Below are the details for two events Naomi K. Lewis is doing for Canadian Authors Association in the first week of March. Spots are filling up, so if you’re interested, register now.

The Canadian Authors Association and its Calgary Writer-in-Residence, Lori Hahnel, are proud to announce two upcoming events to be presented by multi-talented writer and editor Naomi K. Lewis.

Becoming a Ghost: A Free Presentation   Wednesday, March 2 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Ghostwriting can be satisfying and relatively lucrative work for experienced writers. But how can you know if ghostwriting is for you? How do you find clients, and how do you decide which to work with? This one-hour lecture and question-and-answer period will cover the pros and cons of ghostwriting, a standard ghostwriting contract, and some essential tips for getting started.

Shaping the Story: A Workshop    Saturday, March 5 10:30 am to 4:30 pm
CAA Members: $40; Non-Members:$70 (Lunch included)

Do you excel at developing characters in compelling settings, and write scene after glorious scene, but lament that you stories don’t seem to go anywhere? In other words, do you struggle with narrative structure, or plot? In this workshop, participants will experiment with a variety of plotting techniques, looking at the different shapes a story can take. While much of the content will apply to novels, memoirs, plays, screenplays, and creative nonfiction essays alike, we will concentrate on the particularities of the short story. Participants should bring a story in progress, whether a full draft or an outline, or something in between. Both events will be held at Memorial Park Library, 1221-2nd Street S.W., Calgary.

To register, email: registrar@canauthorsalberta.ca

Last night’s reading at the Auburn Saloon was a great time. We had a good crowd and some fanastic open mic readings before my portion of the evening. Thanks to Kirk and Alyson for hosting and to Rea, Rita, Catherine and Doreen for stepping up to the mic and doing such fine readings.

In other news, due to unforseen circumstances, I am temporarily returning to the post I held last year as Canadian Authors’ Association Calgary writer-in-residence. Since I agreed to do this on short notice, I am not able to set up writer meetings. But if you or someone you know wants to send me an electronic submission before April 1, I will read and respond to it. You can send up to 20 double spaced pages of prose, or up to three poems, to me at:

cwir@canauthorsalberta.ca

Further information about the program can be found at the CAA Alberta branch website.

Over and out for now. Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Writers’ Weekend 2011 at Calgary Public Library was “an outstanding success”, in the words of one of the organizers, and I couldn’t agree more. It was great to see so many people come out on kind of a miserable February morning and share their passion for the written word with us. I think Rona and I had about 200 in our session, and I hear there were more than 600 total registrations for the day’s events. That’s not even including the folks who just showed up. A lot of fun! So thanks again to Calgary Public Library and our wonderful bookseller for the event, Pages on Kensington. For me, this event was the perfect antidote to all the doom and gloom stories lately about publishers declaring bankruptcy and the death of the printed book. 

There’s the poster for the reading I’m doing this Sunday night at the Auburn Saloon. We have me, the music of Morley Challenged and an open mic. I know a couple of talented authors are planning to read at the open mic portion of the evening. So come on down and read, if you’re so inclined. And if not just come and listen. I’m sure we’re going to enjoy ourselves.