Archive for the ‘Announcements’ Category

Word Weaver editor Janet Boccone in the Durham Relocation Guide

A special nod to Janet Boccone who describes the impact that the Writers’ Circle of Durham Region (now the Writers’ Community’) has had in her life.

This interview with Janet is now part of the Durham Relocation Guide available on the Oshawa Chamber of Commerce site.

Thank you Janet for spreading the word!

Sunday November 14th
Time: 10:00 to 4:00
Place: AURORA CULTURAL CENTRE
Cost: $125 + HST
($110 + HST for WCDR, WEN, WHEN, PWAC members)
Lunch provided
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Join Sue Reynolds and James Dewar for a full day workshop on mastering the skills of writing memoir.

James and Sue have been teaching these skills in their popular “A Novel Approach to Finishing Your Memoir or Novel in One Year” workshop and are happy to be offering it in the beautiful new Aurora Cultural Centre. http://www.auroraculturalcentre.ca/home

Full details to be updated soon.

Saturday October 16th
Time: 10:00 to 4:00
Place: Whitby area location
Cost: $95 + HST
($85 + HST for WCDR, WEN, WHEN, PWAC members)
Lunch provided
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Join James Dewar for a fun, fulfilling, full-day workshop on breaking through the walls that prevent the writing and appreciation of poetry.

This is a writing-based, participation-oriented experience.

So come prepared to write and take home poems!

Full details to be updated soon.

Saturday September 18th
Time: 10:00 to 4:00
Place: Whitby area location
Cost: $95 + HST
($85 + HST for WCDR, WEN, WHEN, PWAC members)
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Whether you’re writing fiction, creative non-fiction, or poetry, you hear the maxim “show don’t tell” over and over again. But what exactly does that mean? And are you doing it?

Join James Dewar and Susan Lynn Reynolds for a full day workshop into this most essential skill.

The day will cover “showing” rather than “telling” in several different forms:

• dialogue
• description
• plotting
• subtext

as well as identifying those opportunities in your writing when telling is actually more appropriate than showing.

Workshop participants will be working with samples from your own work to see where you are already using this skill and to find out where you can employ more of this skill. This hands on, interactive workshop will make sure each participant fully integrates this essential element of the craft of writing.

Click HERE to register. (Please note: you will be taken to the Inkslingers website.)

About the Instructors

Click on the photos to learn more about the facilitators:

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Book now available!

The Anthology of all the finalists from the Fall 2009 Wicked Words contest is now available!

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To prepay for your Wicked Words copy if you are going to pick it up at a breakfast, please click the button below. The Paypal link will appear in the top right hand corner of the website. You can change the quantity there if you want more than one copy. (You can pay by credit card on the left hand side of the first Paypal screen if you do not want to use a PayPal account).

$14.95 Wicked Words Anthology – for pick-up

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To order copies to be mailed to you, please click here. Shipping and handling is $2.50 on the first book shipment. For more than one copy, please click on the button below for all extra copies at $1.00 per piece shipping and handling fee.

$17.45 Wicked Words Anthology -first copy to be shipped

$15.95 Wicked Words Anthology – Price for two or more multiple copies to be shipped.

Please allow 2 to 3 weeks for delivery.

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If you have questions, please contact: wickedwords@wcdr.org

Are you coming to the launch? Please let us know! (Read details below).

cforms contact form by delicious:days

DURHAM REGION, ON MAY 6, 2010: Something wicked this way comes. On Monday, May 17, the Writers’ Circle of Durham Region launches Wicked Words, an anthology of the best entries from their recent prose competition. The book launch takes place at Whitby’s J.P. Fitzpatrick & Son restaurant from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Several writers will be on hand to read their winning entries and sign anthologies. Dorothy Sjöholm, the Toronto writer who scooped top honours, will read her chilling short story “The Plan.” Heather Tucker, the talented Ajax writer with three stories in the top ten, will also read her work. Copies of the anthology will be on sale for $14.95.

Wicked Words attracted over 100 entries from across Canada and around the world. Contest organizers are delighted with the response: it has been one of the most successful contests WCDR has ever offered. The Durham writers’ organization is already planning a repeat of the popular themed contest, this time dubbed Wild Words. Check WCDR’s website (www.wcdr.org) for news about the 2010 contest or to purchase a copy of the Wicked Words anthology.

J.P. Fitzpatrick & Son restaurant is located in the Whitby Entertainment Centrum at 75 Consumers Rd. west of Thickson Rd. S.

Admission to the event is free. It includes appetizers and a cash bar.

