April 2023 Reading Night – Thursday 27th

Reading Night on Thursday evening, April 27 from 7 to 9 pm.

This event is for CVWS Members only and is held via Zoom.
Zoom invitation will be sent to all CVWS members on Wednesday, April 26.

April is named after the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite. The Romans called this month Aprilis, which may derive from the verb aperire meaning “to open”, referring to flowers and fruits opening. Members are invited to share prose and/or poetry for up to 10 minutes on the April theme of Love and Renewal – with Mother Nature or yourself – or any topic related to the special days in April. Other themes/topics are welcome. Members who just want to listen are also welcome!

Special Days in April

April 1 – April Fool’s Day, International Fun at Work Day, National Greeting Card Day
April 2 – International Children’s Book Day, Int. Fact-Checking Day, World Autism Awareness
April 3 – National Find a Rainbow Day, National Inspiring Joy Day, World Party Day
April 4 – International Hug a Newsperson Day, National School Librarian Day
April 5 – National Self-Care Day, Read a Road May Day, National Deep Dish Pizza Day
April 6 – National Acai Bowl, Burrito, Carbonara, Pajama, and Student Athlete Day
April 7 – Good Friday, National Coffee Cake and No Housework Day, World Health Day
April 8 – National All is Ours, Empanada, and Zoo Lovers Day
April 9 – Easter Sunday, National Name Yourself and Unicorn Day
April 10 – National Encourage a Young Writer Day, Farm Animals, and Hug Your Dog Day
April 11 – National Cheese Fondue, Pet, Clean Up Your Pantry, and Submarine Day
April 12 – Walk on Your Wild Side Day, National Licorice and Only Child Day
April 13 – Celebrate Teen Literature Day, National Peach Cobbler and Scrabble Day
April 14 – Day of Silence, National Donate a Book, Look Up to the Sky, and Gardening Day
April 15 – Husband Appreciation and Record Store Day, World Art Day
April 16 – Emancipation and Good Deeds Day, National Eggs Benedict and Librarian Day
April 17 – International Haiku Poetry Day, National Cheese Ball and Kueickball Day
April 18 – National Animal Crackers, Exercise, and Newspaper Columnist’s Day
April 19 – Humorous and Wear Pajamas to Work, Banana and Garlic Day
April 20 – National Cheddar Fries, High Five, Look-Alike, and Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day
April 21 – Big Words Day, National Kindergarten, Tea, and Thank You for Libraries
Day
April 22 – April Showers and Earth Day, National Jelly Bean, and Girl Scout Appreciation Day
April 23 – World Book Day, National Email, Lover’s, Picnic, and Take a Chance Day
April 24 – National Pigs in a Blanket Day
April 25 – National DNA, Telephone, School Bus Driver’s and Zucchini Bread Day
April 26 – World Stationary, Stop Food Waste, Alien, Audubon, Denim, and Get Organized Day
April 27 – National Tell a Story, Prime Rib, Morse Code, and Take Our Kid To Work Day
April 28 – Great Poetry Reading, Women’s Wellness, Superhero, Arbor, and Blueberry Pie Day
April 29 – Independent Bookstores, Astronomy, Veterinary, and World Wish Day

April 30 – Healthy Kids, Honesty, Jazz, Raison, and Tie Dye Day

March 2023 Reading Night – Thursday, 23rd

The next CVWS Reading Night is on Thursday, March 23rd at 7 p.m. via Zoom.

This month’s theme: Symbolically, March represents new growth, fertility, and procreation in humans, plants and animals. Its meaning embodies a kind of reigniting of the hearts, like our ancestors, we are quickened… our souls long for new conquests. The theme, which is optional, is focused on our own new growth and longing for new adventures and conquests.

Tune in to share for up to 10 minutes; or just to listen and appreciate the writing of your fellow members.

Other theme ideas for March:
March 1 – World Compliment Day, Plan a Solo Vacation Day
March 3 – Caregiver Appreciation Day, World Day of Prayer
March 5 – Multiple Personality Day
March 6 – Dentist’s Day, Oreo Cookie Day
March 8 – International Working Women’s Day, National Proofreading Day
March 9 –Popcorn Lover’s Day
March 10 – International Day of Awesomeness
March 11 – Genealogy Day
March 12 – Girl Scouts Day
March 13 – Smart & Sexy Day
March 14 – Learn about Butterflies Day, National Pi (3.14) Day
March 15 – Ides of March
March 16 – Absolutely Incredible Kid Day, Giant Panda Day
March 17 – Saint Patrick’s Day
March 18 – Goddess of Fertility Day
March 19 – Let’s Laugh Day
March 20 – Earth Day, Extraterrestrial Abductions Day, International Day of Happiness, Proposal Day, Spring Equinox
March 21 – International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, World Poetry Day
March 23 – Ramadan
March 25 – Feast of the Annunciation
March 26 – Live Long and Prosper Day
March 30 – I am in Control Day, Take a Walk in the Park Day
March 31 – International Transgender Day of Visibility

