Art Fest at Toronto Public Library

Young Voices Writing and Art Fest at the Toronto Public Library link
TICKETS ARE FREE! Supplies and lunch are provided! If you are interested, registration is here!

Location
Sat Sep 29, 2018
9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

North York Central Library 
Auditorium

Join us for a full day of writing and art featuring Alexandra Shimo, Randell Adjei, Kendra Yee, Rachel Guglielmelli, Alicia Nauta, Domenico Capilongo, Falen Johnson and JP Larocque. They will be hosting a variety of free workshops on various topics including clay modelling, book binding, spoken word and more! 

Submissions Your Manuscripts

About Stefanie London

Stefanie London is the USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary romances and romantic comedies. Stefanie’s books have been called “genuinely entertaining and memorable” by Booklist, and her writing praised as “Elegant, descriptive and delectable” by RT magazine. Her stories have earned prestigious awards such as the RT Top Pick and have achieved bestseller status with USA TODAY and iBooks.

Growing up, Stefanie came from a family of women who loved to read. After sneaking several literature subjects into her ‘very practical’ business degree, she got a job in communications. But writing emails for executives didn’t fulfill her creative urges, so she turned to fiction and was finally able to write the stories that kept her mind busy at night.

Originally from Australia, she now lives in Toronto with her very own hero and is currently in the process of doing her best to travel the world. She frequently indulges in her passions for good coffee, lipstick, romance novels and anything zombie-related.

Submitting Your Manuscript

Manuscripts will be accepted from Tuesday, September 4, 2018 to Saturday, October 20, 2018.

Writers of romance fiction are invited to submit manuscripts for review and feedback. The Writer in Residence will meet with the first 35 authors whose manuscripts submissions satisfy the requirements below. We regret that the Writer in Residence may not be able to meet with everyone who submits a manuscript. Meetings with the Writer in Residence are by appointment only, and only those granted an appointment with Stefanie London will be contacted.

Manuscript submission requirements

For romance fiction, submit only one piece, up to 10 typed pages, double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman, single-sided. Writers may also submit a synopsis of their work of up to 3 pages, double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman, single-sided. Include a cover page with your name, address, email, and telephone number.

Material submitted will not be returned so please do not submit originals.

Mail or bring your submission to:

• Writer in Residence - North York Central Library
• Language, Literature and Fine Arts Department (3rd Floor)
• 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M2N 5N9
• Or email your submission to write@torontopubliclibrary.ca

For more information, call 416-395-5639.

Toronto Public Library typically hosts two residencies per year.

• A longer residency, usually four months, in the Spring
• A shorter residency, usually two months, in the Fall

Writers who have held residencies at the library include Gail Bowen, Chester Brown, Austin Clarke, Karen Connelly, Deborah Cooke, Farzana Doctor, Sarah Ellis, Rabindranath Maharaj, Elizabeth Ruth, Robert J. Sawyer, Karl Schroeder, Allan Stratton, Sugith Varughese, Tim Wynne-Jones, Alissa York, David S. Young and Kim Echlin.

More info at: https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/writer-in-residence/?utm_source=What%27s+On+Newsletter&utm_campaign=Issue+#167+-+Thursday,+September+6,+2018&utm_medium=email

Calling all writers! The CBC Short Story Prize is now open

Ready to submit? Enter now!

The 2019 CBC Short Story Prize is now open for submissions. Canadian writers can submit original, unpublished short stories until Oct. 31, 2018. Your story can be up to 2,500 words in length.

The winner will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and have their story published on CBC Books. Four finalists will win $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their story published on CBC Books.

• 7 ways winning a CBC Literary Prize will change your life

You have until Oct. 31 at 11:59 p.m. ET to enter. The entry fee is $25, which covers the costs of administering the prize.

Last year's winner was Leah Mol for Lipstick Day. You can read all the 2018 finalists' stories here.

• How Leah Mol wrote the story that won the CBC Short Story Prize

Need a little motivation to get you going? Subscribe below to the CBC Short Story Prize newsletter. We will send you writing tips, tricks and prompts every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday while the CBC Short Story Prize is open. During the month of September, we'll be doing a random draw each week and one lucky newsletter subscriber will get to submit their entry for free.

Want even more support? Join our brand new Canada Writes Facebook group, where you can connect with writers from across Canada.

• 9 mistakes to avoid when submitting to the CBC Literary Prizes

The CBC Literary Prizes have been supporting and celebrating Canadian writers since 1979. Past winners include Michael Ondaatje, Michael Winter and Frances Itani.

• Check out all the past CBC Literary Prize winners

If you're looking to submit to the Prix de la nouvelle Radio-Canada, you can enter here. 

The 2019 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January 2019. The 2019 CBC Poetry Prize will open in April 2019.

