As a board member of the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation, I'm pleased to announce what we've accomplished in Amber's name, one year since we tragically lost her.
We've established six post-secondary scholarships with a value of $1,000 each in Amber’s name:
• The University of Regina, in journalism
• Grant MacEwan College, in professional writing
• University of Calgary, in music
• Mount Royal College, in journalism
• ACAD, in painting
And because Amber was a student at SAIT Polytechnic, and was an editor of the Weal student newspaper, we have partnered with the SAIT Students Association to also offer a journalism scholarship.
We've also partnered with the Western Magazine Awards to establish a student writing award which will be given out on June 19. Through these scholarships and awards, we hope to help students step into careers in areas that were important to Amber.
Chris Bowerman, foundation president, summed things up at this morning's media conference: "With the generous donations of countless Calgarians as well as people from across the country, the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation was established to provide journalism and arts scholarships to deserving students. It is truly a testament to Amber’s zest for life that when people heard her story, they were compelled to reach out and do something positive in her memory. The generosity of our donors inspired us, even through our own grief, to create this memorial foundation as a tangible and lasting legacy."
Thank you to all of our donors and supporters, and we hope to see you at our upcoming Sugarbowl fundraiser on August 8th.
Learn more about all of our programs and the fundraiser, and make a donation at: amberbowerman.ca. (The foundation is a registered charity that issues tax receipts.)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
7th Annual Calgary Book Drive & Sale!
Supported by The Calgary Herald, the Annual Calgary Book Drive and Sale is in its 7th year! This initiative aims to support Servants Anonymous and Raise a Reader Day.
Servants Anonymous is a non-profit organization that assists young women 16-29 who have decided to leave prostitution and life on the streets by providing shelter, life skills, recovery skills, education and job experience so they can maintain healthy lifestyles for themselves and their children.
Raise a Reader Day, The Calgary Herald's annual literary initiative aims to foster the love of reading in young people. This is a Canada-wide event to promote the growth of healthy children through the joy of reading.
By bringing a toonie (only $2 folks) to the Crossroads Market on June 12-14 and June 19-21, you can contribute to both these essential and beneficial initiatives to promote healthy living plus find great books of all kinds!
Crossroads Market, 1235 26 Avenue SE, Calgary, AB
Admission $2
Sale Days Friday June 12 & 19 (12-6)
Saturday June 13 & 20 (9-5)
Sunday 14 & 21 (11-5)
All firehalls accepting books except stations 13 and 25.
Collection is from May 7 to June 4.
Servants Anonymous is a non-profit organization that assists young women 16-29 who have decided to leave prostitution and life on the streets by providing shelter, life skills, recovery skills, education and job experience so they can maintain healthy lifestyles for themselves and their children.
Raise a Reader Day, The Calgary Herald's annual literary initiative aims to foster the love of reading in young people. This is a Canada-wide event to promote the growth of healthy children through the joy of reading.
By bringing a toonie (only $2 folks) to the Crossroads Market on June 12-14 and June 19-21, you can contribute to both these essential and beneficial initiatives to promote healthy living plus find great books of all kinds!
Crossroads Market, 1235 26 Avenue SE, Calgary, AB
Admission $2
Sale Days Friday June 12 & 19 (12-6)
Saturday June 13 & 20 (9-5)
Sunday 14 & 21 (11-5)
All firehalls accepting books except stations 13 and 25.
Collection is from May 7 to June 4.
Happy reading to all!
-stef
Winners of the 2009 Alberta Literary Awards!
On May 23, 2009 the winners of the 2009 Alberta Literary Awards were announced as part of the Limitless Sky Conference put on by The Writers' Union of Canada and The Writers Guild of Alberta in Calgary. With over 140 submissions from talent across Alberta, it surely was no easy task to pick the winners. However, the choices were made and the winners announced...congratulations to all the award winners for there outstanding contributions to making Alberta's literary scene a thriving one!
Hazel Hutchins (Canmore) received the R. Ross Annett Award for Children's Literature for her picture book Mattland.
Jaspreet Singh, recently shortlisted for The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize, received the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction for his novel Chef.
Caterina Edwards received the Wilfred Eggleston Award for Non-Fiction for Finding Rosa: A Mother with Alzheimer's, a Daughter in Search of the Past. This book was also shortlisted for this year's City of Edmonton Book Prize.
Sharon Pollock, two-time Governor General Award winner was awarded the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama for Kabloona Talk, from Sharon Pollock: Collected Works Volume Three.
Lisa Martin-DeMoor (Edmonton) won the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry for her first collection of poetry, One Crow Sorrow.
Leah Bailly received the inaugural Amber Bowerman Memorial Travel Writing Award for Long Views Across Nothing.
