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• January 22: Telling the Truth: Conversations about Creative Nonfiction with Megan Cole

  • When
    22 Jan 2022
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  Join us Saturday, January 22nd at 7pm for FBCW's Telling the Truth, an event with non-fiction writers, hosted by Megan Cole. Register here (bcwriters.ca/events-for-writers) and a link will be sent to you. When it's time for the event, click on the link to join the live Zoom event. Looking forward to seeing you there!
  

  Digital Doors Open at 655pm!

  Robin Stevenson is the author of 30 books of fiction and non-fiction for kids and teens, ranging from picture books to teen novels. Her non-fiction titles include the BC Book Prize winning MY BODY MY CHOICE: THE FIGHT FOR ABORTION RIGHTS and the Stonewall Honor book, PRIDE. Her newest middle grade non-fiction title, KID TRAILBLAZERS, will be published in August of this year. Robin lives on Vancouver Island with her family.

  Melanie Siebert is a youth and family counsellor in Victoria, British Columbia. She works with people to transform depression, anxiety, trauma and inner conflict into meaning, purpose and hope. She also specializes in suicide intervention and prevention. Melanie has a Master of Social Work and a Master of Fine Arts. Her first poetry collection, Deepwater Vee (McClelland & Stewart), was a finalist for Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award in 2010.

  Megan Cole is a tattooed food enthusiast with an obsessive reading habit. Her writing has appeared in The Puritan, Invisiblog, Kootenay Mountain Culture and more. She's currently working on her first book titled Head Over Feet: The Lasting Heart Ache of First Loves. When she's not writing, reading or cooking, she's working as the director of audience development for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes and recording interviews for the podcast Writing the Coast.

  
  

  
  

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• Jan 23: Sunday Webinar: Beyond Good Enough: Revising Scene by Scene

  • When
    23 Jan 2022
  •  
    2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  Have you finished your first draft or maybe even your second and are uncertain what to do next?  Is your NANOWRIMO project waiting for you to take it to the next level? This webinar is for you.

  Webinar Description: At Darling Axe Editing, all of our developmental feedback for clients fits into one of two categories: immersion and emotional draw. How to transport readers to another time and place, and then how to keep them there. In this interactive workshop, Michelle Barker and David Brown will guide you through the developmental process of editing so you can better assess your own writing as you work toward your next draft.

  Michelle Barker is an author/editor from Vancouver, B.C. Her fiction, non-fiction and poetry have been published in literary reviews around the world. Her novel, The House of One Thousand Eyes (Annick Press), was named a Kirkus Best Book of 2018 and has won numerous awards including the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award. Her newest novel My Long List of Impossible Things was named a Top Ten Best Bets by the Ontario Library Association. Michelle holds an MFA in creative writing from UBC and works as a senior editor at the Darling Axe.

  David Brown is an award-winning short fiction writer, and his debut novel is represented by the Donaghy Literary Group. He has published poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in magazines and literary journals, and he volunteers for the Malahat Review where he interviews writing judges and screens contest entries. He holds a BA in anthropology (UVic) and an MFA in creative writing (UBC). As an editor, he pays special attention to structure, relationship arcs, and voice. David lives in Victoria, Canada, in the traditional territory of the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.

  Digital Doors Open at 1:55, Event Starts at 2PM

  *This event IS being recorded.

  
  

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• January 26th: Wise Words - The Writing Path to Wellbeing

  • When
    26 Jan 2022
  •  
    1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  Join us Wednesday, January 26th at 1pm for Wise Words - The Writing Path to Wellbeing with Valerie Adolph.  This session is part of our Wise Words Program.  A unique writing and communication initiative for Seniors in all corners of our lovely province.  This program is Funded by the Government of Canada's New Horizons for Seniors Program.

  This workshop offers encouragement and help in using writing as a means to recover from physical or mental illness or trauma. It offers ideas and suggestions for writing to enhance or create improved overall health. 

  Many of us are looking for ways to improve our physical and mental health, especially after a setback. Using research and mostly using stories, both personal and those she's encountered, Valerie will offer practical guidance along that path. She is a life-long writer who has come to trust her creative self to bail her out of 'down moments' including cancer surgeries and heart attacks.

  Valerie Fletcher Adolph has been a writer all her life. In recent years she published the e-book ‘Growing Older BETTER’ offering ideas and suggestions for healthy retirement living. In addition to her non-fiction writing she has won awards for her short fiction and has written four historical novels including her ‘Covid trilogy’ set in post-WW2 England.

