{"id":18,"date":"2011-01-06T18:26:56","date_gmt":"2011-01-06T18:26:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/?page_id=18"},"modified":"2011-01-06T18:26:56","modified_gmt":"2011-01-06T18:26:56","slug":"acclaim","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/?page_id=18","title":{"rendered":"Writerly Connections"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"><strong>Writing can be an isolating proposition.<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">Not to mention intimidating, particularly when stretching into new markets or mediums. Knowing that, and knowing how other writers have supported me, I put high priority on making sure writers at all points in their careers have access to mentors and networking opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">In that spirit, I\u2019m a member of several writing organizations and particularly active in the Get Publishing Communications Society. I\u2019m pleased to say that Get Publishing is reaching out as never before to newcomer and immigrant writers, offering bursaries so that they too can benefit from being connected with publishers, mentors and fellow writers. It\u2019s exciting to see the mix of cultures and ideas and energy that results\u2014and to ponder how such synergy could inform our literary future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">I also invite opportunities to teach and mentor. It\u2019s not unusual to find me in conversation with an emerging freelancer over steamed whatever at my favourite local haunt, Mandolin Books and Coffee Company. I also occasionally teach short courses for MacEwan University and serve as a manuscript reader for the Writers Guild of Alberta.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">The desire to forge connections also fuels the volunteering I do in my community. For more than a decade, I edited the neighbourhood\u2019s quarterly newsletter, shepherding the <em style=\"font-size: medium;\">Highlands-Bellevue Highlights<\/em> from a solo operation to a labour of love for an talented team that includes professional writers, editors, photographers and (soon, we hope) designers. An even larger team has taken over the task, and I like to think our neighbourhood is stronger as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Professional and Community Ties<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"><strong>Get Publishing Communications Society<\/strong> (getpublishing.ca)<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">Connects writers with publishing opportunities through learning and networking events.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"><strong>Professional Writers Association of Canada<\/strong> (PWAC.ca)<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">National organization supporting professional freelance writers.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"><strong>Writers Guild of Alberta<\/strong> (writersguild.ab.ca)<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">Provincial service organization whose mission is to inspire, connect, support, encourage and promote writers and writing, to safeguard the freedom to write and to read, and to advocate for the well-being of writers, emerging to established.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"><strong>Canadian Authors Association<\/strong> (canauthors.org)<br \/><\/span>National writing organization, with a bent toward books.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"><strong>PEN Canada <\/strong>(pencanada.ca) <\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">Envisions a world where writers are free to write, readers are free to read and freedom of expression prevails.<br \/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"><strong>Canadian Freelance Union,<\/strong> Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Local 2040 (cfunion.ca).\u00a0Helps independent media workers in print, radio, TV and web deal with wage and contract inequities.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"><strong>Keiskamma Canada Foundation<\/strong> (keiskammacanada.com)<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">Raises funds and awareness to combat poverty and AIDS in rural South Africa through art, health, gardening and other projects operated by Keiskamma Trust.<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"><strong>Highlands Community League<\/strong> (highlandscommunity.ca)<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">Coordinates soccer, social events, summer park programs, communications vehicles (including the quarterly Highlands-Bellevue Highlights) and other activities that help to build a strong community.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"><strong>Fellowship Christian Reformed Church<\/strong> (fellowshipcrc.awardspace.com)<br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">I volunteer as liturgist and occasional musician for a small justice-focused congregation that meets at The King\u2019s University College in near-south Edmonton. The worship space is fully wheelchair accessible, and services usually include an American Sign Language interpreter.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"><strong>Kudos<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">\u201cI wish to congratulate you for an outstanding newsletter. I have had numerous compliments from friends and neighbours as to the quality and depth of this initiative. Congratulations to you and all those involved.\u201d<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"> -Darrell Halliwell, MAAA, Principal, Stantec Architecture, Highlands resident<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">\u201cThanks for your kind instruction. I learned a great deal from you, and found you to be truly inspirational.\u201d<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"> -Bohdan Woud, writing workshop participant<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">\u201cI totally enjoyed the class on Saturday. You&#8217;ve given me so much to think about. Perked me right up! Thank you for your offer of mentorship. It&#8217;s worth its weight in gold.\u201d<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"> -Deborah Barrett, writing workshop participant<br \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">\u201cI can see from the evaluations that you had a great class. Thank you for putting so much into it! What a wealth of information the students got from you and the speakers.\u201d<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"> -Susan Lieberman, Writing Works, MacEwan<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">&#8220;I\u00a0 would mostly like to thank you! I so appreciated the quality of the class and information.&#8221;<\/span><br \/><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\"> -Jolaine Kochisarli, writing workshop participant<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Writing can be an isolating proposition. Not to mention intimidating, particularly when stretching into new markets or mediums. Knowing that, and knowing how other writers have supported me, I put high priority on making sure writers at all points in their careers have access to mentors and networking opportunities. In that spirit, I\u2019m a member &#8230; <a title=\"Writerly Connections\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/?page_id=18\" aria-label=\"Read more about Writerly Connections\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-18","page","type-page","status-publish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordsthatsing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}