Start the Writers new year by Grind
News
writing
b4 Sat. January 5, 2013 before Sat. January 5, 2013
Yes right now. DEAW – drop everything and write. Ya. Just go to this website and click on a prompt and start. Pen, computer, whatever. Yes, now. This instant. Before anything else. 15 mins. Go! You know you’re curious to see these prompts at
They’re right here. Go on. Take a look. Give it a go. You now you’ll feel better after. And then do it again. And again. And don’t forget our picture writing prompt on the last page here.
Your stories left unwritten are like the hulls of old abandoned boats
photo: Margo Lamont 2012
Writers and Poets. Are they any good?
before Sat. Jan 5, 2013
20th Annual Short Prose Competition for Developing Writers
$2,500 PRIZE Deadline: March 1, 2012
The Writers’ Union of Canada is pleased to announce that submissions are being accepted for the 20th Annual Short Prose Competition for Developing Writers. The winning entry will be the best Canadian work of up to 2,500 words in the English language, fiction or non-fiction, written by an unpublished author. PRIZE - $2,500 for the winning entry, and the entries of the winner and finalists will be submitted to three Canadian magazines. JURY - Writers Ami McKay, Rosemary Nixon, and Mark A. Rayner will serve as the jury.
a pro voca tive conten tion
litgoss
ELIGIBILITY - This competition is open to all Canadian citizens and landed immigrants who have not had a book published by a commercial or university press in any genre and who do not currently have a contract with a book publisher. Original and unpublished (English language) fiction or nonfiction is eligible.
Congratulations to Bernice Lever “It's been a long poetic road; Bernice Lever has now published her 10th book of poetry, Imagining Lives. A natural lyricist and imaginary spinner, Lever's poetry comprises crystalline illustrations of the feelings between humans, writes Dennis Bolen. Full story.”
HOW TO SUBMIT ENTRIES:
Entries should be typed, double-spaced, in a clear twelve-point font, and the pages numbered on 8.5 x 11 paper, not stapled.
Submissions will be accepted in hardcopy only.
Include a separate cover letter with title of story, full name, address, phone number, email address, word count, and number of pages of entry.
Please type the name of entrant and the title of entry on each numbered page. This is not a blind competition.
Make cheque or money order payable to The Writers' Union of Canada. Multiple entries can be submitted together and fees can be added and paid with one cheque or money order, $29 per entry.
Entries must be postmarked by March 1, 2013 to be eligible.
Mail entries to: SPC Competition, The Writers’ Union of Canada, 90 Richmond Street East, Suite 200, Toronto, ON M5C 1P1.
BUT READ THE GUIDELINES here.
(Item from VIF enews).
Yes! Oh, Yess-ss-sss 8 words to seek and destroy Do yourself (and your writing) a favour. Read this piece.
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RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers: POETRY
The ongoing Saga of Mo Yan…
The Edge of Right dun dun dun
Winner: $5,000 Finalists: $1,000 Deadline: January 30, 2013
We catch up with Mr. Mo after he has won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature……..
(reworded from TWUC website info):
“Mo Yan's Nobel nod is a 'catastrophe', says
Poet Bronwen Wallace’s didn’t get a bok published until she was 35. So this annual award, established in her memory, is given to a writer below the age of 35 who has yet to be published in book form, but whose literary work has appeared in at least one independently edited magazine or anthology. It alternates each year between short fiction and poetry and this year it’s poetry.
fellow laureate Herta Müller, accusing the Chinese writer of praising the Asian country's tough censorship laws. Mo, the first Chinese writer to win the literature award, has been criticized for compromising his artistic and
Read the full guidelines but here are a few highlights:
intellectual independence by being a Applicants should submit 5–10 pages of previously unpublished poetry. To be eligible, candidates must be: * A Canadian citizen or permanent resident; * Under the age of 35 as of the deadline date; * Unpublished in book form and without a book contract; * Previously published in an independently edited magazine or anthology. A jury of Canadian writers will select the finalists and winner.
