News

THREE VIRTUAL WRITING WORKSHOPS
LIMITED ENROLLMENT—EARLY BIRD PRICING BY AUG 20 

A Life in PJs: How to Sell Your Writing

Do you dream of being a writer but don’t know how to start? Do you long for a career where you can skip the morning commute, work the hours you want, or work in your pajamas all day? Maybe you’re addicted to travel and looking for a way to feed your habit? Or maybe you just want to do something that makes you excited to get out of bed in the morning? A career as a freelance writer can provide the freedom you’re longing for and an income limited only by how much you want to work. And the best part—you can do it from anywhere in the world—all you need is a laptop and an Internet connection.

Learn how to find story ideas, create a niche, target and pitch the right market (print or online), and more from Wendy Kitts, a professional freelance writer of 20+ years. Wendy’s written over 200 articles for publications such as Saltscapes, the Globe & Mail, Readers’ Digest, and the LA Times and does something most writers only dream of—supports herself with her writing.

Selling Your Expertise: Write a Nonfiction Book or E-book

Do you have an idea for a book but don't know where to start? Or maybe you want to write a book, but you don't have an idea? Or maybe you have ideas out the wazoo, but not sure which one is the best? Writing an informational book or e-book can establish you as an expert, create instant credibility, and provide another stream of income, especially for coaches, speakers, and workshop facilitators. Learn how to come up with or develop ideas and create a detailed outline so writing is as simple as filling in the blanks, as well as the steps for an effective book proposal and the submission process if you wish to attract an agent or editor from Wendy Kitts, author of eight traditionally-published nonfiction books.

Right from the Heart: Write the Intuitive Way

Do you want to write but can’t seem to get your words onto the page? When you sit down to do it, does even cleaning the toilet seem more appealing? Do you dream of writing full-time but afraid you’ll go broke? Limiting beliefs can strangle your creativity and stop you before you even get started. Get out of your head and into your heart and write from a place that doesn’t know the meaning of writers’ block, that doesn’t worry how to pay the rent, and always trusts the perfect words will flow as easily as the money.

Learn how to identify and release beliefs around writing and write (and edit) by accessing the writer within by exploring processes like EFT (tapping), visualization, and channeling with intuitive writing guide Wendy Kitts.

For more info go to https://www.wendykitts.ca/classes or email Wendy at info@wendykitts.ca.

Comme vous le savez peut-être, la Bibliothèque du Parlement a lancé un appel de mises en candidature afin de trouver la 10^e poète officielle ou le 10^e poète officiel du Parlement. La date limite pour la mise en candidature a récemment été reportée au 4 septembre 2022. J’espère que vous pouvez nous aider à partager la nouvelle.

Nous sommes à la recherche de poètes qui travaillent principalement en français. Les mises en candidatures peuvent être soumises par un membre d’une association littéraire ou d’écrivains ou par les auteurs intéressés eux-mêmes. De plus amples informations au sujet du programme et du processus de mise en candidature se retrouvent sur le site Web du poète officiel(le) du Parlement.

Si vous avez des questions, n’hésitez pas à communiquer avec moi. Je vous remercie pour votre appui pour trouver le prochain ou la prochaine poète officiel(le) du Parlement.

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As you may know, the Library of Parliament is seeking nominations for the role of 10^th Parliamentary Poet Laureate. The deadline for the nomination period was recently extended to September 4, 2022 and I am hoping you can help us spread the word.

We are seeking poets who predominantly work in French. Nominations can be submitted by a member of a literary or writing organization or directly by interested candidates. More information about the program and the nomination process can be found on the Parliamentary Poet Laureate website.

The Fiddlehead's 2022 Fiction Contest is now open and we're excited to announce that Chris Benjamin will be judging this year's submissions! There will be one prize of $2000 for the winning story and the deadline for submissions is September 1 2022. Check out the contest submission guidelines for more information! https://thefiddlehead.ca/contest

Applications for ArtsLink NB's CATAPULT Arts Accelerator for the Fall 2022 session will open on Monday, August 8th, and the deadline to receive applications is September 5th.

Please share with any artists in your networks who you think would be interested in or benefit from this program.

