Opportunities

Call for Expressions of Interest: Writer in Residence 2019 – Screenwriter

Are you a screenwriter looking for a setting to inspire? Spend four months writing in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, home to a remarkable natural environment and a lively culture guaranteed to spark your creativity.

Vancouver Public Library is seeking to host a resident screenwriter between August 26, 2019 and December 13, 2019. We are interested in hearing from a wide variety of writers working in the screenplay forms, including short films, feature films, television, mini-series, documentaries or video games.

VPL’s Writer in Residence program promotes Canadian writing and creativity to Vancouver citizens. The aim of the residency is to foster greater public appreciation for Canadian writing; to provide the community with opportunities to interact with and learn from the resident writer; and to provide the space, time and resources for a Canadian author to write.

The writer in residence will develop exciting public programs and provide advice to emerging writers through one-to-one consultations, group workshops and outreach to local communities. This is a full-time position (35 hours/week) with 40 percent of the writer’s time spent on creating and conducting public programs or projects, and 60 percent of their time working on their own creative writing projects.

Applicants must identify in their cover letter the innovative ways their residency and proposed programs would foster an appreciation for Canadian writing. Residencies that involve communities not typically exposed to Canadian literature are particularly encouraged.

Requirements:

• Candidates must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada;
• Have a significant body of screenwriting credits;
• Professional teaching and public speaking experience;
• Enthusiastic about engaging the public in one-on-one and group settings;
• Be willing to actively participate in media opportunities to promote the residency, the library and writing culture;
• Be able to reside in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland for the duration of the residency;
• Proposed writing projects for this residency must be in the early working stage.

Remuneration:

$4,250/month (contract position)

This is a full-time position (35 hours/week)

Assistance available for travel expenses

Please note: The successful candidate is responsible for finding their own accommodation in Vancouver for the term of the residency.

Expression of Interest to include:

• A cover letter that includes the innovative ways your residency and proposed programs would foster an appreciation for Canadian writing.
• A resumé that highlights screenwriting credits and previous experience teaching, conducting public events, facilitating workshops and/or other experience delivering public presentations.
• A brief description of the writing project you intend to work on during your residency, and how a residency at Vancouver Public Library with access to its resources would benefit your project.
• A brief outline of the public events or programs you would like to offer during your residency, including your plans for engaging aspiring local writers.
• Contact information for three references.
• A 20- to 30-page sample of recent writing.
• Reviews of produced works.

Completed applications must be received by 5 p.m. (PST) on Friday, February 8, 2019

Applications may be emailed in PDF format (one consolidated file preferred) to programs@vpl.ca

Please note, the selection process will include an in-person or Skype interview for short-listed candidates.

Programming & Learning Services
Vancouver Public Library | Central Library
350 W. Georgia St.
Vancouver, B.C.
t: 604.331.3687 | e: programs@vpl.ca

A Call-out to the Writing Community

The Museum at Campbell River is now seeking applicants for the 2019–2020 Haig-Brown Writer in Residence. This unique residency provides an excellent opportunity for pursuing personal writing projects in a peaceful and inviting setting.

The Haig-Brown House is a modest historic four-bedroom home that reflects the character of writer Roderick Haig-Brown and his wife Ann. It is located along the banks of the Campbell River on Vancouver Island. The house contains a heritage library, and is surrounded by two acres of gardens and 17 acres of parkland.

The residency covers the winter months, from November to April. During their stay, the writer’s time is divided between their own writing and providing literary advice and support to the local community, with writing time favoured on a 60/40 basis. This includes participating in winter programming at the Museum at Campbell River.

A stipend is provided, and accommodation is included as part of the residency.

There is a list of past writers, accompanied by a few testimonials, on the website listed below. When asked about their experience, past writers have found the residency to be a very profound and productive time. The house has often been described as a place that provides creative space and inspiration to those staying there.

Deadline: February 20, 2019

For details on how to apply and for more information about the residency go to http://www.haig-brown.bc.ca/writer-residence or contact Ken Blackburn at the Museum at Campbell River (250) 287-3103, or by e-mail public.programs@crmuseum.ca.

Call for Entries for the King’s Shorts Festival of Ten Minute Plays

The thirteenth King’s Shorts Festival of Ten Minute Plays will be hosted by King’s Theatre in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada on June 14, 15 and 16, 2019.

