J
acqueline Carmichael The President’s Letter
Chris Hancock Donaldson photo
I’d like to thank the board of directors for the opportunity to serve as the president of the Federation of British Columbia Writers. I look forward to building on the good foundations laid by the directors who have worked hard to build our capacity to serve the writing community. Please join with me in welcoming Bryan Mortensen as the new executive director! Bryan brings twelve years of experience in leadership of not-for-profits and at the University of Alberta. His expertise is at work in everything from membership to fundraising, and we’re looking forward to good years ahead for this organization, making sure that a time of change is one of growth as well. It’s been a strange season: the spring and summer of the pandemic blurred together, flattened by the absence of the usual milestones: vacations, conferences, reading events, even hair appointments, cancelled. It’s at times like these we need connection more than ever—a way to keep honing craft and assembling face-toface, even if it’s by teleconferencing. That includes our annual general meeting (AGM) set for Zoom on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2020, at 2:00 p.m.
2 WORDWORKS ︱ 2020 Volume III
Our keynote speaker is Wayde Compton, award-winning author of 49th Parallel Psalm, Performance Bond, After Canaan: Essays on Race, Writing, and Region, and The Outer Harbour. He edited Bluesprint: Black British Columbian Literature and Orature and The Revolving City: 51 Poems and the Stories Behind Them. Compton co-founded the Hogan’s Alley Memorial Project, to raise awareness about the history of Vancouver’s Black community. He teaches creative writing at Douglas College. The Federation of BC Writers offers online continuing education classes at a bargain price of $20 for members. Barb Drozdowich develops the Fed’s popular continuing education programming for writers, and her events continue with the September 13, 2 p.m. Sunday Webinar with Gone Viking author Bill Arnott. Bill outlines foolproof strategies to maximize your book’s success with tools to brand, promote and market your book and enjoy doing it! As of September 1, entries are open for the flash fiction contest, the BC-Yukon Flash 2020. Our judge for this event is Karen Schauber. She is the editor and curator of The Group of Seven Reimagined: Contemporary Stories Inspired by Historic Canadian Paintings (Heritage House, 2019), celebrating the Canadian modernist landscape painters. For a complete list of upcoming events, find registration at bcwriters.ca/ events-for-writers. See you online!
WordWorks is published by THE FEDERATION OF BC WRITERS PO Box 3503 Courtenay, BC V9N 6Z8 970 View Avenue Courtenay V9N 5R2 www.bcwriters.ca | fbcw.membership@gmail.com editor.wordworks@gmail.com Copyrights remain with original copyright holders. All other work © The Federation of BC Writers 2020. All Rights Reserved. ISSN: 0843-1329 WordWorks is provided free three times a year, to members of the FBCW and to selected markets. It is available on our website and in BC libraries, schools, and historical societies. Join us at www.bcwriters.ca. FBCW Annual Membership Rates Regular: $80 | Senior: $45 | Youth: $25 FBCW BOARD OF DIRECTORS President: Jacqueline Carmichael Vice President: Doni Eve, Treasurer: Francesca Gesualdi, Secretary: Sheilagh Simpson. Directors: Barbara Drozdowich, Ruth Lloyd, Wawmeesh Hamilton, Andrea Guldin, Randy Fred, Bill Arnott and Jenn Ashton Advisory Committee: JJ. Lee, Steven Price, Esi Edugyan, Alan Twigg, Gail Anderson Dargatz, Anne Tenning, Betsy Warland, Darrel McLeod. WORDWORKS STAFF Managing Editor: Ursula Vaira, Advertising Manager: Jessica Cole, Typesetting and Graphic Design: Ursula Vaira Cover Execution: Mario Vaira/Five Fathom Studios Editorial Board: Chelsea Comeau, Barbara Pelman, Caitlin Hicks, Adelia MacWilliam, Christine Lowther, Clare Appezzato UPCOMING THEME 2021 Vol I: Non-Fiction. Pitch article ideas and cover art to by October 15, 2020. CONTESTS The FBCW runs annual writing contests. Please check the website for details. ADVERTISING WordWorks advertises services and products that are of genuine interest to writers. Email Jessica Cole at ads.fbcw@gmail.com. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Federation of BC Writers acknowledges that Indigenous writers have not been able to take their deserved place in the literary culture due to wounding by colonization, by racism, and by the failure of the gatekeepers to recognize a rich culture of storytelling, to nurture Indigenous writers, and to share opportunities to be heard and honoured. We will continue to invite those writers and their stories; to read, to listen, include, support, and recommend. As well, we know the power of the written word and strive to recognize and call out biased language; to use instead the language of inclusion and dignity and autonomy when we speak about reconciliation. The Federation of BC Writers gratefully acknowledges the support of the Province of BC, the BC Arts Council, The Canada Council for the Arts, and the Magazine Association of BC.
