Burnaby Writers' Society News

Author Leslie Michel Beckmann featured at February 21st Spoken INK!

2012-02-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

Be sure to join us on Tuesday February 21st when Leslie Michel Beckmann is our special guest for the Burnaby Writers’ Society’s Spoken INK reading series. Open mic sign-up is at 7:30 p.m., and our featured guest reads at 8:00 p.m. at La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings in North Burnaby (NE corner of Boundary and Hastings).

Leslie is an environmental scientist living, writing, and playing on Vancouver's North Shore. Her non-fiction has appeared in peer-reviewed academic journals and in the popular press on topics ranging from physiology, to climate change, to marine conservation in Canada's arctic. Leslie's short story, "Tortfeasor", was a prize-winner in the 2011 Canada Writes competition for Creative Non-Fiction and her short-story "Fingerling" was short-listed for the Malahat Review's 2012 Open Season award for Creative Non-Fiction. Her fiction has also appeared in Air Canada's En Route magazine, The Globe and Mail, The Vancouver Courier, and Nature Canada, and has been broadcast on CBC Radio's First Person Singular.

Her first full-length work, a thriller set on the Yucatan in the days before the Mayan `apocalypse' entitled The Sum of All Evils (www.thesumofallevils.com), was published in March 2011.

Leslie and her daughter share their home with a nascent ark: two dogs, two terrapins, two leopard geckoes and about fifty crickets, a handful of which seem to live – and sing – under the refrigerator at any given time.

Spoken INK is a reading series presented by the Burnaby Writers' Society on the third Tuesday of each month (except July and August). For more information, contact bwscafe@gmail.com.

Kersti Cull reads at Poetic Justice

2012-01-31T20:55:00.000-08:00

Kersti Cull was a special guest January 29th at Poetic Justice. Here's a video of Kersti's reading on you-tube.

Deadly Accusations launched March 31 in Port Moody.

2012-01-13T12:53:00.000-08:00

Debra Purdy Kong launches her second Casey Holland mystery, Deadly Accusations, on Sat., Mar. 31st from 2:00 to 3:30 at the Port Moody Library, 100 Newport Drive, Port Moody in the Parklane Room. Due to limited seating, attendees are asked to phone 604-469-4575 to reserve a seat. Refreshments will be served, so come take a ride with Casey you won't soon forget!

Spoken INK readings 2012

2012-01-03T09:36:00.000-08:00

Spoken INK is a reading series presented by the Burnaby Writers' Society on the third Tuesday of each month (except July and August). First 2012 dates: January 17 and February 21.

Our featured reader for January is Raoul Fernandes

Raoul lives and writes in Vancouver, B.C. His poems have been previously published in Poetry is Dead and Event Magazine, and he has poems forthcoming in Contemporary Verse 2. He won a Sakura Award in the 2010 Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival and, that same year, was a finalist for the Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. . He is currently assembling his first poetry manuscript. You can follow his poetry blog

at raoulfernandes.com.

January's (optional) open mic theme is LIGHT AND DARK

Open mic sign-up is at 7:30 p.m., for an 8:00 p.m. start, at the La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings in North Burnaby (NE corner of Boundary and Hastings).

For more information: bwscafe(at) mail.com

Still more latest news from members

2012-01-03T09:28:00.000-08:00

Kersti Cull has three poems, "Peacock in Flight", "About the Pear" and "Wind", in the recently released Royal City Poets anthology., organized by New Westminster's Poet Laureate Candice James and published by Silver Bow Publishing. Also appearing in the anthology is BWS member Franci Louann.

Dorothy Stott has won third prize in the Ontario Poetry Society’s 'To Rhyme or not to Rhyme' poetry contest, open to all poets across Canada.

Sandy Hunter, writing as S.A. Hunter, has a dark fantasy story "And the Coyotes Sang" in the Spinetingler Anthology 2011.

Bernice Lever reads on February 4 with the World Poets at the Richmond Cultural Centre as the launch of a monthly series in Richmond, BC. The event runs from 2:30 - 4:30 pm with multi-cultural speakers and musicians. March 15, 7 pm at North Vancouver Public Library, 14th and Lonsdale, Bernice gives a one hour poetry reading in library's free and new Local Author Series. Refreshments/ book signings start at 6:30 pm.

John Joyce has a new article, "Humour is a Funny Thing" in Writing Raw.

On Saturday, March 10 Bernice will speak at a workshop sponsored by :Friesen Press : GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS FOR WRITERS ~ How to organize and approach writing and self-publishing as a business.
Practical tips on how to organize and approach writing as a business; Information on getting funds from Public Lending Rights and AccessCopyright; Tips on creating a year-by-year plan to advance your writing career ; Opportunity for networking and promoting your books.
Date: Saturday March 10 ; Time: 1:00pm-4:30 pm; Location: Victoria Ramada - 123 Gorge Road East
Cost $50 *Information Kit included* 25 people maximum
Register online at http://3pennypublishing.com/events.htm or email info@3pennypublishing.com

Witch Lightning by James Lewis is now available on amazon.com

2011-12-20T10:19:00.000-08:00

The Kindle edition of James Lewis's magic realist novel Witch Lightning can now be ordered from amazon.com's kindle store for a limited time at $5.99.

Witch Lightning is the story of a high steel man and a girl. They're an odd pair: he's chosen the rough, hard-drinking life of an ironworker, she seeks out the quiet of a cathedral rather than the bright lights of the city where she lives.

It seems possibilities for them end when he goes to work a thousand miles away on British Columbia's north coast. Danger, drinking and violence fill his life, solitude and the music she plays in the cathedral fill hers. All they have is one one night together, one act of kindness.

Witch Lightning is also the story of a collision between progress and a native culture has survived thousands of years, and continues to survive, even flourish, if hidden. Who will win? What awaits the hearts of the two young people? Join them on their journey.

Rob Taylor is Spoken INK's special guest on December 20

2011-12-01T16:59:00.000-08:00

Rob Taylor lives in East Vancouver with his wife, Marta. His first poetry manuscript won the 2010 Alfred G. Bailey Prize and went on to be published as The Other Side of Ourselves in the Spring of 2011 by Cormorant Books. Rob is the editor and co-founder of Ghana's first online poetry magazine, One Ghana, One Voice and co-ordinator of Vancouver's Dead Poets Reading series.

La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street (@Boundary Road) Tuesday, December 20, 2011 @ 8 p.m.

Open Mic Sign-up @ 7:30 p.m.

Innsmouth Free Press Interview with Mary E. Choo

2011-11-14T09:36:00.000-08:00

At the Innsmouth Free Press site Mary E. Choo discusses Gothic poetry and fiction, and talks about the inspiration for her poem "The Malcontents", which appears in the Gothic anthology Candle in the Wind .

Our Christmas meeting: December 1st

2011-11-11T12:12:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas meeting will be happening at the Shadbolt Centre, Studio 210, Thursday, December 1st, 7:30 p.m. Visitors are welcome, as always. Bring along a few munchies and, if possible, a poem or prose piece on a Christmas theme. (There'll be prizes for the best pieces.) Non-holiday pieces are welcome too -- with half or dozen or so extra copies if you'd like to take part in the critiquing workshop. For more info: info@bws.bc.ca

The latest news from our members

2011-11-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

Podcast: "Listen to This" : Marie Ellis read an excerpt from Eileen Kernaghan's YA fantasy Wild Talent.Also on YouTube: Casey Wolf reads from Eileen's novel Winter on the Plain of Ghosts.

Now available on kindle: "Redemption Kid" by James Lewis is a short story about a teenager who gets involved with drugs and along the way loses a good part of his humanity. But Redemption Kid is a story about hope not despair. The kid really wants to get back what he has lost. Of course a sacrifice must be made.
With "Redemption Kid" James has added another short story, "The World’s Best Hangover Cure" about a young working man who happens to be friends with a witch. He seeks out her help with a problem he’s having and gets more than he bargained for. Buy it here.

Bernice Lever’s 10th poetry book, Imagining Lives , from Black Moss press, has moved from Fall 2011 to Spring 2012. Bernice has two poems and a short prose piece in the annual North Shore Writers anthology, CAKE; and three of her poems will be included in Candice James’ Silverbow anthology. “Anniversaries” was published in Ascent Aspirations (Nanaimo) in September, and another poem “Birth Date” will appear in Prairie Journal. Verse Afire, TOPS, Toronto, winter issue, has Bernice’s review of Katerina Vaughan Fretwell's poetry book.

Announcing Mild Muses by John Joyce. How can there be humour in a medical waiting room or even visiting a physiotherapy clinic? Mild Muses does find the funny side. Also the royal game of tennis is taken to task. What about a national sales meeting? Can it be funny with out anyone realizing? Read Mild Muses for the answer. Now at Amazon.com Smashwords Sony ebookstore

The LiteraryFiction magazine Bellaonline has published John's "Ginger Rogers Played Tennis in North Vancouver". Paul and Anne Marie's neighbor, Peggy, seems a melancholy soul until a trip south revives her interest in tennis. After her return, Paul finds himself becoming her partner in a social pas de deux - a sort of Ginger and Fred number - in this original story by John Joyce. As well, the LiteraryFiction magazine Wild Violet has published John's article "Perceptions of New York".

Mary E. Choo's poem, "Witch Sticks," appears in the Volume 47, Week 12 (June 20 – 26, 2011) mega-issue of ChiZine ; the installment is part of the overall mega-issue that runs from April through June, 2011 and features new work from contributors every week.

Peter Tupper reads at Spoken INK November 15th

2011-11-09T09:02:00.000-08:00

Spoken INK's guest for November 15th will be author Peter Tupper. Tuesday's reading begins at 8:00 p.m. Open mic sign-up is from 7:30 p.m. at La Fontana Caffe, 3701 East Hastings (at Boundary) in Burnaby.

Peter Tupper is a writer and journalist in Vancouver. His fiction includes The Innocent's Progress & Other Stories and "Koenigsberg's Model" in the Whispers in Darkness Lovecraftian anthology. His non-fiction has been in Wired, the Globe and Mail and Utne Reader. Head on down to La Fontana Caffe next Tuesday to listen, and maybe share some of your own writing. See you there!

Burnaby Writers' Society/Spoken INK
8:00 PM -- 3rd Tuesday of the Month
@ La Fontana Caffe
101-3701 East Hastings
Burnaby BC Canada
bwscafe (at)gmail.com

The inside story of the Gastown Steam Clock

2011-11-08T09:16:00.000-08:00

Pellucid Expressions Publishing

pellucid expressions publishing, Sechelt, B.C. exists to tell optimistic stories that get to the heart of the matter with a handful of words.

Behind the Steam is the first of a planned series of “Behind the Scenes” stories of British Columbia curiosities. There is also a bit of creative history in the works, based on the adventures of a modest but talented Elizabethan clockmaker, organist, and hero. The story involves the Queen of England, the Sultan of Turkey, politics, storms at sea, pirates, and a musical marvel of steam punk clock technology.

For more information: daryl.stennett@gmail.com

For book orders: behindthesteam@pellucidexpressions.com.

Tuesday October 18th is Spoken INK’s First All Open Mic Night

2011-10-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

At Spoken INK on Tuesday October 18th, you’re the star! Bring your poetry or prose… or both! If you need a prompt, Halloween’s just around the corner. Open mic sign-up is at 7:30 p.m., for an 8:00 p.m. start, at the La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings in North Burnaby (NE corner of Boundary and Hastings.

Spoken INK is a reading series presented by the Burnaby Writers' Society on the third Tuesday of each month (except July and August). For more information, visit www.BurnabyWritersNews.blogspot.com or contact bwscafe@gmail.com. See you there!

Burnaby Writers' Society/Spoken INK 7:30 PM -- 3rd Tuesday of the Month, @ La Fontana Caffe
101-3701 East Hastings, Burnaby BC

Fall 2011 workshop meetings

2011-09-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

Our fall meeting schedule gets underway on Thursday, September 8, 7:30 p.m. in Studio 104 at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby. Meetings continue on the second Thursdays of the month, October 13 and November 10. However, please note a schedule change for December: we'll be meeting on Thursday, December 1, not December 8.

Visitors are welcome, as always. Drop in and check out the group.

Contest results!

2011-08-29T10:26:00.000-07:00

ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS & FINALISTS in our 2011 contest on the theme of FIRE

1st: “Something in the Universe Dies, A Sestina”, by Caroline Wong, Burnaby

2nd: “Growing up” by Valerie Fletcher Adolph, Delta.

3rd: “True Myths” by Karen Abel, Burnaby,.

Honourable Mention: “Free Church Breakfast On The Sunday Before ‘Welfare Wednesday’" by Jancis M. Andrews, Sechelt,

OUR OTHER FINALISTS

Judy Millar, “All that Remains”

Gisli Stefansson, “ Survival”
Lynne Burnett, “ Two, By Fire”; “Campfire”
Pamela Kent, “Lay and Light a Fire with Two Matches”

Irene Livingston, “Omen of Fire”; “The Ever Burning Fire”
Kathleen Schmitt, “Photosynthesis”; “Dragon's Breath”

Sharon Miki, “Half and Half “; “Cauterizing Citrus”
Valerie Fletcher Adolph, “The Good Fire”; “By the Fireside”

Caroline Wong, “Lilies”
Alvin G. Ens, “Fire”

Marlene Grand Maitre, “Smoking Women”
Sharron Bertchilde, “Work Life, A Pantoum Poem”

Darlene Spong Henderson, “Lost and Found”
Kelly McKenzie, “I refuse to panic…”

Julie Downsbrough, “Her Daughter's Eyes”
Shawn Bird, “ Fire of You”

Lisa Smith, “The Temezcal”
Nicole Buchanan Breit, “The God of Fire”
Franci Louann, "Fire”

Ruth Lloyd, “Out of the flames”
Dorothy Stott, “The Golden Bowl”

Daniela Elza, “Volatile Beginning”
Ruth Hill, “Light Retreating Through Trees”

Roy Roberts, “Up Late”

Our judge was BC poet Peter Trower. Peter, who has worked for years as the poetry editor for Raincoast Chronicles and has reviewed a lot of submissions in his time, said he was amazed at the high quality of work submitted for the 2011 Burnaby Writers Society contest, and had difficulty picking the winners. He was impressed to see a sestina among the entries. He knows of only one person that wrote sestinas well, Earle Birney.

