Happy July, Members and Friends.
I make no bones about it. I think every day of the year should be a brilliant Saturday in July. Today is pretty good too, even though it’s a Monday. I’m typing on the deck, while surveying my little dominion of one-tenth of an acre.
Except for the wind. The wind is a real pain.
I’ve got this cherry tree, you see, a Montmorency. I planted it five summers ago, and I’ve been waiting all this time for enough cherries to make one pie. That’s all I ask, just one pie.
And this year, I think it’s gonna happen – unless the damn birds eat them all.
The stupid blue jays and blackbirds and morning doves are feasting on my not-quite-ripe cherries, and oh, I hate that.
(Don’t feel too sorry for the birds, nature lovers. There are two bird feeders on my property – one at the front, and one at the back- and they are full All. The. time. )
The same six or eight birds hang out on the rooftops, swoop down and eat from the feeders constantly until they are empty - spring, summer, winter, fall. They are fat, freeloading birds.
Good for them - but they can’t have my cherries. I want a pie.
Short of standing guard at my tree and whacking away at them with a broom, what do I do? We bought a few nets and managed to cover my growing tree, connecting them with clothespins.
This method worked quite well last night, as it was a peaceful evening. It was quite a lot of fun to sit here and watch the birds unsuccessfully dive-bomb the nets, only to be thwarted. They squawked with indignity as they flew away.
I felt like Wile E. Coyote!
Not so today.
A gusty wind is blowing through our wind tunnel of a backyard, which has accommodated the birds by lifting up the nets like a parachute and sailing the whole thing across the yard.
Not to be deterred, we picked the nets back up, placed them over the tree again and staked them down. We’ll see how long it lasts. At least we tried, and if I don’t get to keep enough cherries for dessert, at least there’s the grocery store.
How’s your summer going, writers?
By August Inkspot, the fall event schedule should be up and running. First up will be the Writers of the Realm Literary Festival in Fredericton on September 19, and the WFNB will be there, taking part in the festivities. They are also looking for various volunteers. For more information, check out: https://www.sakurabluestudios.ca/fantasy-book-ball-2026
We are also planning a few Saturday WordTravels workshop and reading events around the province, as well as our fall/winter online workshop schedule. Stay tuned, and in the meantime, enjoy the sun and write well!
WordWorthy
“Can you do this? Yes. But be prepared to put in the time. My first attempt took 200 hours. It’s still worth doing - Your own voice is a connection with the audience.” Joe Mahoney, Record your own Audiobooks, WordSpring 2026
Welcome New Members
Leslie Sloat joins us from Maugerville. Welcome Leslie, and we hope to meet you at a fall event.
Sebastien Legault writes essays and poetry from his home in Fredericton. Welcome, Sebastien!
Member News
Leo LaFleur is pleased to announce that his novel, Downey (Galleon Press, 2026) is now available for pre-order! Get it here: https://galleonbooks.ca/direct-orders/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTB8ndleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETI4QW5FOFh0QmsyaFo2a0JQc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHki1wU8kEJ-UG95wlmH9EzM81wQV6J7gURyQ80d4DgcXIpdZMnv9dkPIbxEl_aem_oXok5aunVIncUZto4s6uRA
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Brent Mason is pleased to announce that his short story collection, The Root Cellar (Galleon Press, 2026) is also available for preorder! Get it here: https://galleonbooks.ca/direct-orders/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTB8ndleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETI4QW5FOFh0QmsyaFo2a0JQc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHki1wU8kEJ-UG95wlmH9EzM81wQV6J7gURyQ80d4DgcXIpdZMnv9dkPIbxEl_aem_oXok5aunVIncUZto4s6uRA
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James Mullinger and his son River have written a children’s book! It’s being published this Fall by Pottersfield Press, and it’s all about a mini doodle named Willow. Willow is shy and insecure, and struggles to connect with other dogs. But through a series of exciting adventures, Willow finds her place in the world and learns how to feel confident and overcome shyness in social settings. Available for pre-order here: https://jamesmullinger.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d497f6a30b7b430261da53302&id=ba9eb998f0&e=bf4daa3b10
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Congratulations to Jen Selk, for being shortlisted on the 2026 Whistler Independent Book Awards for her poetry collection, Landmarks & Beacons! Finalists will be announced August 5. More on the shortlisted winners here: The Whistler Independent Book Awards, sponsored by The Writers’ Union of Canada and in partnership with the Whistler Writing Society, is pleased to announce the 2026 Shortlist (listed alphabetically by author surname).
The book is available widely online, via Amazon globally, also Barnes & Noble in the USA. To support a local indie bookshop, there should still be copies at The Write Cup Bookstore and Cafe in Saint John. And folks can buy from Jen directly via her website: https://jenselk.com/books/ as well or contact her on IG @willandbequeath as well.
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Thandiwe McCarthy is pleased to announce the publication of Still Here: Preserving Our Legacy (Goose Lane Editions, July 28) confronts the false belief that Black history in New Brunswick is negligible. Co-created by historian Dr. Mary McCarthy-Brandt, photographer Gary Weekes, and poet Thandiwe McCarthy — a seventh-generation Black Canadian — it weaves historical documents, first-person stories, original poetry, and portraiture into an untold story of resilience and belonging and the lasting contributions of a community whose actions and influence have often been omitted from the public record.
The book arrives alongside a landmark summer: an exhibition opening at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery on July 18, and the Still Here Emancipation Celebration Festival, July 31–August 3, culminating in a mass photograph in front of the NB Legislature on Emancipation Day, August 1 at 2pm. Come stand in that picture — it belongs to all of us.
Support Black New Brunswick heritage
Order your copy here: https://gooselane.com/products/still-here
Festival details and full schedule: https://stillherefestival.ca/
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Got some fantastic news to share? An event you want everyone to attend? Send me the deets at info@wfnb.ca
Upcoming Events
Free Playwriting & Embodied Experience Workshop!
with NotaBle Acts Playwright/Dramaturg in Residence Jill Connell
Sunday, July 19, 2026
12:00pm – 3:00pm
UNB Carleton Hall room 304
No charge
A workshop for creative writers and theatre-makers interested in exploring the form and structure of plays. We will use free-writing exercises to explore our experience of the world and the feeling of things (versus an objective or outside perspective about the “logic” of things). We will then look for an associated shape that might contain this experience in live performance and explore this via dramatic writing. We’ll share these aloud with each other, prioritizing availability over interpretation and experimentation over perfection.
All levels of experience are welcome. Please bring a notebook and pen. Limited spots available: email jill@itcouldstillhappen.com to register by July 17.
Jill Connell (she/they) is a playwright and theatre artist based in Tkaronto/Toronto. Her plays include The Supine Cobbler (published with Coach House Books), Arctic Ocean, HROSES: An Affront to Reason, The Tall Building and The Shark Tumour Collection. She runs the independent theatre company It Could Still Happen: a collective of interdisciplinary artists who create performances based on text, space and embodied practice. In March 2026, ICSH premièred their most recent work, The Herald, in partnership with Canada’s longest-running queer theatre, Buddies in Bad Times.
Jill is a graduate of the playwriting program at the National Theatre School of Canada and holds a Masters in English from the University of New Brunswick. The past few years, she is fortunate to teach performance and creative writing at Toronto Metropolitan University, the University of Toronto, Sheridan College, and Humber College. Jill has had four productions with NotaBle Acts, including her thesis play The Shark Tumour Collection, directed by Len Falkenstein (2006). She is thrilled to return to Fredericton after so long and grateful for the warm welcome.
