Hello, members and friends:
My husband and I love flowers and landscaping, as I know many of you do, but we haven't had much luck with vegetables. We attempt container gardening in our tiny city backyard every year, but it meets with limited success.
This spring we tried again because…well, we're optimists who like to wing it, I guess. We planted squash seeds and placed them in the generous sunshine that pours through our patio door. They sprouted up in robust fashion, big and thick and tough. By this past Sunday night, they had outgrown their seedling trays, and we figured it was safe to transplant them outside in a raised bed.
Nope. They all died I’m staring at the planter below my deck as I write this, struck by the sight of their little withered forms splayed all over the container mix.
I guess we put them outside before the world was warm enough to receive them. We’ve committed squash murder.
But, we're determined to try again.
I suppose this is a little bit like the determination that I require after receiving a manuscript rejection. I hope you are experiencing great success, but if it’s mixed with adversity, I hope you are determined to try again.
In the meantime, if you need a little encouragement from your fellow scribes, why not come to WordSpring?
WordSpring is almost here!
We’d love to see as many people as possible in Fredericton May 30 – June 1. The workshops are going to be stellar, and we are looking forward to our two award ceremonies and our Pitch the Publisher event, organized by Partridge Island Publishing. We’ll be able to release the winners of the NB Writing Competition by the end of the week, and we hope we’ll be able to hear many of them read at the literary soiree on May 30. Check out the event page and sign up for an event, if you can’t make the whole weekend! We’d love to see you.
I’ve only received a couple of requests to sell books by consignment at the merch table, which will be set up Friday and Saturday. If that interests you, contact me at info@wfnb.ca
Anne Simpson Workshop
Kicking off our summer/fall 2025 series of workshops is an ekphrastic poetry session by Nova Scotia poet Anne Simpson on June 28, who offers her knowledge in the wonderful setting of the Saint John Arts Centre. Anne offers this workshop in collaboration with the Saint John Art Centre's exhibit, "The Presence of Trees". Explore what can take your poems beyond a simple description of what you see as you learn compelling ways to write about art.
That’s it for me. More details to come on events later in the year.
I hope to see many of you at the end of May!
Cheers,
Rhonda
WordWorthy:
The way for a person to develop a style is (a) to know exactly what he wants to say, and (b) to be sure he is saying exactly that. The reader, we must remember, does not start by knowing what we mean. If our words are ambiguous, our meaning will escape him. I sometimes think that writing is like driving sheep down a road. If there is any gate open to the left or the right the reader will most certainly go in it. - C. S. Lewis
WELCOME, NEW MEMBERS!
Jenna May Bourque is a writer from Saint John who's interested in blogging, fantasy, fiction, horror, scriptwriting, flash/microfiction, middle grade, short stories and travel writing. Welcome, Jenny May!
Jonathan de Jager: From his home in Moncton, Jonathan writes in a wide variety of genres from biography and other forms of nonfiction, to poetry, scripts, and science fiction and speculative writing. Jonathan writes under the pen name J.M. de Jager. Welcome, Jonathan!
Welcome to Josh Landry!
Welcome to Wanda Larson!
Ana Larade writes fiction, memoir, poetry and flash/microfiction from her home in Moncton. Welcome, Ana!
Matthew Taylor joins us from Fredericton where he writes fantasy, historical fiction, science fiction, and scripts under the pen name Weston Taylor. Welcome, Matthew!
MEMBER NEWS
Vanessa Hawkins is having an Alice in Horrorland tea party book launch at the Write Cup Cafe on May 24th. It would be awesome to get as many members in the community together for it. Costumes are encouraged but not required, and there will be some goodies for everyone to take home. :)
Alice is a poor, lonely match girl living in one of the many orphanages of industrial London. When she meets a mysterious young gentleman with the power to turn into a white rabbit, she finds herself tumbling down a manhole into Horrorland.
Here, the creatures are strange and uncanny, lost in madness. Drug addicted Caterpillars, grinning cats, and homicidal Mad Hatters gambol around Alice like blood-drunk mosquitoes. At the center of it all is the Queen of Hearts, who is said to have lost her own a long time ago.
Horrorland used to be so wonderful, but can Alice make it so again?
Or will she be hunted down by the heartless Queen of Hearts?
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Screenwriter Gordon Mihan is pleased to announce that his New Brunswick-made indie film is making an exciting return home for a special screening in Fredericton on May 30 (during WordSpring!) at the Fredericton Cineplex Cinemas. Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efhghvh4ymc
After a world premiere at TIFF and international premiere at Busan International Film Festival, Do I Know You From Somewhere? is now being released across Canada. It’s a unique romance with mind-bending elements in the spirit of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind—an intimate and dreamlike exploration of memory, love, and connection.
The Fredericton screening will include a Q&A with the filmmakers—writer (and Fed member) Gordon Mihan and writer/director Arianna Martinez—both proud New Brunswickers.
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Editor and publisher Lee Thompson is offering an online Ten-Step Writing Mentorship.
