Buzz of creativity at Write on Bowen

By Carol Cram, Artistic Director, Write on Bowen

Write on Bowen 2011 was a great success! On opening night, locals and festival-goers from the mainland enjoyed two compelling readings from Giller prize-nominated authors Timothy Taylor and Annabel Lyon.

What a treat! On Saturday and Sunday, 13 workshops and two panel presentations gave attendees lots to think about, talk about, and most important, write about!

The Saturday evening “Write to the Island” event hosted by Elee Kraljii-Gardiner and Michael Turner at the Gallery @ Artisan Square involved participants in a series of intense community writing exercises. The buzz of creativity in the air gave new meaning to the phrase Write on Bowen!

Annabel Lyon and Timothy Taylor delight audience at Bowen Island festival

Annabel Lyon and Timothy Taylor at the Gallery on Bowen Island (photo: Alison Bate)

By Alison Bate

Two very thoughtful, imaginative minds kept the audience rapt on opening night at the Write on Bowen festival.

Annabel Lyon, author of The Golden Mean, started her readings discussing Ten Uses for a Philosophy Degree, one of which – naturally – led to getting an MFA in Creative Writing.

Author Annabel Lyon signs copies of her book "The Golden Mean" at Write on Bowen Festival 2011 (Photo by Julie Ferguson)

“Which is more useless, do you think, philosophy or creative writing? Hmmm?” she asked.

And, of course, her No.10 was: “Write a novel about Aristotle.”

In her award-winning book, Lyon presents Aristotle as bipolar, and one of the highlights was her reading of Aristotle’s own words about the link between melancholy and creativity.

What we now call bipolar disease, the Greek philosopher called too much “cold black bile” and “hot black bile”.

He wrote that too much cold black bile rendered a person “dull and stupid” whereas people with much hot black bile were “elated and brilliant or erotic or easily moved to anger and desire, while some become more loquacious. Many too are subject to fits of exaltation and ecstasy…”

Lyon also read from her children’s book about Edie, a teenage protagonist with a cousin with Down’s Syndrome. Lyon grew up with an elder brother with Down’s, and it’s a theme close to her heart. In The Golden Mean, Alexander’s half-brother is also mentally challenged.

Timothy Taylor read from his latest novel, The Blue Light Project, and showed how to write a gripping inner monologue when your dinner table colleague goes for a pee.

”He knew his nickname in the L:MN art department, the one they used behind his back,” muses Thom Pegg, a disgraced former journalist in the novel.

“They’d say: Pebialta. Like the name of a Mediterranean resort or an Italian scooter. He wondered about it for quite a while before learning it was an acronym. P-B-I-A-L-T-A. Pegg Briefly Important A Long Time Ago. “

As Pegg tries to flirt with his dinner companion, Chastity: “Oh my, blossom. I just went entirely screensaver there,”

And his ex-wife Jennifer “… not weeks before she went slack-tide on him and disappeared over the lip of the shining mudflats that had suddenly formed all around his person.”

Taylor is now busy on a new novel , which he started about a month ago. “I’m planning to write it fast. It’s a kind of mystery,” he said.

Compelling literary voices (Lyon and Taylor) kick off Write on Bowen

By Richard Labonté

Giller, Commonwealth, Rogers Writers Trust, Ethel Wilson, Libris, Journey, Impac Dublin, Canada Reads – and half a dozen more: the two Canadian literary luminaries kicking off Write on Bowen on Friday, July 8 have amassed a legion of honors for their writing.

That’s no surprise. Work by Annabel Lyon (Oxygen, Best Thing for You) and Timothy Taylor (Stanley Park, Story House) has garnered both critical praise and – what a writer appreciates most – loyal fan followings and great sales.

They’ll each be reading from their most recent novels, from the past and from the future. For Lyon, that’s The Golden Mean, a brilliant historical re-imagination of the teacher/student relationship between philosopher Aristotle and the boy who would grow up to be Alexander the Great—a book about ideas that encompasses earthy concerns.

Special Early Bird price ends tomorrow!

Tomorrow’s the last day to get the Early Bird special price for Write on Bowen festival.

Delve into Non-Fiction at Write on Bowen

By Alison Bate

A trio of talented non-fiction writers is sharing secrets at this year’s Write on Bowen festival in July.

Award-winning writer Madeline Sonik is hosting a creative memoir workshop on Sat. July 9

Madeline Sonik is an award-winning writer and writing instructor at the University of Victoria, whose memoir Afflictions & Departures has been praised as “vivid and compelling”.

In an interview about non-fiction writing last year, Sonik noted: “Pretty well everything I write I would say is difficult. In non-fiction, there’s always a struggle to be honest—and by honest, I mean to honour the fact that the way you’ve come to see a particular event isn’t the only truth of that event.”

Sonik’s published book-length works include a novel, Arms, a collection of short fiction, Drying the Bones, a children’s novel, Belinda and the Dustbunnys, and a poetry collection, Stone Sightings. She is also co-editor of three anthologies, a memoir collection and a second short story collection.

