What Were You Thinking‪?‬ Dana Goldstein

When a group of creatives come together with purpose, magic does indeed happen. The Many Mothers, Seven Skies Anthology was first birthed as a play with a series of vignettes, musical performance and actors. The production evoked so much emotion in viewers and the creators, so the decision was made to reproduce the performances and stories in writing.

When Megan Freeman first started to write Alone, it was a typical middle grade novel. Despite some good feedback, the book never found its wings. She left it...ahem...alone for a while, and it wasn't until she took a workshop about novels-in-verse that the shape of what Alone could be took form. And then it took off.

When Vanessa Chan left her job at Facebook to get her MFA, she had no idea how to write a novel. From a throwaway homework assignment, the first stirrings of the novel she would write emerged. The Storm We Made went to auction, with 11 houses vying for the debut novel. It's not the typical journey, but it makes for a great conversation.

I had no idea how complicated translation a novel cou;d be. A ward-winning translator Susan Ouriou set me straight. It takes a level of dedication, experience and knowledge to esentially re-write a book from a langugage you;ve learned inot your mother tongue. Susan Ouriou does it so well, she has earned the Governor General's Award and was appointed a Chevalier in France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Find Susan and her work at any of the following websites:

https://www.attlc-ltac.org/en/translator/susan-ouriou-en/

https://wordswithoutborders.org/contributors/view/susan-ouriou/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Ouriou

https://www.fitzhenry.ca/susan-ouriou

https://www.reddeerpress.com/susan-ouriou

I already know The Taste of Hunger will fall into my top 10 books for 2024. I cheered for despicable characters, I wanted the best for all of them, like they were real people in my life. It's a magnificent read.

BIO: Barbara Joan Scott has been in love with words her whole life, whether as a reader, writer, instructor of English Literature and Creative Writing, freelance editor, or musician with a special affinity for lyrics. ​Her first book, The Quick, won the Writers' Guild of Alberta Howard O'Hagan for Best Collection of Short Fiction, and the City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Award for Best Book. The Taste of Hunger is her first novel.

She lives and writes in Calgary, Alberta.

Watch Wakefield Brewster in action.

Visit Barbara's website.

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Learn more and check out the ciourses and workshops offered by the Alexandra Writers' Centre Society.