Monday, November 29, 2010

"Uncommon Magic" Cover Ideas

Some serious, grown-up covers:



"Colour," I screamed. "I want colour!"


And then I said, "I like mustard." And I got mustard.





Thoughts, opinions, ideas?

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Too many projects!

What started as one publishing project has grown into THREE.

1) Uncommon Magic: Thirty Years of Writing from the Ban Righ Writers Group.

We have a snazzy title, borrowing heavily from Bronwen Wallace's Common Magic, we have all our submissions, and a whack of contracts have been sent out to the writers involved. Darryl has some fantastic ideas for covers (that I can't wait to see) and I am gearing up to ask a very special someone to write a foreword (but she doesn't know it yet!).

2) Writing Lessons.

Last spring, Peter Darbyshire and I were Facebooking about his clever blog series in the Toronto Star. Overexcited and overcommiting (as per usual), I pitched Peter the idea of reproducing the series as a cool little chapbook. I was thrilled when he said yes. That contract is signed and Darryl has another to-do item on his list.

3) Lessons Learned.

A couple of years ago, a colleague and I pitched an idea to no one in particular, but we liked it and decided to run with it. We collected stories from college teachers about moments in teaching--moments that they don't tell you about in training and orientation--that make all the difference.We don't have enough material for a full-fledged book, so it, too, will be a chapbook. A student (who happens to also be a graphic designer) will do the cover and layout, and it will be launched in time for the orientation of new college teachers this spring.