Meetings & Workshops

About our Meetings & Workshops
Meetings/Workshops Schedule - Past (Archived) Meetings

Introduction

Wednesday Evening Meetings

We meet monthly on the second Wednesday, September through June, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.). Our meetings are open to the general public and are held at the Alliance for the Arts & Cultural Events, Suite 100, 938 Howe Street in downtown Vancouver. Meetings include Vancouver Branch announcements and guest speakers (or events). There will be time for socializing (and book signing) at the end of the evening. We charge a nominal fee to non-members.

Langely Satellite Project

There is also a satellite project presented by the Vancouver CAA in partnership with the Langley Library to bring a prize-winning author to Langley for a reading on the third Wednesday of November.

Workshops

The Branch holds at least two workshops every year for which we charge fees. There is a substantial discount for our members.

Writer-in-Residence

If you want advice on your manuscript from an expert, Bernice Lever is our official Writer in Residence.

Meetings and Workshops Suggestions

Please contact or with suggestions for speakers or topics.

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Meetings and Workshops Schedule

Our scheduled meetings and workshops are listed in calendar order. Past meetings and workshops are archived at the bottom of this page.

Meeting: Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Jeff Young — Entertainment Lawyer

Jeff Young will speak on Electronic Rights for Writers

Bio

Photo of Jeff Young

Jeff Young received his Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia, where he also studied Commerce. He began his twenty-two year legal career in corporate and real estate law and ultimately focused on al law practice in intellectual property, new media, sports and entertainment. Jeff has spent the last two years as a legal consultant to the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, handling matters in his areas of expertise for the Cultural Olympiad, Cultural Olympiad Digital Edition (CODE), Whistler Medals Plaza, and the Paralympic Ceremonies. Other clients that have received his legal work include the OutTV Network, the Vancouver Whitecaps, Fox Family Channel and the Shaw Rocket Fund, as well as numerous independent filmmakers, producers, publishers, artists, writers, entertainers, new media companies and sports organizations.

As a post-secondary educator, Jeff has taught Film Law and New Media Law in the Faculty of Business, School of New Media at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and has been a guest lecturer at numerous events and private arts and entertainment colleges.

Website: www.jeffyounglegal.com

For More Information

For more information contact Jean Kay at 604-943-9247 or .

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Meeting: Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Julie Salisbury — Founder and Facilitator InspireABook

Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.

Bio

Photo of Julie Salisbury

Author of A Seven Year Journey Around The World — Discovering My Passion and Purpose Julie dedicated 2 years of her life learning all about how to write a book and self-publish it. In the process she discovered a passion for writing and teaching others how to turn their writing into a book! InspireABook was born and now she helps writers to become authors! Be the author of your dreams!

Julie began that book odyssey on a sailboat, after realizing she needed to do something more with her life. And more she did do. Seven years later, after her travels took her around the world to 35 different countries, she learned all about sailing, many different cultures…and herself.

During the trip, she made promise to her grandmother that yes, she would publish a book of her world journeys. This book became the launch for the InspireABook system once she experienced first-hand the challenges faced by writers.

Website: inspireabook.com

For More Information

For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .

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Meeting: Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Tim Taylor — Award Winning Fiction Author

Tim Taylor will talk about writing the Blue Light Project: novel research, generating first drafts, dealing with editors and various other anecdotes. He'll also read from the manuscript.

Bio

Photo of Tim Taylor

Timothy Taylor published his first novel Stanley Park in 2001. It was an immediate bestseller and a critical success. He's since published a prize-winning collection of short fiction, Silent Cruise, and a second bestselling and critically acclaimed novel, Story House. He is the winner of the Journey Prize, and has been finalist or runner-up for six other major national fiction prizes in Canada, including the prestigious Giller Prize. His work has also been chosen as the 'One Book One City' selection for Vancouver and named a finalist for Canada Reads.

Taylor has also been widely published and recognized for his non-fiction magazine and newspaper work. He's presently the Big Ideas columnist for the Globe and Mail's Report on Business Magazine, and has been winner or finalist in a dozen separate magazine awards, including a recent bronze medal at the Folio: Eddie Magazine Awards in New York.

