Events, Readings & Book Launches
Federation members: If you are reading, launching a book, or holding a book signing, please tell us and we will post it here. For a timely posting, send your notice at least 2 weeks in advance of the scheduled event. Please follow our standard format, as displayed below, starting with the day, date, and time; event title; description with location, "more info" contacts, and any particulars. Email your item to bcwriters@shaw.ca. For a listing of regular slams and open mike readings, see Reading Series tab - www.bcwriters.com/reading.php. Navigating this page: Items are arranged by the regions, alphabetically (Central; Fraser Valley; The Islands; North; South East; and Vancouver Lower Mainland & Sunshine Coast), then by town or island under those headings, and then by date. *************************************************
CENTRAL REGION
Salmon Arm
Saturday July 4 -- 11 to 2 pm
BOOK SIGNING - KAY McCRACKEN
Kay McCracken will be signing her book, A Raven in My Heart: Reflections of a Bookseller (Gracesprings Collective, June 2009) at at Bookingham Palace in Piccadilly Mall.
FRASER VALLEY REGION
Please send in your event items.
ISLANDS REGION Alberni
Friday July 3 -- 7:30 pm
BOOK LAUNCH: WENDY MORTON’S WHAT WERE THEIR DREAMS?--VALLEYS OF HOPE AND PAIN: CANADA’S HISTORY
What Were Their Dreams? Valleys of Hope and Pain: Canada's History (Black Moss Press) is a book of poems written from stories told to Morton by residents of the valley, including survivors of Residential School, poems which were commissioned by the Alberni Valley Museum in 2008, and placed on archival photographs for the exhibit. At the launch, the photographs will be projected behind Morton, and she will be accompanied by Patrick Godfrey on the keyboard. Jo-Ann Roberts, CBC host of All Points West will be hosting the evening. At the Capitol Theatre, 4904 Argyle Street, Port Alberni.
Gabriola Island
Saturday July 11 -- 7:30 pm (doors 7 pm)
GABRIOLA’S OWN…SHEILA NORGATE - BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND IN “I NEVER MET A BLANK CANVAS I DIDN’T LIKE”
From the dreaded blank canvas through the twists and turns, it's all laid bare: no roadmaps, no sketches, no net. It's one woman's conversation with her muse. What’s being said about this presentation: "Fascinating and beautiful, unsentimental and tremendously brave" -- "If you are anywhere along the road of creativity, do yourself a favour and go see this presentation.” Tix $10 advance at Artworks or $15 at the door. At the Roxy Theatre, North Rd opposite the Village Mall, Gabriola Island. More info: http://sheilanorgate.com/speaking-up/.
Nanaimo
July 9 and 11
SHERI-D WILSON WORKSHPS AND PERFORMANCE
The 6 hour workshop on July 11th has one space left. The 3 hour workshop is still open. Purchase your workshop space and/or your tickets to the performance now.
Sheri-D Wilson: The Mama of Dada Poet, performer, film-maker, educator, producer and activist
Sheri-D Wilson has seven collections of poetry; her most recent, Autopsy of a Turvy World (2008, Frontenac House), was launched in April at the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival. Her last collection, Re:Zoom (2005, Frontenac House), won the 2006 Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry, and was shortlisted for the CanLit award. She has two Spoken Word CDs (arranged by Russell Broom), and four award-winning VideoPoems: Airplane Paula (2001), Spinsters Hanging in Trees (2002), Surf Rave Girrly Girrl (2004), and The Panty Portal (2008), all produced for BravoFACT. Details at: http://www.ascentaspirations.ca/whatsnew.htm
Nanaimo
Saturday July 11 -- 8 to 10 pm
PERFORMANCE: SPEAKING OUT WITH SPOKEN WORD
WITH SHERI-D & COMPANY
This evening will include a high-voltage performance by 15 of Sheri-D’s students followed by a sizzling performance by Sheri-D. Warning: Fire and electricity hazards; Dress appropriately. Location TBA (hoping for a lecture theatre at VIU). Cost $10. Tickets available by request at ascentaspirations@shaw.ca, through WordStorm Committee members and at Falconer’s Book Store in Port Place, Nanaimo (in May), and The Black Dog Café in Lantzville (in May). Also tickets can be ordered through the WordStorm Society of the Arts, 1560 Arbutus Drive, Nanoose Bay, BC V9P 9C8. Send a brief letter of request with your contact information with the appropriate cheque made out to The WordStorm Society of the Arts.
Nanaimo
Friday September 11 -- 6:30 to 9:30 pm
TURN REAL LIFE INTO STORIES
A 3 hour workshop with IVAN COYOTE
Award-winning writer and storyteller, Ivan Coyote, shows you how to get all those “remember whens” out of your head-- and onto the page. She’s the author of six books, all short memoirs pulled from the writer’s life. She’ll touch on tips for turning “told stories” into written form; how to transform ideas into outlines; and some of the challenges and rewards of including real people in you work. Cost $35. at the Beban Park Rooms 7-8, Bowen Road, Nanaimo. Info: http://www.wordstorm.ca/ivanecoyoteevents.pdf. Reservations: ascentaspirtions@shaw.ca.