Winners and finalists will read from their work at our September 20th Spoken INK awards night, La Fontana Caffe, #101-3701 East Hastings (at Boundary Road), Burnaby .Readings begin at 8:00 p.m. Everyone is cordially invited to attend.

(An e-mail invitation with more details will be going out to our finalists the week of September 12)

Latest news from our members

2011-08-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Podcast: "Listen to This" : Marie Ellis read an excerpt from Eileen Kernaghan's YA fantasy Wild Talent.Also on YouTube: Casey Wolf reads from Eileen's novel Winter on the Plain of Ghosts.

Now available on kindle: "Redemption Kid" by James Lewis is a short story about a teenager who gets involved with drugs and along the way loses a good part of his humanity. But Redemption Kid is a story about hope not despair. The kid really wants to get back what he has lost. Of course a sacrifice must be made.
With "Redemption Kid" James has added another short story, "The World’s Best Hangover Cure" about a young working man who happens to be friends with a witch. He seeks out her help with a problem he’s having and gets more than he bargained for. Buy it here.

The LiteraryFiction magazine Bellaonline has published "Ginger Rogers Played Tennis in North Vancouver".
Paul and Anne Marie's neighbor, Peggy, seems a melancholy soul until a trip south revives her interest in tennis. After her return, Paul finds himself becoming her partner in a social pas de deux - a sort of Ginger and Fred number - in this original story by John Joyce. As well, the LiteraryFiction magazine Wild Violet has published John's article "Perceptions of New York".

Announcing Mild Muses by John Joyce. How can there be humour in a medical waiting room or even visiting a physiotherapy clinic? Mild Muses does find the funny side. Also the royal game of tennis is taken to task. What about a national sales meeting? Can it be funny with out anyone realizing? Read Mild Muses for the answer. Now at Amazon.com Smashwords Sony ebookstore

Mary E. Choo's poem, "Witch Sticks," appears in the Volume 47, Week 12 (June 20 – 26, 2011) mega-issue of ChiZine ; the installment is part of the overall mega-issue that runs from April through June, 2011 and features new work from contributors every week.

Julie Ferguson has announced the publication of the third edition of her indispensable writers' guide Book Magic in US, UK, and Germany. Take a look at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055T4AOS

Eileen Kernaghan is interviewed on small press vs big press on Krista D. Ball's "Writer in Residence" blog.

An article by Greg Bauder, "Mentally ill need more than DTES housing", appears in today's edition of the Vancouver Province.

TOPS has accepted Irene Livingston's poem "Spring Comes" for this year's Verse Afire anthology.

BWS at Summer Dreams

2011-07-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

Kersti Cull, James Lewis and Peter Hansen will read for the Burnaby Writers' Society at this year's Summer Dreams Literary Festival, Saturday August 13th at Lumberman's Arch in Stanley Park. For all the details on the festival go to their website.

Spoken INK's Upcoming Featured Authors

2011-06-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

Spoken INK: Third Tuesdays September to June, La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings at Boundary Road,. Readings at 7:30 p.m., open mic sign-up at 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday June 21st

“What if Demeter, the timeless fertility goddess of ancient Greek myth, slipped through a crack into the twenty-first century, shook off her ankle bracelets, corn tassels, and garlands, and began a tour of our improbable culture? Susan McCaslin’s new volume of poetry, Demeter Goes Skydiving (University of Alberta Press, April 2011), exercises the profound mother/daughter trauma forged in the Demeter-Persephone myth with unapologetic modernity. Susan is a poet, educator, scholar, and author of fourteen volumes of poetry She has edited two anthologies of sacred poetry (Poetry and Spiritual Practice and A Matter of Spirit), is on the editorial board of Event: the Douglas College Review, and an editorial consultant for The Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion (Harvard Divinity School). Her work has appeared in literary journals across Canada and the United States. See her website for details about other upcoming readings. www.susanmccaslin.ca

Tuesday May 17th

Debra Purdy Kong has a diploma in criminology and has worked in security as a patrol and communications officer. She is the author of Alex Bellamy mysteries: Taxed to Death (1995) and Fatal Encryption (2008). Her latest mystery The Opposite of Dark, (available from TouchWood Editions March 2011) is the first in a series featuring transit security officer, Casey Holland. Debra has also published over one hundred short stories, essays, and articles in publications that include Chicken Soup for the Bride’s Soul, Dandelion, NeWest Review, The Vancouver Sun, and several anthologies.

2011 Multi-Poem Festival

2011-05-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

The Korean Writers Association Canada hosts its 2011 Multi-Poem Festival on the theme of Freedom, War, Peace at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby on June 25th, 3 to 7 p.m. A reception follows. Everyone is invited to this special event marking the start of the Korean War on June 25, 1950. Information: 604-435-7913 or 604-838-1239.

Celebrating Vancouver's 125th anniversary in poetry

2011-04-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

subTerrain magazine is accepting poetry submissions for its Special Summer Issue celebrating Vancouver’s 125th Birthday. "We are seeking poems that explore Vancouver’s history, geography, and varied ethnicity. The issue will be comprised of 125 poems and several essays on the topic of poetry & politics in Vancouver.
Please try to address your subject in unique, fresh, and surprising ways."

Guidelines: Poem length: maximum 50 lines (including stanza breaks); Line length: maximum 56 characters (including spaces). Poems should be typed, single-spaced, on 8.5 x 11 paper. Deadline for entries: June 30, 2011 (postmarked)

Authors of work selected for inclusion in the issue, will receive $25 per poem plus publication. As well, all contributors will receive 5 copies of the issue and a one-year subscription to subTerrain.
Send hard copy, mailed to the address below. Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you want your submission returned. All submissions not accompanied by a SASE will not be returned (so keep a copy for yourself!). Send entries to: SubTerrain Magazine, Vancouver 125, po box 3008, main post office, Vancouver, BC V6B 3X5 .

Announcing the Burnaby Writers' Society 2011 writing contest

2011-04-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

Deadline May 31, 2011

ONE PAGE ON THE THEME OF

Eligibility

. Open to all residents of British Columbia, except members of the BWS screening committee. Work must be previously unpublished, and not accepted for publication.

1. How to Enter

. Send us a complete one page work of poetry or prose (fiction, non-fiction or unclassifiable), on the theme of FIRE. The theme can be interpreted in any way you like – a house fire; a campfire; a firefly; fire in story, fairytale and myth; hellfire; to fire a gun; to fire an employee; to be on fire; fire in the belly; or any other association that may occur to you. Work can be in any form or genre, as long as it will fit on one side of a standard 8 1/2" x 11” sheet of paper with standard margins. Entries may be single or double-spaced, word-processed or typewritten. For the sake of the judges’ eyesight, please use an easy to read font no smaller than 12 point. Clear photocopies are acceptable.

. Write your name, address, phone number and/or e-mail address on the reverse side of each entry. (Please don't put your name on the story itself. Entries will be photocopied, without identification, before they are submitted to the judges.)

. Include a fee of $5.00 for each submitted entry; or $10 for three entries. Please do not send cash. Cheques or money orders should be made payable to the Burnaby Writers' Society. (If you are sending several entries, include one cheque or m.o. to cover the total fee.) You may submit any number of entries, as long as each is accompanied by the requisite fee.

2. Judging and Prizes

. Cash prizes of $200, $100 and $50 Canadian will be awarded to the top three entries. Only one cash prize will be awarded per contestant. At the discretion of the judges, honourable mentions may also be awarded. These will receive a one-year subscription to the Burnaby Writers' Society's market newsletter. The judges’ decisions will be final. If the judges feel no award is warranted, none will be given.

. Winners will be notified by September 15, 2011, and will be invited to read their winning entries at a public reading and awards night. (Entries by winners unable to attend in person will, with the author's permission, be read by a BWS member.)
.
NO ENTRIES WILL BE RETURNED. For a list of winning entries, please enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope; or check the BWS website, www.bws.bc.ca, or this blog, after September 15, 2011.

. Because of the large number of submissions, the BWS cannot correspond with contestants or supply individual comments on entries. The BWS is not responsible for entries lost or damaged in the mail. All rights remain with the authors.

. Mail your entry, postmarked no later than May 31, 2011, to BWS CONTEST COMMITTEE, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby BC Canada V5G 3T7.

Recent news from our members

2011-04-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

Mary E. Choo's short story, "The Man Who Loved Lightning," appears in the anthology of fusion fiction, Like Water for Quarks (see http://www.mvp-publishing.com). As well, her poem, "The Malcontents (from Grannie's Garden)," which was published in Room 32.2, has been selected for the new Gothic anthology, Candle in the Attic Window.

Debra Purdy Kong launches her new mystery novel The Opposite of Dark at People's Coop Bookstore,
1391 Commercial Drive, on Wednesday., April 27 at 7:00 p.m. On April 28 at 7:00 p.m. Debra will be on a panel with four others for Coastal Crime Wave: An Evening with BC Crime Writers. They'll be having a lively discussion about crime writing and announcing this year's finalists for the Arthur Ellis Awards. That's in the Alma VanDusen Room, Vancouver Public Library, 350 West Georgia Street. Yhen on Tuesday., May 17th at 7:30 p.m., Debra will be reading and speaking about The Opposite of Dark at a Fontana Caffe
101 - 3701 East Hastings (on the northeast corner of Hastings and Boundary)

Both Colleen Anderson’s "Exegesis of the Insecta Apocrypha" and Rhea Rose’s “Alia’s Angel” received honourable mention in Ellen Datlow's Year's Best Horror for 2010.

Writing Raw has published John Joyce’s “Ginger Rogers Once Played Tennis in North Vancouver” . John adds, “It's a true story with some fiction and accurate backdrop. I know where she played.”

Also appearing in Writing Raw: “ The Peak of the Day”, which takes place on the Grouse Mountain Sky Ride.

Eileen Kernaghan read at the New Westminster Library on April 6 at a National Poetry Month event sponsored by the League of Canadian Poets.

Irene Livingston's poem, ”Fusion” was published in the new Verse Afire, put out by TOPS, The Ontario Poetry Society.

Bernice Lever’s prose piece, "Thanks Coach" will appear in the Windsor Review, #44, Vol.1. Black Moss Press, Windsor, will release Bernice's tenth book of poems Imagining Lives in 2011 0r 2012. As well, Bernice won 2nd prize in Pandora's winter poetry contest, "Hibernating with Words”. She was a featured reader for The Writers Studio, SFU's downtown reading series, at Take 5 Cafe on Feb. 11 and again for "Poetic Justice" hosted at Renaissance Books in New Westminster, Feb.27. On May 9 she’ll give a reading at the annual meeting of Canadian Authors Association in Grand Bend, Ontario, and will take part with four others in World Poetry's April 18 Poetry Month event at Vancouver Public Library. On May 14 Bernice gives the opening talk: "Canadian Poetry" for the International Poetry Festival of the World Poetry Society at the Richmond Cultural Centre.

Elizabeth Elwood's new play premieres June 2nd at the Bernie Legge Theatre

2011-04-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

SHADOW OF MURDER
By Elizabeth Elwood

A gathering at a hunting lodge becomes a deadly game of cat and mouse as the guests realize that somebody present is connected with a murder than happened more than two decades ago. Tensions rise as a storm causes landslides that render the access road impassable, and before long, another murder takes place.
Don’t miss the premiere production of this intriguing new mystery, written and directed by Elizabeth Elwood. Elwood’s previous plays, also first presented by Vagabond Players, have been produced by several groups across Canada and her mystery books have won her comparisons to Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. Vagabond Players is proud to present yet another play by this local writer and long-time Burnaby Writers' Society member.

June 2 – 25, 2011 Thursday to Saturday - 8:00 pm
Sunday matinees - 2:00 pm.
The Bernie Legge Theatre, Queens Park, New Westminster
Tickets: $15.00 Seniors $13/Students $5
Reservations: 604-521-0412 or book online: reservations@vagabondplayers.ca
For further information, see www.vagabondplayers.ca

Children's Writers' Conference announced

2011-04-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

SCBWI Canada West (Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators) is holding its third annual conference for children's writers and illustrators, WestCwic 2011, on Saturday May 28 2011, 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, at the Holiday Inn Express (Metrotown) in Burnaby.

Guest speakers include: Teresa Bubela, Art Director, Orca Book Publishers; Eileen Cook, author; Christi Howes, editor, Orca Book Publishers; Jared Hunt, writer and editor; Crystal J. Stranaghan, writer; Kari-Lynn Winters, writer.

Manuscript consultations and portfolio consultations are available. For further details about the conference, go to www.scbwicanada.org/west . --- Ken Kilback

Spoken INK March and April 2011 readings

2011-02-26T14:38:00.000-08:00

Note the new time for Spoken INK -- beginning in March we'll be starting at 7:30 p.m. with Open Mic sign-up at 7:00 p.m

March 15: Venturing Beyond – with speculative writers Mary Choo and Sandra Wickham

Mary Choo's poetry and fiction has appeared in a wide variety of magazines, anthologies, online and electronic publications in Canada, the U. S. and abroad. Her work has been listed on the preliminary ballots of the Bram Stoker and Nebula awards, and the final ballot of the Aurora Awards. More recent credits include the anthologies Tesseracts Thirteen, Escape Clause, Evolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead, and a speculative issue of Room Magazine. She has also had a story accepted for a U. S. anthology, due out this spring.

Sandra Wickham lives in Burnaby with her husband and two cats. She has been a coach and fitness trainer for over twelve years and is new to the writing world. Her friends call her a needle crafting aficionado, health guru and ninja-in-training. Sandra’s short stories have appeared in Evolve, Vampires of the New Undead, Chronicles of the Order and the sequel to Evolve releasing later this year. You can visit her at www.sandrawickham.com

April 19: Tariq Malik : Chanting Denied Shores

Born and educated in Pakistan, Tariq Malik began his professional life by working/slaving for twenty years in Kuwait, employed as an industrial chemist, before emigrating to Canada in 1995. He now lives in Vancouver with his wife, and can be found hunched over a laptop when he is not out hiking or at work. Chanting Denied Shores, published by Calgary’s Bayeux Arts in November 2010, is a first novel set on the North American West coast during the pre-war period of 1914–1921, and the events surrounding the arrival of the Komagata Maru - a watershed incident largely forgotten outside the South Asian community. Rainsongs of Kotli (2004) a collection of loosely linked novella-length stories short stories was Tariq’s first book. Author website: www.tariqmalik.net

E-books, E-readers, E-publishing: Are You Ready?

