24 Hour Write-In

The Freddy Words writing group will be hosting a 24-hour Write-In starting at noon on Saturday, August 14, 2010 at the Fredericton Inn. The cost of the Write-In is $20 if paid by August 7 or $30 after that. Proceeds from the event will go to support National Novel Writing Month.

National Novel Writing Month (http://www.nanowrimo.org) is a challenge to write a 50,000-word novel in the month of November. In that spirit, we are encouraging participants to set personal goals for the 24-Hour Write-In. There will be writing games and other activities going on throughout the event to keep participants motivated. There will also be a meet n’ greet social event Friday night, August 13.

The Fredericton Inn is conveniently located near many food outlets. You can find out more about the hotel from their web site: http://www.frederictoninn.nb.ca/.  A few couches for out-of-town participants are available with members of Freddy Words. These are provided on a first-come first-serve basis.

To register, please email freddywords@gmail.com with your name and whether you would like to be billeted with one of our members. We can accept payment by PayPal or cheque (Canadian cheques only, please), and we accept Canadian cash at the door. We will respond to confirm you are on our list, and your spot will be secure once we receive your payment.

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Communicating For Cash Workshop

To All Atlantic Region Writers: A Weekend Full of Workshops

The Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC), Atlantic Region, is excited to offer Communicating for Cash, a weekend workshop filled with sessions to show you how to make money from your writing and lots of opportunities to network and socialize with other professional writers.

Workshop topics and leaders are Getting Work with the Federal Government with Marion Soubliere, Marketing Your Freelance Writing Services Using Traditional and Social Media Marketing Tools and Optimizing Your Website for
the Best Possible Search Engine Results with freelance writer and trainer Paul Lima, Getting Published Using Online Print-On-Demand with award winning author, speaker and publisher Julie V. Watson, Whose Story is it Anyway? with author Johanna Bertin and A Package with Punch: How to Make a Successful Non-fiction Submission with Goose Lane Editions managing editor Akou Connell.

Communicating for Cash takes place July 9 to 11 at Mount Allison University in Sackville, NB. Registration fee $175 for PWAC and CFU members and $225 for non-members.

Anyone interested in more information, or who would like to register, can visit http://pwacatlantic.ca/. Be sure to join our facebook page Communicating for Cash PWAC Atlantic Writers Workshop for the latest updates.

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Maritime Writers’ Workshops

Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned professional writer – the Maritime Writers’ Workshops is for you! Since 1975, the Maritime Writers’ Workshops (MWW) has delivered high caliber instruction to those seeking an intensive workshop experience. Over those 30 plus years, hundreds of people have participated, made new friends, and learned critical skills on the development of their writing – all in a comfortable and inviting atmosphere. So go ahead, flex your writing muscles, and join us at the MWW!

The MWW offers participants the opportunity to pick and choose from a series of one-day workshops, all in a unique and supportive community of writers who share a commitment to excellence.

There are one-day workshops in everything from “How to Get Started” to Life Writing, and fiction and screen writing to “How to Get Published”.

Workshop Schedule
Monday, July 5 – Getting Started – Jo-Anne Elder
Tuesday, July 6 – Unleashing the Splendor Within: An Adventure in Life Writing (CCOM 4061) – Eve Mills Nash
Wednesday, July 7 – Creativity to Craft: A First Fiction Workshop – Carla Gunn
Thursday, July 8 – Screen Writing – Lex Gigeroff
Friday, July 9 – How to Get Published (CCOM 1913) – Biff Mitchell

Time: All workshops run from 9 am to 4 pm (not including lunch).
Location: McCord Hall, 7 Bailey Drive, UNB Campus, Fredericton

Cost: $115 per workshop (+ Hst) or $460 for the week (5 workshops for the price of 4!)

For more information: Call Alison Howells at (506)452-6360 or email ahowells@unb.ca.
Register now at (506)453-4646!

See: http://www.cel.unb.ca/pers_cult/writers/index.php

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Online Writing Workshop Being Offered

Something New from Playwright, Novelist, Educator and GG Winner Kent Stetson’s MasterPlayWorks

Writers ask if MasterPlayWorks’ (MPW) Character Generated Plot in Drama and Prose Fiction online workshop can be presented in a condensed form. I like the idea. The 2010 summer course will run over four rather than eight weeks, one month rather than two. We’ll meet via Skype (voice only) twice weekly for four consecutive weeks—Wednesday evenings from 7-9pm, and Saturday afternoons from 2-4pm, beginning June 5, ending June 30. (No Saturday session June 5 only.)

