My published stories

Several people have asked to see some of my fiction work so I am reproducing a couple of published pieces here. I hope you enjoy them. The first is The Staff, a fantasy about an apprentice magician who goes against his master’s commands. Go to: https://blackmax1.wordpress.com/short-stories/

Talent and script agent to speak at WEN

Writers & Editors Network’s featured speaker this month (Sat. Apr. 20) is talent and script agent, Carl Liberman. He’s head of the Literary Department at Characters Talent Agency (CTA). CTA, an agency based in Toronto, has a dozen agents and is a member of TAMAC, the Talent Managers Association of Canada. Carl represents screen writers, top directors, producers, A-list cinematographers and internationally renowned production designers and film editors.

In addition to the insight you’ll get about literary agents, WEN’s meetings offer excellent opportunities to network with peers — both published authors, those trying to break in, lots of poets some internationally famous, as well as those who support the writing field; publicists, writing/editing workshop leaders, and publishers.

I understand that WEN regularly brings between 60 and 90 members out to the monthly meetings, so please register in advance to ensure seating and to ensure they have enough food at the buffet tables. Pre-register at: breakfasts@wenetwork.ca

The meeting in which Carl is featured is on Sat. April 20, 9 a.m. to 11, At the Canadiana Restaurant and Banquet Hall, Six Points Plaza, 5230 Dundas St. W. in Toronto. Cost is $20 for non-members or $15 for WEN members.

For more about WEN, go to: www.wenetwork.org.

Sci-fi convention in Toronto this weekend

Ad Astra runs this weekend, from 7 p.m. April 5 until 5 p.m. April 7. It’s their 32nd convention and it’s a fan-run event that promotes local talent in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror and paranormal.

I was going to list the panels, events and activities, but the convention has so many that it would become an information dump. They have organized a huge lineup of the famous and near famous to give presentations and sit on panels, as well as set up plenty of other activities connected with nearly any aspect of the genres.

They have reams of presentations and panels — from local writing legend, Robert J. Sawyer’s discussion on building and keeping a fan base online and off, to a session on the fine points of corset making.

Guests of honour include, Jim Butcher, Stephen Hunt, Ben Bova and Scott Caple.

One panel that caught my eye is “I Love to Hate You.” The 5-member panel includes New York Times best-selling author of the Dresden Files Jim Butcher, and Milton-based start-up publisher Catherine Fitzsimmons who examine what is involved in creating a truly great villain.

It should be like a great weekend for you sci-fi/fantasy buffs. Ad Astra is being held in the Markham Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites at 7095 Woodbine Avenue. For more details go to http://www.ad-astra.org/.

On Saturday from 11am to 1pm they are offering free access so you can see what the convention is all about. Otherwise, it costs $70 for the weekend for adults, $50 for youth and $30 for children. You can also purchase day passes for any of the days or evenings ($25 to $45). Check out the schedule on the website  http://www.ad-astra.org/.

Poetry publisher offers prize & publication

Four Way Books, located in New York City, is looking for some quality poetry through their annual contest. Four Way is a non-profit literary press that publishes about a dozen books of poetry and short stories annually. They’ve been operating for about 20 years.

Their 2013 Four Way Book Levis Prize in Poetry (absurdly long name) offers $1,000 and publication to the winner, as well as a featured reading in New York City. Not a bad deal.

Fee: Entry fee is $28(US) and you can submit either online or through snail mail. Entry is a two-step process; first you pay for your entry, then you register and submit your work. (When you submit, you need a confirmation number that you receive when you pay.)

Requirements:

• Material in your manuscript may have been published previously in a chapbook, magazines, journals or anthologies, but the work as a whole must be unpublished
• Translations and previously self-published books are not eligible
• There are no length requirements but they note that book-length collections of poetry usually run between 45 and 80 pages of text
• The contest is open to any poet writing in English

Deadline is March 31.

For more information or to get details on where to submit go to:  http://fourwaybooks.com/contest.php

$20,000 poetry contest

For all you english poets, the Montreal International Poetry Prize is up for grabs. Details are at the bottom of this article but I thought you might want to know a bit about the prize before entering.

The Montreal International Poetry Prize is a not-for-profit grassroots organization “committed to encouraging the creation of original works of poetry, to building cross-national readership and to exploring the world’s Englishes.” Its stated goal “is to turn the traditional patronage model on its head, and deliver a major annual poetry prize funded directly by poets themselves.”

The prize is funded through an original anonymous donation of $50,000.  Its continued funding is through other donations, the purchase of its Prize Anthology ($18 for the 2011 edition), and the price of entering the contest.

