The Club Ottawa Independent Writers usually meet on the last Wednesday of the month but sometimes Tuesday or Thursday, depending on availability of Room 156, at National Library, 395 Wellington Street. We gather at 6:30, and the program usually starts at 7 p.m. Members free; visitors $10. Also, watch for our valuable OIW Workshops. On Wednesday, April 26 we had a good, well-attended, fruitful "Open Discussion Meeting." Everyone had suggestions. George took notes and here are a few of the "wants" on his list: More coverage on radio, TV Joint meets with other clubs More high profile speakers How to get books into Libraries   See "Sell your book" A poem or poetry workshop Improve links to other orgs More reading nights Exec. panel to do promotion More space at Book Fair Work with Wood show Continue Gems and Jewels More coverage with schools Meet with Friends of Library Continue Bragging times Thursday evening, May 25, at 7:30 in the National Library Ottawa Literary Awards Ceremony. Free Admission INVITATION for OIW members. Tuesday, May 30 "Retailing Night" - Raymond Coderre, (OIW Director, publisher and book-store operator) and Mel Bond (of TVIDIA Corporation) will discuss new forms of retailing including online book scanning. This session should de-mystify much of the process of getting published, with practical examples of the traditional as well as the very new methods. Saturday, June 10, 9 to 4 Editing Made Almost Painless with Jon Peirce National Library of Canada, Room 156 OIW members $45., Others $55. Only 20 participants. Beginning to Intermediate level Workshop for those who would like to edit their own writing, but have found the process difficult. All who take this workshop will receive one free critique of their editing work. Anyone currently working on an editing project is invited to bring along a sample to discuss with the group. For more information and to register, please call Jon Peirce at 745-4970, or send e-mail. About the Facilitator: Jon Peirce, OIW past president, director of mentoring and special projects, has been a newspaper reporter, editor, professor of English literature and composition, researcher-writer-editor for the Economic Council and the author of over 200 newspaper and magazine articles as well as the best-selling industrial relations textbook, "Canadian Industrial Relations." For over two decades, he has operated a free-lance writing and editing service and now works as a labour relations officer for a large public service union in Ottawa. Thursday, June 22 "Reading Night" - This is your chance to read from your works in front of your appreciative and helpfully critical peers. Hearing what others are writing is always interesting and often inspirational. "Oh," you find yourself saying to yourself, "I could write something like that." New members are always welcome to join Ottawa Independent Writers. Current members wishing to renew their memberships can do so at any time. Membership Director is Bill Horne. OIW membership fees: One year $75. Two years $135. Family membership $135. Seniors over 65 yrs $50. Full time students $30. You can join at any meeting, or mail your cheque made out to "Ottawa Independent Writers" to OIW, P.O. Box 23137, Ottawa, Ont. K2A 4E2. If you join, after coming as a visitor, your first $10 admission will be deducted from your first year's membership fee. Encouraging you to continue to write and be published, is the growing number of like-minded, understanding Directors of this friendly organization who meet on the second Tuesday of each month. Next Board meeting should be June 13. To contact some of these folks who keep things going at OIW, click on their names below. President George Laidlaw Vice Pres. Ramma Kamra Secretary Sylvia Rickard Memberships Bill Horne Treasurer Robert Poitras Outreach Judy Lishman Social Madeleine Monsour Volunteers Joan Shouldice Publishing Raymond Coderre Promotion Randy Ray Web Site - Randy Ray Mentoring Jon Peirce Workshops Jon Peirce Retreats Pandora Ballard OIW Digest Rosaleen Dickson Capital Letter Rosaleen D. Members can have their best work published in our popular bound books, "Gems" and "Jewels." To be included, submit your manuscript now, on line, to George Laidlaw. It will be checked by our editors and if accepted they will be included in one of these books. For young authors, Ottawa Independent Writers recognize students who love to write by publishing their best works in two very special volumes to appear later this year. Essays, short stories and poems from elementary and secondary school students are invited until June 15. Contact George Laidlaw for submission guidelines and further information. Sell your book to Canadian libraries. Barbara Florio Graham has assembled a database of more than 80 main and regional libraries with purchasing power, which she offers as a zip file for just $25. Bobbi suggests that members who purchase this database could then connect with others to prepare a co-op mailing. Contact Bobbi (alias Simon Teakettle) by E-mail. or send a cheque to: B.F. Graham, 535 Charles-Desnoyer, Gatineau, QC J8P 3X4, or All OIW members are also invited to send poems and short stories, articles, reviews and other samples of their work to "Capital Letter." Our winners in the "What I Did Last Summer" contest will be honoured at the Award Ceremony highlighting Ottawa authors, Thursday night, May 25th in the National Library. Our contest judge, CBC's Mildred MacDonald, chose one first and a tie for second place. The winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony. The name of the game in the OIW is to write, and we try to provide various ways for members to see their work in print.

