The Federation of BC Writers Electronic Bulletin
October 2, 2008

” Never lend books, for no one ever returns them; the only books I have
in my library are books that other folks have lent me.”
~Anatole France

In this issue of the e-bulletin

Literary Writes
ABPBC Donation
Patrick Lane Shortlisted for Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize
Banned Book Week
Editing and Manuscript Evaluations
The Wrecking Ball Cabaret

Opportunities & Contests
~ Narrative Magazine
~ Quattro Books Novella Contest
~ Queered Fiction
~ More for Women Over 40
~ Writing Retreat in the Land of the ‘Roos
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Literary Writes
The winners of the 2008 Literary Writes competition were announced with great
fanfare on Sunday, September 28, at Word On The Street in Vancouver. This year’s
category was short fiction and judging duties were shared by Fed past president
Margaret Thompson and novelist Pauline Holdstock.

Congratulations to first place winner Katherine Fawcett for her story, “Movers and
Shakers,” second place winner Michele Adams for “Issue Tissue Suck,” and third place
winner Shirley Rudolph for her story “Tunnel Vision.” Honourable mentions go to
Alan Girling with “Four Days to Parksville” and Kathy Page for her short story, “What
Time It Is.” The three winning stories will be published in the fall issue of
WordWorks.

The following stories made the shortlist selection: “Addled Ward” (Heidi Greco);
“Of Mice and Marriage” (Jan Redford); “Why Didn’t You tell me?” (Helen Heffernan);
“Bull Head” (John Vigna); “Always and Never” (Lynda Grace Philippsen); “Life after
Death” (Gillian Campbell); “Chi” (Jan Kennett); “Rut: A story in three parts” (Lynda
Grace Philippsen); “Meg” (Susan Stenson), and “The Ways of Men” by Cathy Yard.

Thank you to everyone who entered this year’s Literary Writes. We’ll be posting
information for the 2009 Literary Writes contest in the winter issue of WordWorks.

ABPBC Donation
A big thank you to Margaret Reynolds of the Association of Book Publishers of BC for
their donation to the Fed office of two large bookcases, a metal desk, shelving unit, hall table and office supplies.

Patrick Lane Shortlisted for Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize
Kudos to Patrick Lane whose debut novel, Red Dog, Red Dog, is included in this year’s
Writers’ Trust fiction shortlist. Winners will be announced November 17 in Toronto.

Banned Book Week
John Grace of The Guardian has condensed six “forbidden fictions” to mark Banned
Book Week. Read it here: Forbidden fruit.

Editing & Manuscript Evaluations
There are a number of experienced Fed members offering editing and manuscript
evaluation services. Check out our Hire A Writer directory or contact the Fed office
for referrals. The Writers Union of Canada also provides an excellent manuscript
evaluation service as does Booming Ground (the UBC non-credit CW program).

The Wrecking Ball Cabaret
The Vancouver Alliance for Arts & Culture is mounting an advocacy campaign around
the Federal Election. On Monday, October 6, 7 to 10:30 pm, join us at the Stanley
Theatre for an All-Party Forum (where representatives of the Conservative, Liberal,
New Dems and Green Parties will discuss their parties’ positions on arts and culture)
followed immediately by the Wrecking Ball Cabaret. The Cabaret, hosted by John
Mann from Spirit of the West and moderated by Hal Wake, director of the Vancouver
International Writers’ and Readers’ Festival, will feature skits by Bill Richardson,
Michael Turner and theatre icon Judith Thompson. This gathering will be our time to
come together as an arts community. Free admission. Donations will be taken at the
door for The Department of Culture www.departmentofculture.ca, a brand new
initiative whose purpose is to challenge the political parties on funding for the arts.
For more information, contact Peter Boychuk, Director of Communications, at the
Alliance for Arts & Culture at pb******@al*************.com

Narrative Magazine
http://narrativemagazine.com/30-below-story-contest
Deadline: October 27
Narrative Magazine is calling on writers, visual artists, photographers,performers,
and filmmakers, ages 18-30, to tell us a story. We are interested in narrative in the
many forms it takes: the word and the image, the traditional and the innovative, the
true and the imaginary. There is no submission fee, and every submission will be
considered! Awards: First Prize is $1,500, Second Prize is $750, and Third Prize is
$300. The prize winners will be announced in Narrative. Additionally, ten finalists
will be chosen and announced in the magazine. All entries will be considered for
publication. We accept submissions in the following media: Written – Works of
fiction and nonfiction; Drawn – Graphic novel excerpts and comics; Photographed –
Photo essays; Spoken – Original works of fiction and nonfiction in audio theater
including performance, radio journalism, and stories read aloud; Filmed – Short
films and documentaries. Please visit the website for file specifications and more
detailed information.

Quattro Books Novella Contest
Quattro Books publishes short novels, 25,000-35,000 words in length, by both well-
known and emerging Canadian Writers. Next year, Quattro will publish the two best
novella manuscripts submitted to us by December 1, 2008. Send your manuscript,
neatly typed, along with a $15 reader’s fee, to Quattro Books, PO Box 53031,
Royal Orchard Postal Station, 10 Royal Orchard Blvd., Thornhill ON, L3T 3C0.
Include a S.A.S.E. if you want your submission returned to you. For more
information, visit www.quattrobooks.ca.

Queered Fiction
Deadline: November 30, 2008.
Queered Fiction is accepting stories for an anthology of gay werewolf tales (ebook
publication early 2009). Looking for contemporary, urban fantasy set within a
fictional city (unnamed and not location specific) centering on a community of gay
werewolves. Length: 4000-10000 words. No cliches, horror, or science fiction.
Payment: 50% royalty split among the contributors. More details…

More for Women Over 40
More.ca, a Canadian site celebrating women over 40, invites personal stories for
their “View from her” section. Women at midlife are invited to share pivotal
experiences in their life. Until October 31, submitted stories will be eligible to win
a $1000 prize. More details…

Writing Retreat in the Land of the ‘Roos
The Katherine Susannah Pritchard Writers Centre in the Perth Hills, Western
Australia offers weekly and monthly accommodation to both established and
emerging writers who wish to find a space in which to progress a major piece of
writing. Guests may also participate in, and contribute to, the literary activities in
Western Australia by way of workshops, readings, and participation in a wide range
of writing groups at the Centre. More details…

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From the desk of
Fernanda Viveiros, Executive Director
Federation of BC Writers
604-683-2057
bc*******@sh**.ca