Taylor is a contributing editor at EnRoute Magazine and Vancouver Magazine. He has also written for Institutional Investor, The Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, Western Living, The Vancouver Review, Toro Magazine, Saturday Night, Adbusters, the National Post, the Vancouver Sun and many others.

Website: www.timothytaylor.ca

For More Information

For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .

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Meeting: Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Ian Weir — Award Winning Fiction Author

Bio

Photo of Ian Weir

Ian Weir is an award-winning Canadian playwright and screenwriter. His debut novel, Daniel O'Thunder, was published in 2009 by Douglas & McIntyre, and has been shortlisted for four awards: the Commonwealth Writers' Prize First Book Award, the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, and the CAA Award for Fiction.

Born in North Carolina, he was raised in Kamloops, British Columbia, where he boldly told his piano teacher that he wanted to be a writer when he grew up. (Her reply: "Yes, that's a nice hobby. But what do you want to do for a living?") After working for several years as a newspaper reporter, he completed a BA in English at the University of B.C. and an MA in Medieval Literature at King's College, University of London. He wrote several radio plays for the BBC and CBC in the 1980s, before establishing himself as a stage playwright. His first full-length play, The Idler, premiered in Vancouver in 1987, winning a Jessie Award for Best New Play. He has since written more than a dozen other plays, among them Bloody Business, St. George and The Man Who Shot Chance Delaney.

Over the past fifteen years Ian has written extensively for television. He was writer and executive producer of the critically acclaimed CBC miniseries Dragon Boys, a thriller set in the world of Asian organized crime on Canada's West Coast. Otherwise he has written more than 100 episodes for nearly two dozen series in Canada and the U.S. Awards include two Geminis, four Leos and a Writers' Guild of Canada Screenwriting Award.

Ian lives in Langley, British Columbia, with his wife Jude and their daughter Amy. He continues to think fondly of his old piano teacher.

For More Information

For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .

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Meeting: Saturday, December 4, 2010

Christmas Gathering

Our Christmas Lunch will be held starting at noon at:

Cost: $25.00 per person (a choice of 4 entrées) includes a Caesar salad to start and a coffee or tea or pop or juice, taxes and gratuity. Members are allowed to bring a guest. Space is limited.

The entrée choices:

  1. Tuscan Chicken Pasta (tender chicken breast, feta, mushrooms, bell peppers amarosa tomatoes and bow tie pasta simmered in a creamy tomato sauce served with garlic panni);
  2. Roast Turkey Dinner (served with seasonal vegetables, stuffing and mash potatoes);
  3. Fish and Chips (2 pieces of our cod done in a crispy batter served with fries and coleslaw); or
  4. Blackened Cajun Chicken (crusted with our pepper and herb blackening spice then char grilled to perfection, served with seasonal vegetables, mash potatoes, and sour cream cilantro)

Please RSVP to .

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Meeting: Wednesday, January 12, 2011

TBA

The meeting details are not yet available.

For More Information

For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .

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Meeting: Wednesday, February 9 2011

TBA

The meeting details are not yet available.

For More Information

For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .

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Meeting: Wednesday, March 9, 2011

TBA

The meeting details are not yet available.

For More Information

For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .

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Meeting: Wednesday, April 13, 2011

TBA

The meeting details are not yet available.

For More Information

For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .

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Meeting: Wednesday, May 11, 2011

TBA

The meeting details are not yet available.

For More Information

For more information contact Jane Hall at 604-534-3456 or .

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No Meetings: June, July & August

There are no meetings held during the summer months, although the Branch does hold a summer social gathering for members and their guests.

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Past Meetings

Archived events are listed in calendar order. Current and upcoming meetings and workshops are listed at the top of this page.

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Meetings and Workshops from Prior Years

As information becomes available for the new year, the previous year is moved to Previous Year's Events. The Year in Review page contains a summary from earlier years.

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www.canauthorsvancouver.org/meetings.html
Updated: August 25, 2010