Born exactly 100 years ago today, George Woodcock would achieve international renown as a writer of political biography, history, travel, criticism, and poetry and a champion of Canadian literature. He also, with his wife Ingeborg, founded and funded a one-of-a-kind program (The Woodcock Fund) that provides aid to professional [...]]]> Via Writers’ Trust of Canada

Born exactly 100 years ago today, George Woodcock would achieve international renown as a writer of political biography, history, travel, criticism, and poetry and a champion of Canadian literature. He also, with his wife Ingeborg, founded and funded a one-of-a-kind program (The Woodcock Fund) that provides aid to professional Canadian writers confronting the kind of unforeseen financial emergencies that threaten the completion of a book-in-progress. To date the program has delivered $893,273 to 181 writers. The Writers’ Trust of Canada administers the program.

“I’ve known writers who have run into difficult financial times,” said Timothy Taylor, novelist, journalist, and member of the Writers’ Trust board of directors. “In such cases, if a writer has nowhere else to turn, this program can be a godsend. If they qualify, a writer receives both a financial bridge and a psychological boost to keep them going.”

The Woodcock Fund is targeted to, in the words of its founder, “the working writer, who is no longer at the beginning [of their career], who has proved their worth, but who runs into a hard period when they need a few thousand to tide them over and allow them to continue the project they are working on.”

“This romantic notion people have of the writing life is fiction,” said Don Oravec, executive director, the Writers’ Trust of Canada. “Writers are self-employed, without benefits, a pension, and rarely eligible for EI. When hardship hits, such as a medical illness or the evaporation of a contract that provides supplementary income, writing is put aside. This program provides writers breathing space to come up with a new plan and finish their work.”

About the Woodcock Fund

Funding is available to Canadian writers and permanent residents working in the fields of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, playwriting, and children’s literature. The size and length of grants awarded varied in accordance with the individual circumstances of each case. Applications to the program are processed quickly and the identity of recipients remains anonymous. Decisions are made by a seven-member committee composed of writers from across the country. Typically the fund annually provides a total of $90,000 to approximately a dozen writers.

About George Woodcock

One of Canada’s foremost man of letters, George Woodcock was the author and editor of over 120 books. He was a social historian, cultural commentator, literary critic, poet, translator, biographer, travel writer, and social activist (he founded, with his wife, the Trans-Himalayan Aid Society and Canada India Village Aid). Born in Winnipeg, he grew up in Shropshire, England, and began his writing career in London. In 1949, he married the artist Ingeborg Linzer, and that same year returned to Canada eventually settling in Vancouver. A friend and colleague in England of such famous modern writers as George Orwell and Mulk Raj Anand, he became friends in Canada with literary figures such as Margaret Laurence, Margaret Atwood, and Al Purdy. Woodcock lectured in English at the University of British Columbia, founded the critical quarterly Canadian Literature, and helped establish the high international profile now enjoyed by Canadian writers.

Is there such a thing as a “late bird”? No, because MagNet’s early bird deadline has been extended to Friday, May 11. Registrations are pouring in, and we want to give you an extra week to take advantage of discounts on MagNet sessions and events!

Building the Brand the Bonnier [...]]]> Via Magazines Canada

Is there such a thing as a “late bird”? No, because MagNet’s early bird deadline has been extended to Friday, May 11. Registrations are pouring in, and we want to give you an extra week to take advantage of discounts on MagNet sessions and events!

Building the Brand the Bonnier Way
Move your brand from iPad-to-phone-to-online. Gregg Hano returns to guide you along the digital content stream—Bonnier style. You’ll learn to balance revenue growth, editorial quality, content distribution and audience development in a way that best serves your customers.

HR for Publishers: Having the “Difficult Conversation”
It’s not easy having that conversation. Come learn from an expert about the tools you need to effectively manage employee performance issues with integrity and compassion.

Come On, Get Appy
There’s no better time to be “appy.” Consumers are demanding to be informed and entertained on-the-go via their phones, laptops and tablet devices. Using real B2B and B2C cases, this hands-on session will tell you how to propel your brands in the mobile space.

