Garrison Keillor's website

@Garrison Keillor of Prairie Home Companion & Lake Wobegon fame offers poems, prose, literary history, & commentary on his website http://writersalmanac.org/  . What might we learn from this very successful author/broadcaster?

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

 

children's book week May 7-14

Announcement from Cara Graden via Sylvia Olson. Thanks, Cara & Sylvia

 

From: cgraden@kamloops.ca

Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2016 10:03 AM

To: Sylvia Olson

Subject: writer's group

 

Hi Sylvia

would you be able to help me get the word out about the TD Children's Book Read that is coming up May 7 - 14

 

We are hosting an author at the Kamloops Museum on Saturday May 7 from 11 - 12 noon

last few years we got a few people out and most were adults wanting to learn more about publishing etc.  I thought through the Kamloops writer's group we can get the word out 

 

attached is the media release that went out today

let me know if you can assist me with getting the word out

 

Cara

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, April 28, 2016

TD Canadian Children’s Book Week 2016

 

Kamloops, BC –Saturday, May 7^th to Saturday, May 14^th is TD Canadian’s Children’s Book Week. This program celebrates the magic of books and reading to children across Canada.  Twenty-nine Canadian children’s authors, illustrator and storytellers will be visiting schools, libraries, community centres and bookstores across Canada throughout the week.

 

To celebrate Book Week in Kamloops, the City is proud to host a presentation by Lisa Darlrymple, author of the novel Skink on the Brink, who recently won the Crystal Kite Award for Canada.

 

Saturday, May 7, 2016

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Kamloops Museum & Archives

 

Come meet award winning author Lisa Dalrymple. This will be Lisa’s first tour to BC and she is looking forward to sharing her picture books with younger audiences and with older groups to discuss the craft of writing or to expand upon the themes in her books.

 

This presentation is free and participants of all ages are welcome.

 

-30-

 

Media Contact:

Cara Graden, Arts, Culture & Heritage Coordinator
City of Kamloops
250-828-3611

cgraden@kamloops.ca

 

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

 

FW: what kind of editing do you need?

What type of editing is most appropriate for your manuscript at which stage in its life? Good article here:

http://tinyurl.com/zdvcgdm .

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

 

using Twitter to promote

Tips on using Twitter to promote your writing and/or for other purposes: http://www.molly-greene.com/how-to-twitter-tips-for-newbies/

 

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

 

Elma & Kelowna-Penticton-Vernon Area writing workshops June 4

I’m scheduled to give two writing workshops in Kelowna on June 4. If you know people who might be interested, could you please pass this information along to them? Thank you.

 

Two Kelowna-Penticton-Vernon Area Writing Workshops

With Elma (Martens) Schemenauer, author, editor, and publishing consultant

 

8:30 am-12 pm, Sat June 4, Evangel Church, 3261 Gordon Drive (and Harvey), Kelowna, V1W 3N4. Are you a Christian who writes? Don’t miss these inspiring workshops! Pick up some new skills, polish your craft, and move on with completing your next novel.

                        

WORKSHOP 1: Nonfiction Writers Toolkit - What are the advantages of writing nonfiction, what writing opportunities are available, and how can we communicate faith in secular nonfiction?

 

WORKSHOP 2: Fictionalizing Real Life - Why and when might we decide to fictionalize real life experiences rather than write them as fact? This workshop will consider reasons and explore ways of transforming real life into fiction.

 

The event is hosted by the BC chapters of The Word Guild, a national ministry which supports writers and editors who are Christian.

 

Fee $20 plus HST and up including coffee break. Early bird rate available until May 13. Register today at: www.TheWordGuild.com/Kelowna .  Special thanks to: The Light Magazine for their support.

 

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY

Born into a Saskatchewan Mennonite family, Elma (Martens) Schemenauer is the author of 76 published books including Salmon, Breadspeed, Language Connections, What It Means to Be Responsible, and Special Canadian Communities. Her latest, the 1940s Mennonite novel Consider the Sunflowers, is about love, faith, and family in Vancouver and rural Saskatchewan during the Second World War and after.

 

Elma has also edited many books including Mice at Centre Ice, The Writing Programme, Pope John Paul II, and To the Ends of the Earth: A History of the Canadian Bible Society. She worked in publishing in Toronto for many years and now lives with her husband on a sagebrush-dotted hillside in Kamloops. Her website is http://elmams.wix.com/elma .

 

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

 

marketing your book

Do you have a book out or coming soon and wish someone would market it for you? You can hire people to do that. Your publisher may help if you have one. However, you as the author still need to do your part. Good thoughts on that in the following article by Terry Whalin, a multi-published author and acquisitions editor: http://terrywhalin.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-constant-wish-of-every-author.html .

 

 

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

 

Silver Bow, Vancouver-based publisher: poetry & nonfiction

I don’t know anything about Silver Bow, a Vancouver-based publisher but they evidently publish poetry books. More information here: http://www.silverbowpublishing.com/home.html . They’re also running a contest for non-fiction. If interested, e-mail them at info@silverbowpublishing.com for submissions guidelines.

 

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

 

Christion writers' conference in Abbotsford May 7, 2016

I’m giving a workshop at this conference in Abbotsford. If you know someone who may be interested, could you please let them know? Thanks a lot!