2011-02-18T16:15:00.000-08:00

Over the past year, e-books, e-readers, and e-publishing have seen an explosion of demand. Commercial publishers are scrambling to convert print titles to electronic, and emerging and established authors aren’t quite sure how to publish in this new format. Discover more about this exciting opportunity as a fiction and nonfiction author, who have done it all, demystify the technology and get you started.

Monday March 21 7:30-10:00pm Studio 103 Shadbolt Centre for the Arts
6450 Deer Lake Ave. Burnaby BC
Free admission.

To reserve a seat please register for the workshop by calling 604-291-6864. Quote barcode #245132

Speaker and author of seventeen non-fiction books and hundreds of articles, Julie H. Ferguson has done it all. Her books are available in print and electronically through commercial and self-publication. Julie’s sessions for emerging and experienced writers are widely acclaimed for their practical approach, supportive atmosphere, and immediate value. For more information, please visit www.beaconlit.com.

Award-winning writer Debra Purdy Kong has been publishing short stories, essays, and articles for thirty years, as well as two mystery novels in print and e-book formats. TouchWood Editions has just released her first Casey Holland mystery, The Opposite of Dark. More information about Debra and her work can be found at www.debrapurdykong.com

Kate Braid and Clyde Reed at Renaissance Books

2011-02-15T11:33:00.000-08:00

Poetic Justice presents Kate Braid reading, with accompaniment by Clyde Reed on bass.
Open mic to follow.

Sunday, February 20, 4 p.m. at Renaissance Books, 43 6th St at Carnarvon, New Westminster.

There are exciting literary events every Sunday afternoon at Renaissance Books, as well as a wide selection of good used books -- including books by local authors.

Spoken INK presents: Julie H. Ferguson & Daryl Stennett

2011-02-08T16:09:00.000-08:00

Julie H. Ferguson is author of 15 non-fiction books on Canadian history and writing/publishing,and an accomplished professional speaker and trainer. Her most recent book is James Douglas: Father of British Columbia, a young adult biography.

Daryl Stennett describes himself as being a solution looking for a place to happen. Behind the Steam, the essential history of Gastown’s steam clock, is Daryl’s first commercial book and the beginning of a story series of British Columbia curiosities.

Tuesday February 15, 2011 at 8 p.m.
La Fontana Caffe
101-3701 East Hastings Street
Burnaby
Open mic sign-up @ 7:30 p.m.

Spoken INK is a reading series presented by the Burnaby Writers' Society on the third Tuesday of each
month (except July and August). For more information, visit www.BurnabyWritersNews.blogspot.com or
contact bwscafe@gmail.com.

BWS Workshop Meetings, Winter 2011

2011-01-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

Second Thursday of the month:
January 13 (Studio H, Mather House)
February 10 (Studio H, Mather House)
March 10 (Studio 209, Main Building)

7:30 p.m.

Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Deer Lake Park, 6450 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.

Drop-in visitors always welcome.

Info@bws.bc.ca

Click on the map for a larger image

Spoken INK returns on third Tuesdays

2011-01-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

Announcing our Spoken INK guest readers for January and February 2011

January 18 -- Shauna Paull

Shauna Paull is a poet, educator and community advocate. She completed an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia in 1999. Since then, she has led creative writing workshops at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Deer Lake Park, Burnaby and the Emily Carr Institute of Arts and Design, and Poetry for the People workshops at the Rhizome Café. Shauna represented Canada at the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2006. roughened in undercurrent, her book of poems, was published in 2008 by Leaf Press.

Also confirmed for January’s event is Maggie Witzsche, poet, painter and film maker, who plays improvisational blues, heavy metal and rock on electric guitar. She is a graduate of Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. Her poetry, visual art, painting, music, and writing influence each other.

February 15 -- Julie Ferguson & Daryl Stennett

Watch this space for announcements of our other guest readers.

Spoken INK open mic readings are held on the third Tuesday of each month, September to June, at La Fontana Cafe, 101-3701 East Hastings at Boundary Road, North Burnaby.

Open mic sign-up at 7:30 p.m., readings at 8:00 p.m. Info: bwscafe@gmail.com

Latest members' news

2010-12-31T14:09:00.000-08:00

Franci Louann launched her poetry collection Beach Cardiology, from Lipstick Press, at Renaissance Books on January 31. Beach Cardiology is available at: Renaissance Books and the new Fraser River Discovery Centre (by the new River Market) in New Westminster; and at People's Co-op Bookstore on Commercial Drive. Hear Franci reading from her collection at Wax Poetic.

Greg Bauder's op-ed article "Author's tale offers hope to schizophrenia sufferers" appeared in the December 3 "Issues and Ideas" section of the Vancouver Sun. You can read the article here.

Ruth Hill’s finalist poem in our 2010 writing contest on the theme of Water, "Climb in Me", has been chosen for honourable mention by New Millennium Writings, and will be published this January.

Exciting news: Linda DeMeulemeester's Grim Hill novels to become an animated TV series.

2010-12-01T10:23:00.000-08:00

Toronto-based Wizard Hat Productions is going to turn the Grim Hill book series into a animated series.
The books by Linda DeMeulemeester will be turned into 26 half-hour CG-animated episodes targeted at tweens. From the press release: “Wizard Hat is thrilled to work with Lobster Press and Linda DeMeulemeester to bring these unique and exciting stories to television,” said Pam Slavin, Partner and Executive Producer, Wizard Hat Productions, Inc. “’Grim Hill’ has attracted legions of fans who have been asking for a TV show based on the popular books, and we’re looking forward to bringing the adventures of Cat, Sookie, Jasper and Clive to life on air.” The popular five-book series, first released by Lobster Press in 2007, has received numerous accolades including the Silver Birch Award, voted favorite book of 2008 by kids grades 3-8. The Grim Hill books pit typical teens against powerful, magical creatures in the town of Grim Hill. Each thrilling tale combines celtic myth and dark faerie lore with face-paced action and adventure, and scary moments are diffused with humor.

Mystery Night at Spoken INK November 16th

2010-11-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

Mystery writers David Glyn-Jones and Elizabeth Elwood are guest readers at the November Spoken INK, Tuesday, November 16th at La Fontana Cafe, 101-3701 East Hastings at Boundary Road, North Burnaby. Please note new starting time: Sign-up 7:00 p.m., readings at 7:30 pm.

DAVID GLYN-JONES is a retired professional musician, actor and singer, now an active writer. Some years ago he won the Canadian Authors Short Fiction award for a story titled "Da Capo": Since then he has won other awards and published a number of articles and short stories. In addition, David has recorded almost 400 books onto tape for the handicapped. The Queen’s Sword and The Queen's Jewels are David’s first published novels, both written under the pseudonym, David Glenn. FireShip Press, his publisher, wants more, so he is currently writing a third in the series, with the tentative title, The Queen’s Scribe. David and his wife live in Coquitlam.

In 1992, with husband, Hugh, ELIZABETH ELWOOD formed Elwoodettes Marionettes, and since then she has created twenty marionette musicals for the company. Her first play for live actors, Casting for Murder, was produced in the year 2000, and her comedy, Renovations, premiered at the Bernie Legge Theatre in August 2004. A third play, Shadow of Murder, is scheduled to premiere in June 2011. Elizabeth has published three books of mystery stories based on her varied experiences in theatre, travel, politics and education. As in previous books, her latest collection, The Beacon, features Lower Mainland city councillor Bertram Beary, his opera-singer daughter Philippa, and detective son Richard.

Latest Members' News

2010-10-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

Greg Bauder's op-ed article "Author's tale offers hope to schizophrenia sufferers" appeared in the December 3 "Issues and Ideas" section of the Vancouver Sun. You can read the article here.

Ruth Hill’s finalist poem in our 2010 writing contest on the theme of Water, "Climb in Me", has been chosen for honourable mention by New Millennium Writings, and will be published this January.

Diane Tucker read on November 21 at the Jewish Community Centre, 41st Avenue and Oak Street. The event is Drash: Jewish Writing from the Rainy Cities , celebrating the first four years of the literary journal Drash: Northwest Mosaic. The time is 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. And soon to appear: Diane's Sandgrain Leaf Poems, a little poetry chapbook from David Zieroth’s excellent Alfred Gustav Press

You can read Sandra Wickham's article on fellow BWS member David Glyn-Jones, author of the DeSubermore mysteries, at http://www/inkpunks.com The Queen's Sword and its sequel The Queen's Jewels mark the beginning of a new series of Elizabethan adventure/ mysteries from US publisher Fireside Press -- their first from a Canadian writer. The author, retired actor David Glyn-Jones, writes as David Glenn.

In Verne Swedberg’s newly released children’s book Max and the Children, eleven year old Brody and his eight year old sister, Kate, embark on three adventures with their dog, Max. The book is now available from various retail booksellers or can be ordered from ophiucus@telus.net ($19.95 plus shipping and handling. Discounts available – e-mail for a quote.)

Franci Louann was featured poet Sept.19th at Renaissance Books in New West. She also read at the Burnaby Writers' Society event Tues. Sept. 21 - her poem "Natalina's Garden" won 2nd prize in the BWS 2010 contest. On Sat. Sept. 25th she co-hosted with Candice James, Poetic Justice at Hyack Square, near New West Skytrain station.

Wild Violet has published several articles by John Joyce: "A Small, Green Piece of Paper; Two Islands: England and Eel Pie Island." ( London in the early sixties; a backdrop of rhythm and blues music on a small island in the River Thames; some forgotten insights into those days); "Tennis Above the Net": a look at the sport of tennis, with its mannerism and perceptions; and “Looking Down from a Ski Chair”.Writing Raw has published John's “You have the same accent as me" -- an account of how an injured skier is able to dispel someone’s homesickness. As well, Ifrom magazine published “ The Tuesday Night Kayak Race” a short story set in Deep Cove, North Vancouver, intertwined with characters and backdrop of Malcolm Lowry’s Under the Volcano. A collection of John's humourous pieces, Mild Muses, is now available in kindle format at $5.75 from amazon.com.

The Ontario Poetry Soc. TOPS has accepted Irene Livingston’s poem “Decisions, Decisions” for their annual publication, Verse Afire.

Linda DeMeulemeester's Grim Hill: The Family Secret took number seven spot for new Canadian children's books on the Canadian bestseller list for the week ending June 1st. The fourth book in Linda's bestselling YA fantasy series, The Family Secret was recently reviewed in Kirkus Reviews: "the fascinating look at Sweden’s history and culture makes it an entertaining and worthwhile read."

Anne Hopkinson's poem "A Number of Women are Missing" will be included in the Caitlin Press anthology Walk Myself Home: An Anthology to End Violence Against Women, forthcoming Fall 2010.

Three poems by Maureen Egan, "Before Hope Fades into View," "Night Sky in Camouflage," and "Shuswap Blues" will be published in the Fall 2010 issue of All Rights Reserved. Maureen's poem "Gorffwysfa Blepharisma" was included in Rogue Stimulus: the Stephen Harper Holiday Anthology for a Prorogued Parliament, published by Mansfield Press. Her poem "Eastside Downtime" will be published in the Fall 2010 issue of Other Voices.

Kersti Cull's poem "Gustav Muldor Abstract Painting" appears in Jones Av.

Spoken INK welcomes poet Kate Braid and bassist Clyde Reed on October 19th!

2010-10-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, October 19th, Kate Braid and Clyde Reed merge music with the spoken word at Spoken INK for what promises to be a unique evening. Afterwards, stick around for our Open Mic readings. Open mic sign-up begins at 7:30 p.m., and our featured guests begin at 8:00 p.m. at La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings in North Burnaby (NE corner of Boundary and Hastings).

Kate Braid has written five award-winning books of poetry; she also co-edited, with Sandy Shreve, the first book of Canadian form poetry, In Fine Form. Recently she began a happy collaboration in her readings with jazz bass player-deluxe, Clyde Reed. Kate has published three books of non-fiction; her poems and personal essays are widely published and anthologised; and she is currently working on a memoir of her fifteen years in the construction industry.

Clyde Reed is a versatile, inventive bassist who is a founding member of the legendary Vancouver ensemble, the NOW Orchestra, and a core member of several highly-regarded smaller ensembles, including the Rich Halley / Bobby Bradford 4-tet, the Coat Cooke Trio, the Bruce Freedman Trio, and the avant-garde quartet Ion Zoo. Clyde has performed at major jazz festivals across North America and Europe; his international musical collaborators include George Lewis (NYC), Vinny Golia (LA), and Barry Guy (Zurich).

Spoken INK and the Burnaby Writers' Society acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the League of Canadian Poets.

Spoken INK is the reading series presented by the Burnaby Writers' Society on the third Tuesday of each month (except July and August). For more information contact bwscafe@gmail.com

BWS Fall 2010 Workshop Meetings

2010-10-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

Please note changes in location/dates for October, November and December 2010 meetings:

Thursday, October 14, 7:30 p.m. Studio H, Mather House (across from the Shadbolt Centre main building)

Thursday, November 18, 7:30 p.m., Studio 210, Shadbolt Centre. (The Centre is closed on November 11)

Thursday, December 2, 7:30 p.m. Studio 209, Shadbolt Centre (no meeting on December 9)

Our poetry award-winners read at Spoken INK in September!

2010-09-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

On September 21, Spoken INK hands the microphone to winners of tbe Burnaby Writers’ Society 2010 contest for an evening of fabulous poetry at the La Fontana Caffe in Burnaby. Start time is 8:00 p.m., Contest Runners-up and finalists are also invited to take read their work.Winners of the 2010 contest:
FIRST: Michael Aaron Mayes; SECOND: Franci Louann; THIRD: Lynda Pupo
HONOURABLE MENTION: Lynne Burnett
The theme for this year’s contest may have been water, but don’t expect an evening that’s watered down. Award night is always a special event!

