Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Frye Festival Workshops

Aspiring writers can study their craft with the masters at the 2008 Frye Festival.

Workshops, led by such literary celebrities as award-winning novelist and screenwriter Russell Banks, headline Moncton’s annual celebration of words, April 23-27.

These unique learning experiences will be offered to students of various genres, from poetry and playwrighting to storyboarding and screenwriting.

The festival’s workshop series begins with a two-hour class on playwrighting, presented by Shediac playwright Don Hannah, at Théâtre l’Escaouette, April 24, at 9 a.m. Registration fee is $15. St. George writer Robert Rayner will deliver a workshop for adults writing for children at the Moncton Library that afternoon, starting at 1:30 p.m. Cost to participate is $10.

Russell Banks’ film writing workshop is among event highlights on April 25. His class begins at 9 a.m. at the Théâtre l’Escaouette and is a joint presentation of the Frye Festival, Enterprise Greater Moncton and Film New Brunswick. Cost is $35. To guarantee your participation, pre-register now by calling 506-859-4389 or emailing workshops.ateliers@frye.ca.

Jo-Anne Elder and Paris poet Jacques Rancourt will co-present a creative writing workshop in French that afternoon beginning at 2 p.m. at l’Alliance française, while Nova Scotia poet Peter Sanger will deliver a poetry workshop in English at the same time at the Moncton Public Library. Registration fee for both events is $10.

On Saturday, April 26 St. John’s poet Mary Dalton and Montreal poet and novelist Rachel Leclerc will lead poetry workshops in English and French, respectively, at the Moncton City Hall and the Dieppe Public Library, beginning at 9:30 a.m. with a $10 charge to participate.

And we can’t forget our youngest writers! Local cartoonist Eric Dyke will present a Creative Comics workshop in English and Diane Léger will present a Creative Writing workshop in French. Both workshops are for 8 to 10-year-olds and will take place at 10:00 a.m. at the Moncton Public Library. Both are free.

Workshops continue that afternoon with a presentation on chaotic creativity by members of the South East New Brunswick Chapter of Professional Writers Association of Canada at the Moncton Public Library, beginning at 1:30 p.m. Cost to take part is $10.

Miramichi’s Fatkat Animation will share the tools of the animation trade during a storyboarding and writing workshop at Mad City Comics, starting at 2 p.m. The fee to register is $15.

To register for these workshops, call the Frye Festival office at 859-4389, email workshops.ateliers@frye.ca or check out all the details at www.frye.ca.

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Saturday, March 22, 2008

Faculty Author Week (Fredericton)

The University of New Brunswick Bookstore will host its second Faculty Author event next week. Come in and help celebrate local expertise on subjects such as poetry, political science, romance languages, translation, history and more.

Tuesday, March 25

10:30 a.m. - Josephine Savarese - STU
Noon - Hugh Thomas - UNB
1:30 p.m. - Jo-Anne Elder - STU
3 p.m. - Patricia and Terrence Young - UNB

Wednesday, March 26

10:30 a.m. - Nicholas Tracy - UNB
1:30 p.m. - Michael Clow - STU
3 p.m. - Andrew Gaudes - UNB

Friday March 28

10:30 a.m. - Roger Moore - STU
Noon - Andrew Titus - UNB
3 p.m. - Mark Roberts - UNB

Refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Shelley Gagnon at 506 - 458-7909 or sgagnon@unb.ca.

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Frye Festival Writing Contest

2008 Frye Festival Writing Contest fosters student creativity

Young Anglophone and Francophone students from the Moncton, Fredericton, and Saint-John regions have an opportunity to showcase their creative talent – and win cash awards – during the 2008 Frye Festival Writing Contest.

The Frye Festival in Moncton, New Brunswick promotes the pleasure and discovery of reading by bringing together local, national and international authors with public audiences of all ages, creating an annual bilingual celebration of words. The Festival includes an annual student writing contest.

“This year’s writing contest promises to be better than ever,” says Stefanie Wheaton, Executive Director for the Frye Festival. “In past years, cash prizes for student writing excellence went directly to the schools. This year, both the students and their schools will be eligible for prizes.”

Students are eligible to win cash prizes of $500, $300, and $100 for their writing efforts. In addition, each entry entitles the student’s school to enter its name to win $500 it can allocate to the purchase of new books.

