Victoria & Islands Branch Meetings
Monthly Meetings
Fourth Tuesday
The Victoria & Islands Branch will hold a regular meeting on the Fourth Tuesday of each month (September through May) 7:00–9:00 p.m. See our Upcoming Meetings Schedule.
Open to All Writers
All writers are invited to attend our meetings. Meetings are free to CAA Members; $5 for non-members; $2 for students (with student ID).
Meeting Location
Meetings are held in the Sequoia (Board) Room at Goward House, 2495 Arbutus Road near the University of Victoria (Google map). Free parking is available and it is on Bus route 11.
Besides our regular monthly meetings, Victoria & Islands Branch offers Writers' Circles, workshops and other writing events.
Please contact us if you would like more information.
Upcoming Meetings Schedule
Meetings and Topics: Sorted by Date
- Upcoming meetings are sorted chronologically by date.
- Past events are archived after the upcoming meetings.
- 2009 dates were entered incorrectly but are now accurate.
- Please check back for updates!
June-August—Summer Hiatus
The Victorias & Islands Branch does not meeting during the summer, except for our Summer Tea social. Please look for us again in September, 2009.
Past Meetings
Archived events are sorted by date order (oldest at the top).
As information becomes available for the new year, the agenda and bios for meetings held in prior years are moved to the Past Meetings and Workshops page.
September & October 2008
These meetings were not held this year.
November 25, 2008—Blue Pencil
Blue Pencil Meeting
Bring out your best current writing. We'll work with each other's writing, noting what is working and making positive suggestions for improvements.
If you're looking to join a Writers' Circle, this would be a great opportunity to meet other writers.
Cost: CAA Members free; Non-members $5; Students (with student ID) $2
December 23, 2008—Social
- Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m.
- Place: Starbuck's in the Cadboro Bay Village, 3849 Cadboro Bay Road, Victoria.
- Cost: There is no fee for this social, but please let us know you're coming as space is limited.
We are meeting at Starbuck's in the Cadboro Bay Village for coffee and dessert.
Readings
This is also an opportunity to read. Come hear what people have been writing and perhaps share a bit of your own work. Each speaker will be given 5–10 minutes (depending upon the numbers) to read their poems, magazine articles, or excerpts from their books. CAA members will be given priority.
To reserve your reading spot please contact Russ at 250-592-6619 or .
Cost: There is no fee for this social, but please let us know you're coming as space is limited.
Our first Writers' Circle is forming. We have at least three people committed and looking for a few more. This social is an opportunity to meet with the participating writers and to introduce yourself!
January 27, 2009—What to Look For in an Editor
Deidre A. Hill will discuss the various aspects of editing and the criteria for selecting a suitable editor.
- Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m.
- Place: The Sequoia (Board) Room at Goward House, 2495 Arbutus Road, Victoria.
- Cost: CAA Members free; Non-members $5; Students (with student ID) $2
Bio
Deidre A. Hill is a literary fiction writer, editor and professional storyteller. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (Writing, Literary Fiction Major) and Bachelor of Arts degree (English Literature Major, Arts of Canada Minor) from the University of Victoria.
February 24, 2009—Marketing Poetry and CanWrite! 2010: Vancouver
Jean Kay will speak about marketing your poetry, sharing her inspiration and some of her poems.
She will also introduce the plans for CanWrite! 2010, the annual CAA National Conference hosted in Vancouver in 2010. The conference is hosted by a different CAA branch each year (we are part of MagNet 2009 in Toronto this year) and doesn't come this close to Victoria too often.
Each year the CAA hosts their national CanWrite! Conference in a different location across Canada. There is always a wonderful program for writers, including an Awards Banquet and our annual CAA Literary Awards—"honouring writing that achieves excellence without sacrificing popular appeal."
- Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m.
- Place: The Sequoia (Board) Room at Goward House, 2495 Arbutus Road, Victoria.
- Cost: CAA Members free; Non-members $5; Students (with student ID) $2
Bio
Jean Kay has been writing in the first half hour of every morning since August of 1993, and it has been a poem every morning since October of 1997.
