September 19, 2024
It Was A Dark and Stormy Night: Friesen’s Press Review
By Heather Emberley September is Literacy Month in Canada and what better time to explore self-publishing. If it was good enough for Margaret Atwood, Stephen King and Eckhart Tolle, it was good enough for me. As the proud owner of a short attention span, I couldn’t wait for a traditional publisher, so I opted to have my children’s book, Who Hid the Raisin Bread? printed by Friesen’s Press. Because the book is a fundraiser for …
August 23, 2024
Threads of Connection
By Lynda Faye Schmidt
Last Saturday I had the privilege of meeting MWG member Alison M. York at her book signing event hosted by Chapters Polo Festival. Alison was set up in a bright and welcoming space immediately to the left as I entered the store. She was engaged in conversation with a customer, so I browsed through the journal section. Sensory memories of my cross-Canada book tour in 2022 danced in my head—the hum of crowds, the thrum of nervous heart-palpitations, the scents of paper, ink, and perfume.
August 5, 2024
Perspectives of Complexity
By Lynda Faye Schmidt I arrived at the Asper Theatre on the University of Winnipeg campus with time to spare and no expectations. The quaint venue was buzzing with anticipation for barb janes’ play, Agency, and I was full of curiosity. My colleagues and I were waiting for the theatre doors to open, engaged in conversation, when who should appear but barb janes herself! I was fortunate to be introduced to the burgeoning new playwright, …
July 3, 2024
My Last Evening as a Critique Circle Moderator
By Sharon Hamilton One of the many privileges I have enjoyed in the Manitoba Writers’ Guild has been to co-moderate our “Final-Wednesday-in-the-Month Critique Circle.” Time, however, is the new gold, and my resources of time do not allow for the kind of preparation our critique circle participants warrant, such as carefully reading the pre-submitted manuscripts and planning a supportive, constructive critique of each one. Fortunately, the Guild is blessed with many leaders and volunteers, and …
June 28, 2024
April Poetry Critique Circle
By Stacey Lupky What struck me the most from this Poetry Critique Circle was the strong sense of support and community the group naturally shared with each other. Each of the participants sharing their poetry held space for each other to be vulnerable in their readings and concise in their feedback. Our host for the April 24 event was Jake Reichart, who facilitated the two-hour Zoom meeting with thoughtfulness and helpful advice. Poem themes ranged …
June 25, 2024
Den Valdron on AI and Writing
By Steve Oetting The topic of plagiarism reared its ugly face during one of our recent Rants and Ramblings sessions. A participant described how a book she had submitted to Amazon had been duplicated word for word and was selling right alongside of hers. Some additional discussion revealed that this was becoming a common problem and it appeared this duplication was not performed by a person but rather by a system, perhaps an AI (Artificial …
By Andrew Dutfield Award nominees, family, friends and Guild members gathered at the ArtSpace Building in Winnipeg and online June 6 to celebrate the inaugural award night of the Manitoba Writers’ Guild Rabindranath Tagore Poetry Competition. The competition has a special emphasis on the intersections of multiple cultural heritages in verse. After a short address, emcee and Guild President Sharon Hamilton handed the podium over to Kamal Malaker, the competition’s sponsor for the first five …
June 15, 2024
Call for Indications of Interest – TREASURER
Our treasurer for the past six years, Clarice Sinohan, is enjoying significant changes in her professional and personal life. One consequence is the Guild will soon be bereft of our much relied upon treasurer. We are seeking indications of interest in this volunteer position.
June 5, 2024
Alison M. York – A Serendipitous Book Launch
By Stacey Lupky Warm, inviting energy greeted the standing-room-only crowd gathered for the book launch of Alison York’s novel, Tartan Threads: Serendipity In Scotland. Throughout the event, hosted by the Manitoba Writer’s Guild, of which Alison is a member, Scotland played a welcoming role in bringing the crowd together. Scottish-themed dainties such as shortbread, scones and jam were on offer, while Scottish music gently lilted in the background. At the front of the room at …
June 4, 2024
Hungering
By barb janes This is the last time, I promise. Maybe you’ve heard those words, heard them with hope, heard them with cynicism. Maybe you’ve spoken those words aloud, or in your head full of self-recrimination, meaning it, knowing you are lying. These prose words spoken and heard by many, were turned into poetry by Spenser Smith. A glorious spring afternoon found twenty-some folks gathered in Art Space in Winnipeg’s Exchange to listen to well-chosen …
June 2, 2024
Carmelo Militano: Love Poems from Archeologia Eros
Book Chat Review by Amanda Le Rougetel
On Valentine’s Day, a small group enjoyed an intimate online reading of love poems by MWG member Carmelo Militano. He chose selections from his book Archeologia Eros, work inspired by others’ erotic poems.
May 31, 2024
Contest Winners Celebrated at The Dave
By Steve Oetting The annual Dave Williamson National Short Story Competition reception, fondly known as “The Dave,” was held on May 9 at ArtSpace. This reception is hosted by the Guild as a way to honour the short story contributors who were creative and intrepid enough to provide submissions, the judges who spent weeks carefully assessing those stories and enduring the delicate task of selecting the winners, and of course Dave Williamson, the honorary patron …
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