Writing & Book Camp

JJ Lee:   Monday, August 13
Living to Tell the Tale

A seminar on writing about lives lived, how writing about life makes you smarter. JJ Lee will look at the power of writing and its ability to help people gain greater insight to their lives and the people around them. He will offer ten tips on how to create stronger sentences.

JJ Lee is the author of the critically-acclaimed memoir, The Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son, and a Suit. The book was praised as one of the best works of non-fiction in 2011 by Kobo, Amazon.ca and The Globe and Mail. It also was a finalist for the Governor-General's Literary Awards, Charles Taylor Prize for Non-Fiction, and a BC Book Prize.

JJ Lee is a fashion writer in Vancouver and currently writing a fantasy novel. Find him at www.jj-lee.com

Mark Leiren-Young: Tuesday, August 14
Workshop: Telling Your Own Story

You want the truth? Can you handle writing the truth? From memoirs to monologues to first person journalism to blogs, writers today have moved from sharing their most intimate moments with their dear diary to revealing all to readers and audiences. If you want to write about your life what's the best medium for sharing your stories? How do you choose which stories to tell? Where do you draw the line between sharing and oversharing? And when does "artistic license" turn fact into fiction?

Mark Leiren-Young is one of Canada's most eclectic and versatile storytellers and a die-hard Canucks fan. He's won awards as a screenwriter, playwright, author, journalist, blogger and comedian. He's equally at home writing comedy and drama, fiction and non-fiction, documentaries and cartoons and he's written for adults, families and young audiences. The winner of the 2009 Leacock Medal for Humour for his memoir Never Shoot a Stampede Queen, Mark is a regular contributor to The Tyee, The Georgia Straight and The Huffington Post. His latest book, This Crazy Time, written with and about controversial environmentalist Tzeporah Berman was just released in paperback by Random House. His TV writing credits include scripts for Transformers - Beast Wars; ReBoot; Dragon Booster; Class of the Titans and Toy Castle.

Find him at www.leiren-young.com

Naomi Steinberg: Wednesday, August 15
Workshop: Whole Worlds from Thin Air
Oral Literatures as Wellsprings for Our Writing

We will jump off the page into the deliciously ephemeral world of oral-literatures. The ability to construct coherent landscapes, make consequent choices, and develop caring curiosity for characters is central to storytelling. These skills may also help with successful writing! We will use simple interactive games to free our imaginations, listen to stories and then wrestle with some of the classic questions which confront tellers of all ages namely: where to begin, how to end and to which details should we lend special sensory attention.

In classrooms, rainforests, festivals and conferences, Naomi Steinberg has over 13 years experience storytelling and facilitating creative engagement workshops with diverse communities. In her own words "to be a storyteller, first you have to be a story-listener."

In her current role as Executive Director of the Vancouver Society of Storytelling (VSOS), Naomi intends to foster an appreciation of the art in all of its aspects and applications for audiences of allsorts!

Find her at www.naomi-eliana.ca and www.vancouverstorytelling.org

kc dyer: Thursday, August 16

kc dyer was born in Calgary, and has lived and worked in Toronto, Seattle and Vancouver. For many years she was a teacher in public, private and Montessori schools. Currently, she lives with her children and other animals just outside Vancouver, British Columbia.

Her books include Seeds of Time, Secret of Light, Shades of Red (known collectively as The Eagle Glen Trilogy) and Ms. Zephyr's Notebook. The first novel in her latest series, A Walk Through a Window, debuted in spring of 2009. The sequel, Facing Fire, will emerge in October, 2010. Currently, kc is celebrating the completion of a mysterious steampunk time-travel tale -- again the first in a series, this time spanning more than a thousand years. She's also got a mystery for adults in the works -- more on that soon!

Find her at www.kcdyer.com

Christopher Millin: Friday, August 17
Workshop: The Waiting/Revising Game
Getting Published in a World of Ten-Million Writers

Having been on both sides of the table as a writer and an editor, Christopher Millin knows a thing or two about getting published. The thing he knows most is that it isn't easy! Using his own story as an example, he'll talk about how persistence, passion and a willingness to listen to the advice of others lead to the eventual publication of his novel. He'll also share the story of a young writer who worked with him for two years to see her story published in Crow Toes Quarterly.

Christopher Millin published an arts and literature magazine for children called Crow Toes Quarterly from 2006 to 2010. A long time before that, he fell into a deep dark hole and met a strange man named Mr. Flex. Mr. Flex told him an unbelievable, and absolutely terrifying, collection of stories to pass the time while they waited to be rescued. Christopher vowed that if he ever got out of the hole, he would write Mr. Flex’s stories down and share them with the world. The first of those stories, called The King of Arugula, was published in 2007 by Thistledown Press. The second story, called Fowl, Swine and Things That Send Shivers Down Your Spine, was released in 2011. Christopher was born on a horse farm in Edmonton, but now lives in Vancouver, BC, with two goldfish that refuse to wear saddles.

