April speaker: Mike Hare, co-owner of Owl's Nest Bookstore
Topic: The bookseller's role and how authors can work with sellers to make their books fly off the shelves.
Venue: *Different location Owl's Nest Bookstore in Britannia shopping
centre, on 49th Ave SW at Elbow Dr.
There is a parking lot in front of the store and a large overflow lot
in the back. For transit users, the #3 bus stops right outside
Sunterra market. It is a frequent and late-running bus.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Updates of Miscellaneous Interest
Reminder: February 12th at the Old Y, Melanie Little from Freehand Press will be speaking. See the preceding post for details.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Further to the recent Mystery Press article on the present sorry state of the publishing industry, two things have changed since publication:
1) Book Expo Canada is, as predicted, officially now canceled.
2) The Consumer Product Safety Commission approved a one-year stay of enforcement of the newly added certification and testing requirements for manufacturer and importers of products for children. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09115.html
~~~~~~~~~~~
Fun link that will nibble away at your spare time for weeks: Top 100 Creative Writing Blogs
http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2009/02/05/top-100-creative-writing-blogs/
~~~~~~~~~~~
Quotable on Mystery Writing:
~~~~~~~~~~~
Further to the recent Mystery Press article on the present sorry state of the publishing industry, two things have changed since publication:
1) Book Expo Canada is, as predicted, officially now canceled.
2) The Consumer Product Safety Commission approved a one-year stay of enforcement of the newly added certification and testing requirements for manufacturer and importers of products for children. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09115.html
~~~~~~~~~~~
Fun link that will nibble away at your spare time for weeks: Top 100 Creative Writing Blogs
http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2009/02/05/top-100-creative-writing-blogs/
~~~~~~~~~~~
Quotable on Mystery Writing:
At least half the mystery novels published violate the law that the solution,
once revealed, must seem to be inevitable.
- Raymond Chandler
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Feb 12 Meeting: The Editing Process
Melanie Little of Freehand Books will speak and answer questions on theprocess of working with an editor--from the initial steps of submitting a manuscript through the collaborative editing process in all its stages.
Melanie Little is an editor at Calgary's Freehand Books, publishing the bestin new Canadian fiction, poetry, and literary non-fiction. Books she hasacquired and edited have been nominated for the Giller Prize, the McAuslanFirst Book Prize, and the BC National Award for Canadian Non-fiction. She isalso the author of The Apprentice's Masterpiece, a novel-in-verse foryoung adults (Annick Press), and Confidence, a collection of stories(Thomas Allen), a Globe and Mail Top 100 book. Her fiction has appeared inanthologies including The Journey Prize Anthology and Scribner's Best ofthe Fiction Workshops, and she has been shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed,Bronwyn Wallace, and CBC Literary Awards. In 2005-6 she was theMarkin-Flanagan Writer in Residence at the University of Calgary.
Melanie Little of Freehand Books will speak and answer questions on theprocess of working with an editor--from the initial steps of submitting a manuscript through the collaborative editing process in all its stages.
Melanie Little is an editor at Calgary's Freehand Books, publishing the bestin new Canadian fiction, poetry, and literary non-fiction. Books she hasacquired and edited have been nominated for the Giller Prize, the McAuslanFirst Book Prize, and the BC National Award for Canadian Non-fiction. She isalso the author of The Apprentice's Masterpiece, a novel-in-verse foryoung adults (Annick Press), and Confidence, a collection of stories(Thomas Allen), a Globe and Mail Top 100 book. Her fiction has appeared inanthologies including The Journey Prize Anthology and Scribner's Best ofthe Fiction Workshops, and she has been shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed,Bronwyn Wallace, and CBC Literary Awards. In 2005-6 she was theMarkin-Flanagan Writer in Residence at the University of Calgary.
