Hello Friends and Members 
Hey writers – how’s your summer going? I must say, the hot weather has put me firmly in my happy place. If you’re not enjoying the heat as much as I am, then I hope you find relief with the cool, rainy days. I dove headfirst into the garden right after WordSpring, and most of my spare hours—outside of work and book sales–have been spent there since. Here’s what’s coming up next:
Upcoming Events and News
WFNB Summer Writers’ Retreat
If you are thinking about signing up for our summer retreat, on August 23-25, now is the time to register! Remember, we need a minimum of 15 participants, and it’s always a good time—a weekend doesn’t seem long enough.
Our summer mentor is the poet Gerald Arthur (Art) Moore. Art is an adventurer, a part-time university lecturer, a high school teacher, and a rugby coach living in Moncton, New Brunswick. Author of the poetry collection Shatter the Glass, Shards of Flame, his work has appeared in Queen’s Quarterly, Vallum, The Antigonish Review, The Nashwaak Review, The Dalhousie Review, Qwerty, Off the Coast, Prairie Fire, Boston Poetry Magazine, Quills, and The Military Review. Moore has led six humanitarian work projects to Haiti since the devastating earthquake there in 2010, and his employment history includes army officer, schoolteacher, and bootlegger. Art's latest poetry collection, Flak Jacket, is now available in bookstores and online.
Frances Peck Workshop Series
If you missed last week’s workshop, Show, Don’t Tell, you’ll have a chance to listen to Frances once more on September 10, when she will complete her workshop series for us with an online informal discussion about publishing called From Editor to Author: A Journey in Several Parts. Come prepared with your questions about the publishing industry, the writing process, marketing—whatever interests you. For three decades, Frances Peck was a successful behind-the-scenes wordsmith, working on other people’s publications as an editor, ghostwriter, and rewriter. She also taught over 10,000 people how to get better at editing and writing. Then she decided it was time to return to her youthful passion—writing fiction. In this webinar, Frances will recount her journey from hidden editor to published author, discuss the delicate dance of creativity and editing, and field questions on writing, editing, publishing, and marketing. Look for the event page in early August.
ArtsNB Workshop: Writing Successful Grant Applications
Artsnb is conducting a free workshop for WFNB members on July 25, from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, on writing successful artsnb grant applications. The response has been enormous, but you can still sign up at https://wfnb.ca/event-5795260
WordsFall is coming soon!
Plans are underway for WordsFall in Sussex, October 25-27. Save the date and look for the event page in early August. Rooms have been reserved for us at the Amsterdam Inn, and our readings and workshops will take place at the AX Gallery and a couple of other locations in the lovely little town of Sussex. We were last there when Jen McGrath conducted a workshop on writing picture books in November 2022.
We have some great sessions lined up: On Saturday morning, Carlos Anthony will return to teach a class on writing successful Canada Council grants, and there will be other workshops to choose from led by wonderful Maritime authors like Charlene Carr, Kelly Cooper, Brandon Mitchell, Fawn Parker, and Zev Bagel. If you write nonfiction, historical fiction, or you’re just a history buff, we hope a guided tour of the Hussars Museum in Sussex will be fun and interesting for you. And as always, if you can’t take in the whole weekend, you can pick and choose what to attend. It will be great to see you at our fall gathering!
Announcements
A Word about Marketing Scams
Take heed, writers: One of our members reached out to say that she has received several calls from different companies in the past year offering to promote her book, buy certain rights, adapt for the screen, etc. A legitimate company would know that they must contact a publisher to obtain such rights (unless you are self-published). If you are getting similar calls, you can listen to this podcast, which talks about the workings of the scam here: https://amarketingexpert.com/2022/09/22/snake-oil-exists-in-book-publishing-and-marketing/
And you can read more in an article here: https://selfpublishingadvice.org/pearson-media-group-a-watchdog-advisory/
Member News
Gina Sweet-Ellis published novel, “Petri Johnny.”
Writers of Kingston Peninsula founder and WFNB member Gina Sweet-Ellis recently published a novel on Amazon entitled “Petri Johnny.” You can find Gina on Facebook, under Skinny Dogs Studio. Folks are saying it’s hilarious! https://www.amazon.ca/Petri-Johnny-Gina-Sweet-Ellis-ebook/dp/B0D4G6H85V
Welcome New Members
Noeline Bridge
Noeline Bridge is a Moncton writer and former librarian who is a three-time nonfiction winner in our annual writing competition. Noeline writes in the genres of Creative non-fiction, Fiction, Memoir, Non-Fiction, Spiritual, and Travel Writing. Welcome, Noeline!
Alyssa Leigh Briscoe
Alyssa Leigh Briscoe is a writer from Fredericton who is interested in the genres of editing, fantasy, fiction, romance, science fiction, and short stories. Welcome, Alyssa!
Lar Collicott
Lar Collicott is based in Fredericton and writes Fiction, Horror, Scripts, Suspense, Flash/Micro fiction, Thrillers, and Short stories. Welcome, Lar!
David Ting
David Ting lives in Moncton and writes Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Poetry, Science Fiction, Technical, and Short stories. Welcome, David!
That’s it for me. Enjoy July, writers!
Remember, “Editing is all about doubt. Changing, fixing, chopping. But your horrible first draft—get it out without judgement. Find your inner kindergartner. Live as if all your dreams will come true.” Katherina Vermette
Cheers,
Rhonda
