Meetings & Workshops
About our Meetings & Workshops
Meetings/Workshops Schedule - Past (Archived) Meetings
Introduction
Wednesday Evening Meetings
We meet monthly on the second Wednesday, September through June, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.). Our meetings are open to the general public and are held at the Alliance for the Arts & Cultural Events, Suite 100, 938 Howe Street in downtown Vancouver. Meetings include Vancouver Branch announcements and guest speakers (or events). There will be time for socializing (and book signing) at the end of the evening. We charge a nominal fee to non-members.
Workshops
The Branch holds at least two workshops every year for which we charge fees. There is a substantial discount for our members.
Writer-in-Residence
If you want advice on your manuscript from an expert, Bernice Lever is our official Writer in Residence.
Meetings and Workshops Schedule
Our scheduled meetings and workshops are listed in calendar order. Past meetings and workshops are archived at the bottom of this page.
June 24–27, 2010 — Canwrite! Conference
The 89th Canwrite! Conference in Victoria
(hosted by Vancouver Branch).
June 24–27, 2010
Harbour Towers Hotel
Victoria, BC
Learn more about the Canwrite! 2010 Conference or register now.
Meetings and Workshops Suggestions
Please contact or with suggestions for speakers or topics.
No Meetings: June, July & August
There are no meetings held during the summer months, although the Branch does hold a summer social gathering for members and their guests.
Past Meetings
Archived events are listed in calendar order. Current and upcoming meetings and workshops are listed at the top of this page.
Meeting: Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Neil McKinnon — Award Winning Author
- Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.)
- Place: Alliance for the Arts & Culture, Suite 100, 938 Howe St., Vancouver.
- Cost: CAA Members free; Non-members $5; Students (with student ID) $2
Neil McKinnon will speak on: What is humour? How does humour work in fiction and in non-fiction?
Bio
Neil McKinnon was raised in Saskatchewan. He served in the RCN and has been a businessman, archaeologist, university lecturer, and freelance writer. He has worked in China, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. and holds a BSc in Math and BA and MA in archaeology. He is an alumnus of the Writing with Style program at the Banff Centre.
His travel and business articles have appeared in Canadian, Japanese, and U.S. publications. In 1999 he won first prize in an International Writing Competition sponsored by the Canadian Author's Association in Toronto. The entry, “Xi'an to Lantian”, was published in a collection in January 2000. In 2002 he received third prize in the CAA's International Short Story Competition. The story, “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do,” was published in an anthology in 2003 and in 2004 it won El Ojo Del Lago's Best Fiction Award in Mexico. His book Tuckahoe Slidebottle was shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Award for humour and for the Alberta Book Award for short fiction. He has served on literary juries and has also edited and published academically.
In July, 2001 he ran the Calgary Marathon and collected his first pension cheque. He and his wife Judy have been married for 43 years. They have two globe-trotting daughters, one brilliant 5 year-old grandson and one 4 month-old grandson, also brilliant. When not visiting their grandsons in Vancouver they live in Mexico.
For More Information
For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .
Meeting: Thursday, October 15, 2009
Shaena Lambert — Award Winning Author
- Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.)
- Place: Alliance for the Arts & Culture, Suite 100, 938 Howe St., Vancouver.
- Cost: CAA Members free; Non-members $5; Students (with student ID) $2
Shaena Lambert will discuss:
- 'Beginnings and Endings' for short stories and novels.
- How to discover the organic beginning and end within a piece of fiction.
- What makes a powerful opening?
- Should a story 'close' at the ending or open up into something new?
Bio
Shaena Lambert's novel, Radiance, was published in 2007 by Random House Canada and by Virago Press in the UK. It was named a best book of the year by the Globe and Mail, Quill and Quire and New Zealand Star Herald, and was chosen as a finalist for the Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize, The Ethel Wilson Prize, and The Evergreen Award.
Her book of short stories, The Falling Woman (2002), was published to critical acclaim in Canada, the UK and Germany. It was shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed award and named a Globe and Mail best book. Her short stories have appeared in many magazines, including Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope All-Story, Toronto Life, Image (Dublin), and The Journey Prize Anthology—a yearly anthology of best new Canadian stories. She lives in Vancouver. She is at work on a new novel and a collection of short stories.
For More Information
For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .
Meeting: Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Dr. Trevor Carolan — Award Winning Non-Fiction Author
- Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.)
- Place: Alliance for the Arts & Culture, Suite 100, 938 Howe St., Vancouver.
- Cost: CAA Members free; Non-members $5; Students (with student ID) $2
Dr. Trevor Carolan will speak on "The Deeper Loam" of writing: identifying the "Eight Essentials" of good writing; Cultivating the Creative Self; incorporating literature in our lives; finding our true subjects; the craft of writing; traditions and expectations; maintaining the active voice; self-editing and effective criticism; cross-overs—shifting from one genre to another; and understanding the role of an Editor
Bio
Born in Yorkshire, Trevor Carolan emigrated as a boy to British Columbia, Canada and was raised in the family building trade in New Westminster. He began writing for the city newspaper at age 17. After travelling Europe and India for three years he completed a M.A. in English at Humboldt State in California. He later worked with the 15th Olympic Winter Games in Calgary. As a writer he has published 14 books of creative non-fiction, poetry, fiction, translation, memoir, and anthologies. Dr. Carolan has worked as media advocate on behalf of international human rights, refugees and famine relief, Canadian First Nation land claims, and Pacific Coast logging and watershed issues. He served three years as an elected municipal councillor for North Vancouver, then as a political columnist. In 2007 he received an Interdisciplinary PhD from Bond University in Queensland, Australia and now teaches English at University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford near Vancouver.