Find him at www.christophermillin.com

Alex Van Tol  

Workshop: Keeping It Real - A Blueprint for Writing Dynamic Dialogue

In this workshop, participants will investigate how human speech translates on the page. Our goal? To make our characters’ conversations sound realistic, with perfect pacing and strong narrative structure.

We will:
-study examples of good dialogue, using movie scripts, graphic novels and written texts
-explore ways to capture the true spoken word
-discuss the importance of weeding out the "ums" and "ahs" that make real speech boring and lame, and which should never show up on the page
-learn how to intersperse narrative throughout dialogue segments in order to pace the reader and provide information
-write rich dialogue scenes!

Alex Van Tol grew up reading a wide range of books, from Enid Blyton to Stephen King. She taught middle school for eight years, then made the switch to writing full-time. Alex writes books, magazine arti¬cles, advertisements, corporate reports, teacher guides, the odd grocery list and really, really long emails. She has written six YA books for Orca Book Publishers, and two nonfiction books for Crabtree’s Groundbreaker Biographies series. Alex also heads up Orca’s monthly Language Arts and Media program for middle schools, Text2Reader. 

Alex lives in a seaside cottage in Victoria, British Columbia, with her two small wild sons. She dreams of being an accountant. Visit her in the ether at www.alexvantol.com. 

Danika Dinsmore

Workshop: Building Imaginary Worlds

As a writer, having an imaginary world gives you a jumping off place for an infinite number of stories. In this workshop, Danika guides you through the steps of creating a brand new world and populating it with fascinating creatures. She then shares how to keep track of it in your World Book, which holds your world’s myths, magic, and mysteries. Whether your new world is an alternate reality, a dystopian future, or set among the stars your World Book will be your inspirational guide.

Danika Dinsmore has a habit of getting lost in her own imaginary worlds. She began her writing life as a spokenword artist, winning the Washington Poets Association Award for Performance Poetry. She co-founded the Northwest SPokenword LAB in Washington, which hosted the state’s first teen poetry slam. She then worked as Executive Director of the Seattle Poetry Festival, creating their Emerging Voice program for teens.

From poetry and spokenword, Danika moved on to write screenplays and novels. Book One in her children’s fantasy adventure series, Brigitta of the White Forest, was adapted from her original feature film script. Book Two, The Ruins of Noe, was released in May and she is currently working on the third novel in the series (Ondelle of Grioth) as well as a YA pop space opera (Interglactic) and a YA dystopian coming-of-age (Silk Rivers of the Moon).

She has taught creative writing courses for Learning Through the Arts, Vancouver Film School, Capilano University, Creative Writing for Children Society, and at various conferences and festivals. Her fantasy series lives at www.thewhiteforest.com.

Jonathon Dalton

Workshop: Writing is Half the Battle - Writing for Comics and Graphics Novels

The art might be the first thing you notice when you look at a comic, but the story is the most important thing. Whether you write and draw a comic on your own or write it and get someone else to draw it for you, writing is half the battle. This workshop will help you hone your comic-making skills. You will learn how to plan visually interesting characters, how to choose what to include in each comics panel and what to leave out, how to lay out a page that makes sense, and how to write without using any words at all. You will walk away with some of the hidden skills that go into telling a story in comics form. For this workshop drawing skills are a bonus but are not required!

Jonathon Dalton writes and draws comics in his house at the top of a hill in Abbotsford. His self-published graphic novel Lords of Death and Life, an adventure set in Mesoamerica, won a Xeric grant in 2010. His short comic Lil' Ulysses in Chicago was a runner-up for inclusion in the Best American Comics 2010 anthology. He has had many other short stories published in anthologies or printed as mini-comics, and is currently working on his webcomic A Mad Tea-Party, about two girls living in a tumultuous future Japan. Jonathon fills his days teaching elementary school in Mission, BC, and the rest of his time drawing constantly.
Find him at www.lostcitycomics.com

Eileen Cook:

Workshop: It Could be Worse

Conflict is a key part of any story. Conflict can include anything and everything from war, to a fight with a friend, a hurricane to a zombie apocalypse. This workshop will explore the different types of conflict and how writers can increase the conflict in their own stories. We'll use popular books and movies as examples and turn common conflict resolution techniques upside down to take conflict to the next level.

