Pages of Stories Online Literary Magazine

I'd like to introduce you to one of AMPA’s newest literary additions, Pages of Stories. Originally developed by Darlene Poier and her husband Gary, Pages of Stories brings an abundance of short stories to each issue. It’s based out of a small town magazine situated in Crossfield, Alberta, but this digital magazine has big dreams: “We are situated in a little town in Alberta, Canada but we aim to have our published stories come from all over the world.” (As a side note: I grew up in a small West coast town and, not to brag or anything, we brought you The Beachcombers series and Charlie St. Cloud.) 

If you’d like a sneak peek of the magazine, check out the Bits of Pages section. Be forewarned, you might just get hooked and subscribe! 

To read more about the magazine, the publisher, or to follow the blog, click here: http://www.pagesofstories.com/index.php

---Andrea Cubala
Volunteer AMPA Blogger

Arts and Lit Mags; Alive and Well

[This post has been updated.]
 

The Canada Council for the Arts recently released a study of benchmarks for Canadian mags based on 2010 applications to its Grants to Arts and Literary Magazines. Here’s a recap: 

• The number of titles has remained steady for the past decade sitting at 90 (60 in English and 30 en francais.
• Half a million copies were in circulation throughout the year.
• These mags served more than 75,000 subscribers.
• The arts and lit mag industry makes up a $5 million enterprise with 2/5 of revenues coming from mag sales and 2/5 from advertising sales. The remaining fifth comes from various sources.
• Overall revenue comes in at about $10 million with grants making up roughly half of all income.
• These mags generate about 200 full-time-equivalent jobs.
• Magazines are critical in the creation of “social capital”.
• Overall, it’s clear that arts and lit titles are dependent on Canada Council funding.

The study gives arts and lit publishers a sense of how their operations and costs compare against their peers, keeping in mind that many aspects are covered off by volunteers or low-paid interns. The biggest costs are overhead (30 to 36%) and editorial (21 to 30%). The full study can be viewed at magazinescanada.com/benchmarks.

Unfortunately, like most government funding, very few Alberta magazines receive Canada Council support. That said, it also speaks volumes about the tenacity these publishers possess to continue publishing their titles especially given how many titles rely on Canada Council dollars to publish. 

AMPA is always looking at ways to support this special group of magazines. If you have ideas for how AMPA can help your arts and lit title, drop us a line at ampa@albertamagazines.com or post a comment here so we can have a public chat about it! For readers, be sure to check out AMPA's 30% off promotion for arts and lit titles.

--- Colleen Seto  
AMPA Blogger-in-Residence

A Cure for the Winter Writing Blues

You would think that with all this recent frigid weather your writing would be flourishing, filling the void that this long winter has created. After all, you are all cooped up in your cozy abode, eating out of boredom and longing for warm summer nights. So what better way to pass the time than to write, right? Here’s what I have to say about that: Easier said than done!

If you’re anything like me, you operate on motivation. Sure, you could write about the window frost or the gray clouds that loom overhead, but at some point you’ll lose interest. Here is a list of writing contests to help jump-start your creativity this spring season.

Script Frenzy!
Challenge: 100 pages of original scripted material
Deadline: April 1 – 30, 2011
Cost: Free
Prize: Self-satisfaction
For more information, check out the website: www.scriptfrenzy.org

Routes Magazine Short Story Contest
Challenge: A family-friendly short story up to 2,000 words
Deadline: April 15, 2011
Cost: $30 per submission
Prize: $1,000, publication in Routes magazine, and a one-year subscription
Check out the details on the AMPA website: www.albertamagazines.com/news_and_events/contests.php#RoutesContest

The Writers’ Union of Canada: Writing For Children Competition
Challenge: Any piece of writing for children up to 1,500 words
Deadline: April 24, 2011
Cost: $15 per entry
Prize: Winner and finalist entries will be submitted to three children’s book publishers
For more information, visit the website: www.writersunion.ca/cn_writeforchildren.asp

Dave Greber Freelance Writers Book And Magazine Awards
Challenge: Non-fiction for social justice writing that is exceptionally well-written and researched
Deadline: June 17, 2011
Cost: Free, but specific criteria apply
Prize: $2,000
Full details at: www.greberwritingaward.com/submissions.htm

Alberta Views Annual Short Story Contest
Challenge: Short story of a maximum 3,000 words
Deadline: June 30, 2011
Cost: $30 (includes one year subscription)
Prize: $1,000 and publication in the December 2011 issue
Further information on the Alberta Views website:
www.albertaviews.ab.ca/2011/01/25/alberta-views-2011-short-story-competition

---Andrea Cubala
Volunteer AMPA Blogger

Next Friday, Stephen Osborne of Geist fame, will be in Calgary to run a seminar about publishing models for cultural magazines.  