Members Emily-Jane Hills Orford has published her first novel, "Spring". With a little bit of mystery and a little bit of music, the book appeals to young and old audiences. "Spring" is available through canadabooksonline.com and at Baico Books on McEwen. Alberte Villeneuve-Sinclair just returned from a very successful four days at the Salon du Livre de Sudbury. People were enthusiastic and anxious to buy books from Franco-Ontarian authors. Liliane Gratton and Alberte were interviewed by Radio-Canada Nord and plan to attend next year when the Salon moves to Hearst. They found it to be a great experience. Randy Ray has two weekly features in the Toronto Star's Saturday ``Personal Space'' homes section. One, written with Mark Kearney, is homes-related trivia and the other informs readers about useful Web sites homeowners can visit to find information about home renovations, buying and selling homes, home furnishings, gardening and other topics. Click HERE to read the Obituary for Aloha LaFrance from the Sunday Citizen. Our sincerest condolences go out to Jules and the family. Sigrid Macdonald has just finished editing and publishing "In My Own Words" for Logan Ayre, a friend in Winnipeg who will be turning 104 in October! Logan remembers what it was like when his daily milk and coal were dropped off by horse and buggy, is one of the oldest living employees of the Hudson Bay Mining Company and one of the sole surviving witnesses of the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. An active member of the Unitarian Church and a staunch activist for civil rights, he wrote two books in his nineties but both were printed in spiral-bound notebooks. Sigrid decided to collect Logan's writings and publish them in a bona fide book earlier this year. "In My Own Words" by Logan Ayre is a fascinating collection of stories about racism, overpopulation, atheism versus theism, reflections on aging and recollections about growing up in Winnipeg. It is available on Lulu.com. "An Arranged Marriage", a short story by Radhika Sekar, is a finalist in the National Capital Region Short Story Contest. The winner will be announced at the Ottawa Literary Awards Ceremony on May 25th. Giving talks about his books, writing, and the OIW, George Laidlaw has been into 78 seniors homes, some several times, as well as the Abbottsford Community Centre and Kanata Senior Centre. At the end of World War II, a young Canadian prisoner of war was brutally murdered. The Canadian government never investigated this war crime properly. Peter Hessel did, 60 years later. In his book, "The Mystery of Frankenberg's Canadian Airman", he provides a blow-by-blow account of his discoveries. The book has been favourably reviewed, is enjoying respectable sales all over Canada and has been nominated for the Canadian Authors Association Award. Peter will talk about his journey of discovery, Thursday, May 11, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the First Unitarian Congregation Hall, 30 Cleary Avenue (off Richmond Road), Ottawa. For information cal1: 623-7820. The public is invited to listen, ask questions and Pter will autograph and personally dedicate copies of his book. Admission is free Among the eight winners in the City of Ottawa 55+ Short Story Contest were Ruth Latta and Roger Latta. They read their stories during "An Afternoon of Storytelling" at the Heron Road Seniors' Centre, on Wednesday, April 26th. With the other winners, Susan Avishai, Noel Taylor, Ron Dicks, Janet Last, Terry McKee and James Reid, they will be presented with their awards May 25 at the LAC. Mike Heenan has been editing OIW novels and memoirs at member-friendly rates and happily announces the publication of Elizabeth Wiebe's "ORPHAN" published by Raymond Coderre's BAICO Press. Some copies will be available at the next OIW meeting. Aloha LaFrance LaFRANCE, Aloha (Sharkey) 1931 - 2006 With her family at her side, Aloha passed away on Thursday, May 4 and it is with great pride that we look back on her life. Born in 1931, in Saint John, New Brunswick, she was the eldest daughter of the late Arthur Sharkey and Thelma (Best) Sharkey, and is survived by her loving sister Thelma Ann (Brennan). She is also pre- deceased by her brother Donald and her grandson Kirk Kingsbury.         She will be forever loved by her husband Jules LaFrance, her four children, Lise (Terry Kingsbury), Dave (Colleen Clark), Monique (Martin Damus), and Phil (Ruth LaFrance) . Her wonderful presence will also be greatly missed by her 9 grandchildren. Aloha will always be remembered for her caring nature and for involvement in the community.         She began her career as a Registered Nurse, completing her training at St. Joseph's Hospital in Saint John, New Brunswick. Following a move to Vancouver and a time as a psychiatric nurse, she joined the Trans Canada Airlines in Halifax as a stewardess. Later, she became a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force as a nursing sister and it was there that she met her husband Jules.         They married in Ottawa (1957) and began their family in Quebec City. Their next move was to Winnipeg where she worked with the VON, and in 1966 they finally settled in Ottawa. During her time as wife and mother, she maintained her involvement in the community through many career and volunteer pursuits, enlarging her circle of friends as she went. While in Ottawa she worked once again for the VON.         Many will remember her as a volunteer for Girl Guides of Canada, Empathy House, the Catholic Women's League, Ottawa Independent Writers, Valley Writers Guild, among other activities. She was, along with her husband, a long time member of the Lac Deschenes Sailing Club and of the Britannia Yacht Club. Just when most people would consider retirement a just reward, Aloha began a new career as an author. Many of her short stories were published throughout the Ottawa Valley in various publications, and she is also the author of two cookbooks, created to encourage folks to go back to simpler forms of food preparation.         During her illness, Aloha was cared for by her husband, her children, her grand-daughter Samantha and numerous caring friends. Many thanks to palliative care specialist Dr. Hurdon, to the staff at the Elisabeth Bruyere Health Centre and to all the health care workers who helped ease her suffering.         The funeral Mass was held at Our Lady of Fatima Roman Catholic Church, on Monday, May 8. Donations in her memory to Elisabeth Bruyere Palliative Care Unit Campaign or to the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated.

