Annual General meeting – June 20th, 2024

June 20 – Thursday at 7 p.m. – Bayside Bistro, #5 – 2760 Cliffe Ave., Courtenay

It is our Annual General meeting with election of Board Members for the 2024-2025 year. After our brief business portion and elections, we welcome our guest speaker, Ian Kennedy.

Ian is a returning CVWS member after a brief hiatus and we celebrated his return as our 100th member for the 2023-2024 year! Ian has published seven non-fiction books with his latest, The Best Loved Boat: The Princess Maquinna, Harbour Publishing 2023, selected as one of the finalists for the 2024 BC and Yukon Book Prize.

General Meeting – May 16th, 2024

May 16 – Thursday at 7 p.m. – Bayside Bistro, #5 – 2760 Cliffe Ave., Courtenay

Guest speaker at our next general meeting is CVWS member, Kim Letson.

Newly returned from her book tour in England for her 4th book, Canterbury and Other Tales, about her latest rambling adventures, will speak on Beginnings and Endings.
An Open Mic will follow.

General Meeting – Apr. 18th, 2024

April 18 – Thursday at 7 p.m. – Bayside Bistro, #5 – 2760 Cliffe Ave., Courtenay

APRIL IS POETRY MONTH!

This month, at the Bayside, we poets, poetry lovers, and supporters of readers of poetry will gather. All are invited to read poetry they’ve written, or poems they wish they’d written, or simply poems they like and want to share.  It will be a poetry reading for all.

Please come with a poem or two or three to share.

(Note: The Open Mic segment of our General meetings is becoming quite popular. In order for everyone to have their turn, please be kind and make sure your reading will be limited to a maximum of five (5) minutes. Practice what you will be reading at the meeting in front of a mirror, or a loving spouse, and use a timer to determine your reading length.)

As always, our thanks to Ben and Gerri, owners of the Bayside Bistro.

General Meeting – Mar. 21, 2024

March 21st – Thursday at 7 p.m. – Bayside Bistro, #5 – 2760 Cliffe Ave., Courtenay.

Our guest speaker for the evening will be author Christine Dickinson, who will give a talk on “Not Your Usual Dry Research”.

Christine Dickinson

Christine Dickinson

Christine’s passion is for the regional history of BC. She has co-authored Atlin: The Story of British Columbia’s Last Gold Rush (1996) and Watershed Moments: A Pictorial History of Courtenay and District (2015). More recently, Christine is a contributing author to Step into Wilderness: A Pictorial History of Outdoor Exploration in the Comox Valley. Christine will share several anecdotes about researching her books.

Everyone welcome!

General Meeting – Dec. 14, 2023

December 14 – Thursday at 7 p.m. – Bayside Bistro, #5 – 2760 Cliffe Ave., Courtenay

Come join us for our Christmas Social! Get into the Christmas spirit and mingle merrily with your fellow writers.

You also do not want to miss the entertainment segment either! Our CVWS members have been working on their articles for the writing challenge – to write a contemporary Christmas or Hannukah (or the celebration of your choice) short story in verse, fiction or nonfiction.

With a gambit of making the tone of their articles either funny, heart-wrenching, inspiring…or whatever feels right, the Open Mic entertainment segment of the meeting promises to be…well, entertaining and worth attending.

General Meeting – Nov. 16, 2023

November 16 – Thursday at 7 p.m. – Bayside Bistro, #5 – 2760 Cliffe Ave., Courtenay

This month’s guest speaker is Margo McLoughlin, Storyteller. She believes “the world is made up of stories.” Margo tells original tales of the BC coast, Buddhist traditions, and the world. As writers, we too are storytellers. Come and bring your curiosity and questions for Margo.

Reminder: Membership fees for the 2023 / 2024 year are due now. Cost is $25.00* and Membership forms will be available at the meeting, or you can pay online through the CVWS website. (*Note: If paying online using PayPal and your credit card, $1.25 is added to cover PayPal fees. There is no extra charge if you utilize the e-transfer option online.)

As always, our thanks to Ben and Gerri, owners of the Bayside.

General Meeting – Oct. 19, 2023

October 19 – Thursday at 7 p.m. – Bayside Café, #5 – 2760 Cliffe Ave., Courtenay

Our guest speaker for the evening is Sean Russell. our resident Comox Valley internationally-known author, published by Random House and Astra Publishing. 

Come on out with your questions and find out more about this down to earth writer who decided at 10 years of age that he was going to be an author. Find out the works that have been a major influence on his desire to write sci fi/fantasy. Learn how his passion for yachting and sailing translated into a series of historical fiction novels. Discover how Sean produced 16 novels over 32 years, quite an accomplishment, averaging a novel every two years.

Don’t forget! Membership fees for the 2023 / 2024 year are due now. Cost is $25.00 and Membership forms will be available at the meeting, or you can pay online through the CVWS website. The option of paying by e-transfer has now been added on the membership form or you can pay by credit card through PayPal, if you prefer. (If using PayPal, a $1.25 fee is added to the $25.00 membership fee.)

As always, our thanks to Ben and Gerri, owners of the Bayside Café.

General Meeting – Sept. 21, 2023

September 21 – Thursday at 7 p.m. – Bayside Café, #5 – 2760 Cliffe Ave., Courtenay

We are excited to announce that our guest speaker for the evening is Vici Johnstone from Caitlin Press. Vici will speak about “The changing landscape in publishing. Where do we go from here?” Bring your curiosity and your questions. Writer friends who are non-members are welcome to join us for this event.

Membership fees for the 2023 / 2024 year are due now. Cost is $25.00 and Membership forms will be available at the meeting, or you can pay online through the CVWS website.

As always, our thanks to Ben and Gerri, owners of the Bayside.