She’ll be hosting a creative memoir workshop on techniques to help you improve your own writing on Saturday July 9 from 2:15 to 4:15 p.m.

All About Publishing at Write on Bowen 2011

By April Bosshard

To publish or not to publish? That is the question. And sooner or later, all writers ask it.

Writers write first and foremost for themselves, but writers also write to be read by others so if you answered ‘yes, I want to publish,’ you won’t want to miss the 4th annual Write on Bowen Festival running this year from July 8 to 10.

Susan Safyan of Arsenal Pulp Press is hosting a workshop on Pitching Your Book to A Publisher

Susan Safyan, in-house editor at Arsenal Pulp Press, will offer a workshop called “Pitching Your Book to A Publisher” on Saturday, July 9th. She reminds all writers who want to get published: “Expect and aim to learn a lot, to experience both success and disappointment.”

Susan notes that editors look for submissions that are virtually publication ready. She advises writers to “get curious about publishing, to find out its complexities.”

The good news is that editors are always looking for writers who write well, who share an understanding that editing makes the book better, and who can show courtesy, consideration, and ideally a sense of humor during the publishing process.

“Believe it or not,” Susan says, “some writers see editors as adversaries they have to fight,” although she readily admits that “most of the time it’s a happy, productive process.”

New York agent, Noah Lukeman cautions: “When setting out to get published, writers should prepare themselves for a marathon, not a sprint. Quite often, what makes the difference between authors who get published and those who don’t is simply the number of years they are willing to hang in there. Perseverance is everything.”

Julie Ferguson, author of fourteen nonfiction books, is hosting a workshop on E-Publishing

Another option for aspiring writers is self-publishing—an increasingly viable option. At Write on Bowen, author and experienced workshop facilitator Julie Ferguson shares her wisdom about self-publishing in the electronic age in her workshop ”Get Going with E-books, E-readers, and E-publishing.”

Full festival passes and other ticket options are now available for purchase. The festival passes provide the best value.

A Full Festival Pass costs just $199 if purchased before June 1 and includes Opening Night with Annabel Lyon and Timothy Taylor, the Saturday Dinner Event & Gala, four workshops, two lunch sessions, blue-pencil editing, and refreshments. Each workshop is limited to just 15 seats so register early.

Call for facilitators, panelists etc. at Write on Bowen

If you are interested in taking part in Write on Bowen 2011 as a facilitator, panelist, or reader/performer or you know someone who may be interested, please note that the deadline for submissions is February 7.

For more details and to download the application form, go to our main website and email the form to: admin@biac.ca

Annabel Lyon joins Timothy Taylor at Write on Bowen 2011

Author Annabel Lyon is co-opening the Write on Bowen festival in 2011 (Pix: Philip Chin)

Jan. 13, 2011

We’re delighted to say that Annabel Lyon, author of the award-winning novel The Golden Mean, is coming to Bowen.

Lyon joins Stanley Park author Timothy Taylor in co-opening the 2011 Write On Bowen festival on Friday, July 8.

The Golden Mean received rave reviews in 2009 and was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller and the Governor General’s awards as well as winning the 2009 Rogers Writers Trust Award.

A recent review in New Yorker describes The Golden Mean as a “vivid imagining of the encounter between Aristotle and the young Alexander the Great…. Lyon’s evocation of the ancient world is earthy and immediate.”

Lyon is also the author of Oxygen (stories, 2007), The Best Thing for You (novella, 2004), and All-Season Edie (juvenile novel, 2007).

To learn more about her writing and research style, check out these two interviews:Solid Golden in Walrus magazine and a Quill & Quire interview she gave on learning the craft of writing fiction, now on Random House’s website.

Write on Bowen 2010 – The Word is Success!

By Carol M. Cram, festival coordinator

The third annual Write on Bowen festival packed a literary punch chock full of enough inspiration to keep participants going until the fourth annual Write on Bowen!

Twelve workshops, three plenary sessions, a smashing opening night, a gala celebration, and lots of chances to meet and mingle with other writers and the presenters wowed locals and off-islanders alike.

On Opening Night, a packed audience at the Gallery @ Artisan Square listened in rapt silence punctuated frequently by laughter (and even a few bittersweet tears) to renowned Canadian storyteller Ivan E. Coyote.

Her funny, poignant, human stories enthralled the audience and left them wanting more. One word sums up her performance – amazing!

The A-Z of Bowen Island writers: a detailed list

Bowen Island has always attracted writers.

Malcolm Lowry, Earle Birney, Margaret Lawrence, Jane Rule and many other famous writers all came here to write and relax at Lieben – an unofficial writers’ colony hosted by the Neilsons off Eaglecliff Road. More recently, Nick Bantock, of Griffin and Sabine fame, lived on Bowen for a decade. Science fiction writer Spider Robinson currently lives here, as well as the multi-talented Michael Nicholl Yahgulanaas, author of the bestselling Flight of the Hummingbird.

Bowen Island is also home to an impressive number of other published writers. The list below demonstrates the breadth of talent here on The Rock: