BC writers
Whistler writers festival wins reprieve, Teaming with Vancouver International Writers Festival allowed ninth annual Whistler festival
At the tail end of 2009, organizers of the annual Whistler Readers & Writers Festival announced that despite growing attendance rates they would be canceling the event. Not only was it not making money, it wasn’t breaking even. “I always thought that there would be a magic number that we could sustain ourselves at without [...]
Delta: Happy to be in the club, Tsawwassen’s Paul Kloschinsky now a League of Canadian Poets member
Tsawwassen’s Paul Kloschinsky is happy to be a new member of the League of Canadian Poets. “It’s very gratifying to be recognized … as a legitimate Canadian poet. It certainly makes up for all the hard work and years of trying. It felt really good.” The group, “a non-profit arts service organization, is the national [...]
Douglas Coupland pops up in Gastown: West Vancouver writer, artist and designer’s new line for Roots is on display on Powell Street until the end of the month
Doug Coupland seems to be popping up everywhere. He’s part of a new show of modern artists reimagining Emily Carr at the Vancouver Art Gallery. He recently unveiled a very cool sculpture, Digital Orca, just west of the new convention centre. He was even invited to the Los Angeles premiere of the new Twilight movie, [...]
Denman writers’ fest coming
It’s hard to imagine a better way to spend a beautiful summer day (or three) than to travel to a laid-back, warm and friendly Gulf Island and then to hob-nob, work with and generally enjoy the company of a galaxy of wonderful writers. So get out your calendar and clear some time from July 15 [...]
Young Writers Cup Contest Now Accepting Submissions
The Great Little Publishing Company (GLPC) is proud to announce its Young Writers Cup Contest. From now through September 15, 2010, writers, elementary school age through high school, are encouraged to submit their poems, short stories and short novels to www.greatlittlepublishing.com/young-writers-contest. Every young writer who submits a piece of writing is a winner. Entries will [...]
Entries being accepted for City of Vancouver Book Award
The City of Vancouver is inviting publishers and authors to submit entries for the annual City of Vancouver Book Award. Books of any genre that demonstrate excellence and contribute to an appreciation and understanding of Vancouver’s residents, history, or unique character are eligible to apply for the $2,000 award. The winning book must also exhibit excellence in content, illustration, design and/or [...]
April is poetry month, and Vancouver is home to two of Canada’s top poets. You do the math.
Alright, I’m just going to get this out of the way: poetry isn’t easy. I struggled with how to start this post because it’s about poetry, which is an art form that many people shy away from. I don’t want to turn readers away, but I also don’t want to pretend that the sentiment isn’t [...]
Stan Persky wins B.C. literary award
Stan Persky, a Vancouver writer, media commentator and public intellectual, has been awarded the B.C. Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence. The $5,000 award is given annually to a B.C. writer who has contributed to the growth of literary excellence in the province, “His grace as an essayist, his curiosity and independence of thought as [...]
Salmon Arm: Festival pens in presenters
Anyone interested in the written word will not want to miss the 2010 Shuswap Lake International Writers Festival. Hosted by the Shuswap Association of Writers, the festival runs Friday, May 28 through Sunday, May 30 at the Prestige Harbourfront Resort and the Salmon Arm campus of Okanagan College. With an excellent lineup of 16 authors, [...]
Volumes that tell B.C.’s story: Titles to consider as a list of the province’s top 100 books is compiled
What are British Columbia’s 100 best books? Linda L. Richards and David Middleton, co-founders of the literary website Januarymagazine.com,want your suggestions, and TouchWood Editions will publish the list in book form next year. Richards, Middleton and TouchWood publisher Ruth Linka say their definition of a B.C. book is broad: The author can be a British [...]
Vancouver: City poet wins award
Vancouver poet Michael Langton is among the winners of the 2009 CBC Literary Awards, announced Thursday. Langton won for his poem Us unclean. Other English-language winners were Marian Botsford Fraser of Toronto, for The Rise in the creative non-fiction category, and Saskatoon’s Donald Ward for his short story, Badger.
Stuff’s in store for wordsmith Shane Koyczan
Shane Koyczan is actually enjoying some relative quiet when the Straight reaches him at his Penticton home. This is his only interview for the entire day. In 24 hours, he’ll head to Toronto and back into the hot glare of the international media blitz sparked by his stirring, gold-medal performance of the spoken-word piece “We [...]
Annabel Lyon, Michael Turner among finalists for BC Book Prizes
The finalists for the BC Book Prizes were announced on Thursday, a group of authors which includes Michael Turner, Annabel Lyon, and Ian Weir. The awards honour writers in seven different categories.
Comox Valley: New venue for writers coming
Writers and poets in the Comox Valley are invited to take part in a new program sponsored by the Community Arts Council in association with the Comox Valley Writers’ Society. The program will consist of a series of evening events designed to give exposure to local writers and their work. Planned for the last Monday [...]
B.C. author Maggie De Vries among finalists for CBC Literary Awards
B.C. author Maggie De Vries, who wrote the 2003 memoir “Missing Sarah” about her sister’s disappearance from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, is one of 80 finalists from across Canada in the CBC Literary Awards. De Vries is nominated in the creative non-fiction section for “Are We Listening?” The other categories are poetry and short stories, and [...]