  For those of you new to zoom - if you are uncomfortable signing in the first time, or need extra help to log-in, email us at hello@bcwriters.ca and one of our staff will touch base with you.
  

  Register and a link will be sent to you. When it's time for the event, click on the link to join the live Zoom event. Looking forward to seeing you there!

  Digital Doors Open at 1255pm! (Pacific Time)

  *This event is not being recorded.

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• Jan 29: Interior Dialogues Poetry Workshop

  • When
    29 Jan 2022
  •  
    1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  Finding Your Poem: An apocryphal story has a famous sculptor explaining how he makes a statue: “The figure is already there in the marble; I just chip away everything that’s not what I see.” How do we find our poems inside our writing? Where does a poem start or stop?

  This year's workshop will explore specific ways to identify and then chip everything away that's not the poem, as well as to begin to polish it into a finished product. In the second half, we will focus on poem endings. Participants will have a chance during writing activities to edit their own work using the techniques provided. They will also have an opportunity to see their finished work published in the Federation of BC Writer’s WordWorks Online Magazine

  Bio:
  

  Al Rempel’s books of poetry are Undiscovered Country, This Isn't the Apocalypse We Hoped For,  Understories, and three chapbooks: Deerness, Four Neat Holes and The Picket Fence Diaries. Rempel has another chapbook forthcoming from the Alfred Gustav Press called Behind the Bladed Green. His poems have appeared in various journals and anthologies, and his video-poem collaborations have been screened internationally. Rempel has led a variety of poetry workshops centred on craft. He can be found at www.alrempel.com

  Digital Doors Open at 12:55, Event Starts at 1PM

  *This event will not be recorded

  
  

  
  

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• February 9th: Wise Words - Introduction to Writing the Bereavement Phase

  • When
    9 Feb 2022
  •  
    1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  Join us Wednesday, February 9th at 1pm for Wise Words - Introduction to Writing the Bereavement Phase.  This session is part of our Wise Words Program.  A unique writing and communication initiative for Seniors in all corners of our lovely province.  This program is Funded by the Government of Canada's New Horizons for Seniors Program.

  The people we love always remain part of us, even after their death, and their ongoing presence can bring us lasting joy. This one-hour introductory workshop will discuss the ways in which a bereavement memoir can help to keep loved ones with us in meaningful ways and will offer a map for writing about loss as a phase of an ongoing relationship. There will be a brief overview, a few short written exercises, and some general tips on writing memoir.

  Carol Matthews is the author of five books of memoir, and a collection of short stories, Incidental Music (Oolichan Books). Her latest book, Minerva’s Owl: The Bereavement Phase of my Marriage, was published by Oolichan Books in 2017. A new and revised edition of Questions for Ariadne will be published this year by Neopoesis Press. Carol has worked as a community worker and as Dean of Human Services and Community Education at Vancouver Island University.  Find out more about Carol here: https://caroljmatthews.wordpress.com/.

  For those of you new to zoom - if you are uncomfortable signing in the first time, or need extra help to log-in, email us at hello@bcwriters.ca and one of our staff will touch base with you.
  

  Register and a link will be sent to you. When it's time for the event, click on the link to join the live Zoom event. Looking forward to seeing you there!

  Digital Doors Open at 1255pm! (Pacific Time)

  *This event is not being recorded.

  Show details
• February 10: The Five Principles of Creating Clarity with Hayley Milliman of ProWritingAid

  • When
    10 Feb 2022
  •  
    12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  Join us Thursday, February 10th at noon for The Five Principles of Creating Clarity, a presentation by Hayley Miliiman of ProWritingAid. Register here (bcwriters.ca/events-for-writers) and a link will be sent to you. When it's time for the event, click on the link to join the live Zoom event. Looking forward to seeing you there!

  The Five Principles of Creating Clarity

  As writers, we often spend too much time focusing on what our ideas are instead of how to communicate those ideas most effectively. If we don't sharpen our sentences with our readers in mind, then our ideas will get lost and our writing will be less engaging.

  In this actionable presentation, Hayley will walk you through five key ways to improve the craft of your writing. By the end of the session, you'll know exactly how to tackle your work to make it more powerful for your readers. 

  As Head of Education at ProWritingAid, Hayley Milliman focuses on building engaging, helpful learning content for the millions of users who rely on ProWritingAid to make their writing clear and effective. Hayley has a robust writing portfolio and has written for dozens of publications on topics related to education, marketing strategy, history, entrepreneurship, and more. She has also published several books related to writing and history, one of which hit the Amazon bestseller list. When not working, Hayley loves hiking, skating of all kinds, and correcting people on Star Wars trivia.

