"Blood Eagle"; Bloody freezing

My poem "Blood Eagle" appears on page 176 of the Winter / Summer 2012 issue of Poetry Quarterly Magazine. Click on the "Expand" button and navigate to 176 at the bottom. Thanks to the editors at PQ!

So here we are at the end of June, the the big 11 degrees and pouring. Though I understand some of this country is still experiencing a heat wave. They say we're warming up starting tomorrow. I hope so.

Thanks, thanks; Yeeehaaaw!

Yes, there I am at last weekend's Writers Guild of Alberta conference at Hotel Arts in Calgary, schmoozing it up and having a lot of fun. Good to see old friends and make new ones, join in some interesting discussions and celebrate writers and writing in Alberta.  Thanks to WGA staff and board members for a memorable weekend.

Thanks also to Susan Toy of Alberta Books Canada for the Friday Reads shout out featuring myself and Anne Sorbie, here. Susan is a dedicated supporter of Alberta books and authors through her business. And we do appreciate the support!

Next up: a reading from the Stampede Noir anthology at Owl's Nest Books on July 11th. More details to follow!

WGA Conference

My Life Into Story workshop went really well on May 26th. We had a good group and some interesting discussions. Thanks to everyone who came out, and thanks to Robin with the Alexandra Writers' Centre Society for all your help!

Looking forward to this year's Writers Guild of Alberta Conference, this weekend at Hotel Arts and Memorial Park Library. Looks like there's a great lineup of presenters and events, and of course, the awards gala. Should be an excellent weekend.

Life Into Story; WGA Shortlist Readings; Brennan Launch

Coming up on Saturday, May 26 is my one-day workshop at the Alexandra Writers Centre, Life Into Story. Here's the description:

Got a great story idea inspired by real life events but not sure how or where or why to begin writing it? In this workshop we’ll explore characters, plots and settings derived from real life. We’ll also consider how closely fiction should resemble real life, and whether some ideas are better suited to fiction or creative nonfiction.


Sounds great, eh? Contact AWCS for more information.


Tomorrow night at 7 PM I'm attending the Writers Guild of Alberta Literary Awards Shortlist Readings at The Rose & Crown pub on 4th St SW. Looking forward to sharing the excitement!


And then on Thursday I'm going to the launch of Brian Brennan's new book, The Calgary Public Library: Inspiring Life Stories Since 1912. As a former long-time CPL employee, I'm looking forward to reading the book.  

School's out; AWCS residency

Barb Howard's launch for Western Taxidermy last week was a great time. Readings, music, food -- what's not to like? Music and food were also involved in Mark Anthony Jarman's reading Monday night at Shelf Life books. Grand time, as were beers afterwards. Shelf Life has been hosting plenty of great events lately -- check them out if you haven't already!

Last night was the last class of the creative writing courses I've been teaching at Mount Royal University since last September. It's been great -- met a lot of writers, and I hope I had some useful information for at least some of them. The wine and cheese last night was a nice touch -- thanks, Katherine! And thanks, all of you CW 2 Winter 2012 folks for being such dedicated writers. I'm looking forward to doing it all again this coming September.

Finally, I am now able to announce that I am pleased to be serving as 2013 Writer-in-Residence for the Alexandra Writers' Centre Society. This will be happening some time next spring, for a two-month term. The details have yet to be fully worked out, but I am very much looking forward to working for AWCS and to meeting and talking to more writers. Cool!

Now -- back to writing.

Life Into Story; Barb Howard launch; Mark Jarman reading

It may be a snowy day here in Calgary today, but I'm pretty sure the weather will be much better on May 26th, when I'm teaching a one-day workshop Life Into Story at the Alexandra Writers Centre, 922 - 9 Ave. SE in beautiful Inglewood, a mere stone's throw away from ye olde National Hotel. Register now as space is limited!

In the meantime, on Wednesday April 25th Barb Howard launches her new collection of short fiction Western Taxidermy, at Cantos Music Foundation, 134- 11 Ave SE at 7 PM. Should be a great evening!

And a few days after that, on April 30th at 7PM Mark Anthony Jarman is taking part in a reading called Eastern Vagabonds at Shelf Life Books, 1302 - 4 St. SW. Sounds crazy! Looking forward to hearing Mark read again.

Canada's 2012 Cultural Capitol -- there's never a dull moment here!

Cowgirls; Spring Break; Western Taxidermy

The Cowgirls event at Shelf Life was a whole lot of fun! Thanks to JoAnn and Shelf Life for hosting; to Betty for getting the whole thing rolling; and to Nerys Parry for the shout out at her blog. Nerys read from her book Man and Other Natural Disasters, Lee Kvern read from her latest novel, The Matter of Sylvie, Betty Jane Hegerat read from The Boy, and Barb Howard read from her brand new book Western Taxidermy, a short story collection. I read from my short story, "She Died With Her Boots On", part of Stampede Noir, a collection of noir fiction by Calgary writers that has a connection with the Calgary Stampede. It's currently seeking a publisher -- contact me if you're interested in more details.

Next up -- writing short stories, teaching, percolating a new novel idea. Waiting, as usual. Spring break for the gents, in which we will hopefully finish most of our new kitchen and have an overnighter in Banff. I am enjoying being on holiday.

The launch for Barb's new Western Taxidermy is set for April 25th at Cantos Music Foundation. More details later. Looking forward!