So join us at La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings in North Burnaby (NE corner of Boundary and Hastings) for awesome poetry, coffee and desserts.
Spoken INK is a reading series presented by the Burnaby Writers' Society on the third Tuesday of each month (except July and August). For more information, visit www.BurnabyWritersNews.blogspot.com or contact bwscafe@gmail.com.

Our 2010 writing competition: winners and finalists announced

2010-08-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

We’re very pleased to announce the results of the Burnaby Writers’ Society’s 2010 contest on the theme of “Water”.

First Prize: Michael Aaron Mayes, “With Oscillating Control”
Second Prize: Franci Louann, New Westminster, “Scenes from Natalina’s Garden"
Third Prize: Lynda Pupo, Victoria,“The Waves”
Honourable Mention: Lynne Burnett, West Vancouver, “It Rains for Him”

Other Finalists (“the long list”)

Edith Baranyay, Vancouver, “Water”
John Beaton, Qualicum Beach:
    Seafarers
    Highland Water
    Watershed
Ev Bishop, Terrace, “Deluge”
Marina Blokker, Burnaby:
“Loping”
“Wet Loop”
Lynne Burnett, West Vancouver:
    “This Quiet Tide”
    “Lips I Cannot Read”
Kate Braid, Vancouver:
    “Water’s Skin’
    “Owning a Boat”
Keith Bramwell, Vancouver,“The Ebb Tide Floats Us”
Julie Downsbrough, Burnaby, “Something Fishy”
Alvin G. Ens, Abbotsford, “Just Watering”
Sabrina Farminger, Vancouver:
    Untitled (“As long as I am in this tub”)
    “Bombay Water”
Maggie Gallivan, Coquitlam,“Gulf Tears”
Ruth Hill, Chetwynd:
    “Climb in Me”
    “Captain Magnificent”
    “Lily Moss, Lilting”
Anne Hopkinson, Burnaby:
    “Sea Rescue”
    “The Garden of Tides”
    “Buoyant”
Roy Innes, Gabriola Island, “Preserving the Staff of Life”
Linda M. Langwith, Brentwood Bay,“The Waters of My Birth”
Sue Anne Linde, Vancouver, “Rain Drops”
Shannon Linden, Kelowna, “The Sustenance of Life”
Irene Livingston, Vancouver, “Harlot in the Rain”
René Mrzljak, Burnaby, “Japanese Garden”
M. Perison, Nanaimo,   “Washday”
J. Prenosil, Burnaby, “Vamos com Deus”
Joanne Qureshi, Parksville, “The Storm- A Rondel”
Roy Roberts, Vancouver :
    “From the Beach”
    “The Origin of Oceans”
Patricia Smekal, Nanoose Bay, “Oceanid”
Colin Stewart, New Westminster, “Mostly Water”
Caroline Wong, Burnaby:
    “Eagle Run”
    “Old Pilings”
    “Rain”
Sharon Yoshida, Port Coquitlam, “Dear Andrew”

This year’s judge was Andrea MacPherson. Andrea is the author of four books: two novels, When She Was Electric (Raincoast, 2003) and Beyond the Blue (Random House, 2007) and two poetry collections, Natural Disasters (Palimpsest Press, 2007) and Away (Signature Editions, 2008). When She Was Electric was listed No. 6 on CBC Canada Reads: People’s Choice. Natural Disasters was longlisted for the ReLit Awards. A past Editor of Prism International, Andrea now acts as Reviews Editor for Event. She teaches Creative Writing and English with University of the Fraser Valley and Douglas College.

You’re cordially invited to hear the winners and finalists read from their work at our Spoken INK awards night on Tuesday, September 21, 8 p.m. at La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings in North Burnaby (NE corner of Boundary & Hastings) Free admission; everyone welcome.

Three Writers' Workshops: Fall & Winter 2010-201l

2010-08-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

Join Debra Purdy Kong and Julie H. Ferguson for Get Published on Your First Try. Save time, money, and stress: learn the best publishing option for your book from a fiction and nonfiction author who have done it all – commercial, electronic, and self-publication. Sunday, October 17, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Renaissance Books, 43 E. 6th Ave (at Columbia), New Westminster. Free, but you must reserve your seat at 604.525.4566

If you travel and love to write, this free workshop is for you. Pitching Your Travel Articles in the 21st Century will set you on the path to getting your articles accepted by print and online travel magazines. Join Julie Ferguson to start adding value to your articles that travel editors and readers can't resist in this connected, visual world. Wednesday, October 20, 2010, 6:30-8:30p.m. at Vancouver Public Library (main branch). Only 20 seats, so you must register at 604.331.3603 after Labour Day.

Whatever you write—fiction, non-fiction, business, or technical—Self-Editing will show you what an expert would do to perfect your manuscript. Led by writer and professional editor, Joyce Gram, this session teaches you how to look at your writing with fresh eyes. Saturday, November 6, 1–4 p.m. at Fleetwood Library, 15996 - 84 Avenue, Surrey. $45.00. Register with the Surrey Writers' School

In the New Year, Debra Purdy Kong and and Julie Ferguson will also co-present a workshop on e-books, e-readers, and e-publishing in cooperation with the Port Moody Public Library. Watch for details at www.beaconlit.blogspot.com

Vampire reading at VPL

2010-08-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

The Vancouver launch of the critically acclaimed vampire anthology Evolve, which contains stories by BWS members Mary Choo, Rhea Rose, Colleen Anderson and Sandra Wickham, will be taking place at the Vancouver Public Library on September 27th from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Burnaby Arts Council hosts literary arts week

2010-08-18T12:39:00.000-07:00

The Burnaby Arts Council will host the first Lower Mainland area exhibition of "A Book Arts Mosaic" as part of its Culture Days activities, which this year focus on the Literary Arts. The exhibition, which runs from September 18 to October 3rd, features 26 works by 33 Canadian book artists from across Canada.

On Saturday September 18 at the opening reception from 1 to 4 p.m. there will be a book sale and Meet the Authors event showcasing the work of Burnaby Writers' Society members Linda DeMeulemeester, Elizabeth Elwood, Julie Ferguson, Gordon Mumford, Bernice Lever, Eileen Kernaghan, Casey June Wolf, Debra Purdy Kong and Diane Tucker.

On Saturday September 25 at 1 p.m. the council will host the launch of two historical thrillers, The Queen's Sword and The Queen's Jewels, a new series set in Elizabethan England, by Coquitlam BWS member David Glyn-Jones writing as David Glenn.

On Sunday September 26 from 1 to 4 p.m. Sally Reesman will present a workshop on creating your own
chapbook. Registration is required for the workshop)

All activities are free of charge. Contact Sara at the Arts Council office, 604-298-7322 for more info.

Watch this space...

2010-06-29T10:01:00.001-07:00

in September for results of the Burnaby Writers' Society's 2010 contest on the theme of Water.

Awards will be presented, and winners and finalists will read from their work, at the first Spoken INK event of the fall season, Tuesday, September 21st.

FALL 2010 Burnaby Writers' Society Workshops

2010-06-17T15:50:00.000-07:00

First workshop of the fall season: Thursday, September 9, 7:30 p.m. Workshop meetings continue on the second Thursday of each month September to June at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, 6450 Deer Lake Avenue in Burnaby. Drop-in visitors are always welcome. Contact us for further information.

POETIC JUSTICE AT RENAISSANCE BOOKS

2010-06-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

43 6TH St New Westminster BC. (just up from Columbia Station)
4-6 pm SUNDAYS except holiday weekends

Information: 604-525-4566 renbooks@telus.net www.renaissancebookstore.com
Come early and sign up for Open Mic

FEATURED POETS START AUGUST 8TH
August 22: Eileen Kernaghan

Renaissance Books has a large collection of fine used books, including out-of-print and hard-to-find copies, and new books by local authors

only ½ hour from downtown Vancouver by Skytrain

Tuesday, June 15th -- 2010 Finale at Spoken INK!

2010-06-07T18:27:00.000-07:00

Spoken INK is very pleased to present two special guests on June 15th — Pam Galloway and Clélie Rich! It’s our last event before we take our summer break, so be sure to join us for an evening brimming with poetry! Open mic sign-up (no set theme) is at 7:30 p.m., and the readings begin at 8:00 p.m.

Please Note: Spoken INK’s new location is La Fontana Caffe at 3701 East Hastings in North Burnaby (NE corner of Boundary and Hastings).

Pam Galloway was born in northern England and now lives in Vancouver. Her poetry is published widely in literary magazines and anthologies, and on the website of the Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate. In 2008/2009 one of Pam’s poems traveled on the Skytrain and buses as part of “Poetry In Transit”. She worked collaboratively with Quintet, a group of poets in Vancouver, to produce their poetry collection, Quintet: Themes and Variations, (Ekstasis Editions 1998). Her first book of poetry, Parallel Lines, was published in 2006 (Ekstasis Editions). Recently, her poetry was included in the photographic/poetry collection A Verse Map of Vancouver. She has an MFA in creative writing from UBC.

Clélie Rich is a poet and freelance editor. Her chapbook, In All Her Rooms, won the 1994 Hawthorne Poetry Award, and, along with Pam Galloway, she is one of the five Vancouver women poets featured in Quintet: Themes & Variations (Ekstasis Press, 1998). As a freelance editor, Clélie works with publishers of all sizes, corporations, and individual writers. As part of the editorial collective that publishes Room magazine, she gets to publish one of the best literary magazines in Canada. Clélie shares her patch of East Van with her cat, a herb garden, two pyramids worth of Mason bees, a wormery, and almostbut-not-quiteenough books. Her name rhymes with “daily”.

Also on June 15th, Brown’s Books (across Hastings from La Fontana — www.brownsbooks.ca) will be offering a 20 percent discount for all Spoken INKsters, 5:30-7:30 PM!

Spoken INK is presented by the Burnaby Writers' Society on the third Tuesday of each month (except July and August). To be added to Spoken INK's sporadic reminder list, please send your email address to bwscafe@gmail.com!

Latest members' news

2010-06-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

You can read Sandra Wickham's article on fellow BWS member David Glyn-Jones, author, as David Glenn, of the DeSubermore mysteries, at http://www/inkpunks.com

Soon to appear: Diane Tucker’s: Sandgrain Leaf Poems, a little poetry chapbook from David Zieroth’s excellent Alfred Gustav Press .

Franci Louann was featured poet Sept.19th at Renaissance Books in New West. She also read at the Burnaby Writers' Society event Tues. Sept. 21 - her poem "Natalina's Garden" won 2nd prize in the BWS 2010 contest. On Sat. Sept. 25th she co-hosted with Candice James, Poetic Justice at Hyack Square, near New West Skytrain station.

Wild Violet has published several articles by John Joyce: "A Small, Green Piece of Paper; Two Islands: England and Eel Pie Island." ( London in the early sixties; a backdrop of rhythm and blues music on a small island in the River Thames; some forgotten insights into those days) and "Tennis Above the Net": A look at the sport of tennis, with its mannerism and perceptions.

Linda DeMeulemeester's Grim Hill: The

Family Secret took number seven spot for new Canadian children's books on the Canadian bestseller list for the week ending June 1st. The fourth book in Linda's bestselling YA fantasy series, The Family Secret was recently reviewed in Kirkus Reviews: "the fascinating look at Sweden’s history and culture makes it an entertaining and worthwhile read."

Anne Hopkinson's poem "A Number of Women are Missing" will be included in the Caitlin Press anthology Walk Myself Home: An Anthology to End Violence Against Women, forthcoming Fall 2010.

The Queen's Sword and its sequel The Queen's Jewels mark the beginning of a new series of Elizabethan adventure/ mysteries from US publisher Fireside Press -- their first from a Canadian writer. The author is retired actor and BWS member David Glyn-Jones, who writes as David Glenn.

The Burnaby Arts Council will host a launch of The Queen’s Sword and The Queen’s Jewels at the Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue in Burnaby on Saturday, September 25th at 1 p.m. David will be reading from the novels and talking about how he brought his characters, both historical and invented, to colourful life. The first two books in the series are now available from Amazon and other online sites, and from Fireship Press

Three poems by Maureen Egan, "Before Hope Fades into View," "Night Sky in Camouflage," and "Shuswap Blues" will be published in the Fall 2010 issue of All Rights Reserved. Maureen's poem "Gorffwysfa Blepharisma" was included in Rogue Stimulus: the Stephen Harper Holiday Anthology for a Prorogued Parliament, published by Mansfield Press. Her poem "Eastside Downtime" will be published in the Fall 2010 issue of Other Voices.

Wild Violet has published John Joyce’s “Looking Down from a Ski Chair”; and Kersti Cull's poem "Gustav Muldor Abstract Painting" will appear in Jones Av.

Margaret Law is now contributing a column, “Margaret’s Musings” to the new Islands Independent newspaper. at the end of May.

Congratulations to Dorothy Stott., who won an Honourable .Mention, in the 2010 Dr. William Henry Drummond poetry competition. Along with a cash prize, Dorothy’s work will be included in a limited edition of the prize winning poems.

On February 13, Gordon Mumford and other war veterans involved were presented with medallions by J.P. Balkenende, the Dutch Prime Minister. The medallions commemorate the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands in 1944/45. Gordon presented copies of The Black Pit to the Dutch Consolate and to the West Vancouver students who will attend the ceremonies in Holland, Belgium, and Vimy Ridge.

Colleen Anderson has sold a story "Better Wed Than Dead" to I Do, I Do, a Harlequin erotic wedding anthology; and "Exegesis of the Insecta Apocrypha" to Cutting Block Press's Horror Library Vol. 4. Colleen also reports that after a wait of two years her poem "Bones of the Earth" has come out in The Country Connection #60, a full colour glossy magazine from Ontario.

And in Earlier News

2010-06-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

Vampire enthusiasts can read about the new Canadian vampire anthology, Evolve, (EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing), edited by award-winning Nancy Kilpatrick, at
http://www.vampires-evolve.com/index.html . The site also provides links to information on the contributors, including Mary Choo, Rhea Rose, Colleen Anderson and Sandra Wickham, whose short stories appear in the collection.

