In this series, Northumberland artists share their views on issues related to the arts. If I’m honest, I write not only to satisfy an urge but to seek validation. I want thoughtful, educated people — like I imagine myself to be – to nod in recognition of what I proffer. I seek confirmation that my…
Tag: Writing
What’s Your Take: Have Publishers Outsourced Their Slush Piles to Literary Agents by Shane Joseph
In this series, Northumberland artists share their views on issues related to the arts. I spend a lot of time with the slush pile, mining for that golden egg. Shane Joseph It is now a given that you can’t submit work to a major publisher without going through a literary agent, for there are no…
Why Yes, You Are in My Novel by Christopher Cameron
A new year has begun and writers everywhere have renewed their resolve to get that book started, finished, published, or made into a Netflix series. My own book, which is currently someplace between being published and not being made into a Netflix series, is my first attempt at novel-length fiction. Writing it, I was surprised…
Art for Change: Dane Swan on Changing the Face of Canadian Literature
Poet and writer Dane Swan talks to NFOTA’s Kim Aubrey about his experiences compiling and editing Changing the Face of Canadian Literature: a diverse Canadian anthology and his vision for the future of Can Lit. Dane Swan was a visiting writer at the 2019 Festival of the Arts and will be leading a workshop and…
Calling All Writers, Poets, and Artists
Anthology 2022 Title: Hill Spirits V Submission Guidelines Theme In support of the Northumberland Festival of the Arts, which will take place across Northumberland County from September 16 – October 2, 2022, the inspiring theme for our fifth anthology is “Celebrating Resilience”. Consider the way a tree bends and flexes during a violent storm or…
Ringing in the New Year with a Renga by Antony Di Nardo
We “conversed” with haikus. His rushing waves; my mountain peaks. His response to tracks in the snow; my reflections on bird sightings. By the end, the renga seemed to have evolved organically of its own accord. Adding to it was tantamount to feeding a giant’s beanstalk, grown to reach the clouds and touch the sky….
What’s Your Take?: In Praise of Borrowing by Ronald Mackay
In this series, Northumberland artists share their views on issues related to the arts. Let us cherish the commingling of diverse cultures. As a Scot, I see others wearing tartan – “plaid” to Americans – and feel pride that the criss-cross patterned cloth associated with my homeland is copied and worn with pride if not…
The Dog As Muse by Susan Statham
This post first appeared on the NFOTA blog September 3, 2021. Born July 24, 2019, Artie, (AKA Arthur Conan Doyle) became my constant companion in early October. I’d met his dog mother, Bella, a year earlier during one of the ever-increasing vet visits for my fifteen-year-old French Bulldog, Janie (AKA Miss Jane Marple). “Ah you…