Self-Publishing Publishers

The following self-publishing/POD publishers are recommended by Writer's Digest and are CANADIAN. These are listed in the order they appear among the 63 listed. Notice they are not alphabetical so this may be the order of recommendation by Writer's Digest.

Trafford Publishing
Victoria, B.C.
www.trafford.com

Spire Publishing
Salt Spring Island, B.C.
www.spirepublishing.com

Ardith Publishing
London, Ontario
ardithpublishing.com

Volumes
Kitchener, Ontario
www.volumesdirect.com

First Choice Books
Victoria, B.C.
www.firstchoicebooks.ca

All Day Writing Retreat

Our Writing Retreat will take place on Saturday, June 6, 2009, at Eramosa Eden Mills. Directions can be found here: http://www.eramosaeden.org/id4.htm. We will be carpooling so please speak up if you want to ride with someone. Please note that the writing session at the library on Sunday, June 7th, has been cancelled.

The day will start at 10am and run until 4pm. You are to bring your own lunch, snacks, beverages, etc. Coffee will be provided.

There is no formal set-up for our all day writing retreat. You may join in round table writing prompts and sharing of writings, or you may do your own thing - wander around, enjoy the scenery, take photos, write on your own. You may also bring a laptop to plug in but you will receive no internet signal - which is the point, isn't it?

Cost of this retreat is $10 per person. You may pay Nancy in advance or at the retreat. We need a minimum of 10 people so if you commit to attending, please honour that commitment or we could come up short with our 10 person minimum and others will have to make up the difference.

This is an experience you don't want to miss. Hopefully the weather will be nice and you can enjoy writing outside in the sunshine amongst nature.

WRITER'S DIGEST WRITING PROMPT

The Coma

Write from the point of view of a person in a coma. This is a permanent condition. The patient will probably never come out of the coma, but still haltingly comprehends the outer world. The voices of loved ones are familiar, even initimately familiar, but the comatose character cannot attach names to the voices. The patient has lost this capacity. 500 words.

This is an exercise about death-in-life. The person who is telling us this story is technically alive and is obviously narrating the tale for us - to us - but people in the room with him do not really know if the comatose person is alive or dead. This is also simply an exercise in sensory deprivation, like Plato's cave - shadows thrown against the wall of a character's consciousness. The people in this piece will be barely human - they'll be words, perhaps an odor, maybe a dim memory evoked.
_________
Excerpted from The 4 A.M. Breakthrough: Unconventional Writing Exercises That Transform Your Fiction by Brian Kiteley

Quote of the Week 02/23

If you don’t think you can do it, who will? You control the most important tool in success, your mind. - Jeffrey Gilomer

Interesting Website

This website was recommended in Writer's Relief Top 20. Check it out!

http://www.fictionaddiction.net/

"First Line" call for submissions

Not only is this an interesting call for submissions, it is a great source for a prompt every once in awhile, and the website is pretty cool too. The First Line submission call is for stories starting with the first line they provide for each issue. Check it out!

Deadline: 05/01/09.
Submit to: The First Line. E-mail (via MS Word or WordPerfect attachment) to: submission@thefirstline.com.
Theme: Every story starts out the same: For two weeks now, I’ve been trying to figure out if people are laughing with me or at me.
Type: Short stories (3,000 words MAX).
URL: http://www.thefirstline.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SHIRLEY

on February 23, 2009

May it be the best birthday ever

All the best from your friends

at HWG

Photo Gallery

Hi All:
After much frustration with the server the gallery is up and running

Quote of the Week

An essential element for good writing is a good ear: One must listen to the sound of one's own prose. - Barbara Tuchman

Quote of the... Week!

Without pressure, the work doesn’t get done at all. – William Saroyan

YOUNG POETS CONTEST

YOUNG POETS WEEKApplication Form Young Poets’ Week runs April 6 - 12, 2009. Teachers can check the teachers' forum each day to read about the new and exciting activities during YP week. Youngpoets.ca is an excellent source of inspiration for this year's entrants as well as a valuable educational resource, featuring lesson plans, reading lists, a digital history of Canadian poetry and an on-line discussion group. Young writers are encouraged to browse articles or join a chat-room discussion with peers and published poets.

Students in six provinces will also have the opportunity to meet poets in their schools through a series of classroom readings sponsored by The League and organized by provincial writers’ associations.

This year’s “Poetic Licence” contest winners will be announced during young poets week. First, second and third prize national winners in each language and age category will receive cash prizes of $350, $300 and $250 respectively. See Re:verse, the League’s youth driven on-line e-zine at www.youngpoets.ca for the winners’ poems

LEN RICH

Please send cards and letters to Len in North Bay. His address is as follows:


Len Rich
574 Cedar Hgts. Rd.W.
North Bay
P1B 8G3

Call for Submissions: Minden Fringe

Call for Submission - Minden Fringe

Monday January 26, 2009
Playwright's Minden is seeking local submissions for the 2009 Fringe Festival. We are seeking submissions in a variety of performance styles including: short plays, dance/physical theatre, storytelling, and concerts. All work must be original.

Minden Fringe is a partnership between Wintergreen Pancake Barn and Playwright's Minden, which is a project of the Haliburton County COOP.
The Festival is held at WINTERGREEN PANCAKE BARN and runs Saturday evenings in July and August. There are 2 different performances each night, following dinner. All artists have one opportunity to perform their work.

Performances must be no longer than 60 minutes. Audience capacity is 50 people. The performance space is a converted barn loft. The space is flexible in terms of shape, but is limited to the following dimensions: 10 ft. x 8 ft.

This is a fantastic opportunity for local artists to develop and present new work. Artists receive a percentage of the box office for the evening of their performance and also receive an archival copy of video footage of their performance.

Individual artists are entirely responsible for the technical elements required for their productions (i.e. lights, sound and costumes). The Artistic Director of the Fringe will be the liaison between the artists and the venue.

Submissions must include a detailed description of the nature of the performance and what it entails. If the submission is for an original one act play, please submit the script. There are only 8 performance spots available so please provide the selection committee with as much information as possible. There is a $20.00 non-refundable application fee for adult submissions and a $10.00 non-refundable application fee for students. Selected artists will be required to sign a contract with the Fringe.

The selection of performances is at the absolute discretion of Playwrights Minden. Final Decisions will be announced in mid-April.

Submissions can be emailed to: mindenfringe@gmail.com

One hardcopy of the submission MUST be mailed along with the application fee to:
MINDEN FRINGE
P.O. Box 1436
Haliburton, Ontario
K0M 1S0

DEADLINE: MARCH 31, 2009.
PERFORMANCE DATES: July 11th & 18th and August 1st & 8th 2009.

Details are also available on the website: http://www.haliburtonarts.on.ca/news.php#type5

Quote of the Day 02/03

To write fiction, one needs a whole series of inspirations about people in an actual environment, and then a whole lot of work on the basis of those inspirations.
- Aldous Huxley