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Congratulations to Kevin Spenst, MFA Alumnus and first place winner in the poetry category for the Lush Triumphant Literary Award.
Lush Triumphant Literary Award
Congratulations to BFA alumnus Lucas J. W. Johnson, whose story was recently published in Speaking Out: LGBTQ Youth Stand Up anthology edited by Steve Berman.
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Vancouver Queer Film Festival
Elena E. Johnson (MFA 2009) was one of three finalists for the 2011 Alfred G. Bailey Prize. The Bailey Prize is awarded annually for the best yet-to-be-published poetry manuscript. She was also a finalist for this year's CBC Literary Awards.
Wade Kinley, a joint first year MFA student in CrWr and Theatre, has received an internship with the Lark Play Development Center in New York City.
Creative Writing Alumna, Josie Mitchell recently won a cash prize for third place in the Vancouver Cultural Centre's Young Playwrights Competition for her one-act play.
The Creative Writing Program welcomes Steven Galloway as an Assistant Professor to its prestigious Faculty Roster.
Congratulations to current MFA Creative Writing student, Kevin Spenst. Kevin has been shortlisted for the The Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry. The prize is awarded annually to the best poetry manuscript by an emerging Canadian writer.
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Creative Writing current students and alumni comprised five of the ten finalists in the EVENT 2010 Creative Nonfiction competition. Congratulations to winner, Chris Urquhart!
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Congratulations MFA student, Jordan Hall! Jordan Hall is the winner of the Samuel French 2010 Canadian Playwrights contest for her play, Kayak.
MFA Creative Writing Alumni to be published in Coming Attractions 10, edited by Mark Anthony Jarman.
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Creative Writing MFA student Kaitlin Fontana has been chosen by Evelyn Lau to share her Vancouver Mayor's Arts Award.
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When Random House received Creative Writing MFA Alumna, Carol Shaben's thesis manuscript, they didn't wait long to acquire it.
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Creative Writing Optional Residency MFA Alumna, Sarah Selecky's short-story collection This Cake is For the Party, has been long-listed for this year's Giller Prize.
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Creative Writing Optional Residency MFA, Krista Foss featured in the National Post for Journey Prize Questionnaire.
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Creative Writing BFA alumni, Paolo Javier, named Poet Laureate of NYC's Queen.
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Creative Writing MFA Alumni and students, Andrew Clark, Oliver Kellhammer, Alex Leslie and Mitch Miyagawa received honorable mentions at the National Magazine Awards.
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Congratulations to Creative Writing MFA Alumnus, Dave Deveau, who received the 2010 Gordon Armstrong Playwright's Rent Award.
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Creative Writing MFA Alumna, Susan Olding, received the Reader's Choice Award at the Creative Non-Fiction Collective ceremony at the Banff Centre on April 24th, 2010 for her essays from Pathologies.
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Creative Writing Student, Nicola Campbell made the 2009 USBBY Outstanding International Books list for her Children's book Shin-Chi's Canoe.
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BFA Creative Writing Major, Karina Melendez's poem, The Sound was Editors' Choice in Arc Poetry Magazine's 14 Annual Poem of the Year Contest and published in Arc 63: Winter 2010.
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Creative Writing congratulates MFA Creative Writing Alumna Melanie Little on her new position at House of Anansi Press as Senior Editor of Canadian Fiction.
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Current MFA, Rebekah Lopata's play What if I Don't will be presented at the third annual award-winning EBE Ensemble, festival of new one act plays in New York.
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Creative Writing students dominate the StudentWrites! Playwriting Competition 2009. Gillian Bennett took home first prize in the competition for her play 'Sick or Swim', while Brie Wittman and Shannon Campbell took home the second and third prize.
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MFA Creative Writing alumna, Elena Johnson, makes the shortlist for the Malahat Open Season Awards and the ARC Poem of the Year Contest.
Creative Writing Optional Residency MFA Student, Daniel Griffin, is a 2009 Finalist for the Journey Prize"
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Producer Michael Parker plans to use Comic Con award scholarship to obtain a Masters of Fine Arts in Film Production and Creative Writing degree at UBC.
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Creative Writing Arnold and Nancy Cliff Writer in Residence: Steven Galloway.
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Kazat Poet in Residence at the Historic Joy KogawaHouse: 21 year old Akerke Mussabekova is a third-year student in the translation department at al-Farabi Kazakh National University, the country's largest and premier university, situated in Almaty. She is being hosted by Historic Joy Kogawa House and funded by the HSBC Poet in the City cultural exchange program.