 

2023 North Island Writers Society registration is open

Check out the wonderful workshop line-up for the 2023 North Island Writers Conference on January 20 – 22. Full program details with descriptions of each workshop and their presenter can be found here: 2023 North Island Writers Conference.

Don’t delay too long. Registrations are coming in and you will not want to miss out.

And don’t forget to join us for the Opening Night event at 7 p.m. on January 20 in the Stan Hagen Theatre, Komoux Hall at the NIC campus. This one is free and open to the public! See you there!

From Private to Public – How to Read Your Work – Nov 4, 2021

From Private to Public

Your North Island Writers Conference committee is pleased to present the third mid-conference session event titled: “From Private to Public – How to Read Your Work”. It will be held on Thursday, November 4, 2021 at 7 p.m. via Zoom.

In order to promote their books, authors need to be prepared to read from their work in front of an audience. This is not always an easy thing to do and takes lots of practice.  In this presentation, our guest speaker, Richard Brown, will describe why public speaking is a learned skill and will provide insight in how to acquire this skill.

Richard’s forty-year career in Information Technology put him in front of many different audiences, for purposes of training, leading and managing expectations. Eventually, this led him into working as an Adult Instructor with High School students, and later, joining Toastmasters.

There will time for questions at the end.

To register for From Private to Public – How to Read Your Work, please fill out the form under the “Registration” tab by November 3rd. Once you have registered, look for your Zoom invitation for this event to arrive in your Inbox and save it to your calendar. (Check your “Spam” folder if you do not see the Zoom invitation.)

This event is for CVWS members only.

If you have any questions, please contact Joline at [email protected]. (It is listed in the drop-down Contacts box on the Contact page.) If you do not see your Zoom invitation, please contact [email protected]…also in the drop-down Contacts box)

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Call for Submissions – Quills Canadian Poetry Magazine

Deadline October 15th, 2021 at 11:59 PM (PST)

The pandemic has offered experiences that are uniquely yours while at the same time there are some things that are universal to us all. Have you been writing poetry over the last few years while you have been in quarantine? Are you ready to share your work?

Whether you have been writing about despair and loss of hope and change, Quills Canadian Poetry Magazine is now open for submissions for a Pandemic Issue to be released later this year.

Please send your submission, name, and contact info to [email protected]
Deadline October 15th, 2021 at 11:59 PM (PST)

Meet the Editors:
Bonnie Nish is Executive Director of Word Vancouver and Pandora’s Collective Outreach Society. Bonnie has a Masters in Arts Education from Simon Fraser University and a Ph.D. in Language and Literacy Education from UBC. Bonnie’s first book of poetry ‘Love and Bones’ was released by Karma Press Her next book “Concussion and Mild TBI: Not Just Another Headline” an anthology of concussion-related stories, was published by Lash and Associates in 2016. Bonnie is an Expressive Arts Therapist with a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from the Vancouver Expressive Arts Therapy School where she is also a faculty member. Her latest book, Cantata in Two Voices, co-written with Jude Neal was released by Ekstasis Editions.

Ali Denno is a writer and a Counselling Psychology student who has a passion for combining creative writing with the counselling world. She has facilitated workshops at Pacifica Rehabilitation Centre through Pandora’s Collective and currently is a peer support volunteer at The Looking Glass Foundation. She holds an Associate’s Degree in Creative Writing from KPU and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from UBC. Ali will start her Master of Counselling Degree at Adler University this fall. She hopes to share the joy and community that writing can bring.

Next Generation Indie – Book Awards

The following information was sent to the CVWS Membership via our website:

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL

2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Call for Entries
Over $10,000 in Monetary prizes, over 80 categories

Enter at www.IndieBookAwards.com.

If you would like to receive greater recognition, cash prizes, awards, possible representation by a leading agent, and exposure for your books, here is
an opportunity NOT to miss.

Continue reading

Creative Residencies for Comox Valley Writers and Visual Artists

The McLoughlin Gardens is pleased to welcome local writers and visual artists to reside and work at the Gardens for one- and two-week residencies this summer and fall. We offer successful applicants space and privacy to pursue their art and nurture their artistic vision and voice.

