New Directions in Canadian Short Fiction
140 St George St, Toronto, ON M5S 3G6, Canada
43.66490659999999
-79.39937359999999
Description
New Directions in Canadian Short Fiction is a FREE public event for writers, editors, and readers of short fiction, co-hosted by the Canadian Authors Association, Iguana Books, Editors Toronto, and the Creative Writing Program at the School of Continuing Studies, University of Toronto.
Join us on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20 from 7:00 to 9:30 PM for a fun and informative program about the state of short fiction in Canada today, with presentations from seasoned and newer writers and editors, readings, an audiovisual presentation, and a raffle.
While this event is totally FREE, we have included an option for making a $5 donation to the Creative Writing Bursary at the School of Continuing Studies, University of Toronto. See below for details.
SEATING is limited to 121, so please book early, and bring proof of purchase (digital or print).
FEATURING:
* Keynote talk and reading by Jessica Westhead, author of Pulpy & Midge (Coach House Books) and the critically acclaimed short story collections And Also Sharks and Things Not to Do (Cormorant Books);
* A 15-minute talk on the state of short fiction editing and publishing in Canada today by Alexandra Leggat, author of critically acclaimed short story collections, University of Toronto creative writing instructor, and the owner, publisher, and editor of Two Wolves Press;
* A 12-minute talk by emerging writer/editor and founder of Dark Helix Press, JF Garrard, about new short fiction by culturally diverse authors of speculative fiction;
* A 12-minute talk about Canadian short fiction in its global context by award-winning writer, editor, and publisher Michael Mirolla of Guernica Editions;
* Presentations by Iguana Books publisher Mary Ann Blair and Canadian Authors Association executive director Anita Purcell;
* Several short readings from Blood Is Thicker, a new anthology of short fiction co-published by the Canadian Authors Association and Iguana Books, featuring work by 15 new writers from across Canada;
* A 4-minute video howdy from Nicole Haldoupis and Geoff Pevlin of Saskatoon-based Applebeard Editions, with details about their new anthology of short-short fiction, release any words stuck inside of you (2018);
* A Q&A where you can have your questions about the writing, editing, and publishing of short fiction in Canada answered by our expert panelists;
* Tons of raffle prizes, to be distributed throughout the evening.
So...is this event about GENRE FICTION or LITERARY FICTION?
It's about both!
Canada is well known internationally for its pioneering contributions to literary short fiction, with a reputation for excellence cultivated over decades and cemented in 2013 when Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
This event highlights the contributions of several new and recently established voices, and is geared to writers, editors, and readers who want to know more about the art, craft, and business of short fiction publishing in Canada.
Unlike other events of its type, New Directions in Short Fiction transcends some of the most persistent boundaries in writing and editing today by addressing developments in both literary fiction and genre. We think these worlds should collide now and then. Watch for sparks.
EVENT DETAILS:
DATE: Wednesday, June 20, 2018
TIME: 7:00–9:30 PM
LOCATION: Room 205 Bissell Building, University of Toronto, 140 St George St., Toronto.
ACCESSIBILITY: Bissell Building is fully accessible. There is street parking and an
accessible ramp off of Sussex Street. Accessible washrooms are located on floors one (1) and four (4). For a list of accessibility provisions in Room 205, click
here. Individuals who have any other accessibility needs, questions, or concerns for this event that are not covered by the above link, please email
scs.accessibility@utoronto.ca and we will assist you as best we can.
TICKETS: FREE for all, with an option to donate $5 to SCS's Creative Writing Bursary for emerging writers!
HOW TO BOOK: To make a donation while reserving your spot, click on GET TICKETS, then choose
"General Admission (with donation)" and follow the prompts, using the drop down menu to choose one or more tickets. To reserve a FREE ticket
without making a donation, click on GET TICKETS and choose
"General Admission (no donation)", and follow the prompts.
BURSARY: All donations and raffle proceeds will go to the Creative Writing Bursary at the School of Continuing Studies, University of Toronto, to help emerging writers. Your donations help us give back to our generous hosts at SCS, without whom this exciting program would be impossible to offer at such low cost. Please contribute if you can, and/or buy raffle tickets for a chance to win valuable prizes. OR, reserve your free ticket, don't buy anything, and we'll be just as happy to see you. We promise!
RAFFLE TICKETS: $2/each; $5/3 tickets; $10/7tickets. (Please note: this site only allows you to buy one or three tickets at a time, but you can buy as many of those as you wish here, and you can purchase 7 tickets for $10 cash at the event). Remember to bring proof of purchase for any raffle tickets you buy on this
site. You will receive your physical raffle ticket(s) at the venue.
Raffle tickets can also be purchased with cash at the event.
RULES AND REFUNDS: You or a representative must be present at the event to participate in the raffle and claim your prize(s). Raffle tickets purchased on this site are refundable up to one day before the event.