Eileen Cook is a multi-published author with her novels appearing in six different languages. Her books have been optioned for both film and TV and she is ready to hit the red carpet. She spent most of her teen years wishing she were someone else or somewhere else, which is great training for a writer. Her latest release, Unraveling Isobel came out in January 2012.

You can read more about Eileen, her books and the things that strike her as funny at www.eileencook.com. Eileen lives in Vancouver with her husband and two dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.

Vancouver TheatreSports League:

Workshop: Story-Prov!

Learn the mechanics of creating a story from the beginning to end, via the valuable tool of improvisation. Once you've created the story, learn how to tell it! Lose your creative inhibitions and let your natural improv skills take hold...there are no limits once the mind is opened!

Vancouver TheatreSports® League began in 1980 and is now a local institution and a worldwide phenomenon, producing and staging some of the most daring and innovative improv in the world.

Boasting six international Improv Comedy Awards and starring in several television specials, Vancouver TheatreSports® League first opened their doors at the Back Alley Theatre, where they consistently drew cult-like, capacity crowds. They continue to wow audiences at The Improv Centre on Granville Island performing to more than 200,000 enthusiasts yearly, 4 nights a week, 52 weeks a year. 

Ivan Coyote

Workshop: topic to be announced

Ivan Coyote was born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. An award-winning author of seven collections of short stories, one novel, three CDs, four short films, the editor of an anthology, and a renowned performer, Ivan's first love is live storytelling, and over the last eighteen years she has become an audience favourite at music, poetry, spoken word and writer's festivals from Anchorage to Amsterdam.

The Globe and Mail called Ivan "a natural-born storyteller" and Ottawa X Press said "Coyote is to CanLit what k.d. lang is to country music: a beautifully odd fixture." Toronto Star praises Coyote's talent for sketching the bizarre in the everyday, and Quill & Quire Magazine says "Ivan has a distinctive and persuasive voice, a flawless sense of pacing, and an impeccable sense of story." Ivan's column, Loose End has appeared monthly in Xtra West magazine for eleven years. Her first novel, Bow Grip, was awarded the Relit award for best fiction and named by the American Library Association as a Stonewall honor book in literature, and is in development to be made into a feature length film. Ivan's new collection of short stories, Missed Her, was released in September, 2010. Ivan also recently co-edited Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme with Zena Sharman. Coyote's latest short story collection, One In Every Crowd, a young adult collection of stories compiled for queer high school kids, was released in April 2012.

Check out Ivan Coyote's latest book at www.arsenalpulp.com. Her website is www.ivanecoyote.com

Meredith Quartermain

Workshop: Song Writing - Serious and Fun

Got a question bugging you? Or a pet peeve? Find out how to turn it into a song. We will write songs together, while learning about song parts such as the hook and chorus, along with the rhythm and rhyme.

Meredith Quartermain likes to walk around Vancouver and write about what she sees. Her book of poems, Vancouver Walking, won a BC Book Award for Poetry. In Nightmarket, which was a finalist for a Vancouver Book Award, she imagines herself as an explorer like George Vancouver as she goes on expeditions to the courthouse and the police museum and many other Vancouver places. One of these poems, "Big News Cafe", was included in Best Canadian Poetry 2008. Her most recent book is Recipes from the Red Planet, which was a finalist for the 2011 BC Book Award for Fiction. Her work has appeared in The Walrus, Canadian Literature, CV2, Matrix, Prism and other Canadian and U.S. magazines. She is cofounder of Nomados Literary Publishers, which has published more than 35 books of contemporary writing.

Visit her web page at www.nomados.org/MeredithQ.htm

Julian Lawrence

Workshop: Mutants and You - the Autobiographical Graphic Novel

This workshop investigates story, image and autobiographical storytelling through visual narrative. You will explore personal style through illustration, story development, character design and setting as you plan and develop ideas to produce your own autobiographical comic/graphic novel.

An avid cartoonist since childhood, Julian Lawrence is an award-winning artist and illustrator specializing in comic books and filmmaking. Born in England and raised bilingual English-French in Québec, Julian has a deep knowledge and love of comic books and animation. His work has been published and displayed internationally.

He is an instructor at Emily Carr University of Art and Design teaching students the skills for creating fictional and non-fictional comic books and graphic novels. Julian has created numerous lessons and professional development workshops for adults and for younger students that integrate educational curriculum with the techniques of cartooning and comic books. He has also worked as a production artist, illustrator, writer, storyboard artist, character designer, animator, project manager and editor. Julian’s film and television credits include work with the Cartoon Network’s Ed, Edd ‘n’ Eddy, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network’s The Adventures of Artie the Ant, The National Film Board’s The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam, as well as directing and animating Drippy th’ Newsboy in: Party! and the documentary short Class Action.

http://julianlawrence.weebly.com