This self-paced mentorship is designed for beginning and intermediate fiction and nonfiction writers. The ‘ten steps’ can be completed over a month, a year, or taken individually (if certain steps don’t appeal). Each step builds your ability to self-edit core elements of effective creative writing.
Through writing sample analysis and then hands-on editing, you’ll strengthen both technique and voice! Register before June 15 and save 10%. For full course details, write Lee - editor@galleonbooks.ca
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Jake Swan of Quispamsis is thrilled to announce the publication of Oliver Bell and the Infinite Multiverse, a science fiction satire set during the COVID pandemic. A limited edition with French flaps is available through Galleon Books (galleonbooks.ca), and a 'common edition' available through the usual online bookselling sources.
EVENTS
WRITERS’ OPEN MIC
Sunday, May 25tth
3:00 - 4:00 pm
Bill Johnstone Memorial Park Activity Centre
70 Main Street, Sackville, NB
The Writers’ Open Mic is a free, monthly event open to all. Come out and read your poems, short stories, comics, novels, essays, stand-up comedy, etc. Or just come to listen.
A projector will be set up for those with comics or other images or videos they want to share. Files can be brought on a USB or emailed in advance. Accessibility concerns, general questions, and image or video files can be directed to laurawatsonartwork@gmail.com.
COMPETITIONS
The Fiddlehead's 2025 Creative Nonfiction Contest is now open for submissions! Send us your best unpublished essay by Monday, June 2nd for a chance to win $2000 and publication in Issue 305. This year's contest is being judged by award-winning essayist Nicole Breit! You can find all our guidelines for submission here.
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The First Annual Julia Stewart Memorial Short Story Contest
A writing competition for emerging writers honouring the life and legacy of Julia Stewart
Prizes:
1st place $2500
2nd place $1000
3rd place $500
Judges:
Nancy Bauer, AnnMarie MacKinnon, Richard Davies, and Jon Holt
Eligibility: Unpublished authors aged 16 and older who reside in NB or NS
Format: Double-spaced PDF or Word document <1500 words, one story per entry
Submit previously unpublished stories (English fiction) as an attachment to jsmcontest@gmail.com
Author’s name should appear on separate cover page. It should not appear anywhere else on the document, to allow for anonymous judging.
Deadline: Submissions accepted until July 5, 2025 and prizes awarded October 1, 2025
Entry fee: $20 payable by e-transfer to jsmcontest@gmail.com - please include author's name as a note. 2025 entry fees will be donated to MS Canada and will be matched by the sponsor up to $1000.
2025 Sponsor: Cedar Valley Investments Ltd.
Full guidelines at www.jsmcontest.ca
About Julia Stewart:
Julia Stewart was a beloved librarian, an excellent community leader, and an advocate for fellow humans. Julia lived with MS, but this didn’t inhibit her positivity and love for life and adventure. She made a difference wherever she went and inspired everyone she met. She was always working to make the world a better place.
Julia believed in the power of stories. Her love of reading was contagious. She championed local writers, she encouraged hidden talent, and she had a particular fondness for debut novels. As a tribute to Julia’s love for stories, and in honour of her generous and inclusive nature, this contest has been created to foster stories that reflect her spirit.
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Solar Flare 2025 contest
A flare of creativity could net you $100 and publication. Check out Sunspot Lit’s Solar Flare contest opening May 1, closing May 31. Authors and artists eligible in all genres/forms. Guidelines and entry form here: https://sunspotlit.submittable.com/submit/318762/solar-flare-2025-100-for-fiction-cnf-poem-art-graphic-novel.
West Coast Residency opportunity for a Canadian writer of fiction, Summer 2026
The McLoughlin Gardens are the site of a Creative Residency on Vancouver Island. In addition to a studio residency program for local writers and visual artists, we also host one or more Canadian authors as writers-in-residence for a four-week period during the summer months. Writers receive an honorarium of $3000 and full use of the cottage and adjacent studio. Travel costs are the writer's responsibility.
The residency takes place at McLoughlin Gardens, a regional park in the Comox Valley. The seaside cottage is fully equipped and surrounded by gardens and a seashore, where an abundance of wildlife can be seen daily.
Past writers-in-residence include poets Anne Simpson, Don McKay, Maleea Acker, and Arleen Paré. Playwright Marcus Youssef, novelist Jennifer Manuel, and non-fiction writer Darrel McLeod have also been in residence. In 2023, children’s author Sara Cassidy was at the Gardens as well as former Victoria poet laureate Yvonne Blomer.
The mission of the McLoughlin Gardens is to nurture the transformative power of art, nature, and story in creating a more just, sustainable, and equitable world. The seaside cottage and studio at the McLoughlin Gardens are ideally situated to offer a writer seclusion and proximity to nature as they advance their creative work.
Visit our website to learn more about the McLoughlin Gardens – mcloughlingardens.org.
Learn more about the residency and the application process:
https://www.mcloughlingardens.org/call-for-applications-writer-in-residence