Geist has long established itself as one of the most successful independent cultural mags in Canada with Stephen at its helm. No doubt he’ll impart sage advice for managing and circulating cultural mags, not to mention paying the bills and negotiating those ever-challenging grant applications. He always doles out good info (think Alberta Magazines Conference 2009; remember his lovely blog post about the event?), but how can Alberta cultural mags best apply this knowledge? 

Methinks the session is already full so for those lucky folks already registered, please share Stephen’s jewels of wisdom with the rest of us and tell us how you plan to employ Stephen’s tactics at your mag.

---Colleen Seto
AMPA Blogger-in-Residence

I Heart Alberta Arts & Lit

There are a handful of longtime AMPA member magazines which we fondly refer to as our "arts/lits". These are literary and visual arts magazines, typically published in a press-run of around 500 copies per issue, lovingly and arduously assembled by a predominantly volunteer-based team. In other words, magazines published by people with a love for words who work their butts off to share those words with you!

In an effort to help promote their hard work (and this is just the first step) we've launched an Arts & Literary Promotion -- postcards and a website to start spreading the word about these unique and diverse magazines produced here in Alberta. At www.albertamagazines.com/artslit you'll find descriptions and distribution details for five magazines: dandelion, filling Station, FreeFall, Other Voices and Prairie Journal.

Better yet, subscribe to any of these five magazines at www.albertamagazines.com/artslit, enter the discount code "artslit" and receive 30% off your one year subscription! Plus, we reimburse the full subscription price to the magazine, so they don't lose a penny while you save.

Basically what we're saying is that Alberta offers some of Canada's most innovative arts & literary magazines. Each offers a unique perspective, from eloquent inspirational to edgy experimental. Share in their passion for the creative. Explore Alberta's arts and literary magazines: www.albertamagazines.com/artslit

Notebook Magazine - A Bittersweet Move Online

Thanks to D.B. Scott at http://canadianmags.blogspot.com/ for this posting about the fate of AMPA member Notebook magazine:

Running on empty, editor of Edmonton's Notebook magazine gives up print and goes online.
Notebook magazine, a quarterly published by an Edmonton art collective, will be releasing its last, 12th, print issue and going online this fall. According to a posting on Prairie Artsters forwarded to us by a friend, editor Steven Teeuwsen has mostly been operating the magazine as a solo business venture.

The magazine, which essentially created a gallery space in magazine format, was launched in January 2007 and has featured hundreds of Edmonton artists and writers and their work across the country. The magazine's view was that work from Edmonton was constantly undervalued culturally and set out to change that. But the financial returns and the editor's energy hasn't matched the magazine's ambitions.

"I haven't put out an issue since January and I stopped paying myself,"[says Teeuwsen]. "I was waiting on funding, but that's not sustainable, unless I sell a lot of advertising. I've fallen behind on that, partially because I'm burnt out. A lot of people warned me about burning out when I started, but I didn't give it much thought. I thought it was an excuse for being lazy! Now, I think it's very real...

"I definitely have mixed emotions. It's bittersweet. I'm really excited to be able to work on something else, but the print magazine was something special too. When I started, I wanted to work on it for three to four years, and I've done that, and I was able to work full time at it for the better part of that time."

filling Station's Alberta Arts Days Writing Contest

Deadline to apply September 19, 2010

This year for Alberta Arts Days, an annual celebration of culture happening this September 17-19 and comprising a number of special events, filling Station Magazine presents Inner Poet: an Alberta Arts Days Writing Contest.

Haven't been published before? No problem. First time writers are welcomed!

Winning poems will be published in filling Station Magazine. Winners will also receive a set of 3 Fall 2010 titles from Freehand Books, a Pages Books on Kensington gift certificate, a filling Station 1 year subscription, and the opportunity to read at Flywheel Reading Series.

A shortlist will be chosen using blind judging by the Collective that brings you filling Station Magazine, Canada’s Alternative Literary Magazine based in Calgary. The top 3 winning poems will be selected by Guest Judge, published Calgary poet Natalie Simpson.

Just write your poem anytime during Alberta Arts Days, September 17-19th. There is no specific theme - it can be about anything that inspires you to write it. Need a little help in the inspiration department? Check out one of the many Arts Days events happening across Alberta on the Government of Alberta's Culture and Community Spirit Culture Month Calendar. In Calgary, check out events on the Calgary Culture calendar.