Applications will be juried by a committee. Residencies are subsidized and the cost to the artist will be $500 per week. The seaside cottage is comfortable, fully furnished and equipped with WIFI service. Please note: vehicle access is limited, and there are no laundry facilities.

To apply for the residency, please go to https://www.mcloughlingardens.org/literary-arts and submit an application by May 20, 2021.

Marketing Your Book in a Time of COVID & Beyond – May 13, 2021

Marketing Your Book

Your North Island Writers Conference committee is excited to launch the second mid-conference session event titled: “Marketing Your Book in a Time of COVID and Beyond”. It will be held on Thursday, May 13, 2021 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Three panel members – Terry James, Marlet Ashley and Teresa Hedley – (all CVWS members) will answer questions from the moderator and the attendees.

The aim of the Q & A panel session is to find solutions that can be applied during this restrictive atmosphere to form a supportive network for authors to continue their work into the future.

This event is for CVWS members only. Time being limited, each member may only ask one question of the panel which is pertinent to marketing a book. Please write out your question in the box provided on the registration form. In case someone has already asked the same question, please write out your secondary question in the space provided.

To register for Marketing Your Book in a Time of COVID and Beyond, please fill out the form under the “Registration” tab by May 9th. Once you have registered, look for your Zoom invitation for this event to arrive in your Inbox on May 10th.

If you have any questions, please contact Joline at [email protected]. (It is listed in the drop-down Contacts box on the Contact page.)

Marketing Panel

Terrance James
Terrance James earned BA and MEd degrees at UVIC and a PhD from the Rehabilitation Studies Department at the University of Calgary. He is a career educator having taught at elementary, secondary, college and university levels.

Writing has been a life-long interest. He has written: travelogues, poetry, professional journal articles, manuals and books. He has been published by a traditional publisher, and has self-published. He has worked as a proof-reader for an international organization and associate editor for an academic journal.

In retirement he and his wife operate Poplar Publishing, a small home-based business that publishes niche market books for first time authors in the Comox Valley. Most of these are books of memoir, family history, or autobiography written by seniors.


Marlet Ashley, B.A., B.Ed., M.A.
Marlet began her career as a T.A. in psychology at the University of Windsor and an instructor of psychology at St. Clair College of Applied Arts and Technology, Windsor, Ontario. After earning an M.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing at the U. of Windsor, she taught creative writing there as a sessional instructor. Moving to Vancouver, B.C., she was a tenured instructor of literature and composition at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey, B.C.

Her first novel is The Right Kind of Crazy (2018). Along with the children’s books series Revelry on the EstuaryThe Interlopers, Trumpeters’ Tribulations, Penelope Piper’s Great Adventure, Henri Sings the Blues, and A Pirate’s Life for Gabby—as well as a children’s Christmas book—Must Be Christmas—and Robin and Ruthie Ride the Bus, her short stories and poetry have been included in a variety of literary and university publications including Generation, Wayzgoose, Taproot, and others. She is the author of the Canadian edition of Literature and the Writing Process, Pearson Prentice Hall, Toronto.

She is a member of the Federation of BC Writers and the Comox Valley Writers Society under whose auspices she facilitates a fiction writing group. Marlet has been a guest lecturer at Elder College at North Island College. She has also conducted workshops for the Comox Valley Writers Society’s conference at North Island College (2018, 2019, 2020). One of three finalists for the 2012 John Kenneth Galbraith Literary Award, she was also the recipient of an honourable mention in the Lorian Hemmingway 2018 Short Story Competition and the 2020 Writers’ Digest Literary Short Fiction Contest. Marlet lives in Comox, BC. Visit her blog at https://marletswords.wordpress.com.


Teresa Hedley
Teresa Hedley is the author of What’s Not Allowed? A Family Journey with Autism (Wintertickle Press, 2020), a memoir which offers an uplifting approach to mining the best version of each of us, autism or not. Teresa is also a parent, an educator and a curriculum designer. Teaching stints in Canada, Japan, Greece, Spain and Germany have shaped her perspective. As an armed forces family, the Hedleys lived coast to coast in Canada. Teresa and son Erik co-wrote a twenty-article series for Autism Matters magazine, “I Have Autism and I Need Your Help.” Additionally, Teresa worked with families and school boards in Ottawa as an autism consultant and advocate. She and her family returned to the Comox Valley in 2019 and are happy to be back beside the ocean.

Registration

This form is now closed for submissions.