Nanaimo
Saturday September 12 - 9 to 4 pm
BOOT CAMP FOR PROCRASTINATORS
A full-day workshop with IVAN E. COYOTE
Have you always dreamed of writing a memoir but were never sure where to start? Do you have a half-finished masterpiece stuffed into the back of a desk drawer? Still stuck on that not-quite-fabulous first line? Enlist today. Not tomorrow. Not next year. Fall in and step to as Ivan E. Coyote runs you through a series of exercises designed to build up your first-line muscles, train you to capture those fleeting late-night epiphanies, and to practice bullying yourself into believing. Please bring a brand new journal or notepad and two pens. Reservations available by emailing Mary Ann More at creativity@maryannmoore.ca or by calling 250-729-2630. Workshop maximum: 15 people.
Nanaimo
Saturday September 12 -- 8 to 10 pm
CHEST AIR -- AN EVENING OF STORIES WITH IVAN E. COYOTE
Ivan E. Coyote has been described as a shapeshifter, a trickster and a survivor. She is one of Canada’s most acclaimed storytellers. She’s is a storyteller, an award-winning writer and performer who will share stories from her four story collections including the latest, The Slow Fix. The stories Coyote has told, from Anchorage to Amsterdam, are based on her own experiences. Those experiences are deeply personal, funny, poignant and heart felt. Be prepared to laugh, be entertained, become unsettled and in the end touched by everything that makes us human. For reservations, email ascentaspirations@shaw.ca; or by mail from The WordStorm Society of the Arts, 1560 Arbutus Drive, Nanoose Bay, BC V9P 9C8. Price: $10. The Nanaimo venue is yet to be confirmed. Get updates on venue from the WordStorm Society.
Salt Spring Island
June 20-22, 2009 (Sat., 10:30-3; Sun. 9:30-2:30; Mon. 9:30-2:30)
SUMMER WRITING ON SALT SPRING - RETREAT WITH LORRAINE GANE
Throughout this three-day retreat, you'll be encouraged to write beyond your own boundaries, explore hidden territory and bring back the threads of your most intimate writing for stories, poems and longer narratives. A sense of possibility will emerge for this new writing through feedback, as well as ongoing projects. Accommodation ranges from rustic cabins for $40 a night single and mid-ranged motel rooms to luxury B&Bs (list provided; also see http://www.gulfislands.net). The retreat at the Salt Spring Centre is $325 (one day only: $110 each), which includes writing sessions, lunch and optional one-on-one consultation Writers working in all genres welcome. Lorraine Gane is a poet, writer, teacher and editor. Her writing has been widely published in magazines, journals and newspapers across North America. She has taught at the University of Victoria and Vancouver Island University, and is now working on a new collection of poems, The Blue Halo. More info: ganegoodger@saltspring.com; or call 250-537-5294.
Islands Region- regular monthly meetings & ongoing events
Comox
Last Tuesday of the Month -- 7 pm
WRITING SUPPORT DROP-IN
The Comox Valley Arts Council is offering a Writing Support Drop-In. The group is meeting at the Muir Gallery (440 Anderton Ave.) the last Tuesday of every month. Writers and poets, beginners, intermediate and accomplished shall exchange information, share the tricks of the trade, discuss, read and write. Next meeting April 28. More info: Krista 250-338-0536.
Gabriola
Sundays (ongoing) -- 2 to 4 pm
"JUST WRITE" -- DROP-IN WRITING SESSIONS
Based on a life-drawing approach, where the model may be a poem, a photo, a view from the window, designed to generate a flow of images from fresh perspectives.$15 a session, or 5 for $60 (use for any session through April). Facilitated by Patricia Ludwick - playwright, poet, editor and writing coach, who has taught in the creative writing departments at VIU and UBC, as well as having conducting workshops across Canada (for professional artists and at the community level). For a complete bibliography, phone 250-247-8990 or see her website: http://mypage.uniserve.com/~writershaven. Qualicum Beach
First Friday of the month, doors 7 pm
ACOUSTIC CAFÉ
The QB Acoustic Café is committed to the sharing of community, acoustic music from all genres, poetry, story-telling, and more... At the QB Acoustic Café Rotary House on the corner of Fern Road and Beach Road (211 West Fern, Qualicum Beach). Next Evening Qualicum's Acoustic Cafe, with music, poetry, story telling and song is on the first Friday of the month with doors open 7:00; Open Stage 7:30-8:45; Intermission 8.45 -9; Feature act 9.00-10. Admisson $5 at the door. Please arrive early if you want to sign up for the open stage. More info or to sign up: call Joyce at 250 752-1162. CANADIAN AUTHORS' ASSOCIATION (CAA)
Vancouver & The Islands chapter - monthly meeting
Meetings are held held from September through May, except December each year. Find out about CAA writers' circles. More info on the website: http://www.canauthors.org/island/meetings.html.
NORTH REGION
Please send in your events items.
SOUTH EAST REGION
Please send in your events items.
