Summer’s in full swing, and there’s no shortage of good things to fill your calendar: poetry readings, book launches, workshops, residencies, festivals, a free video series, and more . . .
Note: the Federation of BC Writers is not directly affiliated with any of the following organizations or groups.
Submit your event or announcement to our next blog post here, or contact Rachel at rachel@bcwriters.ca.
GROOVIN’ ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON!
with poet TREVOR CAROLAN, HENRY YOUNG, guitar, PAUL BLANEY, bass
Sunday, July 30, 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Mt Seymour Heritage Centre, 1620 Mt Seymour Rd., North Vancouver
FREE; all ages welcome
Enjoy spoken word and soft jazz outdoors at our annual Heritage Centre lazy summer’s day concert. Join poet Trevor Carolan, jazz guitarist Henry Young, and Paul Blaney, bass, at the foot of beautiful Mount Seymour as they present nature and travel poems with gentle West Coast sounds inspired by our North Shore mountains and the back country. Bring a picnic, blanket, or deck-chair, drinks, and sunscreen.
FREE Video Series
Peer-to-Peer Professional Growth and Development for the Arts Sector
Ottawa Arts Council
Watch: www.ottawaartscouncil.ca/full-spectrum-series
From project management to video production, marketing to communications, this 8-video series was designed for self-employed artists and arts organizations by artists and cultural leaders in the community, sharing skills and information on a variety of practical professional development topics.
The series is available in English, with French, Arabic or Chinese subtitles accessible by changing the Closed Captioning language.
If you enjoy the Full Spectrum series, please fill out this brief survey on your experience.
Royal City Literary Arts Society: Poetry in the Park
Wednesday Nights, July 5 – Aug 30, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Queen’s Park Bandshell, New Westminster, BC
Free summer poetry reading series, with two feature poets and an open mic each evening.
https://rclas.com/recurring/poetryinthepark-com/
Seaside Art, Photography & Book Fair
Friday, August 18, 1 pm – 6 pm
Saturday, August 19, 10 am – 6 pm
Sunday, August 20, 10 am – 3 pm
Seaside Centre, 5790 Teredo St., Sechelt
A gathering of Sunshine Coast artists, photographers, and authors, presenting art exhibits, photography displays, book signings, literary readings, weaving demons, workshops, and more.
Hosted by the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society: scwes.ca
Reserve a free pass at: www.eventbrite.ca/e/seaside-art-photography-book-fair-tickets-637305326387?aff=oddtdtcreator
Sunshine Coast Literary Landmark Map
It’s with great pleasure that the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society announces that they were successful in receiving a Heritage BC grant for $10,000 for their Literary Landmark Map project. To their knowledge, this is the first time this kind of project has been done in BC outside of Vancouver. VPL did an online literary map twenty years ago, and the original VPL team is providing mentorship.
Special thanks go to the team of Michael Gurney, Jan DeGrass, Jana Curll, Stephen Smith, Heather Conn, Betty Keller, Matthew Lovegrove of the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives, Mayor John Henderson of Sechelt, Marisa Alps of the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts, Sunshine Coast Tourism and everyone else who assisted with the research and proposal to create an interactive map documenting the 100-years of authors and the written arts on the Sunshine Coast.
Vancouver Public Library’s Writers Showcase
Thursday, August 22, 6:30 – 8 pm
Montalbano Family Theatre, Level 8
VPL Central Library, 350 West Georgia St. Vancouver, BC
Five members of Crime Writers of Canada’s BC/YT region, KAREN DODD, WINONA KENT, KEN MacQUEEN, YVONNE MAXIMCHUK and DAVID RABINOVITCH, will be reading from their work. This event features the exclusive first reading in Canada of David’s true-crime book, Jukebox Empire. Authors’ books will be for sale following the event plus there will be a social mixer afterwards at the Library Square Pub from 8.30 ‘til closing – where there will be additional readings from other writers!
Book Launch:
Wednesday, Aug. 30, 7:00 pm
The Lido, 518 E. Broadway, Vancouver
Join award winning author, Renee Sarojini Saklikar for the launch of her new book, Bramah’s Quest, an epic fantasy in verse/verse novel about climate change and global inequality.
Sign up for free here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/launch-for-bramahs-quest-tickets-680921523607?aff=oddtdtcreator
Royal City Literary Arts Society (RCLAS):
10th Annual Fred Cogswell Award for Excellence in Poetry
Submission Deadline: October 1, 2023
Reading Fee: $25.00
The RCLAS is inviting book submissions to their annual contest. Books must be a minimum of 60 pages in length, and the original date of publication must fall between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. For complete details, visit: https://rclas.com/2023-contest/
Vancouver Writers Fest: Festival Reading List
In anticipation of their festival from October 16–22, 2023, the Vancouver Writers Fest has published an official Reading List. Check out the entire list of over 115 books, which is searchable by title, author, and genre.
Call for Applications: Saskatoon Public Library Writer-in-Residence
Sept, 1, 2024 – May 1, 2025
Saskatoon, SK
Submissions Deadline: November 15, 2023
For more information about this full-time position, visit https://saskatoonlibrary.ca/isl/uploads/2022/08/WIR-Job-Posting_2024-25.pdf
Call for Applications: International Literary Seminars
December 5 – 20, 2023
Nairobi and Lamu, Kenya
Writers are invited to apply for the December 2023 International Literary Seminars program, a unique and intensive series of literary workshops, career consultations, and cultural offerings in Nairobi and Lamu, Kenya. Space is limited to 52 participants and acceptances are made based solely on the quality of writing samples. Applications for 2023 are currently open, until all spots are filled.
ILS – International Literary Seminars – is a continuation of SLS – Summer Literary Seminars, which ran from 1998-2018 on three continents. Programs were run in Russia, Lithuania, Georgia, Kenya, and in Canada (Montreal). Diversity in voices is important in all facets of programming and development of a global network of writers.
For more information, including contest details to win a full scholarship, visit https://www.internationalliteraryseminars.org/apply
