Joe Mahoney is an author/publisher/broadcaster, recently retired from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, where, for over more than three decades, he worked in several roles including recording engineer, producer, and several operational management roles.

He currently runs Donovan Street Press Inc., an indie press based in Riverview, New Brunswick.

Joe is the author of the SF novel A Time and a Place, the memoir Adventures in the Radio Trade, and the short story collection Other Times and Places, all available from Donovan Street Press Inc.

He's written and produced several radio shows on science fiction for CBC Radio, and has worked as a story editor on multiple radio, television and film projects including CBC Radio's Steve the First and Steve the Second, both seasons of Canadia: 2056, Canadian author and filmmaker Susan Rodger's feature film Still the Water, and more. Joe is co-host of the podcast Re-Creative with Mark A. Rayner, a podcast about art and creativity.

You can find Joe here: 

Donovan Street Press Inc.

Riverview, NB

Substack 

Re-Creative (podcast)

Bluesky

Mastodon

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Melissa Addey writes richly researched historical fiction. Her novels span Ancient Rome, medieval Morocco, 18th-century China, and Regency England. She has a PhD in Creative Writing, was Writer in Residence at the British Library, and lives in London, England, with her family. She runs workshops and webinars for authors wanting to take an entrepreneurial approach to their writing careers. Melissa has spent 10 years as a fulltime self-published author, 20 books written and published, Over 4,000 5-star reviews on Amazon. She has a MA in business creativity, a PhD in Creative Writing, and has spent hundreds of hours delivering workshops and webinars.

Discover resources for writers at her website: www.MelissaAddey.com/free-resources

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The Seven Persistent Troubles

(that keep your manuscript up at night)

with Lee Thompson

author, editor and publisher

Location

Online via Zoom.

Description 

Join editor and publisher Lee Thompson for a wide-ranging conversation and Q&A on the Seven Persistent Troubles that keep your manuscript up at night, even when you think it’s sleeping perfectly fine. Manuscripts will not edit themselves, and whine all day when you ask them to, so Lee will share observations and tips and how you may identify those SPTs and become your very best book doctor self.

About Lee

Moncton-born Lee (D) Thompson began writing fiction in his mid-twenties and started offering advice on how to write fiction shortly thereafter, whether you wanted it or not. Some wanted it, and soon Lee was cornered into giving advice, whether he liked it or not, and an editing career was born (a career that would careen into 

publishing).  Lee is the author of three books, including the award-winning novel Apastoral: A Mistopia, has turned his penchant for pushy opinions into Lee Thompson Editing, and now for fun runs Galleon Books, a very eclectic publishing house. 

Novel Apastoral out with www.coronasamizdat.com | Apastoral: A Mistopia

Editing Services: www.leethompsonediting.com

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Born in Miramichi, Chuck Bowie graduated from the University of New Brunswick in Canada with a Bachelor Degree in Science. His writing is influenced by the study of human nature and how people behave. Chuck loves food, wine, music and travel and all play a role in his work.

In 2021 he launched his latest thriller set in Ireland and England, entitled Her Irish Boyfriend, fifth in the international suspense-thriller series: Donovan: Thief For Hire. He has just completed and published the third novel in a cozy mystery series, set in a fictional town in New Brunswick. It is entitled Death Between the Decks, and the setting is loosely based on the Miramichi area. He has also contributed to two anthologies of short stories: Autumn Paths and Winter Paths.

- Chuck recently completed tenure on National Council of The Writers’ Union of Canada

- Acted as Writer in Residence at Kingsbrae International Residence for the Arts, 2019

- Acknowledged as an author of note in the Miramichi Literary Trail installation, 2021

http://www.chuckbowie.ca

chuckbowie33@gmail.com

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About Heather Browne

Heather Browne, a nationally published poet and author since the 80s, added the second printing of her 2017 short story collection A Moose in the Dark in 2023. She was Writer in Residence at Kingsbrae International Residency in 2019 where she explored further her novel The Broken Tooth.

She teaches “Writing Around the Table with Heather Browne” a creative writing course in her home city of Fredericton. An active member of WFNB and TWUC, Heather credits UNB’s Extension Program for early encouragement of her writing. Later, In Vancouver, BC she completed a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.

She is new to Facebook! Heather Browne author

How to Develop a Style, (according to C.S. Lewis)

"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 readers will most certainly go into it." - C.S. Lewis, in "Cross-Examination," God in the Dock

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About Elaine McCluskey 

Elaine McCluskey writes about the people you might find in the corners of life: boxers, bouncers, and dreamers. She has published seven books of fiction, including four short story collections. Rafael Has Pretty Eyes won the 2023 Alistair MacLeod prize for short fiction. Her stories have appeared in literary journals including Room, The Dalhousie Review, Fiddlehead, and The Antigonish Review. One story was a Journey Prize finalist, another placed second in the Fish contest in Ireland. McCluskey is working on a new collection tentatively titled Mysterious Billy Smith. She lives in Dartmouth, N.S.

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Bios, Book Blurbs & Back Cover Copy

The sad truth is, readers really do judge a book by its cover. And although most authors spend a lot of time and resources on their front cover, ensuring they have the perfect title and professional-looking images and design, they often overlook the back cover. This is despite it being just as important, if not more, than the front in selling and positioning their book in the marketplace.

In this two-hour, jam-packed workshop, Bios, Book Blurbs & Back Cover Copy, we’ll focus primarily on back cover copy—the art of writing a concise, targeted book synopsis. If written correctly, your book description (essentially a free ad) can be a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal in persuading readers to buy your book. A synopsis can also be tweaked and used to pitch editors, agents, booksellers, event coordinators or the media; create social media posts, web content, press releases or metadata for book discoverability; or promote your writing in as few words as possible to be ready for your proverbial “elevator pitch” moment when someone asks, “What’s your book about?”

We’ll also look at other elements of an effective back cover: author bios and book blurbs. Come prepared with a story in mind to apply exercises on these above topics. If you wish, you may also bring a 25-word-or-less story synopsis, one-line story pitch or one-paragraph bio (150-words max) to share and discuss, time permitting.

About Wendy

At 42, Wendy Kitts went from a nine-to-five cubicle-grey existence in accounting, to living in Technicolor as a professional freelance writer—without ever having written anything before. Twenty-five years later, Wendy—who lives in Shédiac—has written over 300 articles for publications such as Readers’ Digest, the LA Times, and the Globe & Mail and has published ten nonfiction children’s books. In 2011, her trade book—Sable Island: The Wandering Sandbar—was nominated for several readers’-choice awards and chosen as Top Five New Brunswick Books by CBC-Radio and Top 100 Gift Books by the Globe & Mail.

And up until her recent retirement, Wendy had achieved something most think impossible: for nearly two decades she supported herself solely with her writing (and writing-adjacent activities such as editing, author presentations and workshops), creating a laptop-lifestyle and fulfilling her dream of living at the beach year-round—including 12 sunny years in California.

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