It's official! Uncommon Magic will be launched at the 2011 Kingston WritersFest, Saturday, September 24.
The events listing will read:
"Join the current members of the Ban Righ Writers Group for readings to celebrate the launch of Uncommon Magic: Thirty Years of Writing from the Ban Righ Writers Group, published by UpStart Press in honour of Kingston’s longest-running writing group, started by Bronwen Wallace in 1981."
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.
This week, I will be sending out the call for submissions to all current and former Ban Righ Writing Group members. (That is, all the current members and all the former members that I can find! I am open to suggestions of former members that I may have missed.) I emailed a few former members before the holidays and all responded with support and enthusiasm, but I realize that there be some confusion as to what, exactly, UpStart Press is looking for.
So here is my attempt to explain it.
Like most projects, this one started as a flash of inspiration. I was walking through the cafeteria at work one day last winter and I felt, as I often do, pretty happy about my situation. I am one of those lucky souls who loves her job and her employer and I am very cheerfully and annoyingly proud to be a part of St Lawrence College and want to do everything I can to let it know how much I love it. (Let me temper this by letting you know I have worked for a few organizations I would happily watch burn to the ground and I spent nine months working for someone that would make Miranda Priestly look like an amateur. Perhaps some of my love for the college is in reaction to all the years I had to wait for something so good.)
Here's Miranda:
Coincidentally, I was also looking forward to my writing group meeting that evening--the group that gave me confidence in my writing, the motivation to get it published, and an introduction to my husband (and the other half of UpStart Press).
From there, things snowballed. You see, this writing group began as a creative writing course, taught by Bronwen Wallace, at St Lawrence College. It has lasted longer than any writing group I've heard of (most of my friends and acquaintances lament that their group only lasted a few months). It has spawned an impressive list of published and award-winning writers (as you will see when the book comes out).
This group is a testament to St Lawrence College and all it does for its community (and beyond), to the legacy of Bronwen Wallace as a mentor and teacher, to the generosity of all writers to each other, and to one of the finest qualities a person can have, persistence.
So, to all current and former members of the Ban Righ Writing Group, I ask you:
What has the Ban Righ Writing Group given you? Can you find some writing that represents that?
And if none of this makes any sense to you (or just need more to go on), please comment here or reply to my call for submissions and ask!
In a fit of enthusiasm mid-Publishing Certificate, I started UpStart Press as a one-woman show before I had even met my future husband (who, luckily enough, turned out to be a writer and graphic designer who designed, of all things, books!), and now it has become a partnership, and best of all, a partnership with a vision.
UpStart did enjoy a brief but frustrating stint as a vanity press. The least said about this, the better. This video might give you an idea of how it felt.
And UpStart serves If I Knew Then very well as its publisher, but vanity publishing and business textbooks isn`t what UpStart is really all about.
What it is really about is a project that is just starting now--an anthology of writing by members of what has to be the longest-running writing group in history. The Ban Righ Writing Group formed from a creative writing course that Bronwen Wallace was teaching in the early 80s. When the course ended, the group continued to meet in Bronwen's home. Eventually the group moved to Queen's campus, where it still meets weekly. Some members pop in and out; some stay for years. And one has even stayed since the very beginning, making her the Ken Barlow of Bauder Lane.
Many of the members publish widely and have built up excellent reputations, and still the little group soldiers on, meeting rain or shine, writer's block or not, without any recognition or attention.
Which is all about to change because UpStart Press has found its "project"--an anthology of fiction, poetry, and memoir and a testament to thirty years of dogged hard work, Bronwen's inspirational influence on other writers, and a stellar example of community.
Feelers are being sent out, an editing/production schedule is being drafted, and costs are being considered. Stay tuned.
UpStart Press was founded by Christina Decarie, writer and editor, and DJ Berger, writer, artist, and graphic designer, as a way to combine their skills and passions to further a love of the writing communities in Kingston, Ontario.
