Readings, House of Anansi, Roller Derby, and Government Funding

It's been an eventful week.

On Monday, I read at the end of year shindig for the graduates of U of T's Master's in English and Creative Writing. It went splendidly and someone mistook Jane Urquhart for my aunt. I think that's an excellent sign of a first-rate mentor. My fellows were smart, engaging, and talented. I will want their books signed someday.

More recently, I went to House of Anansi Press' launch of three poetry titles. Standing with some friends and avoiding the occasional broken glass, I heard Ken Babstock read from Methodist Hatchet, Sharon Thesen read from Oyama Pink Shale, and Matt Rader from A Doctor Pedalled Her Bicycle Over the River Arno. I also had some really excellent macaroni and cheese at the Victory Cafe, but the poetry was equally surprising, especially when Ken Babstock used the phrase "chicken-rapist" and made the room titter.

In derby news, I've ordered new skates and I've started to learn how to do cross-overs. Having a partner who played a lot of hockey has definite advantages.

LOCO London, my league, is having their first bout this Sunday. Check the site here. Working together with the Sexual Assault Center of London, LOCO has opened up last-minute tickets for both self-defense classes and a rocking bout. I've seen these women skate and it's going to be  gorgeous.

Finally, I finally checked my mail and I have a SSHRC CGS for the next three years of my PhD. I couldn't be more delighted to go to school this autumn with such great financial support.

In the mean-time, I'll be working on my cross-overs.

Reading in Toronto and on the Web

This Monday, April 25th, my fellow graduates of the University of Toronto's M.A. in English and Creative Writing and I will be reading at the Supermarket restaurant and bar in Kensington. The readers are seven young writers, all with gumption and talent.

Event Details: End of Year Reading - Creative Writing M.A. 2011
Supermarket Restaurant and Bar
268 Augusta Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Readings by Meghan Adams, Brendan Bowles, Elin Hellmark-Kristofferson, Kasia Juno, George Pakozdi, Annie Russell and Andrew Sullivan. Intermission performance by Kasia Juno.

The restaurant's event page is here.
The Facebook group is here.

Best of all? Watch it online here at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Monday night! You will need a Facebook account. Otherwise, you'll need to drive to Toronto.

It's my first public reading. I plan on wearing sturdy shoes.

Thesis Defended!

My thesis defense for the Master's in English and Creative Writing at the University of Toronto has concluded successfully! Dr Marlene Goldman as the departmental representative, my mentor Jane Urquhart and Michael Winter (acting as the committee head) all gave great feedback on the collection of short stories I did. Hopefully, I'll get more feedback from Jeff Parker and Rosemary Sullivan when they are available/in the country.

I am very excited and celebrating with chocolate and the prospect of video games once I'm home.

Next up: meetings with Jane and Michael to discuss how one courts an agent.

Huzzah!

For Crying Out Loud 2

This is long overdue, but I'm happy to mention that I've been published in For Crying Out Loud 2, the third release from Ferno House, a Toronto-based micropress publishing house. For Crying Out Loud 2, like its predecessor is a collection of fiction and poetry by current and former students of the University of Toronto's Master's in English and Creative Writing. This includes fine friends like Andrew Sullivan, Annie Russell, Brendan Bowles and Andrew MacDonald, who blogs here. And my contribution was poetry, rather unusually for me.

The launch was on March 24th. Copies are still available, I believe. Contact the fine folks of Ferno House if you want a limited edition featuring writers, several of whom are either up, coming, or both.

Thesis is in!

Officially, my creative writing thesis for the University of Toronto's Master's in English and Creative Writing has been submitted to the department! Written under Jane Urquhart's excellent supervision, it's a collection of twelve stories. We'll see yet what the department, including Michael Winter, Rosemary Sullivan and Jeff Parker, makes of it. The rest of my cohort have submitted their own monsters and made merry. Huzzahs all around.

This nascent blog, of course, is the next part.

Fresh From the CBC Literary Awards

On March 24th, the CBC Literary Awards were announced and I won first prize for the Bob Weaver Fiction Prize! I won for a story entitled "Snapshots from my Father's Euthanasia Road Trip, or, Esau" which be appear in AirCanada's in-flight magazine, EnRoute. Clearly, I'm as excited as at least two pigs in muck.

My profile on the CBC Literary Awards (along with an excerpt of the story) can be found here: CBC Literary Awards 2010: Meghan Adams