Communist Party member and vice president of the official writers association. Full story” "Mo Yan was born in 1955, in Gaomi County in Shandong province to a family of farmers, in Dalan Township (which he fictionalised in his novels as ‘Northeast Township’ of Gaomi County). Mo was 11 years old when the Cultural Revolution was launched, at which time he left school to work as a farmer. At the age of 18, he began work at a cotton factory. “During Mo's formative years, which coincided with a succession of political campaigns from the Great Leap Forward to the Cultural Revolution, his access to literature was limited to novels in the socialist realist style under Mao Zedong, which centered largely on the themes of class struggle and conflict.... ‘Mo Yan’ — meaning ‘don't speak’ in Chinese — is his pen name." (--Wikipedia)
Editors' Assoc. of Canada Professional development seminar
Editing Fiction Sat. January 12, 2013 9am–4pm Instructor: Caroline Adderson At SFU Harbour Centre Description: Behind every great novelist and short story writer there is a great editor. In this course, acclaimed author and writing teacher Caroline Adderson will share techniques to help editors bring out the greatness in their writers, from dazzling openings to moving endings, and the whole story in between, including effective plotting, pacing, and dialogue. She will also offer advice on the all-important writer-editor relationship.
Instructor: Caroline Adderson is the author of 3 novels (A History of Forgetting, Sitting Practice, The Sky Is Falling), 2 collections of short stories (Bad Imaginings, Pleased to Meet You), as well as 6 books for young readers. Her work has received numerous prize nominations including the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, two Commonwealth Writers’ Prizes, the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, the Governor General’s Literary Award, and the Rogers’ Trust Fiction Prize. Winner of 2 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prizes and 3 CBC Literary Awards, Caroline was also the recipient of the 2006 Marian Engel Award for midcareer achievement. She lives in Vancouver where she teaches in SFU’s Writing & Publishing Program. (Info on Caroline here and here). $140 members; $200 non-members. Registration and all pertinent info here.
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WEATHER CANCELLATIONS - NOTE
Are you regular? The Easiest & the Hardest Thing About Writing “Three hundred and twelve pages later and I’ve completed the third draft of my first novel…. I began by writing for five minutes every day. Just five. ….Taking that first step, not putting it off for sometime down the road is where we all tend to stumble or hesitate or get distracted….” Read the rest of the article here. from Write to Done: umissable articles about writing
An example of the stellar advice from a Facebook page called Writers
Write. Here’s the link.
Please read your email the morning-of meetings in case of last-minute cancellation due to inclement weather.
Grind Writers schedule 2013 Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun Sat Sun
Jan 5, 2013 Jan 20 Feb 2 Feb 17 Mar 2 Mar 17 Apr 6 Apr 21 May 4 May 26 June 8 June 23 July 6 July 21 Aug 10 Aug 25 Sept 7 Sept 22 Oct 5 Oct 20 Nov 2 Nov 17 Nov 30 Dec 15?
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10am til 12:30pm Grind Gallery Café 4124 Main Street at King Edward Ave. In the back room
Thanks to Lesley Prentis who kindly compiles this every year, knowing what a torture it is for a certain numericallychallenged individual
Unique Lives
&Experiencces They’re ba-a-ack
See them at the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts, 777 Homer Street. For complete season details and ticket information, check here.
Learn how to protect your online identity Wired for Learning Digital Tattoo: Protecting Your Online Identity (Pt. 1)
Learn how to protect your online identity, avoid identity theft and online scams and safeguard your home computer.
A program for adults th Saturday Jan. 12 2:30–4 pm Free. Registration required.
In the TSN meeting room, Terry Salman Branch - Vancouver Public Library, 4575 Clancy Loranger Way
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Regime magazine wants you. Yes, they do. Short Stories. Poetry. Performance writing.
Submit.
Not only do they want your work but they offer that you can tack $20 on your submission and they’ll send you back a detailed one-page critique.
you know you want to
(Note: do your due diligence. Read it all carefully Full submission info here.)
first prize $6,000
Calls for submissions Newborn anthology Guidelines Deadline: January 13, 2013 Mental Health Inside/Out Deadline: January 31st, 2013 For issue 7 of Poetry Is Dead, we have 2 guest editors Nikki Reimer and Kevin Spenst working on a collaborative issue. To submit, please email your submissions to ***Lots more description about this contest. Please read it all before you submit here.
Creative Nonfiction contest is currently open. Deadline: February 1, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. ET Guidelines here. This prize is awarded once a year to the best original,
unpublished, work of Creative Nonfiction. The CBC Literary Prizes recognize the best in original,
Ascent Aspirations Magazine (Nanaimo) Poetry & Flash Fiction Contest Deadline: March 9th, 2013 All info here.
unpublished writing by Canadians. First prize is $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Leaf Press is gathering poems for an anthology to, for, about or by newborn humans. We are interested in thresholds and liminal states; in moments that transcend global cultures.