Entries for the Festival must be sent to the address below, with a non-refundable $15 entry fee per script, and be postmarked no later than January 14, 2019.

Please send entries to Kings Shorts, c/o King’s Theatre, P.O. Box 161, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, B0S 1A0, Canada.

The Festival is open to all writers and playwrights, worldwide, even if you have never written a play before. It is suggested that submissions be approximately 10 minutes in length (total reading time), can be of any genre (comedy, tragedy etc.), have a limited number of characters (1 to 6), and should not have been previously produced in any form.

The first page of the play should contain the play’s title, a pseudonym, and all pages must be numbered. The playwright’s actual name and contact information should be in a sealed envelope, with the script name and pseudonym on the front. This will ensure anonymity during the judging process.

Playwrights should avoid wording that might offend. Handwritten plays are not acceptable. Because of the nature of the Festival, the sets must be kept simple and be capable of being changed quickly. Playwrights may submit a maximum of two plays, using a different pseudonym per script. The reading committee will choose eight plays, by eight different playwrights, to be staged by the Annapolis District Drama Group utilizing local directors and actors. Of those eight, one will be chosen by Theatre Nova Scotia as the best written script and receive a prize of $300. A second place best written script, also chosen by Theatre Nova Scotia, will receive a prize of $150. All attending audiences will be asked to vote for the People’s Choice Award, announced at the Sunday matinee on June 16.

Scripts will not be returned and applicants will be informed by March 4, 2019, if their play is to be included in the Festival.

For further information, contact Verilea Ellis at 902-245-2309.

University of Calgary Continuing Education Online Writing Certificate Programs

Do you have a passion for creative writing? Do you need to strengthen your business and technical writing skills?  Whatever your reasons for wanting to be a better writer, University of Calgary Continuing Education can help. Our writing certificates, including Creative Writing and Professional Writing with specializations in Business and Technical Writing and in Marketing and Public Relations, are taught by published authors and cover all aspects of the writing process. Each program requires 200 hours of instruction time, and in some cases, courses can be applied to more than one certificate. One or more of these writing certificate programs may be exactly what you need.

All of the courses in the programs are delivered completely online. When you enrol in a course, you will be required to work within scheduled start- and end-dates. During the duration of the course, you will work whenever-and from wherever-you choose, as long as you have a computer and a reliable internet connection.

Upcoming courses are open for registration. For more information, visit https://conted.ucalgary.ca/writing

Call for Submissions: Prairie Fire Press

• What is “great work” and how do we find it? Has it been difficult to get a foot in the door? Or, do you find that the world is changing so quickly that you don’t know where to find the door?
• Have you joined the growing trend of people who have dropped traditional work and are creating work on their own terms? Perhaps you’ve left high paying, stressful job to answer a quest or calling. Or, are you pursuing an artistic passion?
• How are you managing to balance your desire for meaningful, work that reflects your passions, gain more freedom, and still pay the bills?

Deadline: January 18, 2019

Call for Short Stories: Our Entangled Future

Calgary Distinguished Writers Program Writer-in-Residence Position

The program encourages applications from writers of all genres who have one to four published and/or performed works to their credit. This residency is a full-time term position, dates non-negotiable. Applicants must be available September 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. For more information on eligibility, see the FAQs.

The Canadian Writer-in-Residence is expected to spend 50% of their time working on their own writing, and 50% of their time on community outreach, including one-on-one consultations with the public and public lectures or readings. We encourage candidates to propose their own initiatives for community engagement. A background or demonstrated interest in community engagement — such as experience teaching or mentoring writers — is an asset.

While the Canadian Writer-in-Residence will be invited to speak to university classes and to the general public, this is not a teaching position.

This high-profile position has continued interaction with the external community and impact on the reputation of the CDWP and university. Over the past few years, the salary of the Canadian Writer-in-Residence has been in the range of $51,000–$57,000 over ten months. (This figure is subject to budgetary revision.)

Deadline: Applications must be received by 11:59 pm Mountain Standard Time on Tuesday, January 15, 2019.

For more information on the application requirements, visit the FAQs at https://ucalgary.ca/cdwp/apply/faq

To apply, go to https://ucalgary.ca/cdwp/writer-residence/apply