The Writing Contest, which for the first time will feature creative writing as well as essay topics, is open to high school students from District 1 and 2 in the Moncton region as well as Districts 11, 8 and 18. Participants must submit a 400-800-word prose selection on a variety of specific subjects. Prizes of $500, $300, and $100 will be awarded in each of the Anglophone and Francophone categories. In all, approximately $4,200 will be awarded through the contest.

Schools have until Friday, March 28 to submit their students’ work.

The 2008 Frye Festival Writing Contest is sponsored by Great-West Life and London Life, through The Key to Giving™ – the national corporate citizenship program of Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life. Through The Key to Giving, the companies contribute to non-profit, charitable and community organizations across the country to address health and wellness, education, social services, arts and culture and civic initiatives. The Key to Giving program also supports the volunteer involvement of staff and financial security advisors in their efforts to meet the needs of the communities in which they live and work. In fact, it was the Moncton-area staff and financial security advisors from Great-West Life and Freedom 55 Financial who first championed the 2008 Frye Festival Writing Contest as a great fit for The Key to Giving program. Freedom 55 Financial is the financial security planning division of London Life.

As Blair Hayden, Regional Director, Great-West Life explains, “The 2008 Frye Festival Writing Contest offers an ideal opportunity for high school students to develop their creativity and self-confidence — qualities that will serve them well in whatever careers they choose for themselves.”

Rick Watt, Regional Director, Freedom 55 Financial, agrees, adding “language and writing skills are an important element in personal growth and career success. Freedom 55 Financial and Great-West Life are proud to help offer students an opportunity to develop their creative and writing abilities.”

Prizes for the 2008 Frye Festival Writing Contest will be awarded during the ninth edition of the Frye Festival held in Moncton from April 23-27.

Visit the Frye Festival website at www.frye.ca for further contest details.

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Friday, March 14, 2008

Great Blue Heron Writing Workshop

The 2008 Great Blue Heron Writing Workshop (July 1-5) at St. Francis Xavier University invites mid-level writers to engage in small-group sessions in one of four categories: fiction, playwriting, poetry, or magazine writing and creative non-fiction. This workshop offers a supportive atmosphere in which participants learn from established writers.

Daniel MacIvor - Playwriting
Bob Bancroft - Magazine Writing & Creative Non-Fiction
Anne Compton - Poetry
Michael Crummey - Fiction
Madeleine Thien - Fiction
For more information, please see the following:
http://www.stfx.ca/workshops/gbheron/index.htm

Phone Brenda Riley at 902.867.4532 or email briley@stfx.ca

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Thursday, March 06, 2008

Arts Board Grants Deadline

April 1, 2008 is the deadline for application under New Brunswick Arts Board program New Brunswick/Québec Creative Residency. This year applications will be accepted until May 1.

The New Brunswick/Québec Creative Residency agreement establishes an annual exchange program that provides professional artists and writers with opportunities for creation and professional development residencies in the participating province. Artists and writers participating in this program enjoy complete autonomy and define the objectives of their period of residence and elaborate the parameters and conditions governing its realization in collaboration with an arts or community organization in the territory where the period of residence is to take place.

April 1, 2008 is also the application deadline for the following two regular programs: Creation and Documentation.

The Creation Grant Program is designed to provide assistance to individual emerging, mid-career and senior professional New Brunswick artists for the research, development and execution of original projects in the arts. Creation Grants are intended to allow artists to devote some or most of their time to research and creative production.

The Documentation Grant Program is designed to provide assistance to professional New Brunswick artists and arts professionals for the research, development and execution of original documentation of arts activities, arts products or art history for archival purposes. Preference will be given to proposals related New Brunswick art or artists.

Effective immediately, we will be accepting applications for the new Career Development Program. This program is designed to recognize and encourage arts professionals who have demonstrated exceptional artistic talent and potential, and who are pursuing a career in the arts. The program is divided in three components: 1) assistance to present work by invitation in established arts events; 2) assistance for participation in residency opportunities of four (4) weeks and less; 3) professional development scholarships for studies. Applications should be received 4 to 6 weeks prior to the event or the activity.

For application forms and further information you may consult our Web site or contact the office at the toll free number in New Brunswick 1.866.460.2787.

