April 16th, 2011
Gets a glowing review in the Globe and Mail today.
In addition to being gardener and essayist extraordinaire, Merilyn is Artistic Director of the Kingston WritersFest, where I serve as a volunteer web editor. Stayed tuned for the introduction of our 2011 lineup in early May.
Stayed tuned also for an interview here with Merilyn.
April 14th, 2011
I just got a surprising message from Kathy Graybeal, from the State of Delaware’s Division of Libraries. My essay “Library Haunting” is featured today on their blog! I’m honoured (or should I say honored?) and delighted. Thanks to The New Quarterly, who published it first, and to the Utne Reader, for picking it up. And thanks to Kathy and the other Delaware librarians who saw fit to feature it!
April 11th, 2011
For the past several years, the Creative Nonfiction Collective has kicked off its annual conference with a lively and thought-provoking cabaret of readings. Now, those of us east of Banff can join in the fun. Join host Maggie Siggins, along with Don GIllmor, Wayne Grady, Marni Jackson, Ken McGoogan, Merilyn Simonds, Rosemary Sullivan, and Andrew Westoll for an exciting evening of readings and conversation about this capacious genre.
When: Wednesday, May 25, 8:30 pm
Where: Harbord House Gastro Pub, 150 Harbord (at Brunswick)
Toronto, ON
This event is conveniently timed just before the Writers’ Union of Canada AGM. So if you’re coming from away, come a day early to enjoy it!
April 7th, 2011
There’s still time to register for the Creative Nonfiction Collective’s annual conference. This is one I’m very disappointed to miss. Among the treats in store for those who can make it to Banff at the end of April:
A keynote address by the thoughtful and passionate Karen Connelly, who has written poetry, novels, essays, memoir, and more. Her talk is called, “A New Instrument, Another Music: The Challenges of Extracting Nonfiction and Fiction from the Same Experience,” and I’m sure it will be enlightening.
Workshops and discussions on the controversial category of “momoir,” on writing sex in nonfiction, on building an author platform, and on understanding the fine print of contracts.
And a reading by the witty and talented Sarah Leavitt, whose graphic memoir Tangles has been gathering praise and awards nominations ever since it hit the stands. (Disclaimer: Sarah just happens to be a friend of mine. But I liked her writing first!) Stay tuned for an interview with Sarah soon.
March 28th, 2011
Thanks to Shawna Lemay for the link to this article, “Literary Haunts,” in The Independent, written by Woolf’s great-niece, Emma Woolf:
“In the end, perhaps it’s best to let the writer’s words speak for them. A century after she went “street-haunting” in London, you can still find Virginia out there. If I choose, I can put down my pen right now and walk to the Cock Tavern on Fleet Street. As newlyweds in 1912, Leonard and Virginia rented rooms at nearby Clifford’s Inn and took their daily meals at the Cock Tavern. The ideal place, then, for a 70th anniversary toast to Virginia Woolf.”
My essay, “Library Haunting,” is an homage of sorts to Woolf’s “Street Haunting.”
