WCDR Breakfast with Barbara Turner Vessalago

Saturday, January 8, 2011 - 8:30am

Ajax Convention Centre
550 Beck Cres
Ajax, ON
L1Z 1C9

Ah, the writing retreat – the creative cocoon that beckons with inspiration and time to delve into the writing process at a level that is difficult to achieve with the distractions of the everyday world. At the next regular breakfast meeting of The Writers’ Community of Durham Region (WCDR), to be held on Saturday, January 8, 2011, those who are wondering about the benefits of attending a retreat or about how to make the most of the retreat experience will appreciate the wisdom of Barbara Turner Vessalago. This popular author and writing instructor will speak on the many benefits of writing retreats, what’s available for writers in Canada, and why she considers the week-long residential writing workshop “the absolute hands-down best way I know to teach writing.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Barbara Turner Vessalago is an author, a former journalist, an editor and a WCDR member who, for more than 20 years, has taught Freefall Writing Workshops in retreat settings, privately and through universities in Canada, the US, Europe, Australia, and Indonesia. Her novel No News But Kindness was a finalist in the Chapters/Robertson Davies manuscript competition, and the 2010 winner of England’s Short Story Radio First Chapter Competition. She has published two books, Skelton at Sixty (The Porcupine’s Quill) and Freefall: Writing Without a Parachute (The Writing Space),and numerous feature articles in The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, Quill & Quire and other publications. She has worked as an editor for Oxford University Press, University of Ottawa Press, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Holt Rinehart and Winston, and has a Ph.D. in modern literature from the University of Cambridge.

After the breakfast meeting, for an extra fee of $10 per person, breakfast attendees can take part in a mini-workshop entitled “The Biography Workshop.” Facilitated by Lesley Ann Marcovich, this workshop will empower participants to start writing their biographies or someone else’s with confidence and flair. Lesley trained with The Writing Institute in Connecticut, established the York Simcoe Writer’s Circle, wrote several children and young adult books, and designed creative writing programs at schools. She has ghostwritten many autobiographies. As an alternative, breakfast attendees may choose to pay $10 extra to attend a 15-minute, one-on-one blue-pencil session with an editor after the meeting. These sessions must be booked and paid for in advance by noon on Wednesday, January 5th (see details at www.wcdr.org).

DETAILS:

Pre-registration is required – deadline for registering is noon on Wednesday, January 5th.

Everyone is welcome. The January meeting will run from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Registration fees include a hearty breakfast. Fees are $20.00 for members who pre-pay, or $25.00 at the door. The non-member rate is $25.00 and MUST be pre-paid or WCDR cannot guarantee guests a seat. Ask how you can save by becoming a member!Pre-registration for the January 8th breakfast meeting and mini-workshop is required. Register online at www.wcdr.org, by phone at 905-686-0211 or by email at breakfast@wcdr.org, no later than noon on Wednesday, January 5.

The Writers’ Community of Durham Region (WCDR) is dedicated to raising the profile of writers of all kinds, and at all levels, by offering a forum through which they can find support, education and networking opportunities. As a non-profit umbrella organization, WCDR has worked since 1995 to draw together individuals and groups with common interests in promoting the art and skill of writing, fostering literacy, and providing moral support to members. Visit www.wcdr.org.