  Digital Doors Open at 1155am!

  ProWritingAid has so kindly extended an offer of 25% off of their product for new subscriptions.  All attendees will receive an email post event with the code and instructions on how to use it.

  
  

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• February 12: In/Verse Monthly Poetry Reading

  • When
    12 Feb 2022
  •  
    2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  
  

  Join us for In/Verse on Saturday, February 12 at 1:55 pm by registering here (bcwriters.ca/events-for-writers) and a Zoom link for the event will be sent to you. When it’s time for the event you can click on the Zoom link to join the event.

  
  

  Molly Cross-Blanchard

  Molly Cross-Blanchard is a white and Métis writer living on unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh land, cka Vancouver, where she works as the publisher of Room magazine. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and her debut full-length collection of poetry, Exhibitionist, was published by Coach House Books in 2021.

  Donna Kane

  Donna Kane is a writer living in Rolla, BC. Her poems, short fiction, reviews and essays have been published widely. She is the author of the non-fiction book, Summer of the Horse, and of three books of poetry, most recently Orrery, a finalist for the 2020 Governor General’s Literary Award. Poems from Orrery were also featured in A Sky Full of Poems with Dava Sobel presented by Hampton’s Observatory and Guild Hall, in Voyages to Mars: Dreaming, a podcast for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and a poem from the collection was selected for Vancouver’s 2021 Poetry in Transit program. In 2020 she received the British Columbia Medal of Good Citizenship.
  

  Daniel G Scott

  Daniel G Scott is past Artistic Director of the Planet Earth Poetry Reading Series. His recent publications include   Aftertime (2019) and Voicing Suicide (Ekstasis Editions, 2020) an anthology of suicide poems he edited and [klee-shays] undone, volume one (Nose in Book Publishing, 2020) He has previously published four books of poetry and three chapbooks He has individual poems in journals, anthologies and chapbooks as well as numerous academic publications and, with Shannon McFerran, The Girls Diary Project (University of Victoria, 2013). In 1984, he won a one-act playwriting competition in New Brunswick with Four Steps Closer.

  Host:

  Susan Alexander is the author of two collections of poems, The Dance Floor Tilts and Nothing You Can Carry and a former journalist. Her work has won multiple awards, including the Mitchell Prize for Faith and Poetry in 2019. Susan’s poems appear in anthologies and literary magazines in Canada, the U.K. and the U.S., have ridden Vancouver buses as part of Poetry in Transit and even shown up in the woods around Whistler. She lives on Nexwlélexm/Bowen Island, the traditional territory of the Squamish people. 

  Digital Doors Open at 1:55, Event Starts at 2PM

  *This event is not being recorded

  
  

  
  

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• February 14: Writing Spring Serenade: Live Musical Inspiration

  • When
    14 Feb 2022
  •  
    12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  Join us for Writing Spring Serenade on Monday, February 14 at 12 pm by registering here (bcwriters.ca/events-for-writers) and a Zoom link for the event will be sent to you. When it’s time for the event you can click on the Zoom link to join the event.

  Pianist Andrew Sims creates a space for us all to be inspired as he accompanies writing while we engage in our craft.  This monthly event has a simple, but creative premise.  Andrew plays while we write.

  Each session will start with a brief introduction to the music being played and from there we launch into a creative space wherein writers are serenaded by live music to inspire us and build commonality with writers working from across BC and the Yukon

  Andrew Sims completed the Bachelor of Music in piano from Baylor University and Master of Music in piano from the University of Alberta. He maintains a busy teaching studio of students from 5-99 years old. Andrew is an examiner for the Canadian National Conservatory of Music and has embraced online teaching; he specializes in creative, wholistic, and positive teaching. andrewsimspiano.com
  

  Digital Doors Open at 11:55, Event Starts at 12PM

  *This event is not being recorded

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• Feb 27: Sunday Webinar: Coping with Perfectionism and Imposter Syndrome - Tips from a Therapist

  • When
    27 Feb 2022
  •  
    2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  Member Price: $10

  Non-Member Price is $20

  Description:

  This workshop will explore psychological techniques for coping with perfectionism and imposter syndrome. The workshop will be experiential in nature, so come with an open mind and a willingness to experiment with new coping skills.

  Bio:

  Victor Wakarchuk, MSW, RSW is a therapist in private practice specializing in working with queer men. Learn more at www.centreforgaycounselling.com

  Digital Doors Open at 1:55, Event Starts at 2PM

  
  

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