The month-long period more naturally reflects the actual discovery process. The revelation of character, story and plot elements will evolve more quickly, without decreasing the impact of craft exploration and the creation of your new material. I know people have jobs and families and busy lives. Your writer’s practice will be enhanced by intensive exploration of craft.  Much of the work required is accomplished during the online session itself. The work load between sessions is manageable. You will progress without being over-burdened.  Usually, about two hours between sessions gets the job done!

For more information, including course description, costs and pricing plans, go to www.masterplayworks.com, and check out our Facebook page. And while you’re at MPW, have a look at my just-launched, hot off the press novel, The World Above the Sky. Available at bookstores across North America (and around the world via. Amazon and Indigo). Write well and Prosper!

Kent Stetson

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WFNB Announces Nature Writing Prize Winner

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Spring is here: Writers Encouraged to Get Out & Play

Do you like to play with words?  Two full-day creative writing workshops will be held this spring in the heart of beautiful rural Albert County.  On May 1^st, Write from the Soul will focus on the creative process, combining yoga techniques with writing practices specifically designed to boost the creative flow. The second, Nature of Story:  Crafting your Life Story, will be held on June 19th and will explore the craft of turning life events into interesting stories. Registration is limited; pre-registration and payment required.

A small and intimate Nature of Words workshop is as much about creating a memory, as it is about learning. We lead participants outside the structured walls of a classroom and into the heart of nature, where true creativity resides. Venues may be rural accommodations, community halls, heritage buildings or other intriguing places with access to beautiful outdoor spaces (Maritime weather permitting, of course). For more information, visit www.natureofwords.ca, or contact Deborah Carr, 506-734-2367.

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2010 WFNB Literary Competition Results

The Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick (WFNB) has announced the winners of their annual Literary Competition. You can hear many of the prize winners read from their work at WordsSpring 2010 in Fredericton, May 15, during the WFNB Literary Awards Banquet. See www.wfnb.ca for more details. Congratulations to all the winners listed below: Read more »

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Discover the new Frye Festival workshops!

Peter Lanyon, Branding with Integrity workshop.

The Frye Festival offers two new workshops this year! Authors, artists, cultural organizations, and the general public are invited to learn more about How to Get Published and Branding with Integrity. Both workshops, presented in collaboration with Enterprise Greater Moncton, will be offered in English with simultaneous translation.

Also on the program for the 11^th edition of Canada’s only bilingual international literary festival: creative writing, poetry writing, and writing workshops for kids. People are invited to buy their tickets for workshops in advance since spaces fill up quickly. Workshops for kids are free. The 2010 Frye Festival will be held in Moncton from April 19^th to the 25^th.

The challenges of getting published

How to Get Published is presented by industry expert, Brian Henry. It’s open to all of those who dream of professionally publishing their work and do not necessarily know where to start. The workshop is geared towards professional writers, but all are welcomed, amateurs as well as the general public. Henry will cover topics such as finding an agent, getting your short stories published, finding a book publisher, writing a query letter, and how to get a publishers’ attention. Participants are invited to bring a draft of a presentation letter. This workshop will take place on Friday, April 23 on the second floor of the City Grill restaurant in Moncton from 9 am to 12:15 pm. Tickets are $55 and $50 for members of the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC).

Branding with Integrity

The arts community and cultural organizations will surely be interested in hearing what marketing guru, Peter Lanyon, has to say in his workshop Branding with Integrity. The presentation will focus on developing a winning brand to improve its commercial success, but  without losing its authenticity or its specificity. This conference is for artists of all disciplines interested in developing their cultural enterprise through the advice of a marketing expert of international renown. An artist himself, Peter Lanyon has worked in the advertising industry for more 30 years, co-founding two industry-leading Canadian agencies: Cossette Toronto and Lanyon Phillips Communications. In 2009, he wrote and published Life in the Lawn: a PoemGarden, a book and touring exhibition of short poems with paintings by renowned Acadian artist, Raymond Martin. This workshop will be held on the second floor of City Grill restaurant in Moncton, on Friday, April 23^rd from 2 pm to 3 pm. Tickets are $10.

Creative and Poetry Writing Workshops

All poets (published and closet!) are invited to get creative with the Frye Festival’s literary workshops. On Saturday, April 24^th, a great opportunity to get some writing tips from Canadian experimental poet, Christian Bök. He is the author of Eunoia (Coach House, 2001), a bestselling work of experimental literature, which has gone on to win the Griffin Prize for Poetic Excellence. The poetry workshop will take place on the first floor of Moncton’s City Hall.

