelve Canadian playwrights will be selected and work with a dramaturge and director to create and develop a ten-minute play from scratch.  Their plays will be performed at the 8th InspiraTO Festival in May 2013. The playwrights must attend a one-day workshop on Jan 12, 2013, in Toronto (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) They will also attend a half-day workshop while the plays are in rehearsals (some time in May 2013). There are no fees.

Deadline to apply: Dec 17, 2012 (midnight EST)

Full details here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

How to Write a Bestseller workshop with NYT #1 bestselling author Kelley Armstrong

"How to Write a Bestseller"

With book editor Brian Henry & New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong 
Saturday, March 2, 2013
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Oakville Central Library, 120 Navy St, Oakville, Ontario

(Good all-day parking on Water Street across from the Canoe Club. Map here.)

This workshop will give you the inside scoop on what gives a novel best-selling potential. You’ll learn how to get readers emotionally involved in your story, how to raise tension, control your pacing and keep your readers turning the pages. But you won't just hear about some of the best secrets of the trade; you'll learn how to apply them to give your own writing a sharp new edge.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He has helped many of his students get published, including guest speaker Kelley Armstrong...

Kelley Armstrong lives in Aylmer, south of London, Ontario, with her husband and three children. She used to program computers and attend Brian Henry workshops. Now she writes international bestsellers. Kelley has hit the New York Time’s bestseller list with both her supernatural thrillers for adults and her urban fantasy for teens.

Kelley's principal publishers are Random House Canada, Bantam U.S., and Warner in Britain. To date, she's published more than two dozen books, most recently Thirteen, a supernatural thriller for adults, and The Calling, for teens.

Check out Kelley's website here.

Fee: $38.94 + 13% hst = $44 paid in advance by mail or Interac
or $42.48 + 13% hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door

To reserve a spot now, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca 

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, starts this evening

Writing memoirs, family histories and other true stories workshop, Sat, Jan 19, 2013, St Catharines

The Canadian Authors’ Association, Niagara, presents…

Writing your life & other true stories
Saturday, January  19, 2013
10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
St. Catharines Central Library, 54 Church St, St Catharines, Ontario (Map here.)

Have you ever considered writing your memoirs or family history? This workshop will introduce you to the tricks and conventions of telling true stories and will show you how to use the techniques of the novel to recount actual events. Whether you want to write for your family or for a wider public, don't miss this workshop.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He teaches at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Moncton. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published.

Fee: $49.72 + 13% hst = $44 paid in advance by mail or Interac
or $4248 + 13% hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door.

To reserve your spot, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Love letters

Alice Munro,
one of the world's foremost short story writers

Hi, Everybody!

I am thrilled to a million pieces! Have made it to the finals for the Alice Munro Short Story contest. I submitted “Do You like Cowboy Music?” – which I worked on in the Intensive class and that had some revisions with Maria’s very particular eye. (Thank you, thank you, thank you!)
I get to attend the banquet Sept 29, read some of the story, and find out if I am # 1, 2 or 3. Thanks to all of you for your support.

Group hug!!!!!

YAY!!!!!
Sheila Eastman

You go, Sheila!

For information about submitting to the Alice Munro short story contest, see here.

Hi, Brian.

I wanted to share the good news with you. This is the second time a short story written by myself was accepted into the RNAO (Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario) nursing Journal. See you in Guelph at next workshop. All the best!

Bianca

Dear Brian,

I just wanted to let you know that I self-published two of my children’s books LittleBug’s First Day of School and HowKetchup Met the Tomato online, and they are now available in the Apple iBook store via iTunes.

I’m not going to make much money since each book is only 99 cents. But knowing that more and more people are actually buying and reading my books is priceless.

You may not remember me, but I’m still using my notes from your Welcome to Creative Writing class I took back in 2008.

Thank you for everything!

Natalya Scharnhorst

Hi, Brian.