If attending, please RSVP above.

Can’t attend but still want a copy of the book? CLICK HERE.

DOROTHEA HELMS “THE WRITING FAIRY” and “CREATIVEJAMES” DEWAR PRESENT:

The WCDR SUMMER SLAM auditions, slated for Monday evening, June 28th, has been relocated to a wonderful venue, Cuisine ‘n’ Jazz, which is in the AMC Complex and only 2 doors from JP Fitzpatricks. It is in the same group of buildings, just around the corner. For more information please visit www.cuisinenjazz.com

A special thanks to Deb Rankine, who knows the owners and referred them to us. They are normally not open on Mondays, but they have agreed to open up just for this event, as a favour. We are elated that the owners, Shirley and Roger Ouellette, are being so supportive. They will have a limited menu available. They will open at 6:30, the auditions will start at 7:00 and end when the last performance is completed. Cuisine ‘n’ Jazz holds about 60 people, so if you want a seat, please come early.

As we have announced, anyone who wishes to audition may show up without signing up, but as of today we have 19 registered performers! All those who register in advance will have their names put in a hat and drawn at random starting at 7:00, so all performers please arrive by 6:45 and check in. Anyone who wants to enter the contest without registering will be invited to perform after the registrant acts are finished.

See you there!

ONLY WCDR MEMBERS MAY ENTER.

The WCDR SUMMER SLAM is a writing AND performance competition.

ANY form of writing is permitted: poetry, prose, humour, grocery list, monologue, stand-up routine, whatever…

THE 10 RULES OF the WCDR SUMMER SLAM:

1. You are only allowed to perform ONE piece of material
2. The piece you read/perform must have been written by you
3. You must perform the piece by yourself. No other humans or other life forms are allowed on stage during your performance
4. Your performance of the piece must be THREE MINUTES or less in length. (This includes EVERYTHING you say. The clock starts when you engage with the audience. i.e. make eye contact, wave, start talking. All performers are given a 10 second grace period, BUT once you go 10 seconds over the 3 minutes you are penalized for every 20 seconds you go over)
5. Only your voice and body may be used in the performance. No props of any kind are allowed. (except the microphone, mic stand and anything containing your reading material. See note on memorization)
6. No costumes. No nudity.
7. No musical accompaniment.
8. Although some singing is permitted, the singing must not exceed 25% of the performance. Judges have final say in this regard.
9. You are not permitted prompting from anyone
10. No racist, sexist or unusually profane language is allowed.

NOTE: The organizers and judges have the right to disqualify or penalize contestants who contravene these rules.

JUDGING:

SEVEN finalists will be chosen at the June 28th Auditions.

The JUDGES will base their decisions on the following THREE CRITERIA:

1. Quality of the writing
2. Quality of the Performance
3. IMPACT on the audience

At the July 10th WCDR SUMMER SLAM the judges will make brief comments after each performance (Think American Idol) to help the audience make up their minds. At the end of the competition audience members will be given a ballot containing the name of all SEVEN slammers and asked to secretly circle the one name they think should win the WCDR SUMMER SLAM TROPHY and $100.00 in PRIZE MONEY. Ballots will be collected and tallied by an independent group of WCDR members not involved in the competition.

It’s WINNER TAKE ALL!

SECRETS OF SLAM:

1. The MAIN GOAL is to MAKE AN EMOTIONAL IMPACT
2. MEMORIZING your piece is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
2. MOVE YOUR BODY
3. USE YOUR VOCAL RANGE
4. TIMING is CRITICAL – Your performance MUST BE 3 minutes or less
5. PRACTICE with a MICROPHONE
6. THE AUDIENCE PICKS THE WINNER

A message from the Writing Fairy:

“Summer is just around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about a challenge for our July meeting. As many of you know, I usually hijack the meeting to do some fun interactive thing. This year, I’ve roped James Dewar into being my partner in crime, and we have something fun cooked up.

We’ve had “WCDR Idol” and “So You Think You Can Write” – now, get ready for the WCDR SLAM!

“We’re giving you a lot of lead time to come up with a creative piece of writing (can be poetry, prose, humour, grocery list, monologue, stand-up routine, whatever) that can be read aloud/performed in UNDER 3 MINUTES.

CLICK HERE for more DETAILED RULES.

“AUDITIONS: We will hold auditions for this competition at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, June 28, 2010 at J.P. Fitzpatrick & Son pub, where we hold the breakfast meetings. A panel of judges will hear each piece, and the 3-MINUTE TIME LIMIT will be adhered to.