His current work is entitled Another Kind of Paradise: Short Stories from the New Asia-Pacific (Cheng & Tsui, Boston). His other works include the novel The Pillow Book of Dr. Jazz (Ekstasis); Return to Stillness: Twenty Years With a Tai Chi Master (Marlowe, NY), for which he received a Spirituality & Health Best Books of the Year citation in 2003; and Celtic Highway, a collection of poetry (Ekstasis).
For More Information
For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .
Meeting: Saturday, December 12, 2009
Christmas Gathering
Our Christmas Lunch will be held starting at noon at:
- White Spot Restaurant
- 1616 West Georgia (at Cardero)
- Vancouver, BC | V6K 2V5
- p: 604.681.8034 | f: 604.681.0426
Cost: $18.00 for meal (a choice of 4 entrées — one vegetarian), a Caesar salad and tea/coffee/soft drink. Members are allowed to bring a guest. Space is limited.
Please RSVP to .
Meeting: Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Gillian Shaw — Journalist
- Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.)
- Place: Alliance for the Arts & Culture, Suite 100, 938 Howe St., Vancouver.
- Cost: CAA Members free; Non-members $5; Students (with student ID) $2
Gillian Shaw will be the speak on social media and its importance to Canadian authors.
Gillian Shaw is a journalist with The Vancouver Sun and Canwest. She writes on Digital Life for the Sun and the Canwest news service, focusing on technology issues and trends online and off that affect our life, whether at work or play. Gillian can be found online at www.vancouversun.com/digitallife or through some of her social media links listed at krunchd.com/gillianshaw.
Bio
For More Information
For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .
Meeting: February, 13 2010
February's meeting is cancelled due to the Olympics.
Meeting: Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Open Mic Night & Silent Auction Fund Raiser
- Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.)
- Place: Alliance for the Arts & Culture, Suite 100, 938 Howe St., Vancouver.
- Cost: CAA Members free; Non-members $5; Students (with student ID) $2
Open Mic Night
March 10th is our Open Mic Night. Come and hear what people have been writing. Each speaker will be given five minutes to read their poems, magazine articles, or excerpts from their books. Members will be given priority.
- To reserve your reading spot please contact Jean Kay at 604-943-9247 or .
Silent Auction Fund Raiser
We will also be having a Silent Auction at our meeting. Writing-related items and small donated items will be auctioned off. Come early and place your bids.
Available items range from a CanWrite! 2010 Registration (minimum bid: $200.00), writing services or related items to framed prints (see examples to right — click to see larger images), gift vouchers, or chocolates. All items will be displayed at the meeting, and bid sheets will be available at that time.
If you have books you would care to contribute to our book draw, they would also be greatly appreciated.
- If you have items to donate, please notify Jean Kay at 604-943-9247 or so that she can include them on the bid sheets.
For More Information
For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .
Meeting: Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Rebecca Wigod — Books Editor at The Vancouver Sun
Rebecca Wigod will talk about what she does as The Sun's books editor: what it involves, which books get covered (and why), how writers can get attention for their work and what could be done better.
- Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.)
- Place: Alliance for the Arts & Culture, Suite 100, 938 Howe St., Vancouver.
- Cost: CAA Members free; Non-members $5; Students (with student ID) $2
Bio
Rebecca Wigod has been a print journalist for 30-plus years. She spent a fun year as a copy editor on the Australian edition of Vogue magazine. She's spent most of her career at the Times-Colonist in Victoria, where she wrote features, and The Sun (22 years), where she's done lots of things, including reporting on health issues. She's overseen the books pages for 10 years and has recently also been choosing and editing the letters to the editor.
For More Information
For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .
Meeting: Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Daniel Kalla — International Bestselling Author
- Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.)
- Place: Alliance for the Arts & Culture, Suite 100, 938 Howe St., Vancouver.
- Cost: CAA Members free; Non-members $5; Students (with student ID) $2
Daniel Kalla will speak on living and managing the dual career of writing and medicine. He will also cover growing up in a medical "dynasty" — he's a third-generation physician — since his new novel touches on these issues.
Bio
Born, raised, and still residing in Vancouver, Kalla spends his days (and sometimes nights) working as an ER Physician in an urban teaching hospital.
The idea for his first medical thriller, Pandemic, sprang from his clinical experience in facing the SARS crisis of 2003. He has written five science thrillers and or medical mysteries, delving into themes and topics as diverse as superbugs, drug addiction, prions, DNA evidence, pandemics and patient abuse.
Kalla's sixth book, Of Flesh and Blood, is a departure from the medical thriller genre. Featuring two multi-generational families, a major West Coast medical center and interwoven storylines, he tackles the human condition through the loves, lives and struggles of characters connected by lineage and bound by family secrets.
His books have been translated into ten languages, and Pandemic and Resistance have been optioned for feature films.
Daniel received his MD from the University of British Columbia. He is married and the proud father of two girls in a home predominated by the XX chromosome (even his beloved Labrador retriever, Lola, is female).
For More Information
For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .
Meetings and Workshops from Prior Years
As information becomes available for the new year, the previous year is moved to Previous Year's Events. The Year in Review page contains a summary from earlier years.
www.canauthorsvancouver.org/meetings.html
Updated: May 17, 2010