Award winning authors, a rising New Brunswick music star and a former Penguin Books publisher will headline Words Fall in Woodstock, October 19 and 20, 2012. WordsFall is a semi-annual presentation of the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick (WFNB) and features a full line-up of learning, networking and entertaining events.
The gathering will lead off October 19, with an opening reception at the Best Western Hotel, Woodstock, at 7 pm.
The next morning, WordsFall gets underway with a two-hour presentation on e-publishing by Cynthia Good, the director of the Creative Book Publishing Program at Humber College and former president and publisher of Penguin Books, beginning at 10 am.
In the afternoon, the Writers’ Federation will give the stage to Woodstock and area authors at 1:30 pm and then shift the spotlight to two special guests: Gerard Collins and Joan Clark. They will have a discussion on the publishing process, moderated by Cynthia Good. Clark is the multiple-award-winning author of several novels, short story collections for adults and novels for young readers and the University of New Brunswick’s writer-in-residence. Collins is a Newfoundland and Labrador author who teaches at Memorial University. In May, his first book, the short story collection Moonlight Sketches, won the 2012 NL Book Award.
At 3 pm it will be time for other newly published authors from New Brunswick to shine as they launch their books at WordsFall with readings and signings. The authors include: Corey Redekop (Husk), Susan White (Ten Thousand Truths), Andrew McAllister (Unauthorized Access), Carmel Vivier (A Pictorial Walk Through Historic Saint John; New Brunswick Facts, Firsts & Innovations), Kathy Diane Leveille (e-book release of Let the Shadows Fall Behind You), Roger Moore (Monkey Temple) and Jason Peters (Aboriginal Sports Heroes: Atlantic Canada).
There will be more readings that evening, along with music performances, at an open mic coffee house, featuring special guest Babette Hayward, of Saint John, ECMA Rising Star nominee and winner of NB Music’s Female Song of the Year and Pop Recording of the Year for 2011. She will be joined by 2012 NB Music award nominee Pipher, Collins and WFNB Richards Prize Winner Corinne Wasilewski. Admission to the coffee house is by donation.
The fee to register for the entire event is $50 and $60 for non-members, $10 of which can be applied to the $50 membership fee to join WFNB. Payments can be made via PayPal. For more information, visit the Writers’ Federation’s website at www.wfnb.ca; email info@wfnb.ca or telephone 506-459-7228.
Everyone is welcome to attend WFNB’s annual autumn celebration of poetry, prose and song.
Now in its 27th year, WFNB is a 300-member, non-profit organization that brings together writers in all disciplines and at all levels of development to recognize, encourage and promote their work.
About Cynthia Good
Director of the Creative Book Publishing Program at Humber College, Cynthia Good has been in the publishing industry for over 30 years.
She was appointed the first editorial director of Penguin Books Canada in 1982 where she was responsible for establishing a publishing program which grew into one of the most successful in Canada. Under her leadership the roster included such writers as John Ralston Saul, Michael Ignatieff, Alice Munro, Mordecai Richler, Timothy Findley, Stuart McLean, Peter Robinson, Guy Gavriel Kay and many others.
She was named President & Publisher of the company in 1997. After 20 years with Penguin, Good resigned in 2003. She became fiction-editor-at-large for Walrus Magazine, consulted for a variety of public and private organizations and taught writing and publishing at several universities and colleges until she founded The Creative Book Publishing Program at Humber College. That program is now in its eighth year. As well as teaching at Humber, Good continues to consult to and about the publishing industry. She was awarded an Honorary Degree by Mount Allison University in 2006.
About Joan Clark
Joan Clark is the multiple-award-winning author of several novels, short story collections for adults and novels for young readers.
Her last adult novel, Latitudes of Melt, was nominated for the 2002 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the 2001 Commonwealth Writer’s Prize, Canada-Caribbean, and was a New York Times Notable Book.
She was born and raised in the Maritimes and lived in western Canada before settling in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Joan Clark is currently writer in residence at UNB, Fredericton.
About Gerard Collins
In May of this year, Gerard Collins’ first book, the short story collection Moonlight Sketches, won the 2012 Newfoundland Book Award.
His first novel, Finton Moon, was published in June and has already won the Percy Janes First Novel Award.
He’s won several arts and letters awards, been shortlisted for the Cuffer Prize, published in Hard Ol’ Spot, Zeugma and various other anthologies.
Gerard has recently signed on to write a YA nonfiction story for Fierce Ink Shorts, releasing March 2013, and is working on a new novel.
He has a PhD in English and teaches at Memorial University.
About Babette Hayward
This 22-year-old singer and songwriter from Saint John has, in her short musical career, received impressive accolades for her work including:
2011 Winner of Music NB Pop Recording of the year
2011 Winner of Music NB Female Songwriter of the year for her first album You Might be Somebody
2011 NewSong Mountain Contest International Finalist
2012 ECMA Rising Star Nominee
2012 Saint John Originals Awards Emerging Artist Nominee
Babette recently signed a recording deal with Montreal’s Indica and is working on her second album to be released later this year.