Etc . . . Professional artist experienced in book illustration. Ottawa artist, Hanna Alvarez-Blanco has worked 35 years as a professional artist and book illustrator, inclding children's picture books. Phone Hanna at 613-761-6172. (Thanks to Rose Salsman for this valuable reference.) HERE is a list of useful tools for writers. Thanks for this reference to Alex Binkley. Poetry On Line is yours at "Bywords" where they publish a monthly issue of poetry on line, a calendar of literary events, news about workshops, calls for submission and the printed Bywords Quarterly Journal. To find out about readings, contests, workshops, book launches, or other matters of special interest to writers in the local area, get your name on Patrick Meikle's Writers Deadline. Patrick, a former director of OIW, provides a comprehensive list which pops up in your e-mail. All you need to do is send him your name. Wednesday, May 10, 7:30 p.m., celebrate Ottawa poets at the Archibald Lampman Award Reading , 280 Beechwood Avenue. This wonderful evening of poetry and music is free. Westboro's "Rare Blend" will perform period songs. Prizes will be awarded to guests throughout the evening as part of fundraising efforts in support of Beechwood's Poet's Hill project. . . . For more information visit Arc's Web site or call Mike Heenan at 230-4640. May 11 to 13 - PWAC John Degen, executive director of Professional Writers Association of Canada, wants to make sure our OIW members are all aware of the Professional Writers Association of Canada's big conference events next week in Ottawa. There are plenty of events open to non-PWACers . He invites you to find the schecule of events in his Blog. Meanwhile, here are a few highlights: Thursday, May 11, 6 p.m. Paul Wells, (Maclean's) at the Delta Hotel. $10. Friday May 12, 6 pm to 7 pm cocktails, 7 to 10:dinner and awards. at the National Press Club. Keynote address by Dorothea Helms, PWAC member and winner of last year's Barbara Novak award. PWAC - Public Writing Workshops At the Delta Hotel Ottawa, 361 Queen Street Saturday, May 13‹ during the PWAC national conference 9:30 to 11:45 a.m. $20 Creator Copyright by Professor Michael Geist - Afternoon workshops: $40 choose from the following: 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. The 6-figure Freelancer by Paul Lima Blogging for Writers 101 by David Akin 3:45 to 5:15 p.m Way to Make Money Being Funny by Dorothea Helms Working the Web by Emru Townsend Understanding the Wonderful World of Book Publishing Double session - you may choose Part 1 and/or Part 2 Part 1 - Breaking into Traditional Publishing - 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Part 2 - Becoming the Publisher - 3:45 to 5:15 p.m. Presented by Julie V. Watson and Elle Andra-Warner Writing for Pleasure and for Profit Double session by Sandra Phinney - 2:00 to 5:15 p.m. Please send a cheque made out to PWAC to PWAC's head office. VISA is also accepted (by phone 416-504-1645). Payment is also accepted at the door. Saturday, May 13, Workshop, Fiction for Kids, at Algonquin College. Award winning novelist for children, Alan Cumyn, (The Secret Life of Owen Skye and After Sylvia). Cost is: $40. for Canadian Authors Association members, $60. for others. Contact: Kate Forder 513-5771 or e-mail to register. MONDAY, May 15 at 7:30 pm - CELEBRATE ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH A Literary Evening featuring Trillium Award Winner Wayson Choy LAC, , 395 Wellington. $10 / $5 Festival Members. Juy 1 is deadline for Cat Writers. Writers Group Seeks Cat-Related Contest Entries The international Cat Writers' Association (CWA) is accepting entries for its 13th annual Communications Contest for writers, photographers and editors in print, online and broadcast media published June 16, 2005 and June 15, 2006, regardless of CWA membership. Categories cover feline-oriented articles and columns, short stories, poetry, books, photography and video/audio tapes published in magazines, newspapers, newsletters and online. $15 per entry. Awards to be presented at CWA's annual conference, November 17-19 in San Mateo, California, in conjunction with the Cat Fanciers' Association's International Cat Show. For rules and entry forms, see HERE. Return to top