Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society

READ SUNSHINE COAST BC 

SCWES November 2024.pdf
marioncrookbooklaunch6.pdf
_taletrail1.pdf
SCWESAGM.pdf
Red and White Minimal Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Instagram Post.pdf
SCWES books backup.xlsx
September29meetingcancelled.pdf

Art & Words at the Gibsons Public Library

Missed Art & Words 2024? Check out the Gibsons & District Public Library staring Wednesday, September 4th for the month long exhibit of a selection of the artwork and collaboration of literary works. Also, there will be a reunion reading on Saturday, Sept. 21st, 2-3:30 pm, including authors Doris Good, Joyce Gwilliam, Pammila Ruth, Cat Mac, Andrea Coates, Anne Miles,  Robin Lamarche, and Monica Davis.

RSVP.
https://gibsonslibrary.ca/calendar/list/page/4/
Saturday September 21 @ 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Art & Words Reunion Reading
Library Mainil Room

Write On: Quiet Writing Time

You’re invited to come Write On for some quiet writing time at the Gibsons Public Library on the third Wednesday of the month. No instruction or critique, just quiet time and space to write. Work on any writing you wish, in the company of your fellow writers.

Prompts given on a slip of paper that you can take or leave.

For those of you who are interested and don’t have projects already in progress, and looming deadlines, perhaps there’s interest in creating a Sunshine Coast Community Voices Anthology (title to be decided as a group) during the time we spend at the library. We can talk about production options if there are enough of us interested in the project. (For those of you in the memoir group, this will be a different as we won’t be focused on memoir, as it can include fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and other genres.) Open to all.

The dates for the rest of 2024 are:

Fingers-crossed we will be able to continue at the library in 2025

Facilitator: Cathalynn (Cindy) Labonte-Smith

Drop in, no registration required.

Book Contest ResultsPRESS RELEASE.pdf
About BC Award for website.pdf
judgesthankyou.pdf

Not An Island Summer 2024

Available at all the usual places including: Talewind Books, the Gibsons Public Art Gallery, and Amazon.ca.

Words Anthology Available

The 3rd Annual Art & Words Anthology is available!!! Contributors and customers can pick it up today around the Gibsons Public Market 10 to Noon from Cindy, or at the Night Market from 4-10 pm at the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society table inside :-) $9.00 or free for contributors. 

The League of Canadian Poets - Brochure.pdf

Friends in Nicaragua

Congratulations to Mike and Jennie Starr on the release of their new nonfiction book, Friends in Nicaragua. Available on Amazon.


New Judge Diana Hayes

Meet our latest judge to join our esteemed panel, award-winning author, Diana Hayes of Salt Spring Island.  She studied at the Universities of Victoria and British Columbia, receiving a B.A. and M.F.A. in Creative Writing.  Her published books include Two of Swords (co-editor), Moving Inland, The Classical Torso in 1980, The Choreography of Desire, Coming Home (anthology), This Is The Moon’s Work, Labyrinth of Green, Gold in the Shadow, Language of Light, and Sapphire and the Hollow Bone.   Her play, Islomania: Sage of the Settlers, was produced by Salt of the Earth Productions and for the Salt Spring Festival of the Arts.  She established Raven Chapbooks in 2019, a small family press that produces beautifully designed books and specializes in poetry chapbooks. 

Raffle Tickets

Order your raffle tickets for a unique quilt, photographs, art, and books by Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society members. Email sunshinecoastwritersandeditors@gmail.com with the name, cel or tel number, email address, and number of tickets of recipient. Tickets are $2 each or $18 for 10.

New Judges for the SCWES Book Awards

Introducing one of our fiction judges, Bob Macdonald, Author and host of CBC's Quirks and Quarks. 

Meet our judge, Christine Cowan, Author and Secretary of the North Shore Writers Association.



Meet Judge Doug MacLeod of the North Shore Writers Association and long-time coordinator of the North Shore Writers Association's annual writing contest. 