The Poetry contest is not open for submissions yet
Roundup of poetry contests here
where you can also hear the author reading a clip
but the deadline is set to May 1, 2013. Info here, from her winning poem, “Great Aunt Unmarried.”
Geist Emerging Writer-of-the-Month Emerging writers are invited to submit short written works online. FAQ.
Here you can read the entire poem that won the author $6,000 and more.
The Quotable This online magazine wants writer-readers to submit stories based on their monthly prompts. Info here.
The Fiction contest is not open yet; traditionlly it opens in September an has a November deadline. You can go here and for info on the 2012 contest and
read the entire texts of the four short stories that won their authors $1,000 each as runners-up last year.
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Call for submissions
17th annual writing contest of the North Shore Writers’ Association Deadline: postmarked February 28, 2013 Full guidelines here.
Places that want volunteer writers & editors
Categories: Fiction: up to 2000 words per entry Nonfiction: up to 2000 words per entry Poetry: a submission of one to three poems constitutes one entry.
This is a great way to keep in practice, get writing credits, and to network to find paid writing jobs: GoVolunteer Vancouver. You can use keywords to find the writing and editing requests.
Prizes for each category: st 1 prize: $100 & publication 2nd prize: $50 & publication 3rd prize: $25 & publication Honorary mention: at the judges' discretion Winning entries will appear in the 2012 anthology Entry fees: members - $15 per entry non-members $20 per entry
Journalist / Writer Posted on 11/27/12 Organization The Source / La Source Newspaper
So - true. Thank you, Gary. “This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals—sounds that say listen to this, it is important.” — Gary Provost quoted by Writers Write Facebook page.
Here’s a sample request for a writer:
We'd love to hear from strong writers, but we're also on the lookout for talented storytellers who aren't afraid to waltz up to strangers and (politely) get in their faces for the sake of an awesome story. Mission statement - The Source is a bilingual newspaper published twice monthly to serve the various cultural communities in Vancouver. Volunteer writers and photographers contribute material to the paper which focuses on multicultural aspects of the city. As well, The Source relies on volunteer translators and production layout designers. Position description & link to the organization's mission The Source / La Source Newspaper, Vancouver's only bilingual English-French publication, is searching for outstanding writers to join its English writing team. We're looking for journalists - or budding reporters - who have what it takes to seek out and produce mind-blowing articles with multicultural twists. Visit us at http://www.thelasource.com/ Skills & experience - Excellent written and spoken English. Additional languages an asset. - Experience at interviewing people for news stories would be a huge bonus. - Experience writing daily and/or feature news articles a plus. Benefits & recognition 1. Work alongside a staff of trained journalists and editors. 2. Build a writing portfolio of stories that cover Vancouver's cultural scene and more. 3. Learn how to identify, pitch, and write articles in a challenging newsroom setting. 4. Pick up writing and interviewing tips from experienced reporters and other contributors. Deliverables / duties - You will be responsible for producing at least one article a month. - Editors will assign stories, but all writers are encouraged to pitch their own ideas. Number of volunteers required Work Location • Granville and Robson Street, Vancouver For more information or to apply, please contact Samuel Ramos sam@thelasource.com
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Free-write picture prompt:
Free-writes easy rule 1.
Write for 15 mins., without stopping – without lifting your pen off the paper, without thinking. Just let it flow ad write. Don’t edit, don’t go
back, don’t rewrite (you can edit later). Write whatever comes to mind, doesn’t matter what: even if it’s, “This is a crappy prompt and…….” Just write that down and keep on going. photo: Margo Lamont 2012
See where it takes you.
Keep your huddled masses, but please send me your favourite prompts
Bring your output to the next
Grind Writers.
Do you have favourite writing prompts – prompts that you can depend on to “prime the pump?” Please send me your prompts – along with info about where you got them if they are not your own originals.
The Grind Writers News
I may use these in some kind of publication or article or online so by sending them you are giving me unlimited permission to use them in any medium without payment. Please send to: margolamont@gmail.com
©2012
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Margo Lamont
e: margolamont@gmail.com b: http://wildsynapticleaps.blogspot.com/ previous issues: http://issuu.com/grindwriters/docs