Have questions? Email us at canadawrites@cbc.ca.

Exciting (FREE) writing programs!

Hello!

There are some really exciting opportunities in the upcoming fall program at the Brentwood Library.

Teen Writer's Group and Teen Writers' Group Open Mic Nights take place on Tuesdays. 

Another program is the after-school Youth in Arts program on Mondays. 
You can access further information in the links below.

Teen Writers' Group, Teen Writers' Open Mic Night, and Youth In Arts.

Toronto Public Library Writing Event!

Hello all!

Hope you are having a wonderful summer!

The Toronto Public Library (Brentwood branch) is hosting Phoebe Tsang on Tuesday, August 21st in the Teen Lounge for the presentation of "Dr. Frankenstein's Laboratory for Hybrid Writing".

From 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. you will have the amazing opportunity to experiment with writing compositions!

Make sure to bring in a newspaper article or a novel you began years ago but never finished. Leave this workshop with brand new, publish-ready pieces that will be nothing like you have ever written before.

Here is a link to more information if interested!

The Perfect Gift

The Perfect Gift
By Madeline Thaller

It was absolutely lovely 

The perfect gift 

Don't I seem happy

And I smiled as we said goodbye

Why should I cry

When you keep me laughing

Of course everything changed

The minute the lights went down

But that's to be expected

It was an honour to have you around

And look what we found 

It was absolutely beautiful

The finest things

The finest flings

And there's nothing left to say

But I still remember every page

The rooms empty the beds been made

And I know that you leave on tomorrow's train

And everything fades 

Don't try to go back

Or get stuck in a past that was all pretend

And yes it was beautiful

But the best things still end

Don't think of it now or how there are bridges you know won't mend

Or roads that were bound to bend

Or how it's about to end 

We could talk about intention

An empty bowl, the right direction

Sometimes you just want more but I know there's a reason for closing that door

It's all over a bit to fast

One day you're in heaven

Then just like that

It's all in the past 

Don't try to go back

Or get stuck in a past that was all pretend

And yes it was beautiful

But the best things still end

Don't think of it now or how there are bridges that you won't mend

Or roads that were bound to bend

Or how it's about to end 

And now it's just another glass half empty on the table

The jokes you catch that no one else can hear

Another thing I know I should forget but won't be able

And I hope I've made it clear

That you gave me my best year 

Don't try to go back

Or get stuck in a past that was all pretend

And yes it was beautiful

But the best things still end

Don't think of it now or how there are bridges you know won't mend

Or roads that were bound to bend

Or how it's about to end 

It was absolutely perfect

 ************************

Written for the 2018 Graduating Music Theatre Class.

First performed live at Lula Lounge on Monday June 4^th, 2018.

The Fields

The Fields 
By Meagan Sutherland

Run. That’s all I could think. My life changed from peace to tragedy in the blink of an eye. As I ran I heard the peacefulness of the farm go by. I faintly heard the cows mooing and the tree leaves brushing against each other as I quickly went past. I rushed towards the grassy green pastures and blue sky’s. Father was on my trail. He was still a bit far behind. He was an old man, in his late 50’s. He wore his overalls, covered in tractor oil and manure, his jet black books, soles covered in dirt and of course, his favourite, old, worn down Chevrolet baseball cap. “Get back here boy or I’ll whip your ass until it bleeds!” He yelled with his leather belt in hand. He may be old, but boy could he run like the wind. He wasn’t as fast as he used to be, but he still had that extra power in him. I disappeared into the wheat fields. Every grain of wheat hurting more and more the faster I run. Luckily the fields were tall and thick so you couldn’t see anything from the sides. As soon as I felt far away and safe, I stopped. “God damn it!” Father shouted. Making the fields ripple like when a drop hits water. I fell to my knees, heavy and weak. Almost as weak as my arms feel after we stack the bales of hay in September. My short brown hair covering my eyes as I look up to the bright blue sky. The warm July sun, covering my skin like a cozy wolf blanket. For once, it felt a bit calmer on the farm. As I bask in the glow of the warm sun and watch the wheat sway as the gasps of wind go by, the peacefulness suddenly vanished. I stopped and stared blankly into the mounds of wheat before me. No expression. Not the sense that Father was near, but something else. Something more dreadful. I slowly picked my body weight back up and stopped in shock. I couldn’t move. I suddenly remember that it was Thursday July 15, 1973. Thursday. Then the terrifying sound of wheat being cut started just north of me. My knees turned to jelly all of a sudden, and I fell to the dirt ground with a thud. Head in hands, I slowly look up at the sky for the last time. A single tear ran down my freckled cheek. The tearing sound getting louder and louder, worse and worse and snap. It’s all over. But how did I get here?