After the auditions, the judges will decide on the top 7 contenders, who will be notified and invited to perform at the WCDR breakfast on July 10th with the same strict 3-minute time limit.

“On breakfast morning, attendees are encouraged to whoop, holler, hold up “We Love So-and-So” signs, and generally create fun chaos. We will have a judging panel again like Canadian Idol, BUT the audience will vote and pick the winner.

The winner will walk away with $100 AND a fabulous cheesy trophy! REMEMBER – this is not just for poetry – any genre is welcome!”

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A WCDR MEMBER TO ENTER THIS COMPETITION!

Yours in SLAMMING,
Dorothea Helms and James Dewar

A Call for Submission of Poetry and Prose

Editor: Jessica Outram

In spring 2011, Sunshine in a Jar Press will publish a book exploring the humour, the drama, the traditions, and the culture of cottage life.  We are looking for previously unpublished, themed submissions of poetry, fiction and non-fiction on the theme “From the Cottage Porch” (including family, tradition, the environment, and cottage living).

Submission Deadline: October 1, 2010

Publication Date: Spring 2011

Before submitting work to ‘From the Cottage Porch,’ please note the following guidelines:

Poetry: up to 5 poems

Prose: up to 3 prose to a maximum of 2000 words

Format: We accept submissions by email. Please send to . We will send you a note confirming we received your work within 72 hours. Please attach your submissions in MS Word or PDF format. Submissions must be typed, double-spaced, with 1.5″ margins. Manuscripts may be rejected if they do not adhere to these guidelines.

Payment: If accepted, authors will receive one contributor’s copy of the anthology.

Please contact sunshineinajar@ymail.com for general inquiries.

To celebrate this new project, Jessica begins a new weekly column “From the Cottage Porch” at www.sunshineinajar.com

Jessica Outram

www.sunshineinajar.com

The April 2010 (after breakfast) one hour Mini-Workshop

SECRETS OF SLAM! with James Dewar

The July 10th WCDR breakfast will feature its first ever SLAM Contest. Open only to WCDR members, this fabulous competition will encourage entries that fit the internationally recognized SLAM format, but will not limit entrants to just poetry.

Auditions will start at 7:00 p.m. at JP Fitzpatrick’s on Monday, June 28th to identify the LUCKY SEVEN who will compete on July 10th for the SLAMTASTIC CHEESY SLAM TROPHY (and the $100 prize).

So what is a SLAM piece?

SLAM is anything written specifically to be memorized and performed in a competition in front of a LIVE audience. The maximum performance length is 3 minutes and performers are heavily penalized for going over limit.

Normally a panel of judges votes, Olympic style, after each performance. At the end of the contest the scores are tallied and the winner announced. The WCDR will have a 3-person SLAM panel. American Idol style, just for fun, but the audience will vote by secret ballot at the end of the contest to determine the winner.

Do you want to know what the best SLAMMERS do to keep the attention and win the approval of listeners?

Are there any techniques for performing in front of a crazed audience that will insight the best response?

Take the SECRETS OF SLAM! workshop and find out what makes this form of art the fastest growing and most popular literary performance showcase in North America.

And win the SLAMTASTIC CHEESY SLAM TROPHY!

(oh, and the $100 winner-take-all prize)

James Dewar is a popular and skilled event host and featured reader. His monthly poetry performance show, Hot-Sauced Words (www.hotsaucedwords.ca) enjoys a unique place in the vibrant Toronto poetry scene due to its emphasis on good poetry, audience interaction and on-the-spot writing challenges. He teaches workshops on performance techniques and collaborated with Toronto Spoken Word gurus David Silverberg and Yehuda Fisher in last year’s Spoken Word Slamtastic farewell to George Bush: The BYE BYE BUSH BASH.

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The WCDR monthly breakfast meetings are where experienced and aspiring writers gather, learn and connect. Join us throughout the year to hear authors and industry speakers, to enjoy a special event, and to broaden your networking circle. Everyone is welcome. Meetings run from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the J.P. Fitzpatrick & Son restaurant in the Whitby Entertainment Centrum at 75 Consumers Rd. (west of Thickson Rd. S.). The cost, which includes an excellent and hearty breakfast, is $15 for members; $20 for guests. (Ask us how, by becoming a member, you can save!) Cost with the mini-workshop included is $25 for members and $30 for guests.

To attend, please click here to register on our REGISTRATION PAGE by phone message at 905-686-0211 or by e-mail at breakfast@wcdr.org no later than noon on Thursday, April 8th.