NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION BRANCH (OTTAWA)
NOTICES FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, 2016
Need more information on CAA-NCR? Visit us at http://canadianauthors.org/nationalcapitalregion/
TO ALL READERS: Please send all submissions & event notices in the body of an email; (the text needs to permit copy and paste. Exceptions: Accompanying images such as photos and book cover) to Carol Stephen at cstephen0@gmail.com
MEETINGS AND EVENTS:
CAA-NCR WINTER SOCIAL – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2016
Shake off those shivers at a warm gathering of friends and fellow writers.
TIME: 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. LOCATION: Sharyn Heagle’s s country home
TYPE: Pot Luck Appetizers and Munchies
Read your favourite seasonal poem or short story, share recent success, review and purchase work of your fellow writers … just in time for gift-giving.
Good cheer! Good friends! Good food! RSVP to sharyn_40@yahoo.com
IF you need a ride, we’ll try to accommodate.
COMING UP IN JANUARY: CAA MONTHLY MEETING WITH CAROLINE PIGNAT
TOPIC: The Writer’s Journey
DATE: January 10, 2017 TIME: 7:00 p.m.
LOCATION: McNabb Community Center, Percy St., Ottawa
Stuck at a threshold? In need of a mentor? Dreading your dragon? Wherever we are in our writing careers, writing takes courage—and lots of it. Asking ourselves the right questions can help us forge ahead and claim that treasure. Join two-time GG winner, author and teacher Caroline Pignat as she explores the call, challenges, and adventure of writing. Our voices, our stories, our ends and means may differ, but every writer’s journey is truly a Hero’s Journey.
30TH ANNUAL NATIONAL CAPITAL WRITING CONTEST (NCWC)
Short Story • Poetry
$300 First Place • $200 Second Place • $100 Third Place
Open to all Canadian writers
Information: http://canadianauthors.org/nationalcapitalregion/contests/ncwc
FROM NATIONAL:
CAA WEBINAR: WRITE BETTER DIALOGUE
Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2016
7:00–8:15 p.m .Eastern Time
Presenter: Matthew Bin, Past Chair, Canadian Authors and author
Dialogue is a critical component of fiction and nonfiction writing. What people say—and how they say it—can engage your readers or turn them off completely. Join Matthew Bin for a tour of the techniques and mechanics of good dialogue. In this webinar, you’ll learn the mechanics of punctuation and paragraphs, understand the nuances of subtext and voice, and discover the always effective “Law and Order” dialogue technique. Let Matthew, author of three published books and numerous short stories and articles, show you how to make your dialogue natural and compelling. Register at www.canadianauthors.org DEADLINE to register: 12:00 p.m. ET December 6
SUBMISSION CALLS AND OPPORTUNITIES
OTTAWA SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITIES
Links to contests and submission calls visit CAA-NCR website here: http://canadianauthors.org/nationalcapitalregion/contests/writing-contests-calls-for-submission/
BYWORDS.CA SUBMISSION CALL TO CURRENT AND FORMER OTTAWA POETS
DEADLINE: The 15th of every month for the following month’s issue.
Bywords.ca considers previously unpublished poetry from emerging and established poets for our online monthly magazine. We consider work by current and former residents, students and workers of Ottawa. We also publish poems by contributors to our predecessor, the Bywords Monthly Magazine. FOR SUBMISSION INFO: www.bywords.ca and click on Guidelines. Amanda Earl, Managing Editor. Ottawans & former Ottawans, we want yr poems. guidelines @ Bywords.ca #wewantyrbywords #ottpoetry #613local #submissions PRT Bywords.ca’s literary events calendar here: http://www.bywords.ca/calendar/index.php with up-to-date info on NCR readings, book signings, writers’ circles, literary festivals, spoken word showcases & slams. Event submissions can be sent to events@bywords.ca
THE FIDDLEHEAD POETRY & PROSE CONTEST
Entries are open for The Fiddlehead’s 26th annual literary contest. Winning entries will be published in The Fiddlehead 271 (Spring 2017). No simultaneous submissions and no previously published works.