For full entry guidelines, visit:
http://www.albertamagazines.com/news_and_events/contests.php#fSArtsDays

FreeFall Annual Prose and Poetry Contest 2010

FreeFall, “Canada’s Magazine of Exquisite Writing,” is currently accepting entries for their Annual Prose and Poetry Contest. Douglas Glover will be the guest editor/ judge for this contest issue. Douglas won the 2006 Writers’ Trust of Canada Timothy Findley Award and the 2003 Governor General’s Award for Fiction among other literary awards.

Mailed entries, of a maximum 3000 words prose or 5 poems, must be received on or before December 31st, 2010. There are over $1100.00 in prizes to be won, and winners will be published in FreeFall (Volume XXI Number 1). Shortlisted entries may be selected for publication to round out the issue and will be paid the standard page rate.

For full contest details and entry forms visit www.freefallmagazine.ca

Magazines Celebrate Alberta Arts Days

Alberta Arts Days is three exciting days - September 17-19, 2010 - to showcase Alberta artists of all types, and to encourage Albertans to discover, experience and celebrate the arts. the evnt offers a starring role for absolutely everyone: artists, art organizations, community groups, municipalities, libraries, schools and businesses.

Here are just a couple of the ways Alberta magazines are contributing to the celebration:

Since the inception of Alberta Arts Days, Prairie Journal has devoted their fall issue to Alberta writers and poets. This year, Issue 54 is dedicated to the memory of John Bishop Ballem (February 2 1925 - January 9, 2010) who was not only a generous supporter of the arts, but also a novelist (he published 12 novels), a poet and an attorney. The issue includes short stories by Alberta-based writers Aspen Gainer, Stephen Howard and Bonnie Ryan-Fisher, as well as the poetry of Joshua Learn. There are reviews of she walks for days inside a thousand eyes (a two-spirit story) by Sharron-Proulx-Turner, Behind the Man, John Laurie, Ruth Gorman, and the Indian Vote in Canada by Ruth Gorman and Garden Voices: Two Centuries of Canadian Garden Writing, edited by Edwinna von Baeyer and Pleasance Crawford.

Notebook Magazine is, sadly, releasing its last print issue, Issue #12, on September 18th at the ARTery in Edmonton. Notebook will continue in the spirit of promoting local art with web publishing (notebookmagazine.ca). This final release party features a retrospective art show of Notebook artists: Arina Baranova, Caitlin Boyce, Campbell Wallace, Corissa O'Donnell, Daniel Janzen, Erin Prout, Jenny Keith-Hughes, Larry Andreoff, Mariya Karpenko, Oksana Zhelisko, Paula Sommers and Tim Konrad. There will also be performances from singer/songwriters Tatam Reeves, Ky Babyn and the band 100 Mile House.

Alberta Arts Days Subscription Promo!

Get 20% off an arts magazine subscription!

AMPA is offering a special subscription promotion through the month of September in celebration of Alberta Arts Days (September 17-19). Receive 20% off your one year subscription to ANY of the following arts, literary and culture magazines:

Canadian Scrapbooker

dandelion

filling Station

FreeFall

Galleries West

Other Voices

Penguin Eggs

Prairie Journal

Penguin Eggs still thriving in its tenth year of publication

A recent press release from AMPA member Penguin Eggs:

In a world where media outlets are cutting back, closing down, and generally suffering the ill effects of decreased ad revenues and reader migration to the internet, there is at least one good news story to report: Canada’s glossy folk music magazine, Penguin Eggs, heads into its tenth year of publication this summer, and, more importantly, it’s still thriving.

Founded by former Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun journalist Roddy Campbell, and named for the iconic Nic Jones album, the quarterly magazine has grown from a mostly-black-and-white affair to a shiny, full-colour edition that averages around 100 pages per issue.

“Canada’s folk, roots and world music magazine” began as an online e-zine in 1997 with the goal of building a readership then moving to print. After a winter of working in construction in Fort McMurray to raise funds, editor and publisher Campbell produced the first forty-page hard copy in the summer of 2001.

The magazine’s tenth anniversary issue, which features a rare, in-depth interview with Gordon Lightfoot as its cover feature, is shipping now. In the issue's editorial, Campbell further writes:

“Consider the timing. At the turn of the millennium, Canada was on the brink of producing an unprecedented assortment of wonderful, new, innovative folk talent... Just as important, as world economies grew in the nineties and naughties, international performers toured more often. World music gradually made its presence felt here. And Canadian folk audiences developed an unnerving, open-minded willingness to expand their tastes. … That Penguin Eggs has survived and prospered is due in part to the vitality and growth of the music it covers.”