The Lynn Valley Literary Society is offering a bookmaking camp from July 5 to 9. Participants (10 – 15 years old) will be guided as they write and edit stories, then design, create and copy their very own book. A book launch and reading will take place on the final day.

For more information, visit the Lynn Valley Literary Society website.

The Lynn Valley Literary Society is launching the publication of Wintertide, a collection of wintertime stories, poems, memories and seasonal tips written by North Shore writers and readers.

Come help them celebrate its launch on Friday, Nov. 6th, at the Great Glass Community Room on the Lynn Valley Village Plaza. Public pre-sales begin at 5 p.m., and a reception to honour contributors and sponsors runs from 6 to 8 p.m. Wintertime goodies, readings and entertainment … and, of course, the chance to purchase the anthology. If you can’t make it in person, visit www.LynnLit.ca if you’d like to purchase online – or join the LVLS!

Looking to record some of your life experiences? At my Life Stories class, you’ll find that writing an autobiography doesn’t have to mean transcribing every momentous event that happened between cradle and grave. In fact, it’s often the little moments in our lives that do a better job of painting the picture of who we are.

Beginning on Thursday, Sept. 24th, I’ll once again be offering this five-session course that has us writing down those stories and learning how to deal with issues such as sensitive family dynamics, perspective, and how to bring your story alive with interesting detail. No writing experience required! Interesting times guaranteed!

Please call Mollie Nye House at 604 987-5820 for registration details.

Looking for tips, musings, rants and resources for writers? Visit Tudor Robins and I at Two Writers Talking, a cross-country dialogue between a Vancouver writer (that’s me) and an Ottawa freelancer (that’s Tudor).

We post a conversation every Sunday, and individual reflections in between times. We’d love you to join our community of two with your own comments and thoughts.

This year the Lynn Valley Literary Society is embarking on a major publishing project: Wintertide, an anthology that celebrates Christmas and other winter traditions on the North Shore. It will be written by North Shore writers, illustrated and designed by North Shore artists, sponsored by North Shore businesses and individuals, and embellished by people like … YOU!

We all know that when it comes to the holidays, things don’t always go as planned. Or sometimes they turn out much better. And many times the true gifts you give or receive aren’t the ones that come wrapped up under the tree. In Wintertide, we want to share what it means to be human during the holidays, a time when we are all seeking contentment in a world that’s filled with wonder, challenges, opportunities – and humour!

We’d love to hear your story: what particular holiday memories have stayed with you? What was your most memorable family gathering, and why? What happened at the Christmas concert last year that made you laugh? What gift did you most enjoy giving? When did your son finally manage to stay upright on his ice skates? What was it like when you first celebrated the season away from your family? In short, we want to hear your Winter Woes and Wonders.

Whether it’s a moment that was memorable for its beauty, its sadness, its humour or its joy, we’d love to read about it and perhaps include it in Wintertide. Along with your anecdotes will be holiday fiction, memories and poems by local writers, as well as seasonal articles and favourite holiday recipes.

Please keep your submission to 400 words, and send it to info@wintertide.ca by May 22, 2009. If you’d prefer to mail us your story, please send it to the Lynn Valley Literary Society, c/o Mollie Nye House, 940 Lynn Valley Rd., North Vancouver, V7J 1Z7.

A selection of anecdotes will be chosen and edited for inclusion in Wintertide. Once printed, the anthology will be an attractive book that will be brimming over with local lore and holiday how-tos – perfect for many of the people on your gift list!

If you’d like to have one of your family recipes included, consider becoming a Wintertide sponsor for only $50. For more information on sponsorship or pre-ordering, please visit www.wintertide.ca.

All are welcome to try their hand at the 2009 NSWA contest, which not only offers cash prizes but publication in their fine anthology. Here are the details, straight from their HQ:

Over $500 in Prizes!!!

The North Shore Writers’ Association
is pleased to announce their
13th Annual Writing Contest
Deadline: April 30, 2009-midnight

Entry Fee:
Adults $15.00 per entry, youths (13-18) $5.00 per entry.  Please, make your cheque payable to the North Shore Writers’ Association.

Mail your entries to:
NSWA 2009 Writing Contest
P.O. box 422, 1641 Lonsdale Avenue,
North Vancouver, BC, V7G 1H8

Categories:
Fiction: up to 2000 words per entry.
Non-fiction: up to 2000 words per entry.
Poetry: up to three poems per entry and 40 lines per poem.
Blind judging is in effect for all submissions.

