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Fortune Telling at Camp Wavelength

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Diaspora Dialogues is proud to announce our presence at the second annual Camp Wavelength, Toronto’s only music festival to offer overnight camping! From August 19 to 21, come explore a huge array of musical acts, from indie rock to hypnotic psychedelic, on the beautiful Toronto Island at Artscape Gibraltar Point. Stay overnight and embrace the festival spirit for days on end as nonstop music plays all around you.

As part of the festival, Diaspora Dialogues is hosting a Literary Fortune Telling event where our very own wickedly talented writers will call upon the stars (of great books) to answer any burning questions you may have about the future. There will be crystal balls, tarot cards, and stories older than everyone in attendance – the perfect companion to the madness of a three-day music festival!

Camp Wavelength 2015

There will be delicious food and drinks available for purchase, as well as art installations and performances by creative artists from around the world such as Cloud Nothings, Operators and Young Galaxy, to name a few.

For more information and tickets, head on over to http://www.wavelengthmusic.ca/events/camp-wavelength/

FORTUNE TELLERS

Sheniz Janmohamed

Sheniz Janmohamed is an author, artist educator and spoken word artist. She has performed nationally and internationally for over 10 years and has been featured at various venues including the Jaipur Literature Festival, TedxYouth@Toronto, and the Aga Khan Museum. She is also the author of two collections of poetry: Bleeding Light (Mawenzi House, 2010) and Firesmoke (Mawenzi House, 2014). Sheniz facilitates creative writing workshops for writers of all ages and is a Mentor-Artist at The Royal Conservatory in Toronto. www.shenizjanmohamed.com

Ibi Kaslik

Ibi Kaslik is an internationally published novelist, freelance writer, editor and teacher. Her most recent novel, The Angel Riots, is a rock n’ roll comic-tragedy and was nominated for Ontario’s Trillium Award in 2009. Her first novel, Skinny, was a New York Times Bestseller, was nominated for the Best Young Adult novel of the year by the Canadian Library Association (2004), as well as the Borders’ Original Voices Award for Young Adult Novel (2006). Skinny has also been published in numerous countries. A native of Toronto, Ibi teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies and works as an arts educator. Ibi has helped write, mentor and publish award-winning books for Inhabit Media, an independent Arctic publisher, based in Iqaluit and Toronto. She has a Masters in English literature and Creative Writing from Concordia University and travels to the Arctic from time to time.

Alexandra Leggat

Alexandra Leggat is the author of novel The Incomparables, and the short story collectionsAnimal, Meet Me in the Parking Lot, Pull Gently, Tear Here and a book of poems, This is me since yesterday. She teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, runs the publishing house Two Wolves Press and is at work on her new novel We Are Not The Fischers.

Andrea Thompson

Andrea Thompson is a poet, novelist, teacher, activist and mentor who has read and performed her work at venues across North America and overseas for the past twenty-two years. Thompson is the co-editor of the anthology Other Tongues: Mixed Race Women Speak Out, the author of the poetry collection Eating the Seed, and creator of the Urban Music Award nominated CD, One. Thompson is a graduate of the University of Guelph’s MFA Creative Writing program, and currently teaches Spoken Word through the Ontario College of Art and Design Continuing Studies and Creative Writing through Workman Arts. Thompson has recently released her critically acclaimed debut novel, Over Our Heads with Inanna Publications.  www.andreathompson.ca

Diaspora Dialogues is grateful to its supporters and funders who make events like this possible:

Diaspora Dialogues Celebrates Indigenous Literature at the Evergreen Brick Works

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Sunday June 19, 2016, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
North Pavilion sharing Circle at the Evergreen Brick Works, 550 Bayview Ave

Performers for Indigenous Literature at the Evergreen Brick Works: From left to right: Alicia Elliott, Drew Hayden Taylor, Gwen Benaway and Lee Maracle

Join Diaspora Dialogues for National Aboriginal Day at Evergreen Brick Works, for an afternoon of literature showcasing the works of Indigenous writers, poets and spoken word artists and their contributions to Canadian culture and heritage. The performers will discuss contemporary issues affecting themselves and their communities through the power and strength of words.

FEATURING

Alicia Elliott

Alicia Elliott is a graduate of York University’s Creative Writing program. Her writing has appeared in TOK 6: Writing the New Toronto, Initiations: A Selection of Young Native Writing, The Malahat Review and is forthcoming in The New Quarterly. She lives and writes in Brantford, Ontario, where she’s currently working on a feature screenplay and a collection of short stories about indigenous women.

Drew Hayden Taylor

Drew Hayden Taylor is an award winning playwright, novelist, scriptwriter and journalist.   He has done everything from performing stand up comedy at the Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C. to being Artistic Director of Canada’s Premiere Native theatre company, Native Earth Performing Arts Inc.  This October will see the launch of his 29th book, a collection of Aboriginal science fiction short stories titled TAKE ME TO YOUR CHIEF AND OTHER STORIES, published by Douglas & McIntyre. He was raised and currently lives on the Curve Lake First Nation.

Gwen Benaway

Gwen Benaway is a two-spirited poet of Anishinaabe and Métis descent. She was born in Huron Country and currently lives in Toronto. Her first collection of poetry, Ceremonies for the Dead, was published in 2013 and her second collection is forthcoming from Kegedonce Press this fall.

Lee Maracle

Lee Maracle is an accomplished, award winning author and teacher born in North Vancouver. A member of the Sto: Loh nation, she is the mother of four and grandmother of seven. Maracle is currently an instructor at the University of Toronto. She is also the Traditional Teacher for First Nation’s House and instructor with the Centre for Indigenous Theatre and the S.A.G.E. [Support for Aboriginal Graduate Education] as well as the Banff Centre for the Arts writing instructor. In 2009, Maracle received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from St. Thomas University and recently the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for her work promoting writing among Aboriginal Youth. Maracle has served as Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, and the University of Western Washington. She received the Ontario Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. Her works include: the novels, Ravensong, Bobbi Lee, Sundogs, short story collection, Sojourner’s Truth, poetry collection, Bentbox, and non-fiction work I Am Woman.

