Category Archives: Vancouver

Shebeen Club Pre-Holiday Party Monday, November 23

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christmas fisheye
Image by john curley via Flickr

A quick note to let you know that our November meeting is coming up, and there will be no meeting in December, because the Shebeen is going to be booked for a holiday party.

So, our meeting is this coming Monday, 7pm at the Shebeen. As always $20 buys you a drink and dinner, and the companionship of other literary types: publishers, journalists, authors, editors, illustrators, and bloggers.

Because this is our Holiday party, you are invited to bring your favorite piece of holiday writing and, if you like, read an excerpt. This is the ONLY night of the year we have anything approaching an Open Mic Night, as I was traumatized by an Amateur Talent Show in my youth and have yet to recover. It can be something you wrote, published, edited, or just read and enjoyed. I’ll take down all the titles and authors and put up a list of them afterwards.

Yes, you may wear your reindeer sweater, but we do not guarantee that everyone won’t go all Oscar Wildean/fashion critic on you.

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Writing Short Screenplays: The Good News and Bad with Ric Beairsto

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Ric Beairsto

Ric Beairsto

Got this from a Facebook message from the Vancouver International Film Festival group or page or whatever it is that I joined sometime last year and now can’t remember. But I found the direct Facebook Link anyway. I’m dogged like that, yo.

And really, you CANNOT beat that price! Best price I’ve ever seen on a screenwriting workshop, and with the VIFF behind it, you know it’s going to be quality.

Attention Filmmakers and Creative Writers:

This Saturday Nov 22, 2:00pm, Vancity Theatre

Writing Short Screenplays: The Good News and Bad with Ric Beairsto

This three-hour workshop will address the art of storytelling in its broadest, most accessible sense, then range through to the much more exacting craft of short story writing for the screen. Focus will be on the increased flexibility of short form (the good news) but will include discussion of the impact of the obvious constraints of writing within more immediate boundaries (the bad news). Particular attention will be paid to the evaluative skills involved in determining which story ideas lend themselves best to short screenplay, as well as an examination of the means of writing a short screenplay designed to give the filmmaker the best chance of producing a truly compelling ‘calling card.’ A number of successful short films will be screened during the workshop, some locally produced, some international in their origins, with a continued emphasis on the story characteristics and genres which lend themselves well to successful execution in short form. Copies of  THE TYRANNY OF STORY: Audience Expectations and the Short Screenplay will be available for sale to workshop attendees at a discounted rate.

Ric Beairsto is an award-winning screenwriter, director and producer who has been active in the Canadian film and television industry since 1980. He has written more than a dozen feature-length screenplays, and his TV writing credits begin with The Beachcombers for CBC and extend to Mixed Blessings, currently in production for APTN, where Ric is the Creator and Head Writer. Since 1987, Ric has also taught screenwriting on a part-time basis at various post-secondary institutes, including the Vancouver Film School, The Interior Film and Television Centre, Trinity Western University and Langara College, where he has actively workshopped more than 1500 short screenplays. He is the author of  THE TYRANNY OF STORY: Audience Expectations and the Short Screenplay, first published in 1998, and now available in a revised 2 nd edition. The book is about story form in general, and short screenplay form in particular, and has been used as a regular textbook in over a dozen North American film schools, including UCLA and the American Film institute

Adults $20 // Students $15

For tickets and info: http://www.viff.org/tixSYS/vifc/filmguide/event.php?EventNumber=1711

FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9198386989&ref=ts#/event.php?eid=212018593942&ref=mf

http://vifc.org

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Meet Michael Turner

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Michael Turner, by Alex Waterhouse-Hayward

Michael Turner, by Alex Waterhouse-Hayward

Another from an email, in this case the Instant Coffee email for artists in BC, which is a newish thing I’m really loving. There’s a website, too.

MICHAEL TURNER

SFU’s new Ellen and Warren Tallman Writer in Residence

Friday October 2, 7:30pm
SFU Harbour Centre, Room 1400

Sponsored by the SFU Department of English, the Office of the SFU Dean of Arts and Social
Sciences, the Office of SFU President Michael Stevenson, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Michael Turner is an important Canadian writer and cultural figure who is well known for his novels, poetry, screen plays and art criticism. His first book of poetry, Company Town (1991) was nominated for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. With Hard Core Logo (1993) and American Whiskey Bar (1997)
— both of which have been adapted to the screen — Turner moves into a mixed genre practice, creating fragmentary narratives that combine aspects of the novel, poetry and the film script. His
1999 novel The Pornographer’s Poem, published by Doubleday Canada, won the B.C. Book Prize’s Ethel Wilson Fiction Award; a screen adaptation is also once again in development. His new novel, 8
x 10 (Doubleday Canada) is being launched at this event.