We have more fantastic literary judges to add to our contest! More entries = more judges. Meet nonfiction judges, Elizabeth Rains, Editing Instructor at SFU, 


Barbara Black, Author, and last year's Fiction winner.

Not An Island Spring 2024

Not An Island Spring 2024 is available from SCWES Secretary, Mike Starr in Sechelt for your contributor's copy. Also, you can request it from Talewind Books or from the Gibsons Public Art Gallery, or order it from Amazon.ca. The next deadline is July 6th and the suggested theme is Q&A. Submissions go to robin@writerschoice.ca 

michaelhealeythankyou.pdf
taletrailfinalapril29.pdf
judges2024.pdf
Gates&Fences.pptx
Sunshine Coast Festival of Written Arts Authors over 42 years.pdf
100 Years of Writers on the Sunshine Coast.pdf

Not An Island Winter 2024

Poetry & Prose by the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society - Kindle edition by scwes.ca, Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society, Dakin, Emma, Davis, Monica, DeGrass, Jan, Hackett, Robert, Healey, Michael, Hicks, Caitlin, Lin, Juliet, Lobo, Del, Peck, Frances. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTGTKXDW?ref_=pe_93986420_774987470

scwes2023yearinreview.pdf
Sunshine Coast Festival of Written Arts Authors over 41 years (1).pdf

Some Photos from the Art & Words Exhibit at the Gibsons Public Library

Coast Reporter Article: Expanded Art & Words festival lauds top authors, stirs creativity

https://www.coastreporter.net/local-arts/expanded-art-words-festival-lauds-top-authors-stirs-creativity-7421802

BC Booklook Article on the SCWES Book Awards

https://bcbooklook.com/scwes-book-award-winners/

Thank You Howe Sound Pulp & Paper

We are so grateful to Howe Sound Pulp & Paper for a grant to the SCWES Book Awards for BC Authors. Thank you so much for your contribution. This means a lot to promote literature in BC. 


Almost An Island Podcast

Our first Almost An Island Podcast was a huge success on Friday, May 19th. Michael Gurney is editing the recorded conversations, so stayed tuned. Here's some photos from the day with Marissa Fisher, Lise Kreps, Cat Mac, Stephen Smith and Mike Starr. Our next podcast workshop will be Friday, June 9th, from 1-5pm. Send in a brief summary of what you want to chat about for 20 to 30 minutes with Michael and Cindy to sunshinecoastwritersandeditors@gmail.com by May 30th, thank you.

BENEFITS OF AN SCWES MEMBERSHIP


SCWES has many benefits for your $20/year. We are a supportive and inclusive group, here to help all of our members develop at all levels. We have a diverse group from beginners to a Governor-General award winner.


We have a new writers' circle starting in Gibsons every other Thursday and one in Sechelt starting May 4,, every other Thursday.


We have a monthly group meeting, the last Sunday of the month at Mission Point House starting with a quick business meeting, then a program, such as book launch, or speaker. Sunday, April 30th, 2 pm we have a panel on ChatGPT, with two AI experts and myself, a networking break with refreshments, then a hands-on workshop on Chat, so bring a laptop or tablet. In May, we have a book launch by local author, Caitlin Hicks. In June, we're going to talk about a Heritage project with a Literary Landmark map, both a flat map, web-based and an app. Our grant for the project from Heritage BC, of which we are members, is in process. We break for the summer.


August 10-13, 2023 we host the 2nd Annual Sunshine Coast Art & Words Festival at the Gibsons Public Market with 30 events, all free except 14 workshops for writers, artists and photographers at a nominal cost.


We will have the representative from the Federation of BC Writers, of which we are members, join us for two days to give us information about the organization and its benefits and to answer questions. We will probably have other representatives from other writing organizations as well and writing programs. Go to our eventbrite site to reserve your seats:

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/2nd-annual-sunshine-coast-art-words-festival-1970599


We have four authors being sponsored to read by The Writers Union of Canada and the Canada Council of the Arts. I assist authors in their applications to TWUC and apply for the grants as an organization.


We have an online Membership Directory for authors who want to promote themselves at: https://www.scwes.ca/membership-directory


We have a quarterly magazine, "Not An Island" both online and paper-based that gives members an opportunity to be published. We are publishing an annual in time for our Festival this year. https://www.scwes.ca/not-an-island


With both our website and FB page we keep members up-to-date with news, contests, and their achievements.

https://www.facebook.com/sunshinecoastwes/


You receive a monthly calendar of events.


But of all that we have to offer, building a sense of community is the best thing we have to offer. We collaborate and take part in several community events throughout the year, including the Art Crawl. 

Remembering Arthur Lightbourn

It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of our dear member Arthur Lightbourn, at 1:03 am, Tuesday, December 27th, 2022 at the Sechelt Hospital. On behalf of SCWES, I extend our condolences to his daughter, Laurel Lightbourn and her family at this difficult time. My heart breaks for her as Arthur doted on her, as he did all of his family. He shared with me in the short time we knew each other, late into the night, how much he adored her and all his family. It was a privilege to have known such a kind and lovely soul.

Arthur had a story published in our first issue of "Not An Island"  a year ago (https://www.scwes.ca/not-an.../not-an-island-winter-2021-22). He wrote a book, which was the biography of the fascinating Vita Simpson, a Sechelt resident, who turned one hundred years-old on March 21, 2021.  ("Our Vita" is available for loan at the Sechelt Public Library.)  A "Coast Reporter" article about Arthur's book can be found at: https://www.coastreporter.net/.../100-years-of-vita-3575592

Arthur Francis Lightbourn earned a BA in English with Honours from St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia (1956). He worked as a reporter for the Halifax Chronicle Herald and the Toronto Star.

As a freelancer in California, he wrote features and personality profiles for newspapers. His awards include several first place San Diego Press Club awards, National First Place IFPA Award (2002) for Original Writing about the first American military officer to enter a Nazi concentration camp to liberate its prisoners.

His daughter, Laurel was instrumental to Arthur becoming a member of SCWES, as he was living in a care home when he joined and not able to attend our meetings. Without Laurel's assistance, Arthur wouldn't have been able to join our community, and I would never have known him.

On his application form, Arthur wrote that his goal within the society was, "To encourage other writers to be the voice for those who need a voice, and to challenge the status quo." He also said that he was working on a save the cougars project.

I met Arthur in-person at Lions Gate Hospital this summer when we were patients in the same hospital room across from each other. For my entire stay, Arthur told me fascinating stories that he wanted to write when he got out of the hospital. He was an inspiration.

He never complained while in the hospital. He was appreciative of everything that the nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, janitors and everyone did for him at Lions Gate and I believe he was the same while at Sechelt Hospital, because that's the kind of person he was.

After I left Lions Gate, I eventually got word from Laurel that he was transferred to Sechelt Hospital. I was at Sechelt Hospital visiting a friend, a founding member of SCWES, and Arthur was in the next room. Stephen and I popped in and saw Arthur. He was much recovered compared to Lions Gate Hospital days and was waiting for a placement in a care home.

Eventually, he found a spot, but unfortunately he ended up back at Sechelt Hospital again. Laurel let me know just before Christmas, that he would be leaving us. I wouldn't have a chance to see his dear face again.

He was in hospital in total for about four months, when Laurel let me know.

Goodbye, dear Arthur, as you write stories in whatever press room you are in now.

-30-

https://vimeo.com/784788399

100 Writers in 100 Years on the Sunshine Coast Kickoff Event.pdf

Presentation on Kindle Direct Publishing

scweskde.pptx

Purpose

There’s an influx of new authors to serve on the Coast as well as our solid base. There’s a new generation of young authors and publishers to pass on the blue pencil to and retirees, who are ready to lay their astonishing memoirs at our feet if they can just get going on it.

We are a magnet for creative souls on the Coast. We may not know exactly why, but it’s almost mandatory that you’re a potter, painter or writer to live here. We have our ensemble of diverse voices, and within it there are cozy groups organically and beautifully forming. 

 Need more information? Send an email to sunshinecoastwritersandeditors@gmail.com