CATAPULT Arts Accelerator gives New Brunswick artists the tools to be prolific and build sustainable careers. Over an 8-week period, CATAPULT participants receive training in fundamental entrepreneurial skills like business modelling, marketing, branding, financial planning, and exporting. Guest speakers and facilitators for the CATAPULT workshops are drawn both from the business and professional art community.

Participants also receive one-on-one coaching from the program coordinator and formal mentorships from individuals operating at the top of their field.

The Fall 2022 session will be a hybrid of online sessions and in-person meetings in Saint John, NB. The program will run on Friday evenings and full days on Saturday from September 24th to November 27th.

The full application details are here: https://www.artslinkcatapult.com/

Moncton NB – August 5, 2022 – After a first appearance at Moncton's Centennial Park, Molly the lobster, heroine of the children's book, A Home for Molly, by Jennifer Houle, illustration and puppet by Natasha Pilotte, is leaving to meet her readers and fans. 

Molly, of course, will first spend some time in Shediac, the lobster capital: at the Market but also as the headliner, on August 13, of an expected launch at the brand new Homarus Centre. For this occasion, Molly will proudly display her bilingualism by presenting both Un logis pour Molly and A Home for Molly, between 1 and 3 pm. 

Then she will cross the Atlantic to meet her Breton brothers and sisters. She will accompany Bouton d'or Acadie to Lorient, as part of the Festival Interceltique (Inter Celtic Festival). After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Bouton d'or Acadie will happily resume its literary animation booth at the Festival interceltique de Lorient from August 3^rd to 15^th. Marie Cadieux, Marie-France Comeau and Gille Cormier will be ambassadors for Acadie and its authors and creators, and will be reunited with all the readers who have followed them since the very beginning of the Acadian literary presence at the Quai du livre (Book Wharf).  

On August 7^th, Bouton d'or Acadie will present at the scène du Jardin (Garden stage), the grand European sneak preview of Un bisou coquelicot (A Poppy Kiss), by Marie-France Comeau and Jean-Luc Trudel.  This children's book is a tribute to the veterans who landed on the beaches of Normandy in 1942 and 1945. This year, Dieppe and Courseulles-sur-mer (Juno Beach) are celebrating the 80^th anniversary of the Dieppe landings. The small team from Bouton d’or will therefore also be in Courseulles-sur-Mer on August 13^th and 14^th as part of the Semaine Acadienne (Acadian Week) and in Dieppe on August 15^th to present this beautiful album to families in France.  

Thus, thanks to Molly and a poppy, Bouton d’or Acadie will proudly present, in France, a part of our common history, in addition to explaining to the young people the importance of working for the health of the oceans, a challenge for all of us, no matter which side of the Atlantic Ocean we live on. 

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The Art of Storytelling – Writing Workshop
Saturday, August 27, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Sunbury Shores Arts and Nature Centre, St. Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick
Cost: $85/person
Spaces are limited; please contact Gerard (gerardcollins@gerardcollins.ca) and register in advance by August 24.

Need a refresher on the art of storytelling? Seize the remaining hours of summer and join award-winning author and professor Dr. Gerard Collins for this condensed version of his storytelling masterclass, which he recently taught at the invitation of the Frye Festival.

In this half-day workshop, we’ll talk about story structure, how to show instead of tell, how to develop characters, enhance narrative tension, infuse your prose with subtext, and write dialogue that gets people talking.

Bring your questions and conundrums – we’re putting it all on the table.

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About your host:

Gerard Collins is the award-winning author of FINTON MOON, MOONLIGHT SKETCHES, and most recently, THE HUSH SISTERS. (www.gerardcollins.ca)

Gerard is a Newfoundland writer, now living in New Brunswick, whose first novel, Finton Moon, was nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, the Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage and History Award, and has won the Percy Janes First Novel Award. In 2019, he turned the Finton Moon experience into a multi-media art exhibition, “The Book that Wrote Itself”. His short story collection, Moonlight Sketches, won the Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award. In 2021 his second novel, The Hush Sisters won an international Next Generation Indie Book Award in the suspense category and also was a finalist in the paranormal category.

