From Sussex to Sackville

The writing workshop with Sandra Phinney in Sussex on Saturday went very well. A good sized crowd attended. Participants found themselves recalling things from their past they hadn't thought about in years and came away enthusiastically inspired to write their stories. Everyone was very impressed and wished they had more time with Sandra. Great workshop!

And the fun continues this weekend in Sackville when the WFNB welcomes Beth Powning.

Best-selling author, Beth Powning, will be in Sackville on Saturday to give a writing workshop at the Public Library on Main Street from 1-3 pm.

"Writing from Memory" is a workshop on transforming personal experience into literary non-fiction. Suggested (but not required) reading includes The Outermost House and Northern Farm by Henry Beston, Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen, and The Blue Jay’s Dance by Louise Erdrich.

"We're very pleased to have an author of Beth's calibre coming to workshop with us," says Kellie Underhill, the Writers' Federation of New Brunswick (WFNB) Director responsible for organising the event. "She's known for her powerful lyrical style and rich details in her prose. I think there will be something for everyone in this workshop whether they're just starting to think about getting into writing or they've already been published."

Registration fees for the workshop are $25 for WFNB members and $30 for non-members. Everyone is welcome. Interested participants should contact Underhill at 536-0461 or email kvu@nb.sympatico.ca or Mary Hutchman at 459-7228 / wfnb@nb.aibn.com.

Beth Powning's most recent book published this fall, Edge Seasons, is a personal memoir about transformation — about seasonal change within the natural world around her and in her own life. Her first novel, The Hatbox Letters, was a national best-seller and short-listed for the 2005 Atlantic Book Awards' “Booksellers Choice Award.”

Her previous books include Seeds of Another Summer: Finding the Spirit of Home in Nature (published in the U.S. as Home: Chronicle of a North Country Life), a collection of lyrical prose and photographs that celebrate the power and natural beauty of her New Brunswick home; and Shadow Child: An Apprenticeship in Love and Loss, a memoir in which the author attempts to come to terms with the stillbirth of her first son. Powning has also been published extensively in periodicals such as Prism, Quarry and The Fiddlehead, and is well known for her nature photography.