Ten Stupid Things Cops In Books Do
From that noted cop and crime writer, Robin Burcell:
http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2009/01/ten-stupid-things-cops-in-books-do.html
http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2009/01/ten-stupid-things-cops-in-books-do.html
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Holiday Social & Panel Discussion December 11th
Holiday Social & Panel Discussion December 11th
Christmas Potluck Social * Super Door Prizes
Meeting topic: Writing & Mystery Conferences
Did you know that every year over 20 mystery writing conferences take place in North America? There are also numerous general writing conferences. For published authors, conferences provide great opportunities to promote themselves and their books. You might participate on a panel, give a talk or, if you are unable to attend, send promotional material for the information table. For those aspiring to be published, what are the benefits of writing conferences? HOW do you prepare to get the most out of them? WHAT can you gain from attending? WHO are you likely to connect with?
And let's not forget that conferences offer a good excuse for travel.
At the December INK meeting, you'll get the scoop on North American conferences from the perspective of both participant and presenter. You'll find out WHAT conferences will be available in 2009, WHERE and WHEN they will take place and WHAT some of the conferences involve.
Our discussion will be combined with a potluck social. Please bring a finger food to share with the group.
To add to the Christmas cheer, we will be giving away $100 worth of Door Prizes. Many thanks to $4k Consulting Inc. for the generous donation and to the INK board for matching $4k's donation.
Hope to see you at the December meeting and have a very Merry Christmas.
Susan Calder, INK program director
Christmas Potluck Social * Super Door Prizes
Meeting topic: Writing & Mystery Conferences
Did you know that every year over 20 mystery writing conferences take place in North America? There are also numerous general writing conferences. For published authors, conferences provide great opportunities to promote themselves and their books. You might participate on a panel, give a talk or, if you are unable to attend, send promotional material for the information table. For those aspiring to be published, what are the benefits of writing conferences? HOW do you prepare to get the most out of them? WHAT can you gain from attending? WHO are you likely to connect with?
And let's not forget that conferences offer a good excuse for travel.
At the December INK meeting, you'll get the scoop on North American conferences from the perspective of both participant and presenter. You'll find out WHAT conferences will be available in 2009, WHERE and WHEN they will take place and WHAT some of the conferences involve.
Our discussion will be combined with a potluck social. Please bring a finger food to share with the group.
To add to the Christmas cheer, we will be giving away $100 worth of Door Prizes. Many thanks to $4k Consulting Inc. for the generous donation and to the INK board for matching $4k's donation.
Hope to see you at the December meeting and have a very Merry Christmas.
Susan Calder, INK program director
Saturday, November 1, 2008
November Speaker: Susan Toy on Marketing
Our November speaker will be Susan Toy.
The topic: And you thought writing the novel was the hard part!
What happens after you sign the contract - from planning marketing and promotion campaigns, to cover design, sales catalogues, the sales conference, the role of the publisher's reps, author tours and reviews, right up to getting finished books on store shelves.
Susan is the Alberta and East Kootenays sales representative for Kate Walker & Co., a sales agency that sells books to bookstores (including the chains), libraries, wholesalers, specialty and gift stores. Her clients include numerous small presses, like Dundurn (which publishes mysteries), Oolichan, Raincoast and Freehand Books. In addition to sales, Susan represents the publishers locally in promotion of authors and books during promotion and publicity
campaigns.
Come prepared to learn a lot about this mysterious side of the
publishing business.
The topic: And you thought writing the novel was the hard part!
What happens after you sign the contract - from planning marketing and promotion campaigns, to cover design, sales catalogues, the sales conference, the role of the publisher's reps, author tours and reviews, right up to getting finished books on store shelves.
Susan is the Alberta and East Kootenays sales representative for Kate Walker & Co., a sales agency that sells books to bookstores (including the chains), libraries, wholesalers, specialty and gift stores. Her clients include numerous small presses, like Dundurn (which publishes mysteries), Oolichan, Raincoast and Freehand Books. In addition to sales, Susan represents the publishers locally in promotion of authors and books during promotion and publicity
campaigns.
Come prepared to learn a lot about this mysterious side of the
publishing business.
October Door Prize
Mystery Writers Ink thanks member Jenny Hoops for donating October's door prize of two tickets to WinePLAY 2008 - a wine/scotch/beer-tasting fundraising gala in support of
PLAY Community Child Care Centre in Kensington (www.playdaycare.org). Marilynne Hebert was the lucky winner.
PLAY Community Child Care Centre in Kensington (www.playdaycare.org). Marilynne Hebert was the lucky winner.
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