FREE ADMISSION 

A Word of Advice on Grant Writing

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With the June 15th TAC Grant for Writers fast approaching, Diaspora Dialogues asked TAC Dance Officer and Literary Officer, Timea Wharton-Suri, a few questions.

1. What is your role as a Literature Officer for the TAC?

The Officer helps guide applicants through the entire application process, answering questions before the deadline, providing feedback on draft applications, and then answering questions after the results are released. We also select the jury members once submissions are in. We review the types of applications received and try to find jury members who can speak to the diversity of work submitted. Officers facilitate the adjudication process, keeping the discussions as fair and on track as possible.

2. Are there guidelines for juries that help them determine which works carry literary significance?

Unlike project grant applications, where the applicants must provide budgets, contingency plans, justification for chosen contributors and venues, etc., Writers Program applications are quite simple and the jury mainly assesses the support materials/writing sample, which is the bulk of the application. The jurors are providing their subjective opinions on the strength of the writing given their experience. We change use an anonymous application process and change juries each round for this reason. We also endeavour to ensure that a diversity of practice is supported in each round, i.e. novels, poetry, short stories, YA, etc., but the ultimate choice is left to the jury.

3. What is the worst mistake a writer can make on her or his application?

There isn’t one “worst” mistake, as it depends on the type of writing being submitted, but here are a few mistakes:

  • Not using the entire allotment of space for the writing sample, i.e. TAC only asks for a maximum of 15 pages for prose and 10 pages for poetry, so use all of the space. Even though many readers have a strong sense of their assessment of the writing on the first page, they do keep reading on.
  • Submitting work with spelling and grammatical errors. To other writers, finding a typo and turn them off of the entire submission. Take care throughout your application.
  • Not selecting the strongest section of the writing as a sample. You do not have to start at page 1 – submit the strongest writing sample that you have for the current work, and make sure it gets to the point quickly. If you need to provide context for the sample, do so in the “project description” section.
  • Not having a sample of the current work ready at the time of application. Jurors want to see a sample of the current work, not a past work.
  • Trying to guess what the jury wants instead of submitting the work you believe in most. You can never predict what the jury will say, as the members haven’t been selected until after the submissions are in. Juries change every time, and in my experience, they are all quite different. Focus on submitting your strongest writing and nothing else. If you don’t receive the grant, keep writing and keep going. Many prominent authors don’t receive a grant until their second or third time trying with the same project, once it’s farther along in development.

4. Are certain disciplines more competitive than others?

Writers grants are extremely competitive at TAC, with a 20%–30% success rate, depending on the round. We receive mostly prose/novel submissions that are destined for an adult audience, but the grants are generally awarded in line with type of work submitted. For example, if 15% of the submissions were poetry based, the percentage of grants awarded for poetry is usually close to 15%.

We are seeing more diverse types of writing each round, with submissions following publishing trends. Genre-based work is gaining more acceptance in the community, and TAC encourages juries to treat all submissions equally. It’s not about what style the jury likes, it’s about the strength of the writing in the author’s stated style/genre/intension.

5. What advice would you give to a writer applying for a grant?

I would repeat:  Focus on submitting your strongest writing and don’t try to guess what the not-yet-chosen jury will fund.

If you don’t receive the grant, keep writing and keep going. You can’t receive the subjective artistic jury feedback, but you can call the Officer to ask if there were any suggestions to strengthen your application.

Reimagining our History—DD at Doors Open

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Canada’s defining attributes are its multiculturalism and inclusivity. Yet, we tend to tell Canadian history through the eyes of the white settler. For Doors Open 2016, Diaspora Dialogues has invited some of the city’s finest writers, spoken word artists, and playwrights to explore a moment or figure from Canadian history reimagined in a more diverse and inclusive lens.

10 a.m.–4 p.m., May 28–29, 2016
Old City Hall, Court Room 121

Readings will take place for the duration of Doors Open.

FEATURING

  • Alicia Elliott
  • Mia Herrera
  • Sheniz Janmohamed
  • Shaista Latif
  • Rabindranath Maharaj
  • Pasha Malla
  • Lee Maracle
  • Pratap Reddy
  • Kerri Sakamoto
  • Shawn Salik
  • Priscila Uppal

And more!

Remembering Rishma Dunlop

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It is with heavy hearts that we’d like to pay tribute to Rishma Dunlop. Rishma, who has been involved in Diaspora Dialogues for years as a mentor, writer, and festival participant, passed away in her husband’s arms on April 17.

Rishma was an extremely talented writer. In her lifetime she published five volumes of poetry, including Lover Through Departure and the acclaimed Reading Like a Girl; edited and co-edited multiple anthologies; produced a radio drama for the CBC; and contributed to numerous national and international publications. She continued to work on two writing projects—Love and Cancer in the Candy Factory and Dangerous Words: the Poetry of Witness—up to her last surgery in December. When she wasn’t writing, she taught the next generation of great Canadian writers at York University.

Rishma was extremely generous with her time and a great supporter of emerging Canadian writers. In 2010, she got involved with Diaspora Dialogues as a mentor through our short-form mentorship program. She contributed to TOK and appeared at numerous events while maintaining her busy schedule and raising her daughters—a wonder woman if there ever was one.

Thank you, Rishma, for all of you have done for Canadian literature. Our thoughts are with Rishma’s family, friends, colleagues, and students. She touched countless lives and we are so grateful we got the opportunity to work with her.

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