Genre: poetry and short fiction. Deadline: December 1, 2016 Entry fee: $30 (includes one-year subscription) Prizes: $2000 for winner; $250 for 2 honourable mentions; (plus publication payment) Details: https://thefiddlehead.ca/contest
LEAGUE OF CANADIAN POETS NATIONAL BROADSHEET CONTEST: The League is excited to announce its first national broadsheet contest, open to all Canadian poets! Judge Sharon Thesen will select a winning poem for publication as a broadsheet designed and printed by Briar Craig on handmade paper. The winner will receive 10 copies of their custom broadsheet, have their poem included in the 2017 Poem in Your Pocket day booklet, and be promoted on the League website. As well, the winning poet will receive a free one-year membership with the League! DEADLINE TO SUBMIT: FEBRUARY 1, 2017 http://poets.ca/broadsheet/
2017 FRANK HEGYI AWARD FOR EMERGING AUTHORS
The Ottawa Independent Writers (OIW) is pleased to sponsor a new literary award for emerging authors. Named after long-time OIW member and former treasurer, Frank Hegyi, this new literary award will carry a cash prize of $500 for the winner and two years of free OIW membership. Finalists will receive a year’s free membership in the OIW. The winner and finalists will be invited to read from their books at the Prose in the Park Literary Festival on June 10, 2017.
The Frank Hegyi Award will be offered on an annual basis and will alternate between fiction and non-fiction, starting in its first year with fiction. The award is open to all Canadian citizens living anywhere or permanent residents of Canada or authors of any nationality whose submitted books were first published by a Canadian publisher, and who have not already won a major national or provincial literary award. Click here for the list of awards identified for exclusion from eligibility for the Frank Hegyi Award. Please note if you have won an award that is not on this list, you are eligible to submit your book for the Frank Hegyi Award. MORE INFORMATION: http://www.ottawaindependentwriters.com/frank-hegyi-award
OUT AND ABOUT IN TOWN
MEETINGS, BOOK LAUNCHES AND POETRY READINGS
December 4th 1 pm. Mill Street Books, Almonte is honoured to welcome Charlotte Gray to Almonte
She is one of Canada’s best-known writers, and author of ten acclaimed books of literary non-fiction. In her most recent book The Promise of Canada: 150 Years — People and Ideas That Have Shaped Our Country, the author has woven together compelling portraits of nine influential Canadians and set them within the larger context of our shared history.
We welcome history lovers and proud Canadians of all ages to Charlotte Gray’s presentation and book signing. This event is a fundraiser for the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum. Tickets are available by calling Mill Street Books at 613-256-9090
Tuesday, Dec. 13 2016 Tree Reading Series, Gallery 101, 51B Young Street Ottawa,
6:45PM: WORKSHOP TO BE ANNOUNCED 8PM: FEATURED READERS: BRENDA LEIFSO’s poems in Barren the Fury unflinchingly articulate negative epiphany. Her work has been published in journals and anthologies across Canada. Her second book, Barren the Fury, was released in 2015 with Pedlar Press.
SANDRA RIDLEY is the author of four books of poetry: Fallout, Post-Apothecary, The Counting House, and Silvija (published by BookThug this fall). She has mentored poets through Salus Ottawa (Supportive Housing and Mental Health Services) and Artswell’s “Footprints to Recovery”, a partnership program for people living with mental illness. In 2015, she was a finalist for the KM Hunter Award for Mid-Career Writer. www.treereadingseries.ca
Wednesday, Dec. 21 Sawdust Reading Series, Pour Boy – 495 Somerset St W Ottawa. The Sawdust Reading Series proudly presents Chris Johnson, Marilyn Irwin, and our newest contest winner, TBA. Come out for a fantastic night of poetry, food, and fun! Don’t forget your poems for the open mic.
Pour Boy features on-street parking, direct #2 bus service, and an affordable menu. Look for us upstairs!
Chris Johnson: Chris Johnson is the coordinating editor for Arc Poetry Magazine. His chapbook, Listen, Partisan!, is forthcoming from Frog Hollow Press.
Marilyn Irwin: Marilyn Irwin’s work has been published by above/ground press, Arc Poetry Magazine and Matrix Magazine, among others. Her seventh chapbook, “waving usufruct,” was a collaboration with David Emery and Samantha Lapierre (2016, The Steel Chisel). She won the Diana Brebner Prize in 2013 and was short-listed for the 2016 bpNichol Award for her chapbook, “the blue, blue there” (2015, Apt.9 Press). She runs shreeking violet press in Ottawa.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1147881791974096/
OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL WRITERS FESTIVAL For a listing of events and ticket info:
http://www.writersfestival.org/events
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