David Glyn-Jones’ poem “The Picture” is included in the anthology, Celebrating Poets over 70, edited by Marianne Vespry and Ellen Ryan, to be published jointly by the McMaster Centre for Gerontological Studies and Tower Poetry Society, Hamilton, Ontario. They anticipate publication this spring or early summer.

Julie Downsbrough's poem "The Faerie Path in Winter" will appear in an upcoming issue of Crow Toes Quarterly, a children's literary magazine. Arise Foundation has accepted two of Julie's short stories, "No Chance" and "Chocolates for my Love" for publication in their Anger Book Project.

Eileen Kernaghan's SF short story "Carpe Diem" has been reprinted in a new anthology, The Aurora Awards-- Thirty Years of Canadian Science Fiction from Nanopress in Quebec.

Sandy Hunter had a short story "And the Coyotes Sang" named January winner of the month on the UK webzine Spinetinglers. Her story will appear in their annual anthology.

Kit St. Germain’s story “In the Bag” has sold to Abyss and Apex.

Barbara Wild’s “Poem for Allan”, which won first prize in the 2009 BWS “Lost and Found” writing contest, and another of Barbara’s poems, “Waiting for the New Hip”, have been accepted for an anthology, Celebrating Poets over 70, to be published jointly by the McMaster Centre for Gerontological Studies and Tower Poetry Society of Hamilton, Ontario.

Mary Choo's short story, "Killing Daniel," which appeared in the Paranormal Fiction issue of the anthology SNAFU, received an Honourable Mention on the complete online list for The Best Horror of the Year, Volume One, edited by Ellen Datlow. The list is posted on Ellen Datlow's Night Shade Books message board

Maureen Egan's poem "Loose: Political: Climate" will be published in Jones Av from Toronto; while her poem "Late December Epiphany " was the December 2009 winner in Other Voices "Monthlies" contest series. You can read it at the Other Voices site.

Julie H. Ferguson’s latest book, James Douglas: Father of British Columbia has just been released by Dundurn as part of their Quest Library Series. Written especially for 15 to 18 year olds, this is a story of high adventure set in pre-Confederation Canada. James Douglas's biography weaves through the heart of Canadian and Pacific Northwest history when BC was a wild land, Vancouver did not exist, and Victoria was a muddy village. Buy it at KidsBooks and online too. James Douglas has been chosen for inclusion in Books for Everybody, which distributed through all bookstores, on the BC Ferries, and as an insert in The Globe & Mail. You can read a review of Julie's book at Canadian Materials and visit her at
the beaconlit site. Julie has been accepted as a full member of the BC Association of Travel Writers. She has two articles published on TravelThruHistory.com – “The Birth of British Columbia: Douglas Day 2009” and “Finding the Real Paris.”

From Franci Louann, this special offer: “You make a pledge to my GOGO page and I'll gift you a probably original manuscript of my poems - you choose the theme (& I have poetic licence)...

John Joyce writes “Writing Raw” has published an account of my heroic cycle ride to Banff for Cystic Fibrosis.” As well, Triond has published his essay "And What Did You Do At Work Today?", and "Looking Down from a Ski Chair" appears in Wild Violet.

Mary Choo has received honourable mention for her story "Killing Daniel" in Best Horror of the Year Volume I, edited by Ellen Datlow,

Thistledown Press announces the publication of His Sweet Favour by Diane Tucker. His Sweet Favour explores the real-life drama of first love, peer pressure, failure and self-determination, and is a passionate exploration of friendship’s double-edged sword.

“His Sweet Favour is so alive, you’ll swear that Favour, the budding actress narrator and heroine of this book, was an actual honey-haired girl who came of age and learned about love during her final year of high school in the 1980s.”You won’t be able to stop thinking about her (or the rest of the cast of characters in this highly readable, virtuoso performance of a sad and “sweet” story), and you’ll see — you’ll wish the book would never end.” — Russell Thornton, author of House Built of Rain. . YA Fiction/ 323 Pages / Available September 15 $16.95 CAD / 978-1-897235-64-5

Burnaby writer Diane Tucker grew up in southeast Vancouver, BC, where she appeared in various plays and musicals before deciding to be a writer. She has published two books of poetry: God on His Haunches (Nightwood Editions, 1996), which was short-listed for the 1997 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award, and Bright Scarves of Hours (Palimpsest Press, 2007). His Sweet Favour is her first novel. Visit her website at http://www.dianetucker.info/

Eileen Kernaghan's historical fantasy Wild Talent: a Novel of the Supernatural is shortlisted in the YA category for this year's Sunburst Award for Literature of the Fantastic.

Wattle and Daub Books announces Eileen's new poetry collection, Tales from the Holograph Woods: Speculative Poems . "Blake, Yeats, Thomas, Stevens and Plath – are echoed in her poems, as are the mythologies and philosophies to which she turns in her search for meaning not confined to the corners of present time and space." —Alexander M. Forbes, Canadian Literature.

$9.95 ISBN 978-0-9810658-2-3 Wattle and Daub Books, Grandview RPO, PO Box 78038, Vancouver BC V5N 5W1

Eileen launched Tales from the Holograph Woods at White Dwarf Books, on September 26.

Linda Demeulemeester’s The Secret of Grim Hill has been shortlisted for the British Columbia Young Readers' Choice Red Cedar Award (2009 – 2010), while Grim Hill: The Secret Deepens, the second book in the series, is nominated for a Silver Birch Award/

Maureen Egan’s publications for this year include: • Longshoreman's Lament (Ascent Aspirations, Spring 2009) • Space and Time, Continued (Room 32:2) • It sounds like (New Orphic Review, Fall 2009) • Jeopardy (New Orphic Review, Fall 2009) * Political Purpose -- an Oxymoron (New Orphic Review, Fall 2009) • Small Town Council Autonomy (New Orphic Review, Fall 2009) ; and her poem "Rough Manicure" has been accepted for dANDelion 35.1.

New member Margaret C. Law’s article “City Bus Tour” was published this September in Today’s Senior (Langley) . As well, Margaret has sold an article, “Aging” to a magazine in Nashville TN, while her article “Learning to Drive” is shortlisted for a contest in November.

Congratulations to Jean E. Hubbard, who writes, "After years of planning, I just had my poems and short stories published in book form. The title is Reflections."

Bernice Lever's 9th book of poems, Generation, is out this summer from Black Moss Press, Ontario. She is one of 90 poets in A Verse Map of Vancouver, and edited Douglas Aitken's Three Faces of Vancouver - First Nations, European and Asian. Bernice was a part of "Write on Bowen" writers' festival in mid-July and will be active in Surrey International Writers' Conference, Oct. 23-25. More on www.colourofwords.com.

Colleen Anderson has sold a short piece called “Best Sipped Slowly” to the Quantum Genre on the Planet of the Arts anthology. It will be coming out through Crossing Chaos.

Spoken INK readings at our new location

2010-05-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

Join us at La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings in North Burnaby (NE corner of Boundary and Hastings) for Spoken INK. Open mic sign-up is at 7:30 p.m., our featured guests read at 8:00 p.m.

May 18th Spoken INK guests are Marni Norwich and Don Simpson.

Marni Norwich is author of Wildflowers at my doorstep (Karma Press, 2008), winner of a 2009 Independent Publisher Book Award for poetry. She presents her work at events throughout Vancouver and has performed with the dance and musical ensemble, Bad Poetry. Marni works as writer/editor with her business, Inkcat Media ( www.inkcatmedia.com).

Don Simpson is retired from a working background in mechanical engineering and metal fabrication, so is now free to indulge his taste for more literary and artistic pursuits. Don tells us that his prose "consists mostly of gallant, but often doomed, attempts at humour." His verse tends towards the more traditional poetic forms but then, with a background like that, asks Don, what can you expect?

There are no specific themes this time for the open mics, so feel free to let your imagination run wild! Spoken INK is presented by the Burnaby Writers' Society on the third Tuesday of each month (except July and August).

Announcing our 2010 writing competition: deadline May 31

2010-04-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

ONE PAGE ON THE THEME OF WATER

Eligibility

. Open to all residents of British Columbia, except members of the BWS screening committee. Work must be previously unpublished, and not accepted for publication.

1. How to Enter

. Send us a complete one page work of poetry or prose (fiction, non-fiction or unclassifiable), on the theme of WATER. The theme can be interpreted in any way you like – water in oceans, rivers, waterfalls and ponds; water in story, fairytale and myth; floods and rainstorms; a dripping faucet; a glass of water; or any other association that may occur to you. Work can be in any form or genre, as long as it will fit on one side of a standard 8 1/2" x 11” sheet of paper with standard margins. Entries may be single or double-spaced, word-processed or typewritten. For the sake of the judges’ eyesight, please use an easy to read font no smaller than 12 point. Clear photocopies are acceptable.

. Write your name, address, phone number and/or e-mail address on the reverse side of each entry. (Please don't put your name on the story itself. Entries will be photocopied, without identification, before they are submitted to the judges.)

. Include a fee of $5.00 for each submitted entry; or $10 for three entries. Please do not send cash. Cheques or money orders should be made payable to the Burnaby Writers' Society. (If you are sending several entries, include one cheque or m.o. to cover the total fee.) You may submit any number of entries, as long as each is accompanied by the requisite fee.

2. Judging and Prizes

. Cash prizes of $200, $100 and $50 Canadian will be awarded to the top three entries. Only one cash prize will be awarded per contestant. At the discretion of the judges, honourable mentions may also be awarded. These will receive a one-year subscription to the Burnaby Writers' Society's market newsletter. The judges’ decisions will be final. If the judges feel no award is warranted, none will be given.

. Winners will be notified by September 15, 2010, and will be invited to read their winning entries at a public reading and awards night. (Entries by winners unable to attend in person will, with the author's permission, be read by a BWS member.)
.
NO ENTRIES WILL BE RETURNED. For a list of winning entries, please enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope; or check the BWS website, www.bws.bc.ca, after September 15, 2010.

. Because of the large number of submissions, the BWS cannot correspond with contestants or supply individual comments on entries. The BWS is not responsible for entries lost or damaged in the mail. All rights remain with the authors.

. Mail your entry, postmarked no later than May 31, 2010, to BWS CONTEST COMMITTEE, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby BC Canada V5G 3T7.

Spoken INK is moving!

2010-03-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

Beginning in April, Spoken INK is moving to La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings in North Burnaby (NE corner of Boundary and Hastings)

Burnaby BC poets Rob Taylor (splattered earth, Child of Saturday and Lyric), and David Zieroth (author of eight books including The Village of the Sliding Time and The Fly in Autumn) will be Spoken INK’s featured guests on April 20th . April’s open mic theme is Serenity.Sign-up time is 7:30 p.m., with readings at 8 p.m.

Rob Taylor is the co-founder and editor of One Ghana, One Voice, Ghana’s first online poetry magazine, and is the poetry editor at RedFez.net. His own work has appeared in over 35 magazines and journals, and his third chapbook, Lyric, is due out in the Fall from David Zieroth’s Alfred Gustav Press. Rob lives in Vancouver with his wife, Marta; for more on his writing, please visit http://roblucastaylor.com.

David Zieroth won the Governor General’s Literary Award in 2009 for his most recent book of poetry, The Fly in Autumn. He has also published The Village of Sliding Time and Crows Do Not Have Retirement, poems, and a memoir, The Education of Mr. Whippoorwill: A Country Boyhood. He won the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize for How I Joined Humanity at Last. A chapbook, Berlin Album, was released in 2009. He taught at Douglas College in New Westminster, BC, before retiring and founding The Alfred Gustav Press, a micro press for publishing poetry. He lives in North Vancouver, BC. Visit www.davidzieroth.com.

So mark Tuesday, April 20th on your calendars! In conjunction with La Fontana Caffe offering great coffee and dessert, not to mention the fabulous poetry and prose of all the Spoken INKsters, Brown’s Books, across the street (at 3740 East Hastings), will be offering a 20 per cent discount to all Spoken INK attendees, from 5:30–7:30 PM!

For more information, contact bwscafe@gmail.com

SPRING 2010 BWS workshop meetings

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7:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, 6450 Deer Lake Avenue in Burnaby.

March 11, Studio 209; April 8, Studio 104; May 13, Studio 105; June 10, Studio 209.

Drop-in visitors welcome as always. For more information: info@bws.bc.ca

Write from the Heart is moving

2010-03-06T19:22:00.000-08:00

NEW LOCATION. starting again” April 12, 2010 : WRITE FROM THE HEART with Vancouver’s Ruth Kozak, at at WAVES Coffee Shop, Back Room, 715 Columbia, at Begbie St. Mondays 10 am - noon... $5 a drop-in (Beverages/snacks can be purchased) Ruth has been instructing writing classes since 1994 including travel, novel, creative writing and memoirs. http://wynnbexton.blogspot.com; http://travelthroughhistory.blogspot.com .She also edits & publishes a travel ‘zine www.travelthruhistory.com

Contact: Ruth Kozak ruthaki1@shaw.ca, 604-254-9711 or Franci Louann flouann@telus.net 604-522-7613

Spoken INK March event

2010-03-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

March 16th is Spoken INK’s First Anniversary!!! To help celebrate, Heidi Greco (Rattlesnake Plantain and A: The Amelia Poems) will be our featured guest. The open mic theme is Green.

Poet Heidi Greco is a longtime resident of White Rock and South Surrey. Her work has been published in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. Besides having poems in many anthologies (A Verse Map of Vancouver, Study in Grey, radiant danse uv being, and others), collections of her poetry include Siren Tattoo, Rattlesnake Plantain and most recently, A: The Amelia Poems, a chapbook of speculative pieces about the lost flier, Amelia Earhart.

Greco’s book reviews, essays, poetry and fiction can be found online, in magazines and newspapers. She works as an editor and keeps an occasional blog (outonthebiglimb.blogspot.com), with posts on many subjects, including editing and publishing.
===

Beginning in April, Spoken INK will be held at 8 p.m. every third Tuesday (September to June) at La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings in Burnaby (NE Corner of Boundary and Hastings) Open mic sign-up time is 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact bwscafe@gmail.com

March reading at Renaissance Books

2010-02-26T17:54:00.000-08:00

Eileen Kernaghan is special guest at the March Open Stage poetry night at Renaissance Books, reading from her recent collection Tales from the Holograph Woods. Also reading are fellow BWS members Mary Choo, Julie Downsbrough and Franci Louann. That's at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 18th.Renaissance Books is located at 43-6th Street at Carnarvon in New Westminster. Free admission, book signing, everyone welcome.For information call 604-525-4566.