Her book, Morning Light, was published in August 2004. Jean has poems in several anthologies including Handprints on the Future, a Canadian Poetry Association Anthology. Each month for the past four years Jean has had a poem published in a monthly newsletter. She has also been invited into classrooms on several occasions to share her writing skills with potential young poets.
An active CAA Vancouver member, Jean is currently Vice President and Program Chair of the Vancouver Branch as well as Conference Coordinator for CanWrite! 2010. She is also a member of the Canadian Poetry Association.
March 24, 2009—Writers' Blogs & Websites
Russ Harvey will discuss the value of websites and blogs to promote your writing and writing services.
How do you help people to locate your work? How is writing for the web different than writing for print? What content adds value and what detracts? Bring your questions so we can explore what's right for you.
- Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m.
- Place: The Sequoia (Board) Room at Goward House, 2495 Arbutus Road, Victoria.
- Cost: CAA Members free; Non-members $5; Students (with student ID) $2
Bio
Russ Harvey has been been building websites since 1994, including the CAA National site (now in the third generation) and a number of sites for writers and artists.
More recently he has been working with blogs as an alternative to traditional websites for writers and others to update information more frequently, yet brand them in similar ways to their websites.
In addition to creating original content for websites, Russ has published non-fiction articles on the Internet, computing, environmental and health issues.
More on www.russharvey.bc.ca.
- Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m.
- Place: The Sequoia (Board) Room at Goward House, 2495 Arbutus Road, Victoria.
- Cost: CAA Members free; Non-members $5; Students (with student ID) $2
April 28, 2009—Nicola Furlong
Nicola Furlong will discuss the challenges and joys of being published in both print and digital form. She will also offer specific advice on some of the elements involved, such as writing killer queries to publishers/agents, comparing print to digital publishing and the necessity for shameless self-promotion.
Have questions about publishing, writing novels or digital publishing? Bring them along to the meeting.
- Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m.
- Place: The Sequoia (Board) Room at Goward House, 2495 Arbutus Road, Victoria.
- Cost: CAA Members free; Non-members $5; Students (with student ID) $2
Bio
Nicola Furlong survives the travails of writing by playing hockey, gardening and eating chocolate. She is a shameless self-promoter, creates book trailers and is the co-creator of a new multimedia storytelling platform called a Quillr. Her first Quillr, a controversial suspense thriller, may be experienced at Here Ends the Beginning.
She is the author of two stand-alone mysteries and now e-books (Teed Off! and A Hemorrhaging of Souls), and six inspirational cozies from the Church Choir Mystery series (The Nervous Nephew, The Angel’s Secret, The Unsuitable Suitor, No Safe Arbor, Plots & Pans and The Sad Clown Affair). She has also adapted two of her novels to screenplays; both were optioned for television. Nicola lives in small town on southern Vancouver Island.
Look for more at www.nicolafurlong.com.
May 26, 2009—Writing Memoirs
May Q. Wong will discuss writing memoirs, including the various aspects that a writer needs to consider when writing in this genre.
- Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m.
- Place: The Sequoia (Board) Room at Goward House, 2495 Arbutus Road, Victoria.
- Cost: CAA Members free; Non-members $5; Students (with student ID) $2
Bio
Born of Chinese parents impacted by Canada's Head Tax laws and raised in the diversity of Montreal's "Main," May developed a strong social conscience. Educated at McGill and University of Victoria, May retired as a senior Project Manager in the BC Provincial Government and is now travelling and writing. First published in 2006, in a local magazine, she has completed a manuscript on the life and times of her parents and is actively seeking an agent and publisher. May will talk about the research processes in writing this narrative non-fiction.
Some interesting background to May's manuscript is posted on Ginger Post.
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Earlier Meetings Archived
Meetings held before the archived events above have been moved to the Past Meetings and Workshops page.
www.CanAuthors.org/island/meetings.html
Updated: April 28, 2009
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