Middle River Community Hall
2656 Cabot Trail
Middle River, Nova Scotia

Join us for a new, mini-sized instalment of Beatrice MacNeil's popular Reading Céilidhs— words and music! To set the tone for selected readings by Beatrice from her own work, we'll have the music of veteran Middle River fiddler Maynard MacKenzie and, on the guitar, Donald P MacDonald.

Beatrice is the bestselling author of Where White Horses Gallop, which won the 2008 Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction and was nominated for the 2009 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Her short-story collection, The Moonlight Skater, and her first novel, Butterflies Dance in the Dark, also won the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction, in 1994 and 2003, respectively — making Beatrice unique in having scored three of these!

Beatrice has also written ten plays, several of which have won awards. Two, Company D and French Song, were adapted by CBC Radio, Halifax. The St. Ann's Bay Players performed Breach of Promise in 1985, and The Dream in 1995.

Born in Glace Bay, of Scottish and Acadian descent, Beatrice is a full-time writer. In 1999, she received the Tic Butler Memorial Award for outstanding contribution to Cape Breton culture, the first non-musician to do so. She lives in East Bay on the Island.

Tonight, Beatrice will read from Where White Horses Gallop, of which Alistair MacLeod has said, "Beatrice MacNeil has a brilliant insight into the souls of the wounded. This is a splendid novel." As well, we'll hear from Butterflies Dance in the Dark; Publishers Weekly wrote, "MacNeil's characters are imaginative and well realized, while the novel makes an effortless full circle."

After the performances, Beatrice will have books for sale and signing (bring yours from home!), and she'll take your questions. Later, join the performers for tea and a chat.

Admission is by freewill donation.

North River Community Hall
37 Oregon Road
North River, Nova Scotia
Phone: 902.929.2964

This will be a rather special satellite event, tucked inside a very special event for our community.

The Cape Breton community of St. Ann's Bay/North Shore, which includes all of the communities that encircle the St. Ann's Bay inlet, from South Haven north to Wreck Cove, has won the Lt. Governor's Community Spirit Award for 2011.

Sitting comfortably within this winning community is North River, home of our annual festival. We're extremely proud of our community, and so, during the celebration weekend at which Lt. Governor Mayann E. Francis will present her award, we will stage a new satellite event.

Join our Lt. Governor, and the whole community, for an afternoon of entertainment from two local arts organisations, our Festival, and the St. Ann's Bay Players.

For our part, the Festival has commissioned a new epic poem from festival alumnus Bill Conall. We invite you to come and witness the premier performance:

The Maiden Voyage
of the
Beautiful Wooden Sailing Ship
Built by
Local Craftsmen
in
St. Ann's Bay, Cape Breton

Bill was one of five authors shortlisted for the 2010 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour for his book The Rock in the Water (Hidden Book Press 2009). They had a record number of nominations that year; brace yourselves!

Under the direction of Bev Brett, featured playwright at last year's Festival, the St. Ann's Bay Players will present two scenes from Bev's acclaimed play Out the Meadow. This play was first produced by professional company Forerunner Theatre in Halifax, and was nominated for best new play for 2010, Robert Merritt Awards for Excellence in Nova Scotia Theatre. As well, we'll enjoy two scenes from Norm Foster's farce "Bedtime Stories".

Admission is free.

South Haven Community Hall
4411 Trans Canada Hwy 105 (just west of Exit 11)
South Haven, Nova Scotia

In conjunction with Cape Breton University (CBU), the Cabot Trail Writers Festival is pleased to present another in a series of creative writing seminars. The second session, led by CBU instructor Jesse Patrick Ferguson, focusses on poetry.

The workshop will include a review of the basics, workshopping, and a discussion about publishing your work.

Cost is $30 for this six-hour session.

Workshop Outline from the Instructor

We will explore the craft of poetry writing in a fun and casual atmosphere. We will discuss some of the basics of poetry (metre, rhyme, metaphor, form, etc.), and, to reinforce these basics, we will read some classic poems.

Our next task will be to workshop (share/edit) our own poetry. You will have the opportunity to share your poems, and to receive constructive feedback. Participation is therefore encouraged, but not mandatory.

Finally, we will discuss how to successfully send poetry out for publication in magazines, e-zines and/or books. Participants of all experience levels are welcome, though some experience of writing poems is preferable (please bring yours if you have any).

In this workshop, you can expect to become a better writer and reader of poetry, gain confidence in your writing and ideas, learn how to get published, and, of course, have fun!

To Register

To register, or for more information, please contact Dr. Sheila Christie, Assistant Professor, Department of Languages and Letters.

Important note: we will need a minimum of 8 participants to run the workshop, and we have set an upper limit of 16. Please let us know as soon as possible if you plan to attend!

North River Community Hall
37 Oregon Road
North River, Nova Scotia
Phone: 902.929.2964

In conjunction with Cape Breton University (CBU), the Cabot Trail Writers Festival is pleased to sponsor a series of creative writing seminars. The first session, led by CBU Professor Richard Marchand, will focus on short stories and non-fiction prose.

Richard will lead you through a set of exercises and discussions designed to help you go from initial ideas to complete narratives.

Cost is $30 for this six-hour session.

Workshop Outline from the Instructor

We will look at the sorts of considerations that are part of writing stories. How do we begin a short story or a piece of non-fiction prose?

1. The first thing is to find a topic. A look at the ways in which we stumble onto or perhaps more purposefully choose a topic. What makes a good subject? Where might we look for such a topic?
2. And then, how does one continue? How do we begin a narrative? What does the first sentence reveal? What does the first paragraph contribute to the story?
3. Now we start to look at some of the other elements. How do we introduce our characters? How does their description or general presentation affect the rest of the story? How do we build atmosphere? (What use is it anyway?!) How much description do we need?
4. What is the role of our own experience in all of this? Where does the imagination come in?

We will try, in a set of exercises and discussions, to get a sense of the ways in which short stories (and pieces of short non-fiction prose) are constructed, and what we want them to do, and we will look at some aspects of story-telling generally. Bring pen or pencil and paper!

To Register

To register, or for more information, please contact Dr. Sheila Christie, Assistant Professor, Department of Languages and Letters (+1 902.563.1156).