Display School: Bringing Readers to the Text
Isn’t it a shame when brilliant magazines don’t get read? Come study the art, science, tricks and techniques of heds, deks and cover lines, and make sure your best articles get the readers they deserve.

NEW! Mag+ Lunch & Learn
Join Mag+ for a look at how to create apps for tablets from InDesign print files. See how it’s done, learn how to do it and find out how much it costs, all while enjoying a complimentary lunch provided by Mag+. This is a free session, but space is limited and registration is required. Plus: Registrants will be entered into a draw to with a Mag+ Grow publishing package valued at $2,500!

Featured Events
Dust off your prom tuxedo/gown and start writing your 10 minute thank-you speech—tickets are now on sale for the National Magazine awards and the Kenneth R. Wilson awards. These are not-to-miss annual events for the discerning magazine professional. See you there!

Stay Connected
Follow @MagNetCanada on Twitter for up-to-the-minute MagNet news and announcements. Join the conversation with the 2012 conference hashtag: #MagNet12. From June 5 to 8, official MagNet Tweeter Kat Tancock will be live tweeting from the conference @MagNetCanada.

A literary prize with a track-record of uncovering the next generation of great Canadian writers was awarded to a 28-year-old Vancouverite during an event at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music hosted by a previous prize-winner, novelist Alyssa York.

Jen Neale received the $5,000 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging [...]]]> Via Writers’ Trust of Canada

A literary prize with a track-record of uncovering the next generation of great Canadian writers was awarded to a 28-year-old Vancouverite during an event at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music hosted by a previous prize-winner, novelist Alyssa York.

Jen Neale received the $5,000 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers for her short-story “Elk-Headed Man.”

The prize recognizes writers under the age of 35 who are unpublished in book form. It is supported by the RBC Foundation through the RBC Emerging Artists Project, which invests in up-and-coming artists and helps them build professional careers in their artistic field.

A jury composed of Alexander MacLeod, Johanna Skibsrud, and Madeleine Thien selected the winner from amongst 110 submissions. They said of the winning story:

“Elk-Headed Man” has it all: pure imaginative power, sharp humour, emotional honesty and real insight. Throw in a hard-to-resist main character – he’s the strong silent type – and add a few flourishes of raw writerly style and you get a finely crafted story that re-plants the hot seed of Latin American magic realism into the cold heart of the Canadian wilderness.

Jen Neale’s work has appeared in OCW Magazine and the collection of short fiction Writing Without Direction (Clark-Nova Books). She is working toward an MFA in creative writing at the University of British Columbia, and is the executive editor (circulation and promotion) of PRISM international. “Elk-Headed Man” includes characters from her novel-in-progress.

Two finalists received $1000 each: Dina Del Bucchia, a 32-year-old from Vancouver for her story “Under the ‘I’;” and Kathy Friedman, a 29-year-old from Toronto for her story “At the Bottom of the Garden.”

Stories by the winner and finalists are available for free download exclusively on Apple’s iBookstore (iTunes.com/BronwenWallace). The iBookstore is accessible via the free iBooks App for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, and at www.itunes.ca/iBookstore.

Additionally, a booklet featuring the finalist works was distributed at the prize presentation and is available by request at info@writerstrust.com.

“I would like to congratulate our winner on this important accomplishment in her writing career,” said Shari Austin, vice president, corporate citizenship and executive director of the RBC Foundation. “We believe it is critical to identify, nurture, and reward the next generation of Canadian talent and are proud to support promising new Canadian writers like Jen Neale.”

More coverage from the National Post: http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/05/03/jean-neale-wins-rbc-bronwen-wallace-award-for-emerging-writers/

Ontario’s Trillium Book Award turns 25 this year. To celebrate this landmark anniversary, the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) and Open Book are delighted to present a special Trillium 25th Anniversary Reading Series featuring an amazing roster of Trillium winners.

We hope you will be able to join us and the fabulous [...]]]> Via OMDC

Ontario’s Trillium Book Award turns 25 this year. To celebrate this landmark anniversary, the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) and Open Book are delighted to present a special Trillium 25th Anniversary Reading Series featuring an amazing roster of Trillium winners.

We hope you will be able to join us and the fabulous group of authors that will be participating. The next reading will take place in Toronto on May 2nd where several previous winners of the Trillium Book Award for Poetry will read.

