At the OMDC "From Page to Screen" Event, 2017

Today my publisher, Robert, the owner of Bookland Press, invited me to attend the Ontario Media Development Corporation From Page to Screen event at the Toronto Reference Library.

Robert was promoting my book, Defending the Inland Shores, along with many others from his catalogue in hopes that one may be picked up as a film, TV series, or in my case, a documentary.

This event has been created to promote the adaptation of Canadian fiction, non-fiction and children’s literature published by Ontario publishers to the big and small screens. It provides a forum for Ontario film and television producers to meet with publishers in scheduled, one-on-one meetings.

In the past nine years, this event has brought over 60 works to the screen. Hopefully more will join that list this year.

Here is the poster from the event. Robert was quite happy to see that one of the books he published, Literia, was top and centre of it.

Here is the Bookland Press table. There's my book on display!

It was busy. We met with 16 different production companies ranging from film, TV and even gaming.

After lunch, there was an interesting panel discussion with the writers and producers of Kim's Convenience.

The Reference Library has a copy of my book so I took some time at lunch to go find it.

It was a long day and afterwards there was a reception with wine, beer and snacks

A long shot of the crowd.

Robert has a lot of follow-up emails to send today to most of the people we saw.  For me, there was one company that seemed interested in my book. All in all, it was a very interesting, enjoyable day.

The Writers Toolkit Workshop at the International Festival of Authors

This morning I attended a workshop at Toronto's International Festival of Authors called The Writers Toolkit: Improving Your Writing.

Your writing is good, but how do you make it great? In this intensive workshop, bestselling novelist Brian Francis and Simon & Schuster Editorial Director Nita Pronovost give you the insider tips and tools to take your fiction writing to the next level. 

The workshop will cover: 

• Beats in fiction 
• Characterization and exposition 
• Finding your voice 
• Avoiding unintentional repetition 
• Points of view 
• Showing, not telling 
• Style and sophistication 
• The role of an editor 
• The acquisition process 
• Book genres 
• The importance of story structure 
• Improving your prose 

At the end of the session, you’ll have valuable insight that will not only help you become a better writer, but also help get your writing noticed by industry professionals.

The workshop was to last three hours but there was so much material and many questions and discussions, we went a half hour over. That was not a problem and nobody left.

Brian and Nita did an excellent job in presenting the material and showing examples, both good and bad, on each subject.

I came away learning a lot and of those subjects I thought I knew, with a deeper understanding of them. Much of what I learned this morning will be be applied as I go forward in the book which I am currently writing and in each rewrite afterwards.

These workshops, I find, are very helpful but one of the things I enjoy most is getting together with other writers to discuss ideas and concepts.

It was a very worthwhile morning.

The "How to Get Published" Writers Conference

Today I attended the How to Get Published writers conference, which was put on by Writing Day Workshops at the Marriott Hotel in Toronto.

It was a full house as over 100 people were in attendance.

This is a special one-day “How to Get Published” writing workshop at the Marriott Toronto Airport. In other words, it’s one day full of classes and advice designed to give you the best instruction concerning how to get your writing & books published. We’ll discuss your publishing opportunities today, how to write queries & pitches, how to market yourself and your books, what makes an agent/editor stop reading your manuscript, and more. No matter what you’re writing — fiction or nonfiction — the day’s classes will help point you in the right direction.

The event is designed to squeeze as much into one day of learning as possible. You can ask any questions you like during the classes, and get your specific concerns addressed. We will have literary agents onsite to give feedback and take pitches from writers, as well.

By the end of the day, you will have all the tools you need to move forward on your writing journey.

There were 11 agents and editors on hand for writers to pitch too. I did not have anything ready to pitch so passed on this. The agents were:

• Veronica Park (Corvisiero Literary) literary agent
• Ali McDonald (The Rights Factory) literary agent
• Marisa Corvisiero (Corvisiero Literary) literary agent
• Stacey Donaghy (Donaghy Literary) literary agent
• Ellie Sipila (Common Deer Press) acquiring editor
• Moe Ferrara (BookEnds, Inc.) literary agent
• Rachel Letofsky (The Cooke Agency) literary agent
• Olga Filina (The Rights Factory) literary agent
• Sue Miller (Donaghy Literary) literary agent
• Chris Bucci (The McDermid Agency) literary agent
• Cassandra Rodgers (The Rights Factory) literary agent

It was a full day with very few, short breaks except one for lunch.