If it weren't for the generous sharing of class participants, I wouldn't have known about CommuterLit, let alone had the courage to submit a poem to them. Thanks for your strong teaching and your ability to create a really helpful culture within the class. You can read my poem here. 

Thanks again,

Joan Vinall-Cox

http://joanvinallcox.ca/

http://joanvinallcox.posterous.com/ 

You can read another one of Joan’s wonderful poems here.

Hi, Brian.

Commuterlit.com has accepted a story I submitted. I'm so excited!
Just wanted to share the news with you.
See you at the Intensive Class,
Paddie

You can read Paddie's story, The Call, here.

See my schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

How to Write Great Dialogue workshop, Saturday, January 12, 2013, Mississauga

“How to Write Great Dialogue”
~ the writer’s most important tool ~
Saturday, January 12, 2013
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Cawthra Park United Church, 1465 Leda Avenue, Mississauga, Ontario. Parking off Garnet Ave.  Map here.

Accessible to beginners and meaty enough for experienced writers, this workshop will show you how to use dialogue to make your stories more dynamic and dramatic. 

Whether you’re writing fiction or memoir, you need to be able to write great dialogue and need to know how to mix your dialogue and narrative so that your characters come alive. 

Come to this workshop and learn both the basics and the best tricks of the trade so that you'll never write a lifeless scene again.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He has helped many of his students get their first book published and launch their careers as authors.

Fee: $38.94 + hst = $44 paid in advance 
or $42.48 + hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door
To reserve a spot now, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca 

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Writing your memoirs and other true stories, a six-week course, practically for free

“Writing Your Life”

~ A six-week writing adventure ~

Mondays, Oct 22 to Nov 26

10 a.m. to noon.

Peel Art Gallery, Museum & Archives (PAMA)

9 Wellington St. E. Brampton, Ontario (Map here.)

If you’ve ever considered writing your memoirs, your family history or just getting your thoughts down on paper, this weekly course will get you going. We’ll introduce you to the tricks and conventions of telling true stories and 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 or for a wider public, don't miss this course.

Fee: $20 (Regularly this course will cost $180, but to celebrate their re-opening, PAMA is offering all their programs for free or almost free.)

To register with a credit card, phone: 905-791-7800

Or, starting September 30, you’ll be able to register with PAMA online here.

News flash: Peel Art Gallery, Museum & archives (PAMA), is having it's grand reopening Sunday, September 30. Details here.

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Juked literary journal seeks short stories and poems

Juked (1) to be fooled or purposely mislead. That nigga juked me. He said he was gonna pay me back, but he didn't. (2) To be screwed over. To be disappointed with an outcome of a situation. I'm so juked that I got a parking ticket. (3) To be tricked or baffled in a way relating to or involving sound. The beginning of the song jukes you — it starts all soft, but it really turns into a hard rock anthem during the refrain. (From the Urban Dictionary)

Juked (4) an outstanding literary journal (and they don’t mind writers with a sense of humour). Here’s what the editors have to say:

“In publication since 1999, we are an independent journal that appears online as well as in annual print issues.  We don’t adhere to any particular themes or tastes, but some people tell us they see one, so who knows.  Pieces published in Juked have been anthologized in W.W. Norton’s New Sudden Fiction, Best New Poets, Dzanc Books’ Best of the Web, and elsewhere.

Submissions
“If you like what you read here, and you have something that’s more or less up our alley, send it to us via our Submission Manager. There are no limits on word count for prose — we like stories of all sizes, so long as the colors fit.  Send us one piece at a time, regardless of length.  For poetry, send a maximum of five poems.

“We encourage simultaneous submissions, but please withdraw your work promptly if it has been accepted elsewhere. (To withdraw single poems, email us at submissions@juked.com.)  Previously published material, we are sorry to say, will not be considered.

“Your work will always remain yours; we ask only for first- and one-time and archival rights.  That means we use your work once, and then we place it lovingly into our archive.