UBC's Creative Writing Program is sad to note the passing of poet and MFA Creative Writing alumna Kuldip Gill on Sunday, May 10, 2009. Her poetry has been published in numerous literary journals and anthologies such as In Fine Form: The Canadian Book of Form Poetry and Red Silk: An Anthology of South Asian Canadian Women Poets.
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UBC MFA in Creative Writing alumni Robert Paul Weston’s book, Zorgamazoo, named one of the Top 10 First Novels for Youth: 2008.
Read more or
visit the Zorgamazoo web site.
After a successful launch this past fall, the UBC Alumni Book Club is back for 2009.
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Creative Writing MFA Alumna, Clea Young was recently nominated for the $10,000 McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize for her short story Chaperone, published in Grain Magazine. This prize recognizes excellence in an emerging writer who has published a short story from an in-progress novel in a Canadian literary journal.
More on the Writers’ Trust of Canada and the McClelland and Stewart Journey Prize>
Creative Writing MFA alumnus, Lee Henderson, received a nomination for the 2008 Writers’ Trust Awards for his novel The Man Game. Henderson, who will be competing with award winning authors for this $25,000 fiction prize won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award for The Broken Record Technique.
More on the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize>
Short story, “The Riot and a Girl” written by University of British Columbia MFA Creative Writing alumna Tsering Lama, was nominated by the Malahat Review to be published in The Journey Prize Stories 20, an anthology that showcases the best of Canada’s new writers.
Click here for more information on the Journey Prize>
Former Creative Writing Writer in Residence, Miriam Toews receives a nomination for the 2008 Writers’ Trust Awards for her novel The Flying Troutmans. Towes, who will be competing with award winning authors for this $25,000 fiction prize won the Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction in 2004 for her novel A Complicated Kindness.
More on the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize>
Elena E. Johnson, MFA Creative Writing student, celebrates as her poem is published in the anthology Rocksalt – Contemporary Poets of British Columbia as well as an honorable mention in THIS magazine’s Great Canadian Literary Hunt (2008).
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UBC's Creative Writing Program is sad to note the passing of Ted Rogers, President and CEO of Rogers Communications, a company that has supported our work in Creative Writing.
Creative Writing Instructor, Deborah Campbell takes gold at the 33rd Annual National Magazine Awards.
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Recently, Maclean’s magazine published a provocative article titled “Too Asian?”. Monica Martinez reports on UBC’s video response to the article.
Click here to view BCIT video report
Congratulations MFA student, Jordan Hall! Jordan Hall is the winner of the Samuel French 2010 Canadian Playwrights contest for her play, Kayak.
Creative Writing Students respond to Maclean's "Too Asian".
Creative Writing MFA student Kaitlin Fontana has been chosen by Evelyn Lau to share her Vancouver Mayor's Arts Award.
Creative Writing Optional Residency MFA, Krista Foss featured in the National Post for Journey Prize Questionnaire.
The Creative Writing Program congratulates the 10 Creative Writing MFA students whose applications for the Canada Graduate Scholarships were successful. Each student has been awarded $17,500 from the SSHRC Program: Andrea Bennett, Emily Davidson, Michelle Deines, Kimberley Fu, Lucie Krajca, Daniel Otis, Sigal Samuel, Jeffery Stautz, Natalie Thompson and Chris Urquhart. Additionally, the Creative Writing Program congratulates Creative Writing MFA student, Nicola Campbell, who received a Pacific Century Scholarship as well as a partial Aboriginal Graduate Fellowship totaling $17,000.
Creative Writing MFA student, Karen Shklanka's new book, "Sumac's Red Arms", is a finalist in the poetry section of the Foreward Magazine Book of the Year Awards.
For more info visit:
Creative Writing Student, Nicola Campbell made the 2009 USBBY Outstanding International Books list for her Children's book Shin-Chi's Canoe.
BFA Creative Writing Major, Karina Melendez's poem, The Sound was Editors' Choice in Arc Poetry Magazine's 14 Annual Poem of the Year Contest and published in Arc 63: Winter 2010.
Current MFA, Rebekah Lopata's play What if I Don't will be presented at the third annual award-winning EBE Ensemble, festival of new one act plays in New York.
UBC Creative Writing students, Lenore Rowntree, Meredith Hambrock and Teri Leah Armitage shortlisted for the 2009 CBC Literary Awards.