Are you a Christian who writes? The exciting Write West Coast conference will help inspire and equip you. This Christian writers' conference happens Saturday May 7 in Cascade Community Church, 35190 DeLair Road, Abbotsford from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Write West Coast is sponsored by the BC chapters of The Word Guild and includes 6 workshops by published, award winning authors:

-Scene & Sequel—to Plot &/or Get Your Story Going by GAIL SATTLER, musician and author of romantic comedy including the novel Dating the Best Man.

-Writing Dynamic Devotionals by GRACE FOX, inspirational speaker, coach, global worker, and author of devotional books including Morning Moments with God. Grace will also present the keynote address.

-Fiction Story Arcs with Big Hearts by CHRISTINE LINDSAY, author of romantic novels including the Twilight of the British Raj series and Sofi's Bridge.

-Motivation, Marketing & Money—the Why, How, & How Much for Writers by WENDY DEWAR HUGHES, visual artist, novelist, and coauthor of The One Minute Book Marketer.

-Articles: Writing for Print, Writing for the Web by BILL STROM, media and communications professor and author of relationship books including More Than Talk: A Covenantal Approach to Everyday Communication.

-Fiction Flaws: Find 'Em & Fix 'Em by ELMA SCHEMENAUER, editor, publishing consultant, and author of 76 books including the 1940s Mennonite novel Consider the Sunflowers.

Leading worship at Write West Coast will be CAROLA MEERKERK, songwriter, singer, creative writer, speaker, and Bible teacher.

This conference provides a great opportunity to ask questions and network. You can also receive manuscript critiques. For $25 you can submit 5 pages in advance, and book a 15-minute appointment with a professional editor or writer. Submissions accepted until April 16.

More information and registration is at https://thewordguild.com/wwc-reg/ . An early bird rate is available before Shakespeare's birthday, April 23.

Special thanks to: The Light Magazine for their support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

 

promote your book by repurposing some of its content

Good ideas here on promoting your book by repurposing content, though some of the suggestions are quite techie: http://tinyurl.com/hnpkmtl .

 

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

 

ungreat writing

We don’t want to produce ungreat writing, right? Help is on the way: http://tinyurl.com/hxjumbq .

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

 

setting mistakes to avoid

Setting is important in our writing, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction. Useful tips here: http://tinyurl.com/hwgzlyk .

 

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

 

tools for people who write free verse

Good article on writing free verse: http://writersrelief.com/blog/2016/04/poetry-tools-free-verse-poets-should-master/ .

 

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

 

awards for unpublished BC writers 50 & older

The Cedrics are awards for unpublished British Columbia writers 50 & older.  They’re open to several categories of writing, deadline May 1, submission fee $25. Detailed info is here: http://www.thecedrics.ca/submissions/ .

 

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

 

remembering the past enriches the present

How does remembering the past enrich the present? It:
1. Gives us a sense of identity and helps us boost that sense in others.
2. Helps us appreciate what we have compared with what people had in the past.
3. Draws generations together.
4. Helps us learn from other people's mistakes.
In my family my sister Esther Martens is especially good at preserving & sharing memories. Here's her picture of the clock our parents used for years. Thanks, Esther.

 

I’m pleased to have an opportunity to speak about remembering the past on Wednesday May 18, 2016 from 10:30 am to 11:30 am at The Reach Gallery Museum, 32388 Veterans Way near City Hall in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Stop by if you can. This is a free event.

 

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .

 

looking for writers of children's stories

I don't know anything about the following but it might interest you if you
write stories for children anywhere between the ages of 2 & 12. For more
info, visit http://www.storytime.info/en

From: Storytime for Kids [mailto:contact@storytime.info]
Sent: April-02-16 11:36 AM
To: contact@storytime.info
Subject: Looking for writers of children's stories

Dear sir, madam,

May we please ask for a few minutes of your time?

As two young parents from The Netherlands we started an initiative to
stimulate people to read aloud to their kids: Storytime for Kids.
Because of the success of the Dutch version of our app, we decided to also
make it available in English.

With the free Storytime app you always have a children's story at hand.
The app contains unique stories and rhymes, written by (grand)parents and
writers. You can search for a specific story or topic, stories for boys or
girls of a certain age or filter stories by the time you want to spend
reading aloud. Some stories even contain fun sound effects to optimize the
reading experience.

The Storytime app will soon be launched. Currently, we are looking for
people who like to write children's stories. The Storytime app will offer
them a great platform to easily share their stories with others.
Writers who submit a story won't give up any of the copyrights of their
story. We would appreciate it if you could share our website
www.storytime.info/en and our call to submit stories, with your writing
group.

On our website you will find more information on Storytime. If you want to
have a sneak peek at the app, you could download the Dutch version for now.
Please feel free to contact us in case you have any questions.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

Kind regards,

Denny & Lies Velthuizen
Storytime

http://www.storytime.info/en
http://www.facebook.com/StorytimeForKidsApp


Dutch version of the Storytime app:
https://itunes.apple.com/nl/app/storytime-kinderverhalen/id944802846?mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=storytimelite.storytimelite

Mennonites & memories in Abbotsford

I'm pleased to have opportunities to speak in Abbotsford, British Columbia about two of my favourite topics: MENNONITE HISTORY and MEMORIES. If you know folks in Abbotsford & area who might be interested, please tell them. Thanks! [Abbotsford is just across the border from Lynden, Washington.]

 

Elma (Martens) Schemenauer http://elmams.wix.com/elma . CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  . Book trailer https://youtu.be/sBRuhh1xX7Y .