VANCOUVER LOWER MAINLAND & SUNSHINE COAST REGION
Thursday July 2 -- 7:30 pm
NATALIE GOLDBERG WRITES DOWN THE BONES AT THE VPL
Talk and book signing with the author of the classic Writing Down the Bones and writing teacher Natalie Goldberg, who delightfully transforms the practice of writing memoir. Her latest book, Old Friend from Far Away, is a beautifully written celebration of the memoir form, a course full of practical teachings, and a deeply affecting meditation on consciousness, love, life, and death. Free. In the Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library downtown, 350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver.
Thursday July 2 -- 7 to 9 pm
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Presented by Pandora’s Collective: In the spirit of Vancouver all poets are welcome. Come out and bring your best, favourite, newest, oldest poems, and share in an evening of literary surprises. This is a regular happening - the first Thursday of every month. Hosts: Bonnie Nish and Sita Carboni. Upcoming Features: July 2nd: Kempton Dexter * Aug 6th: Robin Susanto. At the Cambie Bakery and Café - a fantastic selection of fine vegetarian foods, teas, coffees and pastries! - 312 Cambie Street (North of Hastings), Vancouver. More info on the web at: www.pandorascollective.com or email: blinsh_pandoras@yahoo.ca.
Sunday July 5 -- 8:30 signup, show starts at 9 pm sharp
THUNDERING WORD - VANCOUVER’S FINEST OPEN MIC
Featuring -- Dusty Rose & Mumbles - a spoken word act all the way from San Francisco. You may recall an appearance they made last summer. They were terrific and now they are back.... Plus!! -- Our always top-notch Open Mic. Music, comedy, poetry .... and more.... Hosted by Wanda Nowicki & Bill McNeal on sound. No Cover---Pass th' Hat. At the Montmartre Café, 4362 Main Street, Vancouver. More info: www.myspace.com/ThunderingWord.
July 10-12, 2009
WRITE ON BOWEN! - A FESTIVAL OF READERS AND WRITERS
calling all writers and readers! Bowen Island is the place to be for aspiring and experienced writers. Spend the day or the whole weekend -- all you need is your notebook and your imagination. Participate in interactive writing workshops that will kickstart your creative juices. Learn tricks of the trade from professional writers in our panel presentations. Sign up for a one-on-one blue pencil editing session with a professional writer/editor. Enjoy readings by local authors (including science fiction legend Spider Robinson). Meet and mingle with festival authors at a gala celebration of the literary arts.
A visit to Bowen Island and the Write on Bowen! Festival can also include a contemplative walk and picnic in the Lieben Lands, a local property that inspired Canadian literary legends such as Earle Birney, Alice Munro, and Margaret Laurence, who visited and worked there in the 1940s and 1950s. Panel presentations are free, but most workshops are limited to 15 participants so please register early More info: carolcram@gmail.com. Online registration for all events: www.biac.ca/writersfestival.
Saturday July 11 -- 3 to 5 pm
BOOK SIGNING
White Rock author, Jeanne Ainslie, will be signing a new edition of her best selling novel A Country Girl with original drawings by White Rock artist Elizabeth Hollick. At Chapters, Broadway & Granville, third floor. More info: www.acountrygirl.com.
Saturday July 18 -- 1:30 to 5 pm
WORLD POETRY CELEBRATION
poetry reading, music, and discussions. Light refreshments. Donations. At the Alliance for Arts and Culture, 938 Howe Street, Vancouver. More info: ariadnes@uniserve.com 604-526-4729.
Tuesday July 28 -- 6:30 to 8:30 pm
WORD WHIPS
Presented by Bonnie Nish and Sita Carboni, Pandora’s Collective
Take the challenge. We provide the writing prompts and the opportunity for sharing. 10-15 mins. to write to each prompt. See what you can whip up. At the Britannia Library, Gallery Room, 1661 Napier Street, Vancouver, BC. This is a regular writing event - the first Tuesday of the month.
More info: http://www.vpl.vancouver.bc.ca/branches/details/britannia_branch or email: blnish_pandoras@yahoo.ca. Pandora’s website: http://www.pandorascollective.com/openmics.html
July-August 1009
READING SERIES AFFILIATED WITH A NEW SURREY WRITING SCHOOL
New Writing School - With the demise of the 16-year-old Surrey Creative Writing Diploma Program (SCWDP)—a victim of the cancellation of all community programs offered by the Surrey School Board—the Surrey Writers' School (SWS) has moved in to fill the gap. Established by SCWDP founder Ed Griffin and long-time coordinator and Fed member Lois Peterson, the SWS program will offer these readings in July and August 2009. Check out www.surreywritersschool.com for more information, including registration. (SWS also “welcomes new ideas from potential instructors” for their workshops and courses programs, and they are “hoping local writers will tell us how we can help them realize their writing and publishing goals.”). Thursday August 6th -- 7 to 9 pm
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Hosted by Bonnie Nish and Sita Carboni, Pandora’s Collective
In the spirit of Vancouver all poets are welcome. Come out and bring your best, favourite, newest, oldest poems, and share in an evening of literary surprises. This is a regular writers’ event on the first Thursday of every month.Upcoming Features: * Aug 6: Robin Susanto * Sept 3: Marnie Norwich |