Archive for October 2009
Touring Newfoundland’s West Coast
My travels as a Canadian author have taken me to every province and territory in the country. Last week returned me to the west coast our easternmost province. Readings and writing workshops took me to its northern tip (only one road goes there), south to Port aux Basques and to many gorgeous spots in between. Sandy Chilcote of West Newfoundland-Labrador Public Libraries fame saw to it that I got to see places well off the beaten path, too – among them: Port aux Choix, where we spotted a whale; Phillip’s Garden, a 2200 year old Paleo-Eskimo site, and L’Anse aux Meadows, where the Vikings landed 1000 years ago; and Big Falls, a favourite spot for salmon fishing. We saw sun, rain, snow, rainbows, and fog – I’m tempted to say all in one day, but that MIGHT be an exaggeration. With all the fall colour, it was all fantastic.
Of course I met lots of enthusiastic readers and writers, too. I especially enjoyed the workshops attended by teenagers and seniors (and a few people in between). I’d enjoy doing more of those in any of Canada’s other gorgeous spots.
No matter how beautiful the place, how welcoming and friendly the people, how rewarding the workshops and readings, it is always great to be home again, too. Thanks to Newfoundland Public Libraries and to Canada Council for making this trip possible.
1 comment October 28, 2009
All My Bags AREN’T Packed
But I am ready to go. To Newfoundland. On Saturday. Or I will be when… Never mind.
Talking to a group of Keene teens a few years ago (Keene is near Peterborough, Ontario), I was mentioning how much I enjoy traveling roads I haven’t been on before, as I had that morning, and realized that what I’d said applied to my writing life, too. That’s why I’ve ended up writing such a range of stories, I think. An idea comes to me, I think, ‘I can’t write that. I don’t write…’ Fill in the blank: historical fiction, horror, biography, poetry. But it turns out that a great deal of the pleasure in writing is venturing into territory one hasn’t explored before, in terms of content, style, or genre.
I’ve enjoyed time in Newfoundland before – for National Book Week, for Children’s Book Week, and to present a session at an Eastern Horizons conference. But next week will take me on roads I haven’t yet traveled – from Corner Brook up the west coast to St. Anthony’s – and I’ll make a return trip from Corner Brook down the coast to Port Aux Basques, too. If you live in that part of the country, and our paths happen to cross on those just-waiting-to-be-traveled-by-me roads, please be sure to say hi. Mention that you read about my upcoming trip on my blog. Or, better yet, tell me you’ve been enjoying reading my books!
Add comment October 14, 2009
Kathy Stinson as Editor and Mentor
I’ve done plenty of ’shameless self-promotion’ here and would like to devote today’s post to the books of other authors I have had the pleasure to work with.
Rough Magic by Caryl Cude Mullin is not the kind of young adult novel I would ordinarily pick up and read, but when the managing editor at Second Story Press asked if I would like to edit it, I was so taken by the writing that I had to say yes. And so began the task of helping Caryl sort through the tangle of characters, points of view, and time lines so that her gem of a story would shine through. She dealt with comments, suggestions, and questions with great diligence and humour, and I hope I’ll have the chance to work with her again.
Kathryn Cole at Tundra Books was the editor of Bird Child by Nan Forler. I first met Nan in 1994 when she participated in a workshop I was leading in Toronto. I knew then that this was a writer whose work deserved a wide audience. She has since been in workshops I’ve led in Kitchener and Rockwood, and it was a real treat to see her first picture book launched last month.
2 comments October 5, 2009
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