World Poetry at the New West Library

2010-02-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, March 24, at 6:30 p.m. it's World Poetry Night Out at the New Westminster Public Library, featuring readings by Franci Louann, Alan Hill, Kathlean Pronovost and Trevor Bess.
An open mike session is also part of the evening. For further details, call Ariadne at 604-526-4729.

Write from the Heart: with Ruth Kozak

2010-02-25T14:48:00.000-08:00

at Renaissance Books,

43 6th Street at Carnarvon, New Westminster

$5 a drop-in and $3 for the venue; coffee/snacks/extra/available

Mondays, 10 am to noon, starting again April 5, 2010

Ruth has been instructing writing classes since 1994, including travel, novel, creative writing and memoirs.

Visit her at http://wynnbexton.blogspot.com and http://travelthroughhistory.blogspot.com. She edits and publishes a travel 'zine, travelthruhistory.com

Contact Ruth at ruthaki1@shaw.ca, 604-254-9711, or Franci Louann, flouann@telus.net 604-522-7613

Burnaby Writers' Society table at the Burnaby Arts Showcase

2010-02-09T18:09:00.000-08:00

Left to right: Bernice Lever, Elizabeth Elwood, Barbara Mumford

Below: left to right: Annette Montemurro, Debra Purdy Kong, Barbara Mumford

Spoken INK announces January and February 2010 featured guests

2009-12-31T09:47:00.000-08:00

Diane Tucker, author of His Sweet Favour, featured guest at January’s Spoken INK!

Spoken INK is an open mic/reading series brought to you by the Burnaby Writers’ Society, and held every third Tuesday (September to June) at the James Street Café, just one short block east of Boundary Road on Canada Way at Smith (NE corner) in Burnaby. Open mic sign-up time is 7:30 p.m., featured readings begin at 8:00 p.m. For more information, contact bwscafe@gmail.com.

Be sure to join us at the James Street Café on Tuesday, January 19th, at 8:00 p.m., when author Diane Tucker reads from her new novel, His Sweet Favour. An open mic follows – this month’s topic is
Magic.

Russell Thornton (author of House Built of Rain) says of Tucker’s novel, “His Sweet Favour is so alive, you’ll swear that Favour, the budding actress narrator and heroine of this book, was an actual honey-haired girl who came of age and learned about love during her final year of high school in the 1980s. You won’t be able to stop thinking about her (or the rest of the cast of characters in this highly readable, virtuoso performance of a sad and “sweet” story), and you’ll see — you’ll wish the book would never end.”

Diane Tucker grew up in southeast Vancouver, BC, where she appeared in various plays and musicals before deciding to be a writer. She has published two books of poetry: God on His Haunches (Nightwood Editions, 1996), which was short-listed for the 1997 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award, and Bright Scarves of Hours (Palimpsest Press, 2007). Tucker lives in Burnaby, B.C. His Sweet Favour is her first novel.

Bonnie Nish & Sita Carboni are Spoken INK’s February Guests!

On Tuesday February 16th, arts promoters and poets Bonnie Nish and Sita Carboni read from their work, 8:00 p.m., at the James Street Café, as part of the Spoken INK reading series. And be sure to stick around for our open mic! This month’s topic is Echo.

Sita Carboni has been featured throughout the Lower Mainland at various events including The World Poetry Readings Series, The Word on the Street and The North Shore Writers Festival. Her poetry can be found in literary journals and e-zines including, Quills Canadian Poetry Magazine, Blue Print Review and goodgoshalmighty.com. Her love for life has made her a mainstay in the local poetry community as a writer, reader and promoter of the arts. She is a member of the Federation of BC Writers and co-founder of the Kitsilano Writers Group, Word Whips Writing Series and Pandora's Collective. She enjoys the creativity of authors such as Salman Rushdie, Jose Saramago and Joy Kogawa and hopes to one day learn how to sculpt, combining words with three-dimensional form.

Bonnie Nish has been Executive Director of Pandora's Collective Outreach Society, a Vancouver charity established to promote literacy and self-expression in our community, for the past seven years. As

Pandora's founder and Director, Bonnie has created outreach writing programs for all ages. She has created and maintained the Loonie Backpack Drive to provide children in Zimbabwe with school

supplies. As well she established the annual Summer Dream Literary Arts Festival. Published widely internationally her work (poetry, prose and book reviews) has appeared in such publications as Quills,

The Toronto Quarterly, Undercurrents, Illuminations, hackwriters.com, blueprintreview.com and greenboathouse.com. Her work will appear in the anthology Mutanabbi Street Starts Here (Red Hen Press,

2009) for which she was guest editor. In September 2001, Bonnie's poem "Don Quixote's Love Song," was choreographed and performed at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco.

Bonnie is currently studying towards a Masters in Arts Education at Simon Fraser University. She lives in Vancouver with her three teenagers and her dog, who thinks he is more poetic than she is.

Spoken INK presents Bryant Ross in his own words....

2009-11-30T13:44:00.000-08:00

Storyteller Bryant Ross puts his spin on the art of spoken creative non-fiction, December 15th Spoken INK.

The James Street Café in Burnaby is definitely the place to be at 8:00 p.m. on December 15, 2009. Bryant Ross is Spoken INK’s featured guest. An open mic follows with this month’s topic, Thresholds.

For the last three years Bryant Ross has been telling stories in various venues around Vancouver, mostly at the "Thundering Word" open mic and Vancouver Story Slam, but has also appeared twice in the "In the House" and once in the "Under the Volcano" festivals.

Bryant is a 47 year old, 28 year veteran of the Langley Fire Department and lives in Langley with his wife, three kids and two hound dogs. He prefers to be known as a "Storyteller," though he’s been called other things.

Storytelling is the second oldest profession... those who availed themselves of the oldest profession had to come up with a good story to tell their wives when they got caught"
~ Grandaddy Ross

It may be almost winter, but things are warm and toasty at December’s Spoken INK! Pull up a comfy chair, order some Christmas cheer and warm up before the festive fire.

Spoken INK is the open mic/reading series brought to you by the Burnaby Writers’ Society every third Tuesday (September to June) at the James Street Café, just one short block east of Boundary Road on Canada Way at Smith (NE corner) in Burnaby. Open mic sign-up time is 7:30 p.m.

For more information contact bwscafe@gmail.com

Fall workshop meetings at Shadbolt Centre

2009-11-29T10:00:00.000-08:00

Burnaby Writers' Society workshop meetings continue through Fall 2009 on the second Thursday of each month: November 12 and December 10, 7:30 p.m. Studio 209 at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby. Drop-in visitors are always welcome. Information: info@bws.bc.ca

To help make the December 10 meeting festive, bring along a friend if you wish, some seasonal snacks, and a holiday poem or story to share (yours or someone else's).

Coming events

2009-11-25T15:40:00.000-08:00

Diane Tucker and Mary Duffy are featured poets at the Twisted Poets Literary Salon on Thursday, December 2. The time is 7 to 9 pm, at the Cambie Bakery and Cafe, 312 Cambie Street, Vancouver. Twisted poets continues on the first Thursday of every month.

Write from the Heart with Ruth Kozak at the Coming Home Café, 753 6th St in New Westminster (at Hamilton) $5 a drop-in; Coffee/snacks/lunch extra/available. Mondays 10 am - noon... Starting November 2nd 09.

Ruth has been instructing writing classes since 1994 including travel, novel, creative writing and memoirs. http://wynnbexton.blogspot.com; http://travelthroughhistory.blogspot.com
Ruth also edits & publishes a travel ‘zine www.travelthruhistory.com

Spoken INK November and December readings

2009-11-02T12:41:00.000-08:00

Upcoming for Spoken INK: Daniela Elza, Robin Susanto and Bryant Ross

On Tuesday, November 17th, at 8:00 p.m., poets Daniela Elza and Robin Susanto are Spoken INK’s featured readers at the James Street Café. An open mic follows – this month’s topic is Into the Night Sky.

Daniela Elza is currently a doctoral student in Philosophy of Education at SFU. Having lived on three continents and crossed numerous geographic borders, she attempts to bridge gaps between the heart and the mind. This year her work appeared in Verse Map of Vancouver, Press 1, Vallum, 4poets (Mother Tongue Publishing, 2009), Poetic Inquiry (SensePublishers, 2009) and is forthcoming in educational insights, Matrix, The Trumpeter, The New Orphic Review as well as the anthology Mutanabbi Street Starts Here (Red Hen Press, 2009). She lives with her family in Vancouver.

Robin Susanto was born on the Strait of Malacca in Indonesia. He immigrated to Canada at the age of 16 — first to Ottawa, then Nova Scotia where he began his studies in Mathematics before settling in Vancouver. In addition to working as a teacher, he is also a translator and writer of fiction and poetry. His writing has been published in Quills, The New Quarterly, and Contemporary Verse II. As a rule, he does not trust birds.

Mark Tuesday, December 15th down in your diary to hear storyteller Bryant Ross at the James Street Café, 8:00 p.m. Our open mic topic for December will be Thresholds.

For the last three years Bryant Ross has been telling stories in various venues round Vancouver, mostly at the "Thundering Word" open mic and Vancouver Story Slam, but has also appeared twice in the "In the House" and once in the "Under the Volcano" festivals. Bryant is a 28 year veteran of the Langley Fire Department and lives in Langley with his wife, three kids and two hound dogs.

Spoken INK is the open mic/reading series brought to you by the Burnaby Writers’ Society every third Tuesday (September to June) at the James Street Café, just one short block east of Boundary Road on Canada Way at Smith (NE corner) in Burnaby. Open mic sign-up time is 7:30 p.m.

For more information, contact bwscafe@gmail.com.

SPOKEN Ink October reading

2009-10-13T16:42:00.001-07:00

Tuesday October 20th -- Spoken INK presents An Evening with Three Authors!

At 7:30 PM (sign-up time) on Tuesday, October 20, Spoken INK presents C. June Wolf, Addena Sumter-Freitag, and Eileen Kernaghan, who will read from their recent Wattle and Daub Books releases at the James Street Café (3819 Canada Way, at Smith -- one short block east of Boundary Road) in Burnaby.

C. June (Casey) Wolf’s Finding Creatures & Other Stories is a collection of literary speculative fiction. Author Phyllis Gotlieb says, “Wolf’s subtly written stories succeed in being both shadowy and powerful.”

Back in the Days is a collection of poetry and creative non-fiction by Addena Sumter-Freitag. Of Sumter-Freitag, David Chariandy says, “She is one of those rare and revered storytellers who compel you instantly to listen up and pay respect.”

Eileen Kernaghan’s Tales from the Holograph Woods is a collection of speculative poetry. Mary E. Choo says of Kernaghan, “Her unmistakable voice provides a subtle, unifying under-note that runs throughout this diverse collection.”

Spoken INK is the public reading series brought to you by the Burnaby Writers’ Society. Our open mic café happens every third Tuesday (September to June) and sign-up time is 7:30 PM at the James Street Café, just one short block east of Boundary Road on Canada Way at Smith (NE corner) in Burnaby. Come for a coffee & dessert -- stay for a listen! For more information, contact bwscafe@gmail.com or visit www.BurnabyWritersNews.blogspot.com.

And the winners are....

2009-08-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

Announcing the winners and finalists of our 2009 "Lost & Found" writing competition:

First Prize: Barbara Wild (Vancouver) “Poem for Allan”
Second prize: Judith Millar, (Nanaimo) “The Ring”
Third Prize: Madeleine Nattrass (Lantzville) “Lost and Found”

Honourable mentions:

Vicki Drybrough (Port Alberni) “Shipwreck”
Irene Livingston (Vancouver) “ Sobriety Found and Lost”

Other Finalists:

Pat Ajello (Vancouver) "Departure by Moonlight; Helen Baker (North Vancouver) “the time between”; Patricia Evans, (Vancouver) “The Hawthorne Tree; Katherine Fawcett (Pemberton) “Plain Carelessness”; “ Really Actually, Physically”; Clarissa Green (Vancouver) “Behind”; Wendy Hacking (Pender Island) “One Way or the Other”; James Hvezda (Richmond) “The Lines We Draw”; Pamela Kent, (Aldergrove) “ Lost and Found”; Alan E. Longworth (Okanagan Falls) “Chicken Demise”; Franci Louann (New Westminster) “Much is forgotten, even your name”, “Talking About the Weather”; Robin Susanto (Vancouver) “A Love Supreme (tribute to John Coltrane)”; Mildred Tremblay (Nanaimo) “A Day in Late June”, “Meditation on Insomnia”, “ Goodbye Orion”;
Julia van Gorder (Vancouver) “Underground Company”, “Antic Fair”; Nancy Walker (Burnaby) “A Parade of Things, January” , “A Found Belonging”; Jane Wangersky (New Westminster) “ Lost, Found, (Dog, Sketchbook)“; Joanna M. Weston (Shawnigan Lake) “Mad North-North West”, "Tide-Line”; Barbara Wild (Vancouver) “ Brief Stop at a Certain Prairie Town”, “After a Fall”; Caroline Wong (Burnaby)” Encounter”.

Our competition judge, B.C. poet, writer and editor Susan McCaslin, writes, "The submissions on the theme of things lost and found led me into some surprising and revelatory corners of my own life and were a pleasure to read. I was impressed by the diversity of forms and styles, as well as the variety of themes, from the sublime to the tragic-comic. I read through the entries multiple times, as various pieces clamoured for my attention. Losing and finding winners was in the end quite a task because of the number of serious contenders. In the end, after multiple readings, and reading the pieces aloud, the following configuration arose like the co-arising of forms in Buddhism. On a different day, in different weather, I might perhaps have chosen differently, but I am happy with the conjoined music these pieces make when laid out together. Congratulations to the winners and to all those who took the time and care to submit!"

At 7:30 PM on Tuesday, September 15th, at the James Street Café (3819 Canada Way, Burnaby, one block east of Boundary at Smith) Spoken INK presents its Fall Kick-off and Awards Night ’09, celebrating the winners of this year’s Burnaby Writers’ Society “Lost and Found” contest.