The schedule was as follows:

• 9:30 – 10:30: “Your Publishing Options Today”
  Traditional vs Self Publishing. Pros and Cons of both,
• 10:30 – 11:45: “Everything You Need to Know About Agents, Queries & Pitching”
  What an agent does. How to find one and how to pitch one,
• 11:45 – 1:15: Lunch
• 1:15 – 2:30: “Writers’ Got Talent: A Chapter One Critique-Fest”
  This was fun. Writers submitted their first page of a piece they are writing (anonymously).  It was read out loud to the room until six of the agents raises their hand and the reading was stopped and the piece critiqued. I learned a lot from this, which complimented what I previously was taught about the importance of an authors first page during the Canadian Writers Summit earlier this summer.
• 2:30 – 3:45: “How to Market Yourself and Your Books: Author Platform & Social Media Explained”
  How to approach and set up a platform to help promote your book.
• 3:45 – 5:00: “How to Get Published: 10 Professional Writing Practices That You Need to Know NOW to Find Success as a Writer”
  It is what it says. The top 10 best tips for being a writer.

Chuck Sambuchino was the speaker for the entire day and was terrific. He not only really knows his stuff, he is entertaining and funny while doing it. I was never bored. Chuck  also readily answered any questions from the floor.  If there was one he could not answer, he was honest about it rather than talking his way around it.

I was quite impressed, learned a lot and bought his book Create Your Writer Platform. It was a good day and I would recommend that if you are a writer and have the chance, go and see one Chuck's seminars.

The First Annual Canadian Writers Conference, Toronto

Today was the second day of the first annual Canadian Writers Summit, which is taking place at Harbourfront in Toronto this weekend. Over 800 people were in attendance. Last night I was at Lakeside Play Readings, which was an excellent way for me to start this summit.

I had a full slate of seminars ahead of me when I headed out.

My first session at 9:30am was That Elusive Writing Grant — Not So Elusive Anymore?, which was hosted by Francis Farley-Chevrier with Simon Brault, Director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts, as the speaker.

It was an interesting session explaining how the Trudeau government has increased funding for the Canadian Council, realizing how important the arts are to a nation. There was an overview of how the council works and how the new funds will be allocated. It was a bilingual session so we were issued translators.

Next up at 10:30am, in the same theater, was Libraries, Lending, and Payments to Authors: Challenges and Opportunities for Public Lending Right Systems Around the World. It was hosted by Beatriz Hausner, who is a librarian with Toronto Public Libraries and Chair of the Public Lending Write Program (PLR) in Canada.

Beatriz explained how the the PLR currently works in Canada and will work in the future. After we heard how the programs were operated in Latin America by María Fernanda Mendoza, International Consultant and former General Manager, Mexican Center for the Protection and Promotion of Authors' Rights, Mette Møller, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Authors Union, James Parker, Coordinator, International PLR Network, Arjen Polman, Head of Stichting Leenricht, The Netherlands and Paul Whitney, former City Librarian for the Vancouver Public Library.

Again, very interesting.

I didn't take a picture of my lunch as I was hungry and it was delicious. This was a terrific feat by the organizers, as usually dull bland meals are the order of the day when feeding hundreds. Attendees had their choice of vegetarian, tuna, beef or turkey. I had a turkey sandwich which was on marble bread with a tasty pasta salad and a desert, which I skipped (got to keep those pounds coming off).

My first after lunch session was First Page Challenge: Getting to Page Two (Adult Fiction).

First Page Challenge is a fun, interactive event where a panel of judges will share their on-the-spot expertise in a high-energy environment. Participants submit the first page of a novel or short story piece in the Adult Fiction category. These texts will be viewed anonymously on an overhead display while the judges give their impressions of strengths and weaknesses as it is being read aloud. This is a risk-free chance to see why editors put down manuscripts and why they read on, what agents look for in a potential client’s work, and what creative instructors really like.

The moderator would read the first page of a submission that would be critiqued by three editors. Some minor points would be made but it was fascinating to see how moving entire paragraphs around could vastly improve a work.

These tents were full of smaller seminars. It was a hot day but the shade of the tents and the cool breeze coming off the harbour made attending these very comfortable.

I enjoy science fiction and Robert J Sawyer is one of my favorite authors. Robert is one of only eight writers in history (and the only Canadian) to win all three of the science-fiction field's top honors for best novel of the year, the Hugo, the Nebula Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award.

Robert did a session on Diversifying Your Income.  He was introduced by Matthew Bin, past president of the Toronto chapter of the Canadian Authors Association.