Barb Howard (Bragg Creek) received the Howard O'Hagan Award for Short Story for Mrs. Goodfellow's Dog, published in Grain.
The Writers' Union of Canada also presented the highly anticipated Danuta Gleed Literary Award to Pasha Malla for The Withdrawal Method.
Again, congratulations to all the winners of this years Alberta Literary Awards and to all who submitted. Keep on writing, creating, and contributing your unique voices and perspectives!!!
-stef
Hazel Hutchins (Canmore) received the R. Ross Annett Award for Children's Literature for her picture book Mattland.
Jaspreet Singh, recently shortlisted for The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize, received the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction for his novel Chef.
Caterina Edwards received the Wilfred Eggleston Award for Non-Fiction for Finding Rosa: A Mother with Alzheimer's, a Daughter in Search of the Past. This book was also shortlisted for this year's City of Edmonton Book Prize.
Sharon Pollock, two-time Governor General Award winner was awarded the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award for Drama for Kabloona Talk, from Sharon Pollock: Collected Works Volume Three.
Lisa Martin-DeMoor (Edmonton) won the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry for her first collection of poetry, One Crow Sorrow.
Leah Bailly received the inaugural Amber Bowerman Memorial Travel Writing Award for Long Views Across Nothing.
Barb Howard (Bragg Creek) received the Howard O'Hagan Award for Short Story for Mrs. Goodfellow's Dog, published in Grain.
The Writers' Union of Canada also presented the highly anticipated Danuta Gleed Literary Award to Pasha Malla for The Withdrawal Method.
Again, congratulations to all the winners of this years Alberta Literary Awards and to all who submitted. Keep on writing, creating, and contributing your unique voices and perspectives!!!
-stef
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
New MagaScene & Nominated Mags means Spring savings for you!
The May issue of MagaScene is out. In it, find a Q&A with Kris Demeanor, recipient of the National Magazine Awards' Best New Magazine Writer honour. If you haven't signed up to receive the e-newsletter, do so on our homepage so you can receive it automatically.
A number of Alberta magazines have been nominated for either a National Magazine Award, or a Western Magazine Award--further confirmation of the talent and quality of work by creators in this province.
To show our excitement, we are offering 10% off a subscription to any of the nominated mags, PLUS a set of bright magnets created by Calgary artist Paul Abrey.
Consider the following: how economical subscriptions already are; the quality and depth of research in the feature stories; the visually stunning design and photography; the engaging and geographically relevant content--do you really need any more incentive to subscribe to an Alberta mag? Your subscription means bolstering an already robust, and ever-growing regional magazine industry.
To subscribe, send an email to ampa@albertamagazines.com with the code 'AWARD09' and your magazine choices.
Happy spring reading!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Award-winning art director Malcolm Brown joins Avenue Calgary
Highly decorated award-winning art director Malcolm Brown, recipient of 140 awards nationally and internationally and the former art director for Unlimited magazine, has signed a 10-month contract to be art director for Avenue Calgary while current art director Venessa Brewer goes on maternity leave.
Formerly, Brown worked with Avenue editor Kรคthe Lemon at Outpost when it won Magazine of the Year at the National Magazine Awards in 2002.
“We are very excited to work together again,” said Brown who credits their prior relationship for taking on the job. “Lesson 1: don’t burn your bridges,” he advises. For the past year, Brown had been shooting fashion and portraits in
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Thursday, May 14, 2009
Places to take your magazines...
Well, the sporadic weather conditions could tell us otherwise, but I do believe the start of summer is just around the corner...and summertime in Calgary provides plenty of smiles, rafting down the Bow and of course a selection of many diverse and wonderful outdoor festivals all around the City! To start things off, the Lilac Festival on 4th, which boasts on being the best free outdoor festival Calgary has to offer is coming up soon. Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 31 from 10 AM to 6 PM and cross your fingers for a bright sunny day...
...and, once you've wandered among the crowds, filled your belly with kettle corn, danced to some great tunes, and checked out the amazing vendors, take that Alberta magazine out from your satchel and enjoy some nice outdoor magazine reading!
-Stef
...and, once you've wandered among the crowds, filled your belly with kettle corn, danced to some great tunes, and checked out the amazing vendors, take that Alberta magazine out from your satchel and enjoy some nice outdoor magazine reading!
-Stef
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
To Tweet or Not to Tweet? Apple in talks to buy Twitter
It was rumoured to have ended John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston's romance. Ashton Kutcher posted a photo of wife Demi Moore's bottom on his. And President Obama has one too.
It's become a verb (tweet), class (twitterati), and attached to the biggest hype since Facebook. In 140 characters or less, anyone can be his own micr0-fiction