At September’s awards evening, the winning entries will be read and then we’ll open up the floor to our finalists. Special guest Susan McCaslin, our contest judge, will be on hand to offer her comments on the winning entries.

Spoken INK is the public reading series brought to you by the Burnaby Writers’ Society. Our open mic café happens every third Tuesday (September to June) and sign-up time is 7:30 PM at the James Street Café, just one short block east of Boundary Road on Canada Way at Smith (NE corner) in Burnaby. Come for a coffee & dessert -- stay for a listen! For more information, contact bwscafe@gmail.com .

Our fall 2009 season opens

2009-08-10T10:44:00.000-07:00

Our fall season of workshop meetings begins on Thursday, September 10, 7:30 p.m. in Studio 209 at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby, continuing on the second Thursday of each month. New members and drop-in visitors are always welcome. For more information: info@bws.bc.ca

Winners and finalists of our 2009 Lost & Found writing competition will read their work at our special Awards Night Spoken INK reading at the James Street Cafe, 3819 Canada at Smith Street. That's Tuesday, September 15. Watch this space for more details.

More Members' News

2009-06-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

Greg Bauder's essay "Paradise Lost: Milton Hero" will appear in the online literary journal Literary Magic.

Finding Creatures & Other Stories BOOK GIVEAWAY!

Post a comment on Casey Wolf's blog (cjunewolfden.blogspot.com), as to why you'd like a copy. Casey will randomly draw a name and mail a free, signed copy to that person. Don't post names, addresses, or personal information. Casey will contact you for the mailing address if you win. Just tell her why you want to go exploring the realm of Casey's Creatures. If you want the scoop on Finding Creatures & Other Stories by C. June Wolf, you can get it at the publisher's website (www.wattleanddaubbooks.ca).

Eileen Kernaghan's Wild Talent: a Novel of the Supernatural is reviewed in the Spring 2009 issue of Canadian Children's Book News. You can read it here.

Mary Choo's short story "Resonance" has been accepted for the upcoming vampire anthology, Evolve, edited by Nancy Kilpatrick and due out next spring. Another of Mary's stories, "The Drowning-Poles", appears in the inaugural issue of the West Coast speculative anthology Escape Clause, edited by Clélie Rich. Mary's story "The Language of Crows" is included in the forthcoming Canadian speculative anthology Tesseracts 13. As well, Mary has sold three poems, "The Malcontents," "From the Hidden Texts of Lucy Maud," and "The Hill Witch," to the upcoming speculative issue of Room Magazine.

Dorothy Stott has won an Honourable Mention in the 2009 Golden Grassroots Chapbook Contest. From 42 submissions, Dorothy’s entry was one of the top 5 collections of poems for the H.M. As well, two of Dorothy's poems were among the winning entries in the Dr. William Henry Drummond Poetry Contest and have now been published in the Chapbook.

Diane Tucker's first novel, His Sweet Favour, will be released by Thistledown Press in September 2009. Meanwhile, you can read three of Diane's poems in the new online poetry magazine, RHYTHM.

Elizabeth Elwood's play, Renovations, is scheduled to be produced by an Ontario theatre group, which means that Elizabeth will have two plays running back east next year.

John Joyce has had one of his essays “How Old Are You?” published on Inscribed, an online magazine.

Franci Louann has had two poems published in The Moon That Follows You Home — poems of call and response (available at www.cuc.ca): "Angling for the Sacred" and "The Rogue Chalice." She has three poems which were part of the Poets and Painters Show (South Delta Artists Guild / Pandora’s Collective / World Poetry) last year, which are to be featured in a book about the show: Bikinis, Jasmines, Los Colores.

Linda DeMeulemeester's middle-grade fantasy, The Secret of Grim Hill, has been nominated for Saskatchewan's Diamond Willow Award, Atlantic Canada's Hackmatack Award for 2010, and The British Columbia Young Readers' Choice Red Cedar Award. Besides book stores, the series is now available in Scholastic's Arrow Book Club. The third book, Grim Hill: The Forgotten Secret, was released in April.

Rhea Rose's story "Alia's Angel" has been accepted by Nancy Kilpatrick for her vampire anthology, Evolve.

Irene Livingston's acrostic story "Who Stole My Chutzpa" received honourable mention in a recent contest sponsored by The Leaf (Brucedale Press).

Elizabeth Elwood, Kersti Cull, and Eileen Kernaghan read from their work at the Royal City Book Festival, April 25th.

Eileen Kernaghan’s historical fantasy, Wild Talent, has been selected for inclusion in a Spring 2008-2009 CanLit for Teens grades 9 to 12 school library package. Wild Talent is reviewed in the April 2009 issue of The New York Review of Science Fiction, and in the spring 2009 issue of Canadian Children's Book News.

Elizabeth Elwood's latest mystery novel, A Black Tie Affair and Other Mystery Stories, will be on display January 15 through March 15 in the Books With Buzz section of the Metrotown Chapters. Chapters will be hosting a second Book Signing on Saturday, March 28, 1:00 pm&nbps;– 4:00 pm. Elizabeth is also pleased to report that her play, Casting for Murder, which ran with Terrace Little Theatre until Feb. 21 of this year, will be staged in Ontario by the Scarborough Theatre Guild in their next season (April 2010).

Bernice Lever has received a Lifetime Membership Award from The Ontario Poetry Society. On April 25th Bernice will present a workshop, "Be Your Own Editor," for World Poetry. (More info at Bernice's website: www.colourofwords.com.)

John Joyce's short story, "The National Sales Meeting," has been published in Canadian Stories, while his article, "The National Sales Meeting," appears in Wild Violet.

Maureen Egan’s poem “Shuswap Sunflowers” can be perused on the Blue Skies Poetry website.

Sandra Wickham’s short story “Mama’s Boy” has been accepted for a new horror anthology edited by Nancy Kilpatrick. The anthology will be launched at the 2010 World Horror Convention in London

C. June Wolf, writing under the name Mael Brigde, has placed her autobiographical piece "Mael Brigde: Servant of Brigit, Daughter of the Flame" in the upcoming anthology Out of the Broom Closet, edited by Autumn Murphy-Hiscock. Provenance Press (September 18, 2009).

Colleen Anderson’s poem "Collecting” has been accepted for the January issue of Sotto Voce; and a "skewered fairy tale" (title yet to be decided), based on a Grimm Brothers story, will be included in a Harlequin erotic fairytale collection.
Colleen's poem, "Finding Dionysus," was awarded second prize in a contest sponsored by Barton College, and will be published in their magazine Crucible. As well, Shroud magazine has accepted her story “A Kind Hand” for issue #6. This is a story based on the myth of the Germanic hearth goddess Berchta.

Eileen Kernaghan was interviewed by Kevin McKay for the Dec-Jan 08/09 issue of Senior Living.

Congratulations to penny k-kilthau, whose story “The Sum of Beth” won first prize in Room magazine’s 2008 fiction contest. The story is to be published in Room's first issue of 2009.

Kit St. Germain's story "As he was" has been accepted for publication in the online magazine Strange Horizons.

John Joyce has recently published one of his humorous essays, "Humour is a Funny Thing," in Inscribed, an online magazine.

David Glyn-Jones’ poem “The Picture” and his story “Last Lap” each took 4^th place in the recent Ouse Valley competitions based in Liverpool UK. One of David’s other pieces placed 7^th and is being considered for the December Humour Prize. The competitions draw 800 or so entries from around the world.

John Joyce’s “The Green Frisbee in Toronto” and “The National Sales Meeting” have been published by Wild Violet quarterly literary magazine.

Congratulations to Linda DeMeulemeester, whose middle grade fantasy The Secret of Grim Hill (Lobster Press) has won the Silver Birch Award. From the book review section of the June 21^st Vancouver Sun: Burnaby's Linda DeMeulemeester has scored big with her first book, The Secret of Grim Hill. Ontario children in Grades 3 to 6 voted the spooky school story their favourite work of fiction, awarding it a Silver Birch Award." As well, The Canadian Toy Council has named The Secret of Grim Hill one of the "Great Books for Children" for 2008. The sequel, Grim Hill: the Secret Deepens, is due out from Lobster Press in September. Linda recently heard that Scholastic Canada has picked up the Grim Hill series for schools and book fairs.

Elizabeth Elwood's A Black Tie Affair and Other Mystery Stories, is now available.
Opera singer and part-time sleuth, Philippa Beary, returns in the second of a series of lighthearted mystery books featuring the Beary family. In A Black Tie Affair and Other Mystery Stories, Philippa—together with her feisty city councillor father and her detective inspector brother—foils would-be criminals in a variety of settings. The lively tales take the various members of the Beary family all the way from the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia to the city of New York. With subjects that range from political controversies to disasters at the Christmas pantomime, these nine intriguing stories will challenge mystery lovers everywhere.
"Well-crafted stories which will delight mystery fans." — Kirkus Discoveries
"This book will be loved by readers of traditional British authors such as Dorothy Sayers or Agatha Christie." — Jan de Grass, The Coast Reporter
"Elwood’s believable situations, natural dialogue and wit make her stories a pleasure to read." — Annie Boulanger, Burnaby Now
“Another fine production of the Beary family … I found great enjoyment reading the stories. There is a very pleasant tone and ambiance around these people … very good descriptive imagery that sets a scene … Original and evocative. There are many [examples] I could cite that elevate [the author] from the common run of writers in the genre.”—Barbara Kay, National Post
Elizabeth launched A Black Tie Affair on October 23 at the Bernie Legge Theatre in New Westminster. Meanwhile, her mystery play, Casting for Murder, is going into its fourth production.

Eileen Kernaghan's latest YA historical fantasy, Wild Talent: a novel of the supernatural, set in London and Paris circa 1888, is now available in Canada at Chapters, White Dwarf Books and other bookstores, and for order from amazon.ca.

The Burnaby-New Westminster launch of Wild Talent, together with Linda DeMeulemeester's Grim Hill: the Secret Deepens took place at Grimoire's Books, #102-319 Governors Court in New Westminster on October 19. The Westside send-off of Wild Talent and C. June Wolf’s first short story collection, Finding Creatures & Other Stories (Wattle & Daub Books), was held on September 28 at White Dwarf Books.

The new edition of Eileen Kernaghan's historical fantasy, The Sarsen Witch, set in early bronze-age Britain, has been released by the Juno Books imprint of Wildside Press. You can order it from amazon.com or other online bookstores, or directly from Juno Books. Brick & mortar shops can order from Ingram, or from Juno Books. You can read a review at Eileen's blog: eileen-kernaghan.blogspot.com.

Mary Choo's short story, "Killing Daniel," was published in the Paranormal Fiction issue of the new genre anthology, SNAFU, launched by Objective Press and Ravine Screenprinting on June 9, 2008 in Montreal. As well, Mary's introduction, "Bruce Taylor – A Passion For His Art," will appear in Magic Realist writer Bruce Taylor's new book, The Tails of Alleymanderous and Other Odd Tales," to be published by Subatomic Press of Oregon in 2009.

Maureen Egan's poem "Chance" appears in the "Summer Collisions" issue of the online magazine Black Box.

Kit St. Germain's novelette, The Tinker's Dam, has been accepted for publication in the Susurrus Press anthology Neverlands & Otherwheres.

Nancy Bennett has two new pieces on the internet.The first is the story of her 3,000-year-old beans which she is currently raising into plants (all the way from King Tut's tomb to Vancouver Island). Go to this csmonitor.com link and click on "sowing the seeds of history." The second is her current car history column for driver magazine — in honor of the Ford history in Canada. Go to this drivermagazine.ca link and click on "Any color, as long as its black."

Susan McCaslin is one of the contributors to a new anthology, Crossing Lines: Poets Who Came to Canada in the Vietnam Era (Seraphim Editions, 2008)

Irene Livingston’s “Echoes” took 2nd prize in the recent Kisses and Popsicles contest (Pandora's Collective) while another of her poems, “Perfidia” received honourable mention. In the same contest, Barbara Wild received honourable mention for “Pelican".

OH MY! MURDER AND MAYHEM IN THE TRI-CITIES?

Long-time Port Moody resident Debra Purdy Kong answers this question in her thrilling new mystery novel, FATAL ENCRYPTION — a tale of murder on Heritage Mountain, a neighbourhood where bad things aren’t supposed to happen.
Dressed as Kermit the Frog on Halloween night, an unemployed Alex Bellamy wonders where his life went wrong. It could be worse. A few miles away, Coquitlam resident, Zachary Ternoway, is stabbed at his front door. In need of cash, Alex agrees to help catch a computer prankster at McKinleys’ Department Store. But things turn serious when someone vows to permanently encrypt the store’s data and torch the building unless ten million dollars is handed over in two weeks. Alex knows there’s a connection between the murder and the extortion threat, yet time’s running out. People are questioning his competency, and a killer’s threatening his life.

Congratulations to Cáit Coogan, whose short story “Deception” was shortlisted for the 2007 CBC Literary Awards.

Congratulations to Pam Galloway, whose poem “Away from You” has been awarded a "high commendation" in the Petra Kenny Poetry Contest.

Colleen Anderson's story "Stocking Stuffers," originally out in Cleis Books' Naughty or Nice, will be reprinted in the Mammoth Book of New Erotica 8, due out in 2009. Colleen's story “Janukurpara” will be included in the Mammoth Book of the Kama Sutra, and her SF story, “Ice Queen” is included in the Warrior Wise Woman anthology from Norilana books. Shroud Magazine #1 is out, with Colleen's story "Amuse-Bouche." Meanwhile, her story “Strict Management” appears in the Open for Business anthology from Cleis Press, her poem "The Drowning Ones" will appear in On Spec, and you can read her poem "The Trials of Lemons" at Chizine.com.

Spoken INK June 2009 open mic reading

2009-06-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

Tuesday June 16th -- Spoken INK Will Tide You Over with Cool Words to Beat the Summer Heat!

At 7:30 PM (sign-up time) on Tuesday, June 16th, Spoken INK presents its last open mic until September at the James Street Café (3819 Canada Way, at Smith -- one short block east of Boundary Road) in Burnaby.

