“If January is the month of change, February is the month of lasting change. January is for dreamers… February is for doers.” – Marc Parent
Looking for inspiration? Scroll down to learn more about new workshops, contests, book launches, and other great writing events from around the province.
Note: the Federation of BC Writers is not directly affiliated with the following organizations or groups.
Submit your event or announcement to our next blog post here, or contact Rachel at rachel@bcwriters.ca.
Word Vancouver: Membership Drive
For $10, become a member of the Vancouver Book & Magazine Fair Society, producers of Word Vancouver. Become a member anytime throughout the year through the link below.
Annual membership perks include: access to newsletters and updates on events; access to exclusive programming, such as workshops and walking tours; discounted ticket pricing for WV’s annual May fundraiser; entry to WV’s annual book raffle.
Your $10 yearly membership helps keep the festival free!
BECOME A MEMBER: https://www.wordvancouver.ca/donate
Author Reading: Steven Mayoff: The Island Gospel According to Samsom Grief
with Jeffrey Groberman / Grobetrotting Strikes Again!
Monday, Feb 12, 11:30 am
Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver
950 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver, BC
TICKETS $18 (Light refreshments provided.) Purchase tickets here.
Part of the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival. For a full schedule of events, click here.
Samson Grief, a reclusive painter from Prince Edward Island, is haunted by three red-haired figments of his imagination in the form of Judas Iscariot, Fagin, and Shylock. They claim to be messengers of a genderless deity who has decreed PEI the new Promised Land, and also wants Samson to build the Island’s first synagogue. Scared, confused, and doubting his sanity, Samson eventually accepts the challenge. This is a darkly humorous, utterly original and wildly entertaining novel.
Steven Mayoff’s fiction and poetry have appeared in literary journals across Canada and the U.S. He is the author of the story collection Fatted Calf Blues, the novel Our Lady of Steerage, and two books of poetry. Originally from Montreal, Steven lives in PEI.
Pulp Literature: Bumblebee Flash Fiction Contest
For short fiction up to 750 words.
Entry fee: $20
Deadline: February 15, 2024
Is your shortest fiction soft and appealing with a hidden sting? Send us your short, sweet, and sassy fiction for a chance to win $300 and publication in Pulp Literature. Get an editorial critique for only $25 more. Judged by flash fiction master Bob Thurber, winner of numerous awards and author of the novel Paperboy. The winner will receive a prize of $300 and will be published in Issue 43, Summer 2024. Entry fees include a 1-year digital subscription to Pulp Literature.
For more information, visit https://pulpliterature.com/contests/the-bumblebee-flash-fiction-contest/
Book Launch: Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti
In conversation with Lee Henderson
Tuesday, February 20 at 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30).
Munro’s Books, 1108 Government St., Victoria, BC
FREE event
Munro’s Books is pleased to present two Canadian award-winning authors. Sheila Heti will read from her new book Alphabetical Diaries and then chat about it with local fiction writer and UVic creative writing professor, Lee Henderson. The evening will end with a Q&A with audience members and a book signing with Sheila Heti.
For more information, visit https://munrobooks.com/events/20240220
Book Launch: The Liberation of Oliver Rook by Marlet Ashley
Saturday, February 24, 3:00 – 4:00 pm
Courtenay Museum, 207 4th Street, Courtenay, BC
All are welcome to this reading and book signing.
Author Talk – Curious Sounds: A Dialogue in Three Movements
Saturday, February 24, 4:00 – 5:00 PM PST
ONLINE and FREE
Presented by Word Vancouver
A collaborative, multi-faceted book by two extraordinary Black artists about finding beauty in the chaos. A dialogue between two artists across various mediums, Curious Sounds uses Mooking’s most recent album, SoundBites, as scaffolding for the artists’ conversations on creativity, Blackness, family, grief, and more. Composed of ekwuyasi’s essays reflecting on artmaking, storytelling, and creative expression and Mooking’s multimedia visual art, micro stories, music, and lyrics, this book is a collage of ideas about making meaning through life’s rhythms. Join us for an exciting chance to hear the authors talk about what inspired them to bring this together.
For more information and tickets to this virtual event, visit https://www.wordvancouver.ca/
Launch: Best Canadian Poetry in English 2024
Wednesday, February 28, 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Fortune Gallery, 537 Fisgard St. in Victoria, BC
FREE
Please join Munro’s Books in celebrating the launch of the Best Canadian Poetry in English 2024! Local poet Yvonne Blomer will host a reading by five of the local poets included in the collection: Nicholas Bradley, Kayla Czaga, Hilary Clark, Anna Moore, and Joanna Streetly.
For more information, visit https://munrobooks.com/events/20240228
Call for Entries: 2024 SCWES Book Contest
Leap Year Special: We’re showing BC authors book love for the month of February by offering the entry fee of $40/book if you get your entries in by February 29th.
Regular Deadline: May 31, 2024
The Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society Book Contest is open to both traditionally and self-published authors. A first-prize winner in each genre will be announced at the Art & Words Festival, Aug. 22-25, Gibsons Public Market, with a $100 prize for each first-place winner for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Children’s/YA, Illustrated/Graphic Novel, Indigenous Voices, Diverse Voices and Sunshine Coast Voices.
For more information, visit https://www.scwes.ca/contests
BOOK LAUNCH TOUR
Holly Ringland, author of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, introduces her new book, The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding
Saturday, March 2, 4:30 – 6:00 PM
The Museum of Vancouver, 1100 Chestnut St, Vancouver BC
Tickets $25.00 – includes event, book signing, refreshments and access to museum exhibits
CALL for Volunteers: Volunteers are needed in exchange for free admission for set up from 3-4:30 and strike down from 6-7:00 pm. Contact Simone at simonegingrasfox@gmail.com for more information
ADDITIONAL BC TOUR STOPS:
Thursday, Feb 29, Armchair Books, Whistler, BC
Wednesday, March 13, Munro’s Books, Victoria, BC
Saturday, March 16, Ucluelet Aquarium, Ucluelet, BC
(Contact venues for more information)
Royal City Literary Arts Society (RCLAS) WRITE ON! CONTEST 2024
Deadline April 15, 2024
3 Categories: Non-Fiction (1500 words max); Fiction (1500 words max); Poetry (1 pg single spaced max)
$10 per submission (one story or one poem) for RCLAS members; $20 per submission for non-members. Annual RCLAS Membership $35 a year.
For prizes and full contest details, visit https://rclas.com/2024-write-on-contest/