An interesting angle to this competition is that the entry fee differs from country to country. Here’s their explanation:

The Montreal Prize is meant to be a truly global effort and so we’ve tried to take account of the fact that some countries are richer than others. In order to be as objective as we can in the allocation of the different fees, we’ve used the UN Human Development Index to distinguish between developed and developing nations.

Here are the rules:

• You have to have reached the age of majority in your country (in Canada that’s either 18 or 19)
• the poem must be original, yours, and simultaneous submissions are not eligible
• no more than 40 lines long (title doesn’t count)
• Early bird deadline is March 31, final deadline is May 15. (you get discounts for early entries)
• In Canada, the cost of your first entry is $25 or $20 if you enter before Mar 31. Each subsequent entry costs you $10. (On-line entries only. You have to create an account to enter — http://www.montrealprize.com/app/submit/enter)
• You can enter multiple times and it is possible to have more than one of your poems chosen for publication
• Through blind judging, a group of editors picks the best 50 entries to be published in the anthology. A final judge chooses the best one of the 50 to win the $20,000 grand prize.

For more information, or if you have questions about the contest go to:  http://montrealprize.com/competition/judging-process/

You can roam around their site, use their FAQ page or check out the credentials of the final judge and the editorial board.

New Posts Coming – Poetry, Short Story, Non-fiction Contests

I’ve been investigating writing contests to see what’s out there — tonnes of them. I’ve noticed that more top prizes are in the $1,000+ range — a positive change from the more typical $250 figure — and it looks like you’d need to invest an average of $25 per entry for stories ranging in the 2,000-10,000 word range.  Starting this Friday, I’ll begin weekly postings of contests I find interesting, giving the cost, prizes, deadlines and where you can find more information.

My interests are eclectic, so you’ll see genre opportunities, literary contests, and non-fiction competitions. Although I don’t write poetry, I’ll include those when I find them.

I also have a keen interest in short story collections, anthologies and novels so, when calls for those blip on my radar screen, I’ll broadcast them too.

Writers meet breakfast, East and West

For those writers (poets, essayists, journalists) in the eastern environs of the GTA the Writers’ Community of Durham Region (WCDR) has announced it’s next breakfast meeting for Sept. 8. Their featured speaker is acclaimed novelist Alissa York.

Alissa’s credits include Fauna her most recent book and a best seller which was shortlisted for the Toronto Book Award, Effigy which was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and her short fiction collection, Any Given Power, which has won both the Journey Prize and the Bronwen Wallace Award.

WCDR’s meeting starts at 8:30 a.m. at the Ajax Convention Centre, 550 Beck Crescent, south of Highway 2. Because of their sit-down meal format, you need to preregister by Sept. 5 at 9 a.m.  Members are $20 pre-paid and $25 for guests (guests are non-members, must pay at time of registration). For more info and to register go to: http://wcdr.ca/wcdr/breakfasts/

For those wordsmiths cuddling up to the Toronto/Mississauga border, Writers & Editors Network (WEN) has its next breakfast meeting on Sept. 15. at 9 a.m. in the Canadiana Restaurant. Their featured speaker will be a member of Access Copyright. Access Copyright’s stated objective is “to protect the value of [authors’ and publishers’] intellectual property by ensuring fair compensation when their works are copied.” 

This organization has made remarkable inroads in ensuring libraries, schools, universities and businesses give fair compensation for copying works. They are also active in putting positive positions forward for copyright legislation. Their membership includes Canada’s best known and most prolific writers.

To get more information on WEN and to pre-register for their meeting, go to:  http://wenetwork.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=56. (Be patient, you have to scroll to the bottom of a long page to get to the registration form. At least you’ll learn about past and future guest speakers along the way.)

Workshop for writers- This Saturday

Reva & I are running a workshop this Saturday titled How to Engage and Charm Your Audience. It’s designed for writers who want to learn effective techniques that will capture your audience when you stand up to read your work. Reva works with each person’s personal style, helping them enhance their strong areas and bolstering weaknesses. Reva’s been an artistic director for local theatre as well as directing at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and in Los Angeles. She has trained corporate CEOs, organizational chairmen, actors and writers to connect effectively with their audiences.

We would like at least five more people to enrol before the end of the day this Wednesday (Nov. 23). It is intensive with a lot of hands-on work but as one of our recent participants said: ” Exceeded my expectations, a safe environment (to express yourself in), with lots of practical exercises.” — a good reading helps sell books.

If you’re interested you can download a brochure at Writeware.ca.

If you plan to attend, email me at workshops@writeware.ca (copy & paste this address) so we know you’re coming. Bring your payment with you to the session on Saturday. (You can also pay on-line if you are not a member of one of the associations that get discounts — listed in the brochure. To pay on line, click here: http://writeware.ca/index.php?main_page=product_workshop_info&cPath=1&products_id=26.)