“We do not yet pay our contributors with hard currency, but are hopeful that will change sometime in the future.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Vote for Emily

Hi Brian,

I've entered a flash fiction contest with the topic of "ghostly paranormal romance." To vote for my piece, the comment 'vote' must be left on my blog entry and cannot be anonymous. Other comments/likes are welcome, but only 'vote' will count towards my total. If I tally enough votes to get within the top five, my story will then go on before a panel of judges.

http://fictionalimpulse.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/flash-fiction-contest-entry/

Thanks as always for your support and encouragement!

cheers,

Emily

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Three literary agents at Anne McDermid & Associates seek authors

Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan,
represented by McDermid & Associates

Anne McDermid & Associates

83 Willcocks Street
Toronto, ON  M5S 1C9
http://www.mcdermidagency.com/

Anne McDermid founded this agency in Toronto in January 1996. She had previously been a senior partner in the distinguished British agency Curtis Brown for several years.
 
The McDermid agency represents literary novelists and commercial novelists of high quality, and also writers of non-fiction in the areas of memoir, biography, history, literary travel, narrative science, investigative journalism and true crime.
 
The agency also represents a certain number of children's and young adult (YA) writers and writers in the fields of science fiction and fantasy.

The McDermid agency's clients include distinguished literary authors such as Michael Crummey, Camilla Gibb, Greg Hollingshead, Andrew Pyper, Nino Ricci, David Adams Richards, Michael Winter and Vincent Lam, who won the Giller Prize in 2006.

The agency also represents writers of narrative non-fiction, such as Charles Montgomery and James MacKinnon, both of whom won the Charles Taylor prize for literary non-fiction in their years of publication. More recently, the agency has been branching out to represent upmarket commercial fiction writers, such as Leah McLaren from the Globe and Mail, Robert Wiersema, and Peter Darbyshire.

Submissions:
If you are interested in submitting your work McDermid & Associates, please e-mail your query to info@mcdermidagency.com
Your query should include a brief description of yourself and your project, and you are welcome to include the first 5 pages of your manuscript. Please do not send any further material unless invited.

The agency has three agents currently looking for new authors:

Monica Pacheco represents a growing list of writers, focusing on children's, young adult, science fiction and fantasy. Her clients include actress/writer/director Sarah Polley whose children's picture book Monica sold to HarperCollins Canada; Yves, Mynard whose fantasy trilogy she sold to Tor/Macmillan; Deborah Kerbel who was short-listed by the Canadian Library Association for 2010 YA book of the year; and horror writer David Nickle, winner of the Bram Stoker Award.

Monica will be the guest speaker at Brian Henry's "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, October 13, 2012, in Toronto. Details here.


Chris Bucci represents both fiction and non-fiction, focusing particularly on non-fiction in the areas of popular science and technology and popular culture.

Martha Magor Webb represents a growing list of writers, focusing on literary fiction, narrative non-fiction (including memoir and true crime) and ideas-driven non-fiction. 

Her clients include Pasha Malla (longlisted for the Giller, shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize, winner of the Danuta Gleed and the Trillium awards), Damian Tarnopolsky (shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Amazon.ca award), Russell Smith, Jessica Grant, (winner of the Amazon.ca First Novel and the Winterset Awards) Nicholas Ruddock, and Andrew Westoll.

Brian Henry will be leading a "Writing for Children and for Young Adults" workshop in Hamilton on February 9 (details here). Also, he'll be leading "How to Get Published" workshops on March 16 in Kingston (details here) and on March 17 in Peterborough (details here). To register, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca  

But probably the best single step you can take toward getting manuscript ready for publication is to join one of the “Next Step” or “Intensive” creative writing courses. Starting in January, Brian will be leading “Next Step” courses in Mississauga (details here) and in Georgetown (details here). He’ll be leading   “Intensive” courses in Burlington (details here) and in Mississauga (details here).

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Orillia, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.