Creative Writing students dominate the StudentWrites! Playwriting Competition 2009. Gillian Bennett took home first prize in the competition for her play 'Sick or Swim', while Brie Wittman and Shannon Campbell took home the second and third prize.
For more info, visit www.greenthumb.bc.ca
Creative Writing Optional Residency MFA Student, Daniel Griffin, is a 2009 Finalist for the Journey Prize"
Nicola Campbell, Creative Writing MFA (and BFA alumna), has won the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award in the English-language for "Shin-Chi's Canoe."
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Click here to read more on Nicola's book
UBC Creative Writing In-house Literary Magazine, PRISM international celebrates it's 50th Anniversary this year.
A short film, based on the children's book written by Creative Writing MFA student, Nicola Campbell will be screened at the 2009 Vancouver International Film Festival.
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"Shi-shi-etko" to Screen at the
2009 Vancouver International Film Festival
Vancouver, BCŠMonkey Ink Media Inc. is excited to announce that the short film Shi-shi-etko has been invited to screen as part of the 2009 Vancouver International Film Festival as part of the Canadian Images program on October 14th at Tue, Oct 13th 9:15pm and Wed, Oct 14th 4:00pm at the Pacific Cinematheque.
Shi-shi-etko follows a six year old Native girl in her last four days before she is taken to residential school. Each day she spends with a family member, each of whom remind her of the importance of remembering who she is.
Shi-shi-etko was filmed in traditional Sto:lo territory, in the Sto:lo language of Halq'emeylem (English Subtitles). The Producer and Director, along with the primarily Sto:lo cast, had the daunting task of bringing to life the authenticity of the Sto:lo culture and language by working with language instructors and the community.
With the support of the Sto:lo Nation, the film will now be a part of language kits and used as a teaching aid in elementary schools to increase knowledge about the Residential School tragedy of Canada.
Shi-shi-etko received three LEO Award nominations including Best Cinematography, Best Musical Score and Best Performance by a Female in a Short Drama for Ta'kaiya Blaney.
Monkey Ink Media presents a Kate Kroll film, Starring Ta'Kaiya Blaney, Lee Provost, Inez Jasper, Rita Pete Written By Marilyn Thomas & Kate Kroll, Based on the childrens book Shi-shi-etko written by Nicola Campbell, Director of Photography Danny Nowak, Production Designer Darren Sasges, Music By Hal Beckett, Edited by Thomas Sabinsky .
Shi-shi-etko was produced in association with Bravo!FACT , the BC Arts Council and Kickstart - a Program funded by the Director's Guild of Canada, BC District Council and British Columbia Film.
Producer Michael Parker plans to use the scholarship to obtain a Masters of Fine Arts in Film Production and Creative Writing degree at UBC.
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Vancouver filmmakers win $10,000 scholarships, Comic Con award
By Craig Takeuchi
Georgia Straight
Congrats go out to two local filmmakers have been named the inaugural winners of $10,000 Daryl Duke scholarships that will go towards furthering their education.
The scholarship is named after Daryl Duke, an Emmy Award–winning director and producer who worked at the NFB and CBC, is best known for directing the TV miniseries The Thorn Birds , and also founded the independent Vancouver TV station CKVU in 1976. He died in 2006 at the age of 77.
The first of the two recipients is writer, director, and producer Michael Parker, who is planning to use the scholarship to obtain a Masters of Fine Arts in Film Production and Creative Writing degree at UBC.
The other recipient is director of photography and producer Amy Belling will apply the award toward completing her Masters of Fine Arts in Cinematography at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles.
Belling helped found the UBC Film Alumni Association, which helped to save the UBC Film Production program from being cancelled.
Watch the trailer for "Hirsute".
Belling's on an award-winning roll at the moment, it seems. She was also the producer of "Hirsute", a short film about time travel written and directed by fellow Vancouver filmmaker A.J. Bond. The film scooped up the best science fiction/fantasy film award at the 2009 Comic Con International Independent Film Festival in San Diego this past weekend.
If you want to see how A.J. Bond achieved the smooth-skinned appearance he features in his short film (a much more mind-boggling technique than the time-traveling process), watch this short clip of his body waxing experience (which doesn't appear quite as traumatic as the one in The 40-Year-Old Virgin ):
For further reading: please click here
Maureen Medved, Assistant Professor's novel, and Catherine Banks, Master of Fine Arts student in Creative Writing in the University of British Columbia’s Creative Writing Program, are both celebrating their 2008 Governor General’s Literary Awards after yesterday’s announcement from the Canada Council for the Arts.
