Archive for June, 2010

Good things, part II

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

Last night I was shocked and thrilled to accept the 2010 Emerging Writers Award from the Canadian Author’s Association at their annual literary awards banquet in Victoria. And when I say shocked and thrilled, I mean it. I’m fairly certain I danced all the way home, where a celebratory cupcake (from this new amazing GF bakery!) awaited, along with wonderful friends armed with celebratory libations.

A huge, heartfelt thank you must go out to the CAA, and in particular Jean Kay, Anthony Dalton, and Rhonda-Lee Stephenson-Read for putting on a wonderful conference, banquet, and awards ceremony. I am still grinning like a certain famous cat whenever I think of my award. My goodness, I’m a lucky girl.

Also, at the reading on Friday evening, I had the good fortune to hear one of the CAA members read the other Emerging Writer nominees’ work on their behalf. So, SO impressive! Poet Jesse Patrick Ferguson and novelist Chad Pelley deserve huge congrats for being so darn talented. Hopefully I can get my hands on both their books over on this coast.

Whew. It’s been one amazing weekend, and it is now time for bed. *Happy sigh.*

Good things

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

I haven’t been a terribly dedicated blogger of late. Between working on my new novel, planning courses, and hacking away at an unwieldy writing contract, I’ve only been able to sneak in the odd 140-character Twitter update. But things are going very well indeed. In fact, was struck this morning by how many great things are happening, and not just for me.

Case in point. My crazy talented friend Anne Casselman is off on the adventure of a lifetime, joining Alexandra Cousteau’s (yes, that’s Jacques Cousteau’s granddaughter) Blue Legacy team as they explore and raise awareness of water issues throughout North America. Anne is the new Expedition Writer (coolest job title ever), and will spend the next four month reporting from a bus full of researchers and media gurus.

Then there’s the talented Mr Colangelo, who’s apparently satisfied with the wildlife camera traps he’s been testing in our living room (capturing images of unsuspecting writers slurping breakfast cereal), and is heading back to the Sacred Headwaters of northern BC (read all about this amazing and endangered place here). This time he’ll be joined by a group of world renowned conservation photogs from the International League of Conservation Photographers to document this amazing place.

It all makes me realize that the old adage is true: persist in doing what you love, what means the world to you, and things will work out. Somehow. They just do.

As for me, I’m gearing up for a summer of teaching writing camps, novel writing, and celebrating the release of The Lost Souls of Island X, due out in August. And (if you can stand just one more piece of good news) I found out today that The Canadian Children’s Book Centre named The Ship of Lost Souls one of their best books for kids of 2010.

Man. All these good things call for chocolate. Or pie? Perhaps chocolate pie…

All in all, not a bad week

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

Actually, it’s been a great week, full of wonderful news. First came the announcement that The Ship of Lost Souls is a finalist for the 2011 Chocolate Lily Awards! I’m thrilled to be listed among such uber-talented BC authors (ninjas all, my buddy Anne would say).

And if that weren’t exciting enough, then came the news that I’m a finalist for the Canadian Author’s Association’s Emerging Writer Award, which will be announced at the CanWrite! Conference in Victoria later this month. Well. You can imagine the happy dance that ensued. I was lucky that the news came early in the morning, and I had several hours to calm down before teaching that evening.

It’s an incredible honour (still hard to believe) to be up there with poet Jesse Patrick Ferguson and author Chad Pelley for this award. Good lord, I get chills just thinking of it.

Big thanks to the CAA and Chocolate Lily Awards for making my week. And congrats to all other finalists!

Exploring personal narratives

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Since becoming a freelance writing teacher, I’ve learned that job opportunities often pop up when you least expect them, and just as often leave you with little time to prep for a new course. This is exactly what happened last week, when Vancouver Community College contacted me to fill in as the instructor for its Personal Narrative course (I’d signed up to teach this course in the fall anyway).

Of course I was thrilled. Before I ever tried my hand at writing for children, I focused on creative nonfiction and had a particular passion for the personal essay. So starting tomorrow, my students and I will be exploring all facets of it. I’ve spent the last few days gathering essays for my reading list, getting reacquainted with masters like Joan Didion and marveling at new voices like Sloane Crosley. I can’t wait to delve back into this world.

If you’re interested in exploring the personal narrative and live in Vancouver, do consider signing up for my fall course at VCC. You can find out more about it here.