Support Literacy

Three Leap Books authors are raising money to help young authors. Judith Graves, Dawn Dalton, and Halli Dee Lilburn are donating their profits from the sale of the anthology, Spirited, to Alberta Wordsmith Writing Camp. Sponsored by the Writers Guild of Alberta, this week-long event allows student writers to work with published authors.

A Holiday Invitation from Author Judith Graves

On Saturday, December 4th from 12 noon to 5 p.m., join me, and about 40 Alberta authors, as well as artisans with wares (or should that be WERES...wink, wink…) that will amaze you! It’s the first annual Book Lovers Christmas Sale offered by the Writers Guild of Alberta. We’ll be doing readings, signings, wandering around and chatting up folks – I’ll be shopping for notebooks and funky bookmarks I know I won’t find ANYWHERE else….cause they’re handmade gems (GEMS, I tell you. ;)

LOCATION: Stanley A. Milner Library – aka the downtown branch in Edmonton, Alberta.

Anyway – here are the details. I’ll be at the sale pretty much all day until they kick me out:

Program of events:

12 noon—2 pm: Territory of the Young

* 12 noon—Award-winning, multi-genre author Marty Chan reads from his brand-new kids’ book “The Mystery of the Cyber Bully”. A treat not to be missed!

* 12:30 pm—Drop in for some hands-on fun and make really cool bookmarks using the ancient art of origami. All materials provided.

* 1 pm—Time for more mystery, now with Calgary author Jan Markley , who’ll give us the scoop on “Dead Bird through the Cat Door”, the second book in her Megabyte Mystery series.

* 1:30 pm—Bring a clove of garlic for protection, and come to listen as author Judith Graves reads from her Young Adult vampire-ish title “Under My Skin”. Note: the WGA shall not be deemed responsible for fang marks on anyone’s neck.

2—3:30 pm: Poetreats

* 2 pm—On the screen, Edmonton will be looking beautiful as ever through the delicate prints by the late Dr. W.B. Stallworthy. At the microphone, his son Bob Stallworthy adds stanzas to the scene, as he reads some of the poems in which his father’s presence is still very much alive.

* 2:30 pm—Three new books, three poets on stage. Laurie MacFayden brings us her gravelly poet’s voice as she reads from her debut collection “White Shirt”; Edmonton’s own Alice Major (once laureate, always laureate…) gifts us some verses from “Memory’s Daughter”; and Peter Midgley goes bilingual as he reads from “perhaps i should/miskien moet ek”.

* 3 pm—Very Vocal poetry ladies for your ears’ delight! Spoken word artists Kathy Fisher and Kath MacLean, both with CDs for grabs at our Christmas Sale, will perform a few of the poems included in “think of me naked” (Kathy) and “Seed Bone & Hammer” (Kath).

3:30—5 pm: Proudly Prose

* 3:30 pm—Back from a long research journey on higher Canadian latitudes, Linda Goyette shares some stories from “Northern Kids”, a collection focused on the young people from the Yukon , Northwest Territories , and other northern communities. She is joined on stage by Conni Massing, a playwright turned travel writer after the adventures you’ll read in “Road Tripping—On the Move with the Buffalo Gals”. Bonus: you get to see on screen photos of gals and northern kids that were not included in the books.

* 4 pm—First it was the movie. Now, writer and filmmaker Geo Takach brings us “Will the Real Alberta Please Stand Up?”, the book: a mix of essay, interview, and colourful observation spotlighting the cultural complexity of our province. Come along for a chat with Geo—and a bit of movie time too!

Signing schedule

12 noon—2 pm

Ardith Trudzik, Diane Linden, Jan Markley, Jeananne Kathol Kirwin, Joan Marie Galat, Judith Graves , Karen Bass, Marty Chan *, Mary Woodbury , Pearl Murray, Shane Gauthier, Tyler Enfield

2—3:30 pm

Aaron A. Lehman, Alexis Kienlen , Alice Major , Bob Stallworthy , Clair Woodbury, Dianne Tchir, Kath MacLean, Kathy Fisher, Laurie MacFayden , Marion Brooker, Peter Midgley , Shelley A. Leedahl, Tololwa Mollel, Victoria Middleton

3:30—5 pm

Billie Milholland, Caterina Edwards , Conni Massing, Diane Robitelle, Eileen Bell, Geo Takach, Graham Clews, Jean Crozier, Linda Goyette, Margaret Macpherson, Marianne Stamm, Monika Igali, Pauline Holyoak , Roberta Laurie, Roxanne Felix, Sheree Zielke, Therezinha Kennedy, Uzoma Uponi, Vivian Mayne

* From 12 to 12:30 pm only

Backstage with a YA Author

Check back at 11:00 p.m. tonight for info on the swag Leap is offering for Blogmania on Sept. 15-16.

The Writers Guild of Alberta and the Cold Lake Public Library present:

Backstage with a YA Author

A Talk and Reading by Judith Graves

Cold Lake, AB – In celebration of Alberta Art Days, the Writers Guild of Alberta and the Cold Lake Public Library are hosting an event with Young Adult author Judith Graves on September 14th, 6:30 pm, at the Cold Lake Public Library—Grand Centre Branch (5513B - 48 Avenue, Alberta, Canada).  This event is free and open to the public.

Judith will be reading from her latest book and talking about her journey to publication, providing the audience with a glimpse of what is like to be a published writer of young adult fiction – and the steps to follow to get there. A question-and-answer period wraps up the session.

A firm believer that Canadian teen fiction can be sexy, action-packed and snarky, Judith writes paranormal stories with attitude. Her debut novel, Under My Skin, was released in March 2010 with Leap Books. The sequel, Second Skin, will be available in 2011.

This event is part of the project “Backstage with a Writer”, a partnership developed between the Writers Guild of Alberta and several libraries in rural Alberta. Presented with the support of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the project includes, among others, sessions scheduled to take place in Black Diamond (novelist Betty Jane Hegerat), Grande Prairie (travel writer Ted Bishop), Lacombe (memoir author Janice Williamson), Olds (nonfiction author Brian Brennan), Rocky Mountain House (poet Shirley A. Serviss), Spruce Grove (screenwriter Scot Morison) and Vegreville (playwright Conni Massing).

Celebrating its 30^th anniversary this year, the Writers Guild of Alberta is the largest provincial writers’ organization in Canada, and was formed in 1980 to provide a meeting ground and collective voice for the writers of the province. Alberta Arts Days – an annual celebration to showcase Alberta artists of all types – aims to encourage Albertans to discover, experience and celebrate the arts.

For more information, please visit:

www.writersguild.ab.ca, www.library.coldlake.ab.ca, www.judithgraves.com, or www.culture.alberta.ca/artsdays.