This event takes place at the Gladstone Hotel, in the Ballroom (1214 Queen Street West, Toronto)

6:30 pm: Doors Open
7:00 – 8:30 pm: Authors read
8:30 – 9:30: Reception

Free Admission

You will be treated to hearing some of Ontario’s finest poets read from both their Trillium Award-winning books and from new material not yet published. The line-up of authors includes: Mark Frutkin, Thomas King, Alistair MacLeod, Rabindranath Maharaj, and Pasha Malla.

Bring your business card and/or fill out a ballot when you arrive to win a chance for you and a guest to attend the dinner and announcement of the winners of the 25th Trillium Book Award on June 20, 2012, at which many of the previous winners of the Trillium Book Award will also be in attendance.

The announcement of the shortlist for the 25th Trillium Book Award (for titles published in 2011) will be announced on May 9, 2012.

On the evening of June 19, 2012 there will be a group reading by the nominated authors for the 25th Trillium Book Award. This reading will be open to the public and will take place at the Bram and Bluma Appel Salon, Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto.

The winners will be announced the following day on June 20, 2012.

Join the discussion and help shape a National Reading Plan that will encourage, support and promote the creation of a reading strategy for Canada.

TD National Reading Summit III marks the culmination of several years of discussion and research on how to make reading a national priority [...]]]> May 2 – 4, 2012, Vancouver, B.C.

Join the discussion and help shape a National Reading Plan that will encourage, support and promote the creation of a reading strategy for Canada.

TD National Reading Summit III marks the culmination of several years of discussion and research on how to make reading a national priority for Canada. We will commence with exciting evening keynote speaker Marcelo Suárez-Orozco. Attendees will then spend two days reviewing a draft reading plan and participating in facilitated group discussions to formulate a reading plan for Canada. Throughout the summit dynamic speakers and panel discussions will provide food for thought. Confirmed speakers include Professor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco; writer, critic and educator Max Wyman; and author, educator, artist and activist Jeanette Armstrong.

Work has begun to promote the campaign across every possible platform and media.

Details will be unveiled at the Summit.

There are three ways to be involved in the summit:

Attend the summit in person — $250 regular and $100 student plus HST
Organize your own satellite location at your institution –$200 per location plus HST (includes facilitation training kit)
Participate via webcast — $100 plus HST

Plans are underway to coordinate facilitated satellite locations in a few major centres across Canada. An announcement will be made shortly.

With your involvement reading will become a central feature of 21st century Canadian citizenship.

Join the conversation. Register now.

The Periodical Marketers of Canada’s Magazines at Retail Canada (MARC) campaign has been garnering a lot of hits with a video that presents the results of their recent Leger Marketing study on consumer preferences in the magazine market.

This Globe and Mail article (Apr. 4, 2012) has more information [...]]]> Via Periodical Marketers of Canada

The Periodical Marketers of Canada’s Magazines at Retail Canada (MARC) campaign has been garnering a lot of hits with a video that presents the results of their recent Leger Marketing study on consumer preferences in the magazine market.

This Globe and Mail article (Apr. 4, 2012) has more information on the study, and Masthead Online (Apr. 5, 2012) talks to PMC’s Ray Argyle about the Magazines at Retail Canada (MARC) initiative.

Scholarship Recipient Anticipates an Expanding Role for 21st Century Editors

The Editors’ Association of Canada (EAC) has announced that Heidi Waechtler of Vancouver, BC, is the 2011 recipient of the Claudette Upton Scholarship. The $1,000 cash award will be presented at EAC’s annual conference, scheduled for June 1 to [...]]]> Via Editors’ Association of Canada

Scholarship Recipient Anticipates an Expanding Role for 21st Century Editors

The Editors’ Association of Canada (EAC) has announced that Heidi Waechtler of Vancouver, BC, is the 2011 recipient of the Claudette Upton Scholarship. The $1,000 cash award will be presented at EAC’s annual conference, scheduled for June 1 to 3 in Ottawa.