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Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Grant Writing Workshops

Grant-writing workshops for professional artists in Music, Creative Writing and Visual Arts (including Fine Craft)in Moncton, Fredericton and Saint John

The Canada Council for the Arts is pleased to invite professional artists in the disciplines of music, creative writing, visual arts and fine craft to participate in free grant-writing workshops focusing on specific grant programs.

Our definition of professional artist:

Someone who has specialized training in their field (not necessarily in academic institutions); is recognized by professional colleagues working in the same artistic tradition; has a history of public presentation or is a professionally published author/translator; and is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity, if financially feasible.

The full workshop schedule is provided below. During these workshops, Program Officers Carole Boucher, Aimé Dontigny and Pao Quang Yeh will explain:

· how to complete application forms;
· how to submit your support material; and
· how your application would be assessed.

IMPORTANT

· Please inform Danielle Sarault of which workshop and in which discipline you will participate. 1-800-263-5588, ext. 4033 or at danielle.sarault@canadacouncil.ca.

· Please bring your résumé (curriculum vitae). This will help program officers determine your eligibility as an emerging, mid-career or established professional.

· We encourage you to read up on the listed grant programs in advance of the workshops so that you may ask the program officers questions that are more specific. Application guidelines and forms are posted on our website at www.canadacouncil.ca.

Our next trip to New Brunswick

The Canada Council will continue its tour of New Brunswick in the Fall of 2008, when we will offer free grant-writing workshops in the Acadian Peninsula and in the North-West Region.

WORKSHOP 1 – Moncton (in ENGLISH)
Thursday, March 27th, 2008 – from 1:30 to 4:30 pm
Capitol Theatre, Empress Room, 811 Main St.

Visual Arts
Assistance to Visual Artists: Project Grants and Long-Term Grants
Assistance to Contemporary Fine Craft Artists and Curators: Project Grants and Long-Term Grants
Travel Grants to Professionals in the Visual Arts

Music

Grants to Professional Musicians (Individuals) – Classical and Non Classical
Commissioning of Canadian Compositions
Grants for Specialized Music Sound Recording
Concert Production and Rehearsal Program
New Music Program: Project Funding
Music Touring Grants

Creative Writing
Grants for Professional Writers – Creative Writing
Spoken Word and Storytelling Program
Travel Grants for Professional Writers

WORKSHOP 2 – Moncton (in FRENCH)
Friday, March 28th, 2008 – from 1:30 to 4:30 pm
Capitol Theatre, Empress Room, 811 Main St.

Same programming as Workshop 1

WORKSHOP 3 – Fredericton (Bilingual)
Saturday, March 29th, 2008 – 1:30 to 4:30 pm
Charlotte Street Arts Centre Auditorium, 732 Charlotte St.

Same programming as Workshop 1

WORKSHOP 4 – Saint John (Bilingual)

Sunday, March 30th, 2008 – 1:30 to 4:30 pm
Saint John Arts Centre, Frazee Room, 20 Hazen Ave

Visual Arts
Assistance to Visual Artists: Project Grants and Long-Term Grants
Assistance to Contemporary Fine Craft Artists and Curators: Project Grants and Long-Term Grants
Travel Grants to Professionals in the Visual Arts

Music
Grants to Professional Musicians (Individuals) – Classical and Non Classical
Commissioning of Canadian Compositions
Grants for Specialized Music Sound Recording
Concert Production and Rehearsal Program
New Music Program: Project Funding
Music Touring Grants

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Saturday, March 01, 2008

Call for Submissions from Youth

Re:verse, the literary e-zine for Canadian youth, is seeking poetry submissions from youth under 19 years of age for our Spring issue on identity.
Please forward far and wide!

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:

We want to know you.

April is National Poetry Month, and the theme of this literary celebration is "Poetry Without Borders."
The League of Canadian Poets asks,

"How can poetry celebrate the diversity of cultural traditions in Canada? What are the possibilities for multilingual poetry events? How can poetry combine with other forms of creative expression? What does poetry without borders mean to you?"

With this in mind, Re:verse asks - Who are you?

The Spring issue of Re:verse is all about identity. What makes up your insides? Where did you come from? What events, places, people and images have contributed to the formation of YOU?
In this issue we're looking for poems that slow down and unravel the layers of who you are. Who or what or where has influenced the person you have become?

Shed your skins on the page, then send your words to us.

ezineeditor1@gmail.com

by March 30th, 2008.
Re:verse Ezine
www.youngpoets.ca/ezine

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