On Thursday, April 22^nd, join creative writing professor, Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer for a fiction writing workshop. On the same day, France Cayouette will offer a French workshop on the Haiku. International bestselling author Steven Galloway will offer a fiction workshop on Friday, April 23^rd and New Brunswick poet, Robert Moore, will host a poetry workshop while Quebec author, Christiane Duchesne, will present a creative writing workshop in French. All these workshops are to be held at the Moncton Public Library.

And for the kids

The Frye Festival always offers writing workshops for youngsters during KidsFest (Saturday, April 24^th). Author Nancy Wilcox Richards will lead the workshop Publish your own book for kids 8 to 12 years old and poet Guy Marchamps will present a writing workshop for children aged 8 to 10, in French. Both workshops will be held at the Moncton Public Library. There is no need to register, both workshops are free.

People can buy their tickets for the various Frye Festival workshops at www.tickets.moncton.ca or by calling 506.857.4100. Workshops are $10, except for How to Get Published workshop, with Brian Henry, which is $55 and $50 for PWAC members.

For more information regarding the 11^th edition of the Frye Festival and its program:  www.frye.ca.

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Get Ready to Get Published!

Have you ever dreamed of becoming a published author? Then plan to attend the “How to Get Published” seminar on Friday, April 23 in Moncton during the Frye Festival. The seminar will cover everything from getting started to getting an agent, from getting your short pieces published to finding a book publisher, from writing a query letter to writing what the publishers want.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years.  He teachers creative writing at Ryerson University and George Brown College and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo.  But his proudest boast is that he’s helped many of his students to get their first book published and to launch their careers as authors.

As a special option, participants are invited to bring a draft of a query letter they might use to interest an agent or publisher in their book.

The seminar will run from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and will be held at the City Grill, 2nd floor, 130 Westmorland Street in Moncton, NB. The fee is $55 for the general public, or $50 for Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) members. Participants are asked to register online for the seminar, and all Frye Festival events, through the Moncton Coliseum box office at tickets.moncton.ca.

The seminar is sponsored by Enterprise Greater Moncton, with the collaboration of PWAC’s Moncton Chapter and the Frye Festival.

PWAC’s Moncton Chapter is part of a non-profit support network that represents the interests of 600 writers in Canada’s magazine and newspaper industries. To learn more about the Moncton Chapter, its members and events visit www.monctonwriters.ca.

The Frye Festival brings the best local, national and international authors, poets, playwrights, graphic novelists, spoken word artists and storytellers to Moncton, New Brunswick for a bilingual celebration of words.  This year, the festival runs April 19 to 25.  Visit www.frye.ca.

Enterprise Greater Moncton is the leading community economic development agency for the cities of Dieppe, Moncton and the Town of Riverview, a point of contact for new and existing businesses. Visit http://www.greatermoncton.org/.

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Upcoming Events for Writers

Writing Biographies

What are the perils of writing a biography? The public is invited to a discussion with renowned biographer Harvey Sawler from Charlottetown, PEI.  His talk The Perils of Writing Biographies will take place during the Pop & Frye series on Thursday, April 8^th at 7 pm, at Chapter’s in Dieppe. Admission is free and all are welcome! This discussion presented by the Frye Festival will be in English.

How to Get Published Seminar

Dream of becoming a published author? Then plan to attend the “How to Get Published” seminar Friday, April 23, 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., City Grill, 2nd floor, 130 Westmorland Street, Moncton. Sponsored by Enterprise Moncton, in collaboration with the Frye Festival and Moncton Chapter of the Professional Writers Association of Canada, the seminar will cover everything from finding a book publisher to writing what the publishers want. Workshop leader is Brian Henry, a book editor and creative writing instructor. Fee is $55. Register online through the Moncton Coliseum box office at tickets.moncton.ca.

Share writing from your youth

The Professional Writers Association of Canada’s Moncton Chapter invites everyone to its 2^nd annual Reveille, an event where members of the audience and special guests, including local celebrities and Frye Festival authors, share “works” from their youth (e.g. angst-filled poetry, embarrassing diary entries, sappy songs) in an open mic format. The more cringe-worthy, the better! The event will be held Wednesday, at the Moncton Press Club on Wednesday, April 21 at 7 p.m. Come prepared to groan, laugh and cheer. Reveille’s goal is to reawaken that inner child who wanted to be a writer. Anyone can participate and admission is free.

All events are part of the Frye Festival, Canada’s only bilingual, international literary Festival, which will held this year from April 19 to April 25 in Moncton, NB. For more information, please visit www.frye.ca.

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