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UBC Creative Writing celebrates professor and student’s Governor General Literary Awards
Maureen Medved, Assistant Professor, and Catherine Banks, Master of Fine Arts student in Creative Writing in the University of British Columbia’s Creative Writing Program, are both celebrating their 2008 Governor General’s Literacy Awards after yesterday’s announcement from the Canada Council for the Arts.
“I am absolutely thrilled with the translation, with the work of the translators, Louise Chabalier and Claire Chabalier, and with the award,” remarked Medved.
Maureen Medved’s novel, The Tracey Fragments, received the Governor General’s award in the French translation category. Earlier this year, The Tracy Fragments was adapted into a film staring Oscar and Golden Globe nominated actress Ellen Page and was nominated for six Genies.
“It's so fantastic to watch Tracey as she embarks on her many journeys since her birth,” Medved added. “I am especially grateful to the publishers -- both the original publisher, House of Anansi, as well as the publisher of the translation, Les Allusifs, and all the people along my own journey who believed in Tracey and this book.”
Keith Maillard, Chair of UBC’s Creative Writing program affirmed, “The award that Maureen Medved’s novel received is a strong reflection of the international success her book has achieved.” Maillard adds, “That success also reflects of the level of experience embodied by the professors who teach in UBC’s Creative Writing Program.”
Catherine Banks received her award in the Drama category for her play titled Bone Cage. Banks is currently a student in the Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts Optional Residency program.
“Creative Writing students and alumni, such as Banks, continue to demonstrate the traditional excellence of our program,” explained Maillard. “Banks’ award also testifies to the power of our on-line program – the MFA Optional Residency Program to attract remarkable students to UBC.”
The 2008 Governor General’s Literacy Awards, which are funded, administered and promoted by the Canada Council, are given in the categories of fiction, poetry, drama, non-fiction, children’s literature (text and illustration) and translation, in English and French. This year marks the 72nd presentation of the Governor General’s Literacy Awards, Canada’s oldest and most prestigious awards for English- and French-language Canadian literature. For more information on the 2008 Governor General’s Literacy Awards and the winners, visit: www.canadacouncil.ca
The Creative Writing Program at UBC is Canada's premier creative writing program. We provide a uniquely comprehensive opportunity for writers to develop their craft within the studio environment, offering BFA and MFA degrees with study in nine separate literary genres as well as an innovative MFA by distance education. For more information on the University of British Columbia’s Creative Writing program, visit: www.creativewriting.ubc.ca.
Elena E. Johnson, MFA Creative Writing student, celebrates as her poem is published in the anthology Rocksalt – Contemporary Poets of British Columbia as well as an honorable mention in THIS magazine’s Great Canadian Literary Hunt (2008).
University of British Columbia MFA Creative Writing student, Christine Leclerc celebrates her recent publication Counterfeit, CUE (Capilano University Editions). Originally from Montreal, Leclerc now lives in Vancouver. In 2008 she completed a BFA in Creative Writing at the University of British 
Columbia. Her work has appeared in Dig, FRONT, FU, Interim, Memewar, Pistola, subTerrain, terry, and the Worksound gallery. Counterfeit, a collection of poems, illuminates a poetic landscape populated by an absurd cast of characters.
UBC Creative Writing student Gillian Bennett and her husband, Russell
Bennett, make the front page of the Georgia Straight with their show
Crude Love at the Vancouver International Fringe Festival.
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to read full story.
We have received a total $130,000 in scholarship funding for the academic year.
Congratulations to current MFA Alex Leslie for winning 2nd Prize in the CBC Literary Awards Short Story Category. The winning pieces are available through CBC's Words at Large.
Undergraduate CRWR student Anna Warjehas won second place for poetry in Vancouver International Writer's Fest contest.
Congratulations to majors students Christine Leclerc and Kate Mulligan, who will be receiving the Graduating Student Leader honour.
Camil Dumont's script, 'The Forest for the Trees', was selected as a script from the radio drama class and produced by Katie Fitzpatrick at CiTR. It's available online at www.citr.ca (click Podcasts, then Arts Express).
Congratulations to Marlisse Silver Sweeney, awarded a Wesbrook Scholar Award, one of only 20 undergraduates each year to receive this honour.
Applications for non-credit mentorships and evaluations in our Booming Ground program are being accepted now. Mentors: Anita Rau Badami, Robert Hilles, Gayle Friesen, Evelyn Lau, and Pearl Luke.
See the website for more details.