Gerard has won numerous arts and letters awards for fiction, published in journals and anthologies, garnered positive reviews and arts grants, had his short stories taught in multiple university courses, and his first novel has been placed in high school learning resource centres across Newfoundland and Labrador.

A lecturer at Memorial University for two decades and an occasional lecturer at University of New Brunswick, Gerard has a Ph.D. in American (Gothic) literature. He is an experienced leader of writing retreats and workshops in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Gerard has been a featured workshop leader with the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick, Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador, the prestigious Piper’s Frith in Newfoundland, and Lily Daly Assembly in New York. He has delivered multiple workshops to high school students, and in 2017, Gerard was invited to deliver a lecture to Masters in Creative Writing students at Newcastle University, UK, as well as a public reading at the Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts. Most recently, Gerard was invited to teach a Masterclass in creative writing by the Northrup Frye Festival.

Gerard regularly serves on juries of writing and granting competitions while mentoring writers who show great promise, and all three of his books have been placed in libraries around the world.

To ask a question or to register for "The Art of Storytelling," email gerardcollins@gerardcollins.ca.

In case you missed tuning in during the live event, the audio version of the WFNB July Open Mic night via Zoom will be aired on Local 107.3fm Saint John on Monday, July 18 at 2pm, and the rebroadcast will be aired on Thursday, July 21st at 8am, and Sunday, July 24th at 4pm.

Video footage of older Open Mic night episodes will be placed in the members-only section before the end of July.

Would you like to apply to become an exhibitor at the Canadian National Book Exhibition 2022 in Ottawa on August 26 - 28? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzyJMz9p-Ms&t=22s

Ottawa, July 6, 2022 – Earlier this year, the Parliament of Canada issued a call for nominations to find Canada’s 10th Parliamentary Poet Laureate.

The role of the Parliamentary Poet Laureate is to promote the importance and value of poetry to Canadians. Pursuant to the Parliament of Canada Act, the Parliamentary Poet Laureate may perform the following duties: compose poetry, especially for use in Parliament on occasions of state; sponsor poetry readings; advise the Parliamentary Librarian on the Library’s collection and acquisitions to enrich the collection’s cultural holdings; and perform related duties at the request of the Speaker of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Commons, or the Parliamentary Librarian. The Parliamentary Poet Laureate holds office for a maximum of two years.

To ensure that Canada's official languages are equitably represented, the person selected alternates every two years between poets who work primarily in English and poets who work primarily in French. The 10th Parliamentary Poet Laureate will work primarily in French. The Parliament of Canada recognizes the diversity of Canada’s literary scene and encourages the participation of poets from all communities.

The deadline for nominations has been extended to September 4, 2022. Nominations for the position can be submitted by a member of a literary or writing organization, a parliamentarian, or directly by interested candidates. Nominations will be reviewed by a selection committee chaired by the Parliamentary Librarian, who will submit a short list of three candidates to the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons for final selection.

When it created the position of Parliamentary Poet Laureate in December 2001, Canada joined the United Kingdom, the United States and many other countries that have established poets laureate.

For more information on the Parliamentary Poet Laureate, the nomination process, and to learn more about the works of our current and previous Poets, please visit the Parliament of Canada website at www.parl.gc.ca/poet.

AX, the Arts and Culture Centre of Sussex will welcome award-winning comedian and writer James Mullinger to the AX gallery on Thursday, June 16 at 7:00 p.m. as part of our AX Reading Series. James will read from his newly-published memoir, Brit Happens, and take questions from the audience. Brit Happens chronicles Mullinger’s life from his childhood in England to his life-changing move to New Brunswick and all of his adventures in between.

On June 25 at 2:00 p.m. AX will welcome journalists and authors Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon and Jacques Poitras. The authors will read from their books, Shadow of Doubt, the Trials of Dennis Oland and Irving vs Irving: Canada’s Feuding Billionaires and the Stories They Won’t Tell. Moderator Dr. Sandra Bell will lead a discussion on the common theme of controversy in prominent New Brunswick families before a question and answer period. There will be limited seating for these events, so come early.

AX has a writing group that meets monthly in the gallery. For more information, visit axartscentre.ca, come see us at 12 Maple Ave., Sussex, or call (506) 433-8351.