This month, the Spoken INK team is doing it the easy way, with an open-ended invitation to our open-ended mic -- no theme, no featured guest nothing but your cool spoken words and James Street’s ice-cold beverages!

For more information contact bwscafe@gmail.com.

Next BWS workshop meeting: Thursday, June 11, 7:30 p.m. at Shadbolt Centre in Bunaby. Info: info@bws.bc.ca

2009 writing competition

2009-06-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

Deadline: May 31, 2009

THINGS LOST / THINGS FOUND
Our 2009 writing competition is now closed. Watch this space in September for the announcement of the winning entries!

BWS reading series moves to James Street Cafe

2009-03-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

The Burnaby Writers’ Society's monthly open mic reading series is now held on the third Tuesdays of the month at the James Street Cafe at 3819 Canada Way, one block east of Boundary Road (at Smith). Sign-up will begin at 7:30 p.m.

The inaugural guest writer at the new location on March 17th was award-winning poet Irene Livingston. Upcoming dates: Tuesdays, April 21, May 19, June 16.

For information contact Maureen or Janette at info@bws.bc.ca

Workshop meetings

2009-03-06T16:00:00.000-08:00

Spring 2009 meetings: April 9, May 14, June 11.

The BWS holds monthly workshop meetings on the second Thursday of each month, September to June, 7:30 p.m., at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Deer Lake Park, Burnaby. Drop-in visitors are always welcome. Feel free to bring a (brief) piece of writing, with about six copies, for discussion and critiquing . For more info: info@bws.bc.ca

ReVisions open mic readings

2008-10-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

We're sorry to announce that the November 19. 2008 Awards Night at Myles of Beans will be our final ReVisions event. The Myles of Beans coffee shop, which has generously hosted the series for many years, will close at the end of November.

Watch for announcements of special BWS reading events in 2009.

"Green Theme" writing contest : announcing the winners and finalists

2008-10-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

First Prize: “Through the Skin”, Kit Pepper, Gabriola Island.
Second Prize: “Red Sweater, Green Girl”, Irene Livingston, Vancouver.
Third Prize: “Trickster”, Julia Van Gorder, Vancouver.

Honourable Mention:

“Colour Blind”, Julie Downsbrough , Burnaby
“Grass”, Julie Downsbrough
“Early Autumn Storm” , Julia Van Gorder

Our other finalists:

Winona Baker, Nanaimo, “When birds sing at 4:49 a.m.”
Greg Bauder, Surrey, “The Last Supper II”, “Green Delusions”
Nancy Bennett, Sooke , “The Green Green Grass of Home”; “Through the Greening Glass”
Daniela Elza, Vancouver , “listening to the CBC on the way to jasper”
Alvin G. Enns, Abbotsford , “Garden Green”; “Going Green”
Kayla Feenstra, Abbotsford, “mirage in the garden”
Pam Galloway, Vancouver, “Warming”; “Gaps”; “Seeing trees”
Gail Johnston, Burnaby, “Photosynthetic invocation”
Desmond Lindo, Courtenay, “Mary, Mary Quite Contrary”
Irene Livingston, Vancouver, “Begone, False Lover”; Moisty Green Summer of 1950”; "Theft in the Green-ness of Spring.”
Franci Louann, New Westminster, “Praise for an Ontario Childhood: for Mom and Dad”
Madeleine Nattrass, Lantzville , “Jim’s Garden”
J. Prenosil, Burnaby, “Being There”, “Sacred Garden”
Kathleen S. Schmitt, Burnaby, “Photosynthesis”, “My Grandmother Wore a Green Dress”
Joanna Qureshi, Parksville “Dream following a lecture on paleontology”; “2:00 a.m.”; “On the shore- a villanelle”
Dr. Jean E. Veevers, Victoria ,”Thirteen Shades of Jade”
Pierre Walter, Vancouver, “The Greengrocer”,”Green Legs and Hams”.
Cristy Watson, Surrey, “a sign of the times”, “lost wings”
Vanessa Winn, Victoria, “Dicentra Formosa”

This year’s judge was David Zieroth. His most recent book of poetry is The Village of Sliding Time (Harbour, 2006). He has also published Crows Do Not Have Retirement (Harbour, 2001), poems, and a memoir, The Education of Mr. Whippoorwill: A Country Boyhood (Macfarlane Walter & Ross, 2002). He won the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize for How I Joined Humanity at Last (Harbour, 1998). He’s at work on several manuscripts. More information can be read at www.davidzieroth.com.

Burnaby Writers Society contest 2008

2007-11-18T12:30:00.000-08:00

Deadline May 31

On the theme of “GREEN”

WATCH FOR AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE WINNERS IN SEPTEMBER 2008

Open to all residents of British Columbia, except members of the BWS screening committee. Work must be previously unpublished, and not accepted for publication.

Send us a complete one page work of poetry or prose (fiction, non-fiction or unclassifiable), on the theme of “Green”. This theme can be interpreted in any way you like, e.g. the colour green, landscape and environment, Celtic/ Irish green, green youth, green in myth and fairytale – or any other association that may occur to you. Work can be in any form or genre, as long as it will fit on one side of a standard 8 1/2" x 11” sheet of paper with standard margins. Entries may be single or double-spaced, word-processed or typewritten. For the sake of the judges’ eyesight, please use an easy to read font no smaller than 12 point. Clear photocopies are acceptable.

Write your name, address, phone number and/or e-mail address on the reverse side of each entry. (Please don't put your name on the story itself. Entries will be photocopied, without identification, before they are submitted to the judges.)

Include a fee of $5.00 for each submitted entry; or $10 for three entries. Please do not send cash. Cheques or money orders should be made payable to the Burnaby Writers' Society. (If you are sending several entries, include one cheque or m.o. to cover the total fee.) You may submit any number of entries, as long as each is accompanied by the requisite fee.

Cash prizes of $200, $100 and $50 Canadian will be awarded to the top three entries. Only one cash prize will be awarded per contestant. At the discretion of the judges, honourable mentions may also be awarded. These will receive a one-year subscription to the Burnaby Writers' Society's market newsletter. The judges’ decisions will be final. If the judges feel no award is warranted, none will be given.

Winners will be notified by September 15, 2008, and will be invited to read their winning entries at a public reading and awards night. (Entries by winners unable to attend in person will, with the author's permission, be read by a BWS member.)

NO ENTRIES WILL BE RETURNED. For a list of winning entries, please enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope; or check the BWS website, www.bws.bc.ca, after September 15, 2008..

Because of the large number of submissions, the BWS cannot correspond with contestants or supply individual comments on entries. The BWS is not responsible for entries lost or damaged in the mail. All rights remain with the authors.

Mail your entry, postmarked no later than May 31, 2008, to BWS CONTEST COMMITTEE, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby BC Canada V5G 3T7.

Fortieth anniversary celebration

2007-09-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

Founded in 1967, the Burnaby Writers' Society is among British Columbia's oldest and best-known community writers’ groups. In proud celebration of our fortieth birthday, we’re hosting a free public reading on Thursday, October 4^th (the fourth day of the fortieth week) to be held in the Burnaby Arts Council Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby (below the Shadbolt Centre, across from Burnaby Village Museum) The time is 7:30 p.m, admission is free, and the public is cordially invited to attend.

Reading from their recently published or forthcoming books are poets Diane Tucker (Bright Scarves of Hours), Pam Galloway (Parallel Lines), Susan McCaslin (Lifting the Stone),and Sheila Rosen (A Kind of Mercy; young adult authors Linda DeMeulemeester (The Secret of Grim Hill) and Eileen Kernaghan (Wild Talent: a novel of the supernatural); and short story writer Fred Booker (Adventures in Debt Collection).

The BWS on Facebook

2007-09-12T16:27:00.000-07:00

The Burnaby Writers Society now has a presence on Facebook, and membership is growing fast. Drop in for a visit, leave a comment on the wall, and invite your friends.

High Middle Ages contest results announced

2007-09-04T09:41:00.001-07:00

We’re pleased to announce the winners of our 2007 over-forty writing competition, “The High Middle Ages”.

First Prize: “Rain in the Mountains” -- Mildred Tremblay, Nanaimo

Second Prize: “Show Your Work” -- Jane Wangersky, New Westminster

(No third prize was awarded)

Honourable Mentions:

“Celestial Bodies”: Pam Galloway, Vancouver

The Prettiest Girl in Timmins: J. Cates, Comox

Remembrance Days: David Glyn Jones, Coquitlam

Finalists: Joanne Arnott, Richmond: “Passion”; Leanne Auerbach: “To the Lighthouse”, Unsexy”; Beached”; Winona Baker, Nanaimo: “Goose Summer Dawn”, “Earth and Stars”; Julie Downsbrough, Burnaby: “Musing”, “Literary Tastes:, “What kind of a Writer do you think you are?”; Avie M. Estrin, Vancouver: “El Bario Gothico”; Patricia Evans, Vancouver: “Stari Most”; Pam Galloway, Vancouver: “Sentimental Weather in Cumbria”, “Circles, Turning”; Don R. Hilton, New Westminster, “”Hallowe’en in the Arctic- 1974”; Anne Hopkinson, Burnaby: “Heavy Traffic”; Debra Purdy Kong, Port Moody: “You Want Fries with that?”; Bruce Leighton, Burnaby: “Jon’s Flight”; Bernice Lever, Bowen Island: “This is not my body”; Irene Livingston,Vancouver: “Who Stole my Chutzpah?”, “Old Wine, Old Bulls”, “Revealed”; Gordon Roback, Vancouver: “Squirrel Murder”; Nora Ryan, Squamish: “On becoming my mother”: Kathleen Schmitt, Burnaby: “In Time before Time”; Dorothy Stott, Gibsons: “Choices:; Mildred Tremblay, Nanaimo: “The Meat Store”, Joy Twist, New Westminster: “I bathed in the ocean”; Barbara Wild, Vancouver: “Insomnia”, “Breakage”; Cristy Watson, Surrey: “A Modern Ode to Woman”; Jane Wangersky, New Westminster: “Enough Positivity, Already!”, “Saving the Slugs”; Julia van Gorder, Vancouver, “Alive: to Gordon”.

Winners and finalists will read their work at our Awards Night on Wednesday, November 21, 8 p.m., Myles of Beans Coffee House, #1-7010 Kingsway, South Burnaby. Free admission, everyone welcome.

Burnaby Writers' Society News

Author Leslie Michel Beckmann featured at February 21st Spoken INK!

Kersti Cull reads at Poetic Justice

Deadly Accusations launched March 31 in Port Moody.

Spoken INK readings 2012

Still more latest news from members

Witch Lightning by James Lewis is now available on amazon.com

Rob Taylor is Spoken INK's special guest on December 20

Innsmouth Free Press Interview with Mary E. Choo

Our Christmas meeting: December 1st

The latest news from our members

Peter Tupper reads at Spoken INK November 15th

The inside story of the Gastown Steam Clock

Pellucid Expressions Publishing

Tuesday October 18th is Spoken INK’s First All Open Mic Night

Fall 2011 workshop meetings

Contest results!

Latest news from our members

BWS at Summer Dreams

Spoken INK's Upcoming Featured Authors

2011 Multi-Poem Festival

Celebrating Vancouver's 125th anniversary in poetry

Announcing the Burnaby Writers' Society 2011 writing contest

Recent news from our members

Elizabeth Elwood's new play premieres June 2nd at the Bernie Legge Theatre

SHADOW OF MURDER By Elizabeth Elwood

June 2 – 25, 2011 Thursday to Saturday - 8:00 pm Sunday matinees - 2:00 pm.The Bernie Legge Theatre, Queens Park, New Westminster Tickets: $15.00 Seniors $13/Students $5 Reservations: 604-521-0412 or book online: reservations@vagabondplayers.caFor further information, see www.vagabondplayers.ca

Children's Writers' Conference announced

Spoken INK March and April 2011 readings

E-books, E-readers, E-publishing: Are You Ready?

Kate Braid and Clyde Reed at Renaissance Books

Spoken INK presents: Julie H. Ferguson & Daryl Stennett

BWS Workshop Meetings, Winter 2011

Spoken INK returns on third Tuesdays

Latest members' news

Exciting news: Linda DeMeulemeester's Grim Hill novels to become an animated TV series.

Mystery Night at Spoken INK November 16th

Latest Members' News

Spoken INK welcomes poet Kate Braid and bassist Clyde Reed on October 19th!

BWS Fall 2010 Workshop Meetings

Our poetry award-winners read at Spoken INK in September!

Our 2010 writing competition: winners and finalists announced

Three Writers' Workshops: Fall & Winter 2010-201l

Vampire reading at VPL

Burnaby Arts Council hosts literary arts week

Watch this space...

FALL 2010 Burnaby Writers' Society Workshops

POETIC JUSTICE AT RENAISSANCE BOOKS

Tuesday, June 15th -- 2010 Finale at Spoken INK!

Latest members' news

And in Earlier News

Spoken INK readings at our new location

Announcing our 2010 writing competition: deadline May 31

Spoken INK is moving!

SPRING 2010 BWS workshop meetings

Write from the Heart is moving

Spoken INK March event

March reading at Renaissance Books

World Poetry at the New West Library

Write from the Heart: with Ruth Kozak

Burnaby Writers' Society table at the Burnaby Arts Showcase

Spoken INK announces January and February 2010 featured guests

Spoken INK presents Bryant Ross in his own words....

Fall workshop meetings at Shadbolt Centre

Coming events

Spoken INK November and December readings

SPOKEN Ink October reading

And the winners are....

Our fall 2009 season opens

More Members' News

Spoken INK June 2009 open mic reading

2009 writing competition

BWS reading series moves to James Street Cafe

Workshop meetings

ReVisions open mic readings

"Green Theme" writing contest : announcing the winners and finalists

ARCHIVES

Burnaby Writers Society contest 2008

Fortieth anniversary celebration

The BWS on Facebook

SHADOW OF MURDER
By Elizabeth Elwood

June 2 – 25, 2011 Thursday to Saturday - 8:00 pm
Sunday matinees - 2:00 pm.
The Bernie Legge Theatre, Queens Park, New Westminster
Tickets: $15.00 Seniors $13/Students $5
Reservations: 604-521-0412 or book online: reservations@vagabondplayers.ca
For further information, see www.vagabondplayers.ca