Building on a BA in English Literature from the University of British Columbia, Waechtler entered the Certificate in Editing program at Simon Fraser University. There, she fine-tuned her editorial skills and learned about sales and marketing, overall business operation and working collaboratively with other publishing professionals. She then worked as a freelancer for several years before enrolling in the Master of Publishing degree program at SFU. This summer the MPub’s practicum component will see her working as an editorial intern at McClelland & Stewart, focusing on literary fiction. She is also giving serious consideration to participating in EAC’s certification program, although this is a few years down the line.

Waechtler comments, “Editing in the 21st century is about being part of a conversation. The role of the editor-as-gatekeeper must evolve to that of editor-as-connector.” She anticipates an expansion of the editor’s role to include an increasingly direct relationship with authors who “want to be involved with what’s going on behind the curtain.”

Waechtler’s extra-curricular passion is her involvement in Vancouver’s literary community, where she volunteers for events such as The Word on the Street national book and magazine festival, Broken Pencil Magazine’s Canzine West, and several cultural and literary magazines.

Pleased and honoured to have been recognized for the Claudette Upton Scholarship, Waechtler notes “I’m not a traditional ‘EAC student member’ because, having worked a few years, I’m older than most students. But I hope to do justice to the scholarship with my future editing work.”

The selection committee for the Claudette Upton Scholarship was composed of several highly respected Canadian editors. Elizabeth d’Anjou, a 19-year freelance editor and member of EAC’s Kingston twig, has served as the association’s professional development chair and Toronto branch co-chair. She is also an instructor at Ryerson University. Peter Midgley is senior editor (acquisitions) at University of Alberta Press. His understanding of editing has been honed by his own authorship of published poetry, plays and children’s books. Dr. Peter J. Roccia teaches in Grant MacEwan University’s Bachelor of Communication Studies program. Past chair of the Prairie Provinces branch, and past editor of Active Voice/Voix active, Peter is EAC’s training and development chair.

The Claudette Upton Scholarship is an annual, national award that recognizes a promising emerging editor from among the Editors’ Association of Canada’s student membership. The award memorializes EAC honorary life member Claudette Reed Upton-Keeley, a gifted editor who loved the English language and was actively involved in social justice and environmental causes throughout her life. She is remembered for her wonderful sense of humour and her sharp mind.

Access Copyright and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) announced today that they have negotiated a model licence that will allow universities to reproduce copyright protected materials in both print and digital formats.

“We are pleased to have negotiated this licence with the AUCC,” said Maureen Cavan, Executive [...]]]> Via Access Copyright

Access Copyright and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) announced today that they have negotiated a model licence that will allow universities to reproduce copyright protected materials in both print and digital formats.

“We are pleased to have negotiated this licence with the AUCC,” said Maureen Cavan, Executive Director of Access Copyright. “The licence provides easy, legal access to copyright protected works for students, professors and staff, in a simple, fast and cost efficient manner.”

The model licence sees the AUCC and universities working with publishers and creators to ensure fair compensation for the works they are using.

“We believe that this negotiated agreement provides the best possible outcome for universities, their students and faculty,” said Paul Davidson, president of the AUCC. “It provides long-term certainty on price, and access to a new range of digital materials. Most importantly, the agreement respects the principles of academic freedom and privacy that are important to universities, and ensures that the administrative burden on institutions is minimized.”

The agreement strikes a balance between the needs of creators, publishers and the university community.

“Educational institutions and the publishing industry depend on one another,” said Greg Nordal, President, Nelson Canada and Access Copyright Board Member. “An agreement that provides for expanded usage of content and fair compensation to those that provide the content, with rules that favour sustainability, is in the interest of all stakeholders.”

The model licence will see universities pay Access Copyright a royalty of $26.00 per full-time equivalent student annually. This royalty includes what used to be a separate 10 cents per page royalty for coursepack copying, so there will no longer be a separate royalty for such copying.

This agreement will be in place until December 31, 2015 and will renew automatically for one-year terms during which any party can cancel or request to renegotiate the agreement.

Over the course of the next six months a survey methodology will be designed jointly to gather reliable bibliographic data and volume of usage trending data for the purposes of allowing Access Copyright to make fair distribution of royalties to its affiliates and to assist in establishing appropriate future licence rates. The survey will be designed to minimize the administrative burden on both parties, in particular academic staff and students, and will respect academic freedom, privacy and the obligations of universities under collective agreements with faculty and staff.