Robert spoke of how writers can make extra money by giving talks, being keynote speakers and writing articles for magazines and other publications. He also cautioned on how not to be underpaid for any of these services. He is quite successful in these endeavors, especially in the area of speaking.

He's not one to stand still and was continually on the move and is a fabulous speaker. If you ever have an opportunity to see him, go!

My final session after a long day was What You Know: The Pleasure and Pain of Research.

Internationally acclaimed authors Marina Endicott, Greg Hollingshead and Nino Ricci join moderator Alissa York to discuss the role research plays in their work and in their lives. Through their fictional creations, these writers have explored territories as diverse as London in the aftermath of the French Revolution, Galilee during the lifetime of Jesus, that other Wild West known as Vaudeville, and 17th Century Native North America. Find out why they’re drawn to stories that lead them far beyond the bounds of “what you know,” and by what method (and/or madness) they make those stories their own.

Again, this was quite interesting to learn how the did their research, how long it took them (you research until you hear their voices), the value of visiting the historic places they are writing about and the importance of speaking to experts in the field ("I don't like talking to people, which is why I'm a writer", brought lots of laughs).

I had a fabulous day but some small criticisms. This is the first year and there will be some things to iron out for the next one.

One was that a session I wanted to attend, The Role of the Author in the Promotion of his/her Works, was entirely in French. If we were in Quebec I could see it but we are in Toronto. I used a translator for an earlier session and they were not available for this session.

The other would be the overlap of programs. Some would be an hour long and others an hour and fifteen minutes, which meant one had to choose whether they wanted to miss the end of one or the beginning of another. Also, kudos for all the sessions starting on time but when one ends at 2pm and the next one a person wants to attend  is in a different area and starts at 2pm, they are going to be late.

To solve this all programs should be an hour long with ten to fifteen minutes in between to get from one place to another, go to the bathroom or grab a water or coffee.

Still, all the volunteers were fabulous, everybody was very friendly, the programs well done and I came away with information overload.

I hope this proves to be a success and there is another again next year. I will surely attend.

Lakeside Play Readings at Harbourfront

This weekend is the very first Canadian Writers Summit. I am attending tomorrow, and tonight they hosted what they called The Lakeside Readings. It sounded like a good idea so I was there.

Playwrights Guild of Canada, in partnerships with Coach House Books, Playwrights Canada Press, Talonbooks, and Scirocco Drama, presents eight readings by some of Canada’s most well known playwrights. Catch a glimpse of theatre behind the curtain as playwrights read their own words. Hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar are available.

David S Craig of the Playwrights Guild of Canada was the host for the evening..

The first playwright was Nicolas Billon. He has written many works, had his play, The Elephant Song, turned into a movie, and won the 2013 Governor General's Award for Drama for Fault Lines. He read a monologue from his play, Greenland. After hearing the short reading, it's now a play I would love to see.

Next up was Lois Fine who had a long run with her play, Freda and Jem’s Best of the Week, which had a long run at Buddy in Bad Times Theater. She read from different parts of the play and in her short reading, I felt I already knew the main characters.

Kenneth T. Williams, a Cree playwright from Saskatoon, was up next.  He read from his play, Gordon Winter, which was so very powerful. This is a play that I think I would really enjoy.

Kenneth was followed by Annabel Soutar. In 2012, Annabel was commissioned to write a new documentary play about fresh water for the 2015 Toronto Pan American/Para Pan American Games cultural program, Panamania. She came out with The Watershed, which premiered at the Berkeley Street Theatre during the games. She read from that play and did a great job. I wish I had gone and seen it when it was on.

Pamela Mala Sinha was on after Annabel. In 2012, she won two Dora Awards  for best new play and leading actress for Crash. She read from that play tonight. It was powerful, not a play I would go see, but I would love to go see some other works of hers.

Donna-Michelle St. Bernard has many talents. She creates play, acts and is a lead vocalist in the folk/funk/hip hop trio ergo sum.She is determined to write a play about every African nation. Quite the task! Tonight she read from A Man A Fish and a play in development about Tunisia. I would love to see A Man A Fish. She was very entertaining.

The last playwright was Morris Panych, who in his career has won four Dora awards and two Governor General’s awards for The Ends of the Earth (1994) and Girl in the Goldfish Bowl (2004). He was absolutely hilarious. He read from two works, one that has been done and another in production, I didn't get the name of the play that has been done.  It was a great way to finish the night. I was in tears and would go see anything of his in a second.

I have never been to a reading before, but next time I hear of one, I will want to go.