Canadian Authors – Toronto programs will take on a mix of art and business concerns. We plan to alternate between two main types of events:
1. themed presentations by writers and other publishing professionals dealing with various aspects of the writing life and the craft of writing, and
2. industry-focused events designed to help writers in the GTA meet agents and publishers, understand publishing contracts, master the ‘authorpreneurial’ demands of social media and marketing, and wend our way through the business side of this writing life.
What’s Your Day Job?
Balancing Creative Writing with Paid Work
Thursday, November 28, 7:30–9:30 pm
Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) Spadina
192 Spadina Ave., Toronto, The Viola Desmond Room (formerly Room F, Third Floor)
Canadian Author–Toronto Members, join us from 7–7:30 pm for our Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Do you write creatively while working full time? Are you waiting for retirement to pursue publication? And how do you balance it all? Join Canadian Authors–Toronto as three local published writers discuss how they approach creative writing while working full time in other careers. Authors Wendy Gruner, Daniel Bryant, and JF Garrard each bring their own perspective and experience on their write-work balance and paths to publication. Wendy wrote several unfinished manuscripts during her 30 years teaching English, but waited for retirement to pursue publication. Her memoir, Children of a Faraway War, has just been released by Iguana Books. Daniel currently works full time as a letter carrier for Canada Post, and his first collection of short stories, Rerouted, has just been published by The Porcupine’s Quill. And JF Garrard, who works in the healthcare industry, published The Undead Sorceress in 2014 through her own publishing company, Dark Helix Press. A Q&A with the authors will follow, and each author will be selling and signing copies of their books.
About the AGM:
There will be a brief review of Toronto branch’s activities over the past year, a report of finances, and election of the executive for 2020. Canadian Authors Association members: please help us make quorum by attending this short but important meeting.
More about our panelists:
Wendy Gruner was born and educated in Australia. In her twenties she travelled, as many young Australians do, to the U.K. and explored Europe. She then drifted to Canada. There she stayed, marrying a Canadian and raising a family of three daughters. Wendy taught high-school English for 30 years, always writing, accumulating unfinished manuscripts, and using the excuse of a busy life not to pursue publication. After retirement, a course at Humber School for Writers and a trip that demanded documenting resulted in a book. She now lives in Guelph, Ont., where she continues to write.
Born in Montreal, Daniel Bryant grew up in the small town of Aurora, ON. He graduated with an honours bachelor of arts in English from York University and received the Timothy Findley/William Whitehead Scholarship to attend the Humber School for Writers Correspondence Program. He has mentored with authors Paul Quarrington and Will Ferguson. Rerouted is his first published collection of short stories. When not writing, Dan has worked many interesting jobs: printing press, tannery, tart factory, film crew. He currently works for Canada Post as a letter carrier and lives in Toronto with his wife, Nancy, and enjoys occasional appearances by their grown son and daughter.
JF Garrard is the founder of Dark Helix Press, co-president of Canadian Authors–Toronto, deputy editor for Ricepaper Magazine, and an assistant editor for Amazing Stories magazine. She is an editor and writer of speculative fiction (Immersion, Trump Utopia or Dystopia Anthology, The Undead Sorceress) and non-fiction. Her contributions to business, diversity and health subjects have been published in Entrepreneur, Huffington Post, Moneyish, Monster.com, Women’s Health and Cosmopolitan, among others. JF’s latest stories include “The Curse” in the Brave New Girls: Adventures of Gales and Gizmos anthology, “The Metamorphosis of Nova”in the Blood Is Thicker anthology by Iguana Books, and “The Perfect Husband” in the We Shall Be Monsters Frankenstein anthology by Renaissance Press. Visit her website jfgarrard.com for more details.
Raffle Prizes
This event will include lots of great prizes, including two books by each author. All raffle proceeds support Authors–Toronto programming and allow us to pay our speakers.
Raffle tickets are $2 each, $5 for three, or $10 for seven, and they can be purchased at the venue (cash only). Raffle winners must be present at the event or be represented by someone who holds their ticket to claim their prize.
This event is FREE for members of Canadian Authors Association, $10 for non-members, and $5 for non-member students.
Questions? Contact co-president Lee Parpart at TOpresident1@canadianauthors.org.
Follow us on Twitter at @Authors_Toronto for updates and pre-event news.
Accessibility
Directions, parking, accessibility, and other details about the venue are available here.
Please note that although the third floor of CSI Spadina is fully accessible, the building’s narrow elevator (30 inches wide) may not accommodate all mobility devices.
Anyone with specific questions about the accessibility features of this venue is invited to email Lee at TOpresident1@canadianauthors.org.
Trouble getting into the building? The CSI closes its doors at 7:00 pm. We’ll have a volunteer at the front door until 7:35 pm. If you arrive late and find the door locked, text Lee at 647-607-0416, and we will send someone to let you in.
Privacy and media coverage
Portions of this program will be videotaped. Please let us know ahead of time if you wish to avoid appearing on camera, by emailing TOpresident1@canadianauthors.org.
We look forward to seeing you!
Planning ahead
We have lots of exciting programming coming up and on Thursday, January 23, 2020 we’ll feature a group writing exercise, resulting in publication of a story on the Authors–Toronto website. Other events include an open mic night and another pub night, in the spring. Stay tuned to the Authors–Toronto “Events” web page for regular programming and event updates.
As always, we welcome your feedback on all of our activities. Email co-president Lee Parpart at TOpresident1@canadianauthors.org with comments, questions, or ideas about our programs and events.
We’re working to expand the number of writing circles that we can offer to members. We’re looking for branch members to launch and moderate new Authors–Toronto writing circles outside of the downtown core. Our Annex Writing Circle meets the second Thursday of every month at the CSI Annex and is at capacity, but we are open to working with new members to start another monthly group at the same location. Please email Lee at TOpresident1@canadianauthors.org for more details about writing circles.
And if you know any writers who are not already members of Canadian Authors Association, please talk to them about the benefits of joining. To join Canadian Authors Association or renew your membership, click here.
Follow us on Twitter at @Authors_Toronto, @EditorsToronto, or @UofTSCS for updates and pre-event news.
Thank you for your interest! We look forward to seeing you.