PRIZES:
* One-year complimentary membership to the Canadian Authors Association (CAA);
* Two copies of the CAA/Iguana Books anthology, Blood Is Thicker (June, 2018), featuring 15 stories by new writers from across Canada;
* One "book-lover's basket" donated by the Canadian Authors Association, including a selection of books by CAA authors and a few other surprises;
* Two copies EACH of keynote speaker Jessica Westhead's books of short fiction, Things Not to Do and And Also Sharks (2017 and 2011), generously donated by Cormorant Books;
* One copy of Catherine Graham's 2017 novel Quarry, generously donated by Two Wolves Press;
* One 45-minute phone consultation on writing, editing, or both, with award-winning writer and University of Toronto creative writing instructor Alexandra Leggat, founder/editor/publisher of Two Wolves Press;
* Books generously donated by Guernica Editions: Faithful and Other Stories by Daniel Karasik (Guernica, 2017), Lessons in Relationship Dyads by Michael Mirolla (Red Hen Press, 2015), A Feast of Brief Hopes by Bruce Meyer (Guernica, 2018), The Photographer in Search of Death: Stories of the Real and the Magical by Michael Mirolla (Exile Editions, 2017), and The Formal Logic of Emotion by Michael Mirolla (Nuage Editions, 1991);
* One copy of Trump: Utopia or Dystopia, an anthology of short fiction by "writers from all over the world who were asked to share a story in which Trump is the muse," and where each story had to "show the type of world which might result from his policies." Co-edited by JF Garrard and Jen Frankel for Dark Helix Press;
* One speed-mentoring session with Iguana Books co-founder and Editors' Association of Canada founder Greg Ioannou on any aspect of publishing, from writing and editing to self-publishing, traditional publishing, and hybrid options;
* Two sleek, beautifully designed, leak-proof water bottles generously donated by friends of the program, Iguana's neighbour at the CSI-Annex, S'well, on behalf of Koru subsidary Givalry, which donates 25 per cent of all proceeds from the sale of its products to charitable groups;
MORE ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
JESSICA WESTHEAD (keynote speaker)
Jessica Westhead’s fiction has been shortlisted for the CBC Literary Awards, selected for the Journey Prize anthology, and nominated for a National Magazine Award. Her short stories have appeared in major literary journals in Canada, the US, and the UK, including Hazlitt, Maisonneuve, Taddle Creek, The New Quarterly, Indiana Review, and Hamish Hamilton’s Five Dials. She is the author of the novel Pulpy & Midge (Coach House Books) and the critically acclaimed short story collections And Also Sharks and Things Not to Do (Cormorant Books). And Also Sharks was a Globe and Mail Top 100 Book and a finalist for the Danuta Gleed Short Fiction Prize. She has twice been a judge for the Toronto Star Short Story Contest, and will be starting this fall as an instructor for online creative writing courses in The Chang School Department of Continuing Education at Ryerson University.
ALEXANDRA LEGGAT
Alexandra Leggat is the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection This is me since yesterday, the short story collections Pull Gently, Tear Here (nominated for the Danuta Gleed first fiction award), Meet Me in the Parking Lot, and Animal (nominated for the Trillium Book Award) and the novel The Incomparables. She is a creative writing instructor at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies and the owner, publisher, and editor of Two Wolves Press. Her second novel We Are Not The Fischer’s will be published in Spring 2019. In the Fall of 2019, Two Wolves Press will publish its first collection of short stories by Joe Vermaire, a former student of the SCS Creative Writing Program, entitled Nine Wire Road.
JF GARRARD
JF Garrard is the founder and president of Dark Helix Press, marketing strategist for Ricepaper Magazine and an assistant editor for Amazing Stories Magazine. She is an editor and writer of speculative fiction (Trump Utopia or Dystopia Anthology, The Undead Sorceress) and non-fiction (The Literary Elephant). In 2018, her short story "The Metamorphosis of Nova" was published in the Blood Is Thicker anthology by Iguana Books and the Canadian Authors Association. In late 2018/19, her story "The Perfect Husband" will be published in the We Shall Be Monsters Frankenstein anthology by Renaissance Press. Her background is in Nuclear Medicine and she has an MBA in Marketing and Strategy. Currently she is pursuing a Creative Writing certificate from Ryerson University.
MICHAEL MIROLLA
Michael Mirolla describes his writing as a mix of magic realism, surrealism, speculative fiction and meta-fiction. Publications include three Bressani Prize winners: the novel Berlin (2010); the poetry collection The House on 14th Avenue (2014); and the short story collection, Lessons in Relationship Dyads (2016). Among his other publications: The Ballad of Martin B, a punk-inspired novella; three novels – The Facility, which features among other things a string of cloned Mussolinis; The Giulio Metaphysics III, a hybrid linked short stories-novel wherein a character named Giulio attempts to escape from his creator; and Torp: The Landlord, The Husband, The Wife and The Lover, a ménage-a-trois mystery set in 1970 Vancouver during the War Measures Act. 2017 saw the publication of the magic realist short story collection The Photographer in Search of Death (Exile Editions). The short story, “A Theory of Discontinuous Existence,” was selected for The Journey Prize Anthology; and “The Sand Flea” was a Pushcart Prize nominee. Along with partner Connie McParland, Michael runs Guernica Editions, a literary press that publishes poetry, fiction and literary non-fiction. Born in Italy, raised in Montreal, Michael now lives in Oakville, Ontario.
Sincere thanks to our prize donors:
Cormorant Books, Two Wolves Press, and S'Well!
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Start:
2018-06-20T19:00:00-04:00
End:
2018-06-20T21:30:00-04:00
Category
Other
Tickets
ONE raffle ticket
2.69
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