Thursday, March 28 | Rose & Crown Pub at 1503 4th Street
Guests are invited to arrive anytime after 6:00 p.m. to settle-in, order dinner & socialize
Happy Hour ($5 drinks) is on between 6:00—7:00 p.m!
Readings & Panel Discussion | 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Join us for a spring pub night and enjoy six punchy readings from works on the go or scheduled for imminent publication. We will delve into a diverse array of subject matter and genre—and following the readings—WGA’s Samantha Warwick will moderate a discussion on the challenges and rewards of the writing life and creative process. Our writers will share tips that have helped them stay true to their words, move forward with their literary projects, and advice on getting published.
Irena Karshenbaum is the founding president of The Little Synagogue on the Prairie Project Society, a project that gifted one of the last surviving Alberta synagogues to Heritage Park. She’s given public talks on heritage resources in Calgary—and has written on art, culture, history and heritage for newspapers and magazines. Gershon’s Kiss is her first novel, currently under consideration with a publisher.
Ian Kinney has an MA in English from the University of Calgary and was Chair of Student Relations for CCWWP (Canadian Creative Writers and Writing Programs). His manuscript, “As a Result of the Fall,” was shortlisted for the 2013 Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry, and Air Salt: A Trauma Mémoire will be published later in 2019 by the University of Calgary Press.
Kat Main was a finalist for the 2018 CBC Canada Writes Nonfiction prize for her story, “How to Catch a Nightcralwer.” She’s previously been longlisted for the CBC Nonfiction prize, shortlisted for the Alberta Magazine Showcase Award in Fiction, and in 2013, she won the Brenda Strathern Writing Prize. A humanitarian at heart, Kat blends her time writing and working in the non-profit sector. She is currently at work on a manuscript of creative non-fiction stories about growing up in a family with poverty, magic, fortune telling, ghosts, addiction, and a real life murder mystery.
Bob Stallworthy has been a full-time, freelance writer for 34 years. He established and ran the WGA Calgary office from 1990—1996. Along with writing magazine articles and newspaper book reviews, he has four award-nominated poetry collections and one non-fiction e-book published. He has given over 250 workshops and readings in Alberta schools. He is a Lifetime member of the Writers’ Guild of Alberta.
Moji Taiwo is the author of I Give Because I’m Blessed, I’m Blessed Because I Give—A Chronicle of An Immigrant’s Journey, available on Amazon worldwide as hardcopy, eBook and audio book. During her 31 years of service with Alberta Justice and Solicitor General (Young Offender Branch) she has worked tirelessly to improve and positively impact the lives of young people and their families. She was the recipient of the Governor General’s Corrections Exemplary Service Bar Award in 2015, among many other volunteer services awards.
Erin Emily Ann Vance will begin an MA in Irish Folklore and Ethnology at University College Dublin in September. She is the author of three poetry chapbooks—and her debut Novel, Advice for Taxidermists and Amateur Beekeepers will be published by Stonehouse Gothic in November 2019. Erin was a recipient of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Young Artist Prize in 2017, and her writing has appeared in Contemporary Verse 2, EVENT, filling Station, Augur Magazine, Canthius, and more. She lives with her partner and many books.