Each submission has to accompanied by
-a cover page containing name, address, telephone, e-mail address (if applicable),
category, title of your submission and word count. If you are a youth indicate your
date of birth to qualify for the $5. fee.
-number all pages of your submission, but do not show the title on your manuscript.
-send entries on 8 ½ x 11-size pages, in New Times Roman font size 12, double-spaced.
-submit previously unpublished material only.
-keep a copy of your submissions as they will not be returned.

Prizes for each category:
1st Prize: $100.00 and publication in our newsletter and/or anthology 2009
2nd Prize: $50 and publication in our newsletter and/or anthology 2009
3rd prize: $25.00 and publication in our newsletter
Honorary mention: publication in our newsletter

-Winners will be declared at the discretion of the judges and notified June 1, 2009.
-Winners will be invited to one of our meetings to receive their prizes.
If you have questions, e-mail msadro@shaw.ca  with NSWA contest in the subject line.
For further information visit our web site at www.nswriters.bc.ca

Peggy’s “Writing Your Life” workshop will be offered again this fall through the North Vancouver Recreation Commission.

Instead of tackling a full-length autobiography, participants celebrate and document their life though stories and anecdotes. Basic writing skills that help turn memories into engaging stories are discussed, as are some of the issues faced by memoir-writers, such as family politics and handling controversial issues. Many of last year’s participants have continued to meet at Peggy’s informal drop-in classes, where she provides assignments that keep people’s memories flowing and pens to paper. Future Life Stories ‘graduates’ are welcome to attend! 

Class participants quickly discover that writing experience is not required, just a sense of curiosity about where their path has taken them thus far, and what they’ve encountered along the way. This year the course is being offered in weekday as well as weeknight options. Registration will be open once the North Vancouver leisure activities guide is published in August 2008. At that point, you may call 604 987-7529 for information, or register via www.northvanrec.com.

The classes are scheduled for Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30, Sept 23 to Oct. 21 (registration bar code:  204298) OR Thursday mornings, 10 to noon, from Sept. 25 to Oct. 23 (registration bar code: 204299). Cost is $60 for the five sessions.

North Vancouver’s Willowtree Writers’ Club is pleased to announce that it will be launching its first anthology in July 2008.

The club meets Tuesday mornings at Mollie Nye House, a community-use heritage home in Lynn Valley. Members of the club will be celebrating the launch of their chapbook and reading selections of work at the annual Mollie Nye House Garden Party, which will take place on the afternoon of Thursday, July 17. Come out and enjoy refreshments, music and words in the lovingly restored garden of Mollie Nye, a Lynn Valley pioneer and life-long educator.

For information about the launch, please contact Peggy via this website; for information about the Garden Party, call Joni at 604 987-5820.

On Sunday, February 2nd, at 2 p.m., you are invited to take tea and take part in an operatic experience at Mollie Nye House.

Opera in Lynn Valley? Yes, and not just any opera. Friends of the Lynn Valley Literary Society have the opportunity to hear readings from The Dream Healer, an opera based on Timothy Findley’s novel, Pilgrim. The Dream Healer’s world premiere takes place in March at the Chan

 At the tea, Don Mowatt and Carolyn Finlay, who wrote her doctoral thesis on opera libretti, will perform short dramatic dialogues from the libretto to give guests an idea of the storyline, the tone and the language of the opera. Interspersed amongst the readings will be recordings of four arias sung by top professional singers that will give us an illustration of the power of music to transform the dialogue into its operatic form.  Of special interest to writers, Don will also address the challenges and considerations encountered when transposing a story from one form—Findley’s novel—to another—the libretto. He looks forward to answering your questions, so come along to learn more about this literary genre.   Do join us for tea and goodies and be amongst the first in Vancouver to get a preview of The Dream Healer, which uses character, song and story to delve into the life and work of early 20^th century psychiatrist Carl Jung. All are welcome and admission is by donation, but seating is limited,  so please RSVP in advance by contacting peggy@liveandlearn.ca or calling 604 984-BOOK (2665). Mollie Nye House is located at 940 Lynn Valley Rd., North Vancouver.     

You’ve always wanted to write a novel, right? So have a lot of people. So let’s get together and make it happen during this year’s National Novel Writing Month, which kicks off November 1. The Lynn Valley Literary Society is taking registration for people wanting to join a local team of NaNo’ers who are interested in some fun and fellowship (and a cracked whip, if need be) to help get them over the 50,000-word finish line. See the Get Writing! page for details, and start thinking about your plotline now!