Editors’ Association of Canada Certification

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Got this in an email; years ago I won a free workshop from the EAC, who are great people, but regrettably I never took it. Their workshops are thorough enough that I have confidence in their certifications although I haven’t bothered to get certified, myself. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you there’s no doubt I’m certifiable.

Are you ready to join an elite group of Certified Professional Editors, Certified Proofreaders, Certified Copy Editors or Certified Structural and Stylistic Editors? Don’t wait! The registration deadline for Editors’ Association of Canada certification is just around the corner.

Register now

To learn more about EAC certification and register online, visit the certification website. Registration closes on Monday, October 26, 2009, at 1 p.m., Eastern Time.

Take advantage of this final opportunity to earn your certification based on the current Professional Editorial Standards (PES-1999)

Complete your certification credential this year. If you’ve already passed one or more of the tests required to earn a particular credential—Certified Professional Editor (CPE), Certified Structural and Stylistic Editor, Certified Proofreader or Certified Copy Editor—register for the 2009 test that allows you to complete that credential.

Earn the combined Certified Structural and Stylistic Editing credential by passing the Structural and Stylistic Editing and Elementary Knowledge of the Publishing Process tests this year. November 2009 is the last time the combined Structural and Stylistic Editing test will be offered. Starting in 2010, separate Structural Editing and Stylistic Editing tests will be offered, giving test-takers the opportunity to become a Certified Structural Editor or a Certified Stylistic Editor.

Starting in 2010, all tests will be based on PES-2009. For more information about the 2010 changes to the certification program, requirements and transfer credits, read the certification FAQ.

If you’re seeking official recognition of your high level of knowledge and skill and an editor’s marketing advantage, register for this year’s tests today.

Test dates

Saturday, November 21, 2009

  • Proofreading (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.)

Monday, November 23, 2009

  • Structural and Stylistic Editing (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.)
  • Elementary Knowledge of the Publishing Process (2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

The Copy Editing test will not be offered in 2009, but will be offered again in 2010.

Test locations

The following test locations are planned, demand and resources permitting: Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.

Study companions

EAC Certification: Study Guide and Exemplars

To assess your readiness and see what the tests entail, check out EAC Certification: Study Guide and Exemplars. Each volume of the Study Guide provides you with a comprehensive introduction to one of the certification tests, including a practice test, an answer key and sample results of a pass and a failure, with markers’ comments. Working through the relevant volumes of the Study Guide is a hands-on way to engage with the standards and identify gaps in your current knowledge and skills.

Meeting Editorial Standards: EAC’s apprentice on a bookshelf

This two-volume self-study educational tool covers core editorial skills in a Canadian context. It is adaptable to the needs of all editors—from beginners who are learning the craft to established professionals who are checking and broadening their knowledge. The approach is suitable for either independent study or course work.

September Meeting: Survival, Thrival, Arrival

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Kathrin Lake, author of Survival to Thrival

Kathrin Lake, author of Survival to Thrival

Who? The Shebeen Club presents independent author Kathrin Lake

What? Survival, Thrival, Arrival: work/life balance for writeaholics

When? 7-10pm (note new time) Monday, September 21st

Where? The Shebeen, behind the Irish Heather, 210 Carrall Street

Why? Because Kathrin has lived the struggling writer reality and come out on top, and it’s always a good idea to learn from the best!

How? Much? $20 new pricing reflects some new options and offerings. Cash is king, baby.

I met Kathrin something like a decade ago at the Surrey International Writer’s Conference, where we bonded over Harvey Wallbangers and Mae West quotations. Back then I knew she was smart, knew she was funny, knew she was determined, but I didn’t know just how successful she would ultimately become (or I would have let her pay for the drinks). The Shebeen Club is very pleased to invite Kathrin to speak about her journey as a writer and independently-published author of From Survival to Thrival: how to catch the boat to your successful, thriving life, and to pick up whatever tips we can about staying as sane as her while juggling professional priorites, staying true to ourselves as writers, and trying to keep the wolf (or at least the urban coyote) from the door.

Bring: a notebook, a pen, a backup pen (you should know this by now!) and a stock of your very best Mae West stories. It’s going to be a fun night as well as a learning experience.