"In an odd way I envy all future people who have this opportunity."

- Fred Stenson, CPL's first Writer in Residence, 1987

A pretty sweet place to come to work, no?

And that opportunity is upon us future people once again, 26 years later, as our search for the 2014 Writer in Residence is now underway. This program is run out of the beautiful Memorial Park library and I can assure the 1987 version of Mr. Fred Stenson — the envy is all ours.

Click here for full application details.

The deadline to apply is June 30, 2013.

Some of our past Writers in Residence, the envy of Fred Stenson, include Betty Jane Hegerat, William Pasnak, Cora Taylor, Yvonne Trainer, Joan Crate, Ken Rivard, Shirlee Smith Matheson, Faye Reineberg Holt, Rona Altrows, Naomi K. Lewis, George Melnyk, Darlene Quaife, Martine Bates Leavitt, Brian Brennan, and Gail Bowen. Bowen, award-winning author of the Joanne Kilbourne series, blogged some of her experience. You can read Part One and Part Two of her impressions from Gail's Blog. To find the work of some our past writers-in-residence on library shelves, click the book covers below. And stay tuned for the announcement of our 2013 Writer in Residence, coming this July.

Joan Crate

Gail Bowen

Rona Altrows

Naomi K. Lewis

Ken Rivard

Brian Brennan

Betty Jane Hegerat

“National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a nonprofit event that encourages kids and adults to tackle the challenge of writing a novel in November. Launched in 1999, NaNoWriMo inspires its estimated 300,000 participants with email pep talks, a huge and supportive online community, and a host of web-based writing tools. Additionally, volunteers called Municipal Liaisons (MLs) in nearly 600 regions organize local writing events and get-togethers that transform novel-writing into an achievable and fun community endeavor.”

Sign up today at the NaNoWriMo website.

And because libraries are the ultimate place to write - the domestic distractions of home are eliminated, the calm-yet-lively atmosphere nurtures focus, and you surround yourself with all the glorious material you could ask for in terms of research and inspiration - we are hoping that any and all Calgary WRIMOS come and plug in at any of our 18 branches across the city. Our doors will open 29 out of 30 days in November (closed for Remembrance Day) and on the 17th the Central library is hosting a mid-way convergence featuring two special presentations you won't want to miss...

CHARACTER CREATION WORKSHOP

November 17. 1.00 - 3.00 pm.

Join local authors Susan Calder (Deadly Fall) and Garry Ryan (Blackbirds) for an interactive workshop on making your characters come alive and about using E-Resources. Bring your questions and meet other writers. Everyone welcome. REGISTER.

eBook or Print?

November 17. 12.00 - 1.00 pm.

Consider both formats when publishing your writing. Susan Toy discusses the many changes in promotion and marketing that have occurred as a result of both methods of delivering books to readers. REGISTER.

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This is also a perfect opportunity to make use of the library's Writer-in-Residence services. Book your manuscript consultation with Brian Brennan today and get some free, professional guidance on your journey to 50,000 words. Mr. Brennan's residency will end November 30 so do not wait.

If you want to get some serious value out of your library card, there is a three month window, which has already opened, for Calgary Public Library members to take part in our Writer in Residence services. With financial assistance from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, we are quite lucky to be able to offer an opportunity for Calgary writers to pursue an appraisal of their work from a professional author.

This year Memorial Park library has welcomed Brian Brennan and this Saturday, September 8, we want to make it official...

Writer in Residence Welcome and Program Launch

Memorial Park Library
1221 2^nd St SW
No registration required

Saturday, September 8

2:00–3:30 p.m.

A reception will follow.

Here is a small sample of Mr. Brennan’s work:

How the West was Written: the life and times of James H. Gray	Boondoggles, Bonanzas, and Other Alberta Stories	Leaving Dublin: Writing my Way from Ireland to Canada	Romancing the Rockies

For information on submitting a manuscript and setting up an individual consultation, click here, or call the Memorial Park library at 403-221-2006

You may have met Naomi K. Lewis last fall through the library’s Writer-in-Residence service as she gracefully critiqued our manuscripts, imparted her experienced wisdom, and shared her work. Good things seemed to have happened for Naomi since the end of her residency, as she was awarded the Colophon Prize for Fiction in January and now, eight months later, I Know Who You Remind Me Of is ready to be launched:

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 15

SHELF LIFE BOOKS

(Corner of 4th Street & 13th Avenue SW)
2:00pm - 4:00pm

Original and effortlessly clever, the stories in I Know Who You Remind Me Of capture the sensibility of a generation with no cultural inhibitions to overcome. Naomi K. Lewis’s characters bear the battlescars of adolescence and early adulthood ­– scars left when one classmate impersonates another in Internet pornography; a lover donates his eyeball in the heat of passion; sibling rivalry escalates into a low orbit. For these characters, everything is straight-on, never coy, and often deliciously funny. Stories from this collection have appeared in the Journey Prize anthology, the Fiddlehead, The New Quarterly, and other journals.

Library copies of I Know Who You Remind Me Of are on the way. Until they come, click here to place a hold on Naomi K. Lewis' debut novel - Cricket in a Fist.

Read the Nook's interview with Naomi from November 2011.

I’ve never liked the month of August. Not sure why. Rather do July twice.

One reason might be that I just adore Autumn, and the similarity between the words (both with 6 letters, both consisting of 3 ‘U’s, both beginning with the exact same two letters) just makes me wish August was really Autumn so we could get on with the best season of the year.

The end of August will also mark the beginning of the library’s most wonderful service – our Writer-in-Residence program. Yes, and hooray, it’s back.

This year we are blessed with author Naomi K. Lewis, who will take residence at Memorial Park Library for three months to mentor writers in the community, review manuscripts, and provide constructive criticism during individual consultations.

Click here for Manuscript Submission Guidelines.

Click here for a list of all the other wonderful events, workshops, and opportunities coming this fall.

Whether you are a beginning writer trying to find your literary-singing voice or an established writer needing professional appraisal, don’t miss this 3-month window of opportunity to learn from the very best.

Get familiar with Naomi K. Lewis’ work – titles available at the library: