|
[25 Mar 2009|06:12pm] |
|
Pick up the March/April issue of Quill and Quire for a book review by yours truly.
|
|
|
[24 Feb 2009|08:39am] |
|
Last night I did a very short, but very sweet reading at The Poet's Haven held at the Upper Crust Cafe. The evening was hosted by a group known as the Stroll of Poets
|
|
| New project |
[15 Dec 2008|01:30pm] |
I've got a new project in the works with my friend Melanie. We have started a reading/blogging project and are reading all the books in the New Canadian Library.
Go to Roughing it in the books to learn more about our project.
|
|
| My new gig as a teen writing mentor.... |
[29 Oct 2008|05:30pm] |
I'm going to be the facilitator for a teen writing group in Edmonton for teens 15-19 years old!
The group is a pilot project in Edmonton, hosted by the Writers Guild of Alberta. The WGA successfully ran a similar project in Calgary and this is the first time it's going to be tried in Edmonton.
The purpose of this group is to unite teens interested in pursing the craft of writing; to provide a fun, friendly, safe and structured environment for participants to receive constructive feedback on their writing, involve themselves in literary discussion, take part in writing-on-site projects, and engage with like-minded young writers. The group will meet on a monthly basis, with the first meeting to take place on Sunday, November 23, 2008.
I'm really excited about this, as I really love teens and YA writing. I also have strong feelings about youth mentorship programs, since the youth mentorship programs I did at the Saskatoon Public Library and with the Saskatchewan Writers Guild were fundamental to my development as a writer. I'm really looking forward to this.
If you know any teens who would be interested in joining such a group, please tell them to email me at alexiskienlen@hotmail.com
Thank you to Kelsey Everton for asking me to be the mentor for this cool new project!
|
|
|
[18 Aug 2008|05:12pm] |
My story on the Association of Differently Abled Peoples Multipurpose Cooperative in Iloilo City appears in the latest issue of Abilities magazine .
It's not available online, but you should be able to find "Abilites" at your local library or bookstore.
|
|
|
[23 Jul 2008|09:59am] |
|
My story on my unfortunate addiction to Jon and Kate plus 8 is up on Pop Vultures
|
|
|
[22 Jun 2008|01:31pm] |
I'm a featured contributor in the July/August 2008 issue of Alberta views .
My story "Heart of the Peace Country" appears on Page 10.
|
|
| My new job |
[22 Jun 2008|01:30pm] |
|
I'm moving (again). I will be leaving Grande Prairie at the end of July to move to Edmonton. In Edmonton, I will be working for "Alberta Farmer Express", covering agriculture for Edmonton and the surrounding counties. "Alberta Farmer Express" is a provincial bi-weekly newspaper that goes throughout rural Alberta. I'll be working out of a home office, and am allowed to freelance as I see fit. I'm really excited about my new position, but will miss the people of Grande Prairie and my job here. Still, I'm looking forward to being in a larger centre, and being closer to my parents, who are still in Saskatoon. My decision to take this job is also part of a decision to start specializing in agriculture. There are few agricultural reporters, and I foresee a lot of demand for good reporting on the topic, as the food crisis and food issues continue to grow and develop. I'm really excited about the possibility of combining a knowledge in agriculture with my background in international development. In order to improve my knowledge, I'll be enrolling in a distance education course on Food security hosted at Ryerson University.
|
|
| School visits! |
[11 May 2008|07:34pm] |
This Tuesday, I'll be a guest speaker to two Grade 6 classes at Avondale school in Grande Prairie. My friend James, who is an old friend from Saskatoon, is a Grade 6 teacher at the school, and he asked me to come in to visit the kids and do some activities with them for their poetry unit.
I really love visiting with school classes. I usually read some work, and then answer lots of questions from the kids. Part of the reason why I love doing these visits is because I remember how important they were for me. I absolutely loved it when authors came to visit me in school, because I wanted to be a writer more than anything and was always ready and willing to soak up any information I could about the profession. I hope that my visits help encourage the closet writers in the classroom. I like to tell kids that it's okay to love books, words and writing. :)
|
|
|
[02 May 2008|08:31am] |
|
My review of William Neil Scott's book "Wonderfull" appears in this month's Alberta Views magazine.
|
|
| All quiet on the Western front? |
[20 Apr 2008|03:48pm] |
It may seem quiet around here but looks can be deceiving. Since March, I've managed to write three short stories and I've been working on some new poems as well.
I'm also appearing in a poetry event called "The Western Swing." The Swing will take several poets on tour to four locations in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Unfortunately, I'm not going on tour, but I will be appearing at the Grande Prairie event.
April 29, 7:30 PM - Tour crosses Alberta's western border for a reading in Grande Prairie at the Rabbit Hole Bookstore with Donna Kane from Dawson Creek, BC as well as Jenna Butler, rob mclennan, Alexis Kienlen, Catherine McLaughlin and Dymphny Dronyk.
Stop by if you're in the area!
|
|
|
[16 Mar 2008|12:57pm] |
|
I've got an article in this week's Western Producer . Unfortunately, the article appears in a section that's only available to subscribers, but if you happen to be in a library or near a newstand this week, my article appears on page 43.
|
|
|
[12 Mar 2008|08:50am] |
I recently joined PEN Canada . This was really exciting for me, since it was something that I've always dreamed of doing. PEN is an international organization that promotes the freedoms of writers, journalist and editors. In order to join as a full member, you have to be a published author. PEN Canada has done work to free writers who are jailed for their beliefs, and also works to support writers who must flee their countries.
PEN Canada also hosts fundraising events, writes letters to pressure governments, creates anthologies and raises awareness about human rights and freedom of expression.
Members include the Honourable John Ralston Saul, Margaret Atwood, and Rohinton Mistry.
|
|
|
[05 Mar 2008|12:35pm] |
Here's a piece that I wrote for a new business magazine out of Edmonton called Unlimited.
Read the piece here
And I also have a lovely contributor bio here
(Scroll down for that one)
|
|
| The past few months and the PLR |
[28 Feb 2008|08:49pm] |
2008 has already been a busy year for me. I spent the first few weeks of January taking care of some freelance work and preparing for my two week trip overseas.
On January 23, I gave a very successful reading in Vancouver in front of 70 people.
Following that, I flew to the Philippines with a group of 11 Canadian cooperators. I travelled to Batangas City, Iloilo, Oriental Mindoro, Naic and Pandan, visiting cooperatives and meeting with Filipino cooperators. The trip was an absolutely amazing and lifechanging opportunity which has given me increased inspiration and drive to write stories about peoples' lives.
I returned to Canada on February 11 and have been occupied by my day job at the newspaper. In addition, I have been putting increased effort into freelancing stories about my experiences in the Philippines.
****
Today I received my first PLR cheque. PLR stands for "Public Lending Right". The program enables Canadian authors to receive financial compensation if their books appear in Canadian libraries. My book appeared in 5 out of the 7 Canadian libraries surveyed, and my cheque arrived in the mailbox today.
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
|
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
alexiswriter's journal