Past Fiddlehead Contest Winner Announced as Regional Winner (Canada and Europe) of 2013 Commonwealth Short Story Prize

Photo credit: The Malahat Review

Eliza Robertson, winner of The Fiddlehead's short fiction contest in 2010 (published in no. 243) for her story "Worried Woman's Guide," has just been announced as the regional winner (Canada and Europe) of the prestigious 2013 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for "We Walked on Water."

In the press release, chair of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize Razia Iqbal said, “The short story is among the hardest forms to master. The five stories we chose as regional winners all pass the judges' tests of capturing a distinctive tone; creating fulsome characters; always deft in showing, not telling; subject matter both intimate and personal, as well as ranging across political landscapes. Reading them will transport you, as all good literature does, and introduce you to voices we are sure you will hear again.”

Recently, Eliza was also shortlisted for CBC's Canada Writes short fiction prize. You can read CBC's online interview with her here, where she names Fiddlehead fiction editor Mark Jarman as one of her favourite writers.

The winner of the Commonwealth Prize will be announced on May 31. Good luck, Eliza!

UPDATE! Eliza Robertson has been chosen as one of two winners of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize! The judges said that her story "We Walked on Water" is "an exhilarating story about the relationship between a brother and sister, both competitive swimmers. The descriptive writing is nothing short of strikingly beautiful, in terms of emotions felt, the natural environment and the structure." Congratulations from us at The Fiddlehead!

Announcing the Winners of The Fiddlehead's 22nd Annual Literary Competition

We're proud to announce the winners of our annual contest. The issue is hot off the presses and it's in the mail and on its way to newsstands. Our website is also updated with excerpts from all the winners: go check it out!

Writers' Federation of New Brunswick presents WordsSpring

Lovers of all things literary are sure to love WordsSpring, a three-day event featuring book launches, a writing workshop, panel discussion and open mic brunch.  Presented by the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick, this semi-annual gathering will be held in the Kennebecasis Valley May 10-12.

WordsSpring leads off with book launches at the Shadow Lawn in Rothesay, Friday, May 10, at 7 p.m. Many New Brunswick authors will read from their new works of poetry and prose.

WordsSpring continues with a full day of activities on Saturday May 11 at the QPlex in Quispamsis. A fiction workshop on story arc and plotting by Jennifer McGrath Kent will get the day underway at 9 a.m. Her presentation will be followed by a panel discussion on the writing life led by Robert Rayner, Lisa Dalrymple and Susan White at 10:30 a.m.

McGrath Kent will join Rayner and Dalrymple to give readings at 1 p.m., preceding a talk by Sheree Fitch, titled “No More Kitty Litter: Kid Lit Coming of Age in NB.” The event moves to the Kennebecasis Valley Library at 3:30 p.m. for a storytime, featuring WordsSpring’s children’s authors including Sheree Fitch.

WordsSpring returns to the Shadow Lawn at 7pm that evening for the WFNB Literary Awards Soiree, during which prizes are presented to winners of WFNB’s 2013 Literary Competition. This year’s contest drew 189 entries, the highest number in WFNB’s recent history. Readings will be given by the first place finishers, as well as Sheree Fitch and Riel Nason.

The next morning, participants will take a ferry ride to the Kingston Peninsula, where they will enjoy a meal and readings at an open mic brunch. The event will be held at the Kingston Market, starting at 10 a.m.

All events are open to the public and are free of charge, except for events being held at the Qplex. Those require registration and payment of $60 for WFNB members and $70 for non-members, Saturday lunch and Sunday brunch included. For more information on the event and to register, visit the federation’s website.

Now in its 28th year, with more than 300 members, WFNB is the only organization in the province that represents and promotes writers in all disciplines, at all stages of development.

Spotted today at The Fidddlehead office

It's officially spring here in New Brunswick, and now we have photographic evidence. We spotted this industrious groundhog today outside The Fiddlehead office window.

It must have got word our Spring issue is here! That's right -- we're preparing for the mail out now. Look for issue no. 255 soon in your mailbox, and come back soon for the announcement of our 22nd annual contest winners!

The Best Canadian Poetry 2012

It's still national poetry month, so we thought we give a long overdue shout out to The Fiddlehead poets who made it into The Best Canadian Poetry 2012 anthology published by Tightrope Books!

Six poets who first appeared in our pages made the final cut. Congratulations to Medrie Purdum ("Bear Room"), Shane Rhodes ("Paperweight"), and Ian Williams ("Missed Connection") from Winter 2011 (no. 246); Geoffrey Cook ("The Breakup of the Ice") from Spring 2011 (no. 247); Anita Lahey ("Care Package") and Ricardo Sternberg ("Blues") from Autumn 2011 (no. 249).

Still more poems from The Fiddlehead contributors made the long list. Kudos to Craig Poile ("Consumation"), Darryl Whetter ("The Softer Fossils..."), and Shoshanna Wingate ("Spring") all from our Spring 2011 issue (no. 247). And from our Autumn 2011 issue (no. 249), congrats to Shane Neilson ("Perfect Fatherhood").

Elizabeth Brewster Memorial This Week

Please join the UNB community as we remember Elizabeth Brewster (1922-2012). A special memorial will be held this Wednesday, April 24 at 4 pm in the Alumni Memorial Building, 13 Bailey Drive on the UNB campus in Fredericton. The memorial will be followed by a reception and, for those who wish, a visit to Elizabeth Brewster's gravesite at the Fredericton Forest Hill Cemetery. 

Brewster earned a BA from UNB in 1946 and was a founding member of The Fiddlehead; she received an honourary doctorate from UNB in 1982. She is the author of over 30 books of poetry, prose, essays, and memoirs. She is a member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, and a professor emeritus of the University of Saskatchewan.

All are welcome to attend. Click on the Memorial Flier for more details.

Elizabeth Brewster 1922-2012

Photo of Elizabeth Brewster courtesy
of Archives Canada. Used with permission.

There will be a special memorial for Elizabeth Brewster next week to acknowledge her special connection to the University of New Brunswick and her literary legacy. It will take place at 4pm on Wednesday, April 24 in the Alumni Memorial Building, 13 Bailey Drive on the UNB campus in Fredericton.

In The Fiddlehead's spring issue, due back from the printers very soon, we commemorate Brewster's career by reprinting several of Brewster's early poems that appeared in The Fiddlehead. Also appearing in no. 255 is a thoughtful essay about Brewster written by current UNB graduate student Chasity St. Louis. We're pleased to reproduce Chasity's piece, "Where We Come From: Elizabeth Brewster's Literary Legacy" here on our blog.

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Elizabeth (Betty) Winifred Brewster passed away December 26, 2012 at the age of ninety. An early member of the Bliss Carman Society, she contributed greatly to the founding of The Fiddlehead. Her death marks nine decades of literary involvement and excellence.

Brewster was born August 26, 1922 in the small logging town of Chipman, New Brunswick. Delivered by one of her grandmothers and given the name of the other who was on her deathbed at the time of her birth, she had a less than prosperous early childhood. Both of her parents were unemployed at the time of her birth, and the family lived a fairly nomadic lifestyle, migrating from one relative’s home to another until her parents found better paying positions at an army canteen during the war.

Brewster was kept out of school for a few years because she was physically frail and considered to be intellectually behind. However, this did not get in the way of her own personal education. An avid reader from a young age, she read anything, from literary classics to the pages of the Eaton’s catalogue, even epitaphs on grave markers when other material was unavailable. Brewster began writing poetry around the age of nine or ten. Her burgeoning talent did not go unnoticed — when she was only twelve, one of the poems her father submitted to Saint John’s Telegraph-Journal was published.