Join us Wednesday, August 25th at 1pm for FBCW's Wise Words - Overcoming Isolation & Loneliness Through Writing Our Life Stories. This session is part of our Wise Words Program. A unique writing and communication initiative for Seniors in all corners of our lovely province. This program is Funded by the Government of Canada's New Horizons for Seniors Program.
Everyone has life stories worth telling, gems and nuggets from a treasure-house of experiences to transform into short stories, poems or thoughts to be shared, a catalyst for meaningful connection with others. Join authors Sylvia Taylor and Cynthia Sharp on August 25th from 1-2 PM for a fun and informative one hour hands-on session, to help bring your memory stories to the page. Connect with other like-minded people as we create over Zoom, coming together from around the province to share our voices. Bring a pen and paper or something to write with.
Register here (bcwriters.ca/events-for-writers) and a link will be sent to you. When it's time for the event, click on the link to join the live Zoom event. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Digital Doors Open at 1245pm! (Pacific Time)
Read more about our Speakers here:
Cynthia Sharp
Cynthia Sharp is a well-known and respected poet, poetry coach, author, editor and educator based in Vancouver. With twenty years experience teaching and tutoring language arts, creative writing and English as a second language, Cynthia’s positive energy and compassionate approach to learner centered education have made her sensory writing and editing workshops for the literary community a huge hit and key attraction at festivals such as LitFest New West, where participants drove in from as far away as Kelowna just to take part in sessions with her. She is sought out regularly as a workshop leader, panelist and author presenter for organizations such as the Canadian Authors Association, the Federation of BC Writers, PEN America, the Burnaby Writers Association, Girl Guide groups and college and high school classes, and regularly coaches grade 12 writing students from Fraser Academy as part of their work placement component to graduate.
Cynthia loves to organize and host events, helping communities, individuals and partners in the literary world connect. As the Greater Vancouver Regional Rep for the Federation of BC Writers, she organized a highly successful 2018 Books Alive publishing fair in conjunction with the Vancouver Public Library, which Jamie Broadhurst of Raincoast Books, one of the panelists, called “impeccably organized” in his thank you note. As a regional rep, she also facilitated quarterly local Meet ’n’ Greets, members’ book launches, readings and joint events with other art communities such as Artists Helping Artists (AHA) in Burnaby. In 2017 she organized and hosted a satellite version of the Denver Poesic Fest poetry and music gathering, broadcast live from the Tipper Restaurant in Vancouver, featuring performers from around British Columbia.
Cynthia is a full member of the League of Canadian Poets, as well as The Writers’ Union of Canada and was the City of Richmond, British Columbia’s 2019 Writer in Residence. She regularly judges contests, such as the 2020 Pandora’s Collective International Poetry Contest. Her poetry has been published and broadcast internationally in journals such as CV2, Friday’s Poems, Haiku Journal, Lantern Magazine and untethered and is used in classrooms through the world. She studied creative writing at York University and the Simon Fraser University Writer's Studio, and is currently a grad student at Goddard College, where she is on the editorial team of The Pitkin Review. Her resource book How to Write Poetry, with over 60 five star reviews on Amazon, was named Best Poetry Ebook by Book Authority, a list featured on CNN.
Cynthia can be reached at inthelightwt@gmail.com
Sylvia Taylor
Sylvia Taylor is an award-winning writing & publishing coach, author, editor, educator, and communications specialist in Metro Vancouver. Whether supporting others in their self-expression, collaborating in commissioned work or creating insightful commentary and reportage, Sylvia draws from her professional background in education, communication and administration.
With 400 magazine and newspaper articles in print and 75 commercial and business writing projects launched, she consults with a diverse range of entrepreneurs, organizations and businesses. She has edit-coached over 120 manuscripts in all genres and works extensively with Canadian and international authors through all stages and phases of writing and publishing.
Sylvia has produced and edited commercial and literary magazines such as Gardens West, SisterCycle, WordWorks and Barnacle Babes. She has also been instrumental in developing content and written materials for several historical and environmental documentary film projects. Sylvia was executive director, president, and regional rep of the Federation of BC Writers for thirteen years, and currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Arts Council of Surrey and is Board Advisor to ArtsCan. She is also an inspiring public speaker and presenter in conferences and writing programs throughout North America, and judges numerous writing competitions, including the BC Book Awards, Manitoba Book Awards and Nova Scotia Book Awards in Creative Non-fiction, and the City of Surrey Libraries Young Adult Writing Contest since 2004.
Her creative writing and poetry has appeared in anthologies and genre magazines in Canada and the U.S, and was shortlisted for the CBC National Literary Awards in creative non-fiction. She is a popular author at literary events, where she reads from her works and contributes to panels and Blue Pencil sessions as an industry expert. Heritage House Publishing launched her historical literary memoir, The Fisher Queen: A Deckhand’s Tales of the BC Coast, in 2012 (reprinted). Her second marine-themed non-fiction book with Heritage House, Beckoned by the Sea: Women at Work on the Cascadia Coast, launched in 2017 (BC Bestseller, 11 weeks).
Sylvia can be reached at words@sylviataylor.ca www.sylviataylor.ca