Early Bird registration rates for the CLA’s 67th annual Conference and Trade Show (Ottawa, ON, May 30-June 2, 2012) end this Friday, April 13, 2012.

April is the month for critical conference deadlines!

Early bird registration – April 13, 2012 Westin Hotel cut-off – April 29, 2012 Novotel [...]]]> Via Canadian Library Association

Early Bird registration rates for the CLA’s 67th annual Conference and Trade Show (Ottawa, ON, May 30-June 2, 2012) end this Friday, April 13, 2012.

April is the month for critical conference deadlines!

Early bird registration – April 13, 2012
Westin Hotel cut-off – April 29, 2012
Novotel Hotel cut-off – April 30, 2012
Les Suites Hotel cut-off – April 24, 2012

After April 13, registration rates will increase. So make sure to get your registration in today! You don’t want to miss out on the fantastic program offered at your CLA 2012 National Conference and Trade Show!

If you have registered but didn’t get a confirmation receipt, please contact Wendy Walton at 613.232.9625 extension 302 or email wwalton@cla.ca

TOP 10 REASONS TO ATTEND CLA 2012 in Ottawa

1. ADVOCACY –put advocacy into practice, meet MPs, discuss library issues, attend Question Period in the House of Commons
2. PRE-CONFERENCES – take part in half-day workshops providing intensive learning opportunities: advocacy, intellectual freedom, copyright and library collaboration
3. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT – benefit from knowledge gathering and exchange opportunities in 70 topical sessions
4. AWARD WINNING ENTERTAINMENT! – see Juno Award-winning Monkey Junk perform at the Opening Reception!
5. MEET THE VENDORS – visit the trade show and meet your supplier community, at the Wednesday Opening Reception and for lunch on Thursday and Friday
6. NETWORKING – meet friends and colleagues, interact and enjoy good conversation at the plethora of opportunities provided for networking
7. BUSINESS MEETINGS & IDEA SHARING – attend meetings of the Networks and Advisory Committees to discuss future activities; take part in the governance of your association by attending the Resolutions Hearing and the Annual General Meeting
8. IMMEDIATE CONNECTIONS – participate in online community engagement through Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and more! Use your tool of choice to share your conference experience!
9. FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS MATTER – research shows that conference attendance raises awareness of new concepts, reinforces a positive professional climate and builds relationships and networks: so get face-to-face with your colleagues from across the country
10. LONG TERM IMPACT – make connections, learn, share and drive the library and information community forward

See you in Ottawa, 30 May–2 June!

Register for CLA 2012 in Ottawa: http://www.cla.ca/conference/2012/

The NFP Act [...]]]> The new Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (NFP Act) was proclaimed in force last October and all federally-incorporated non-share capital corporations must sit up and take notice. On Thursday, April 12, the Book and Periodical Council is holding a seminar on the NFP Act and its impact specifically on small publishing organizations.

The NFP Act modernizes the law to promote accountability, transparency, and good corporate governance, to clarify directors’ duty of care and to provide for member rights and remedies. But existing organizations must start now to bring their current constitutions – Letters Patent and by-laws – into compliance. Every such organization must file “Articles of Continuance” and enact new by-laws to “continue” under the new NFP Act. Failure to do so before October 14, 2014 will result in involuntary dissolution. Don’t be dissolute! Your organization will need to thoroughly review its membership structure and by-laws. The time to start this process is now.

This seminar will explain what’s new and important in the new NFP Act, and the key considerations in the drafting of new articles and by-laws to comply. It will set out the timeline to bear in mind and provide a step-by-step process to follow, with direction on where to find the resources you need to get the job done.

This seminar (held in downtown Toronto) is free for BPC members. For more information, contact the BPC at publicity@theBPC.ca.

Grace Westcott is a commercial lawyer with a boutique practice focusing on copyright, media and the cultural industries. She has a particular focus on publishing and electronic media. Westcott has acted for a number of trade associations, collectives and organizations in these industries, as well as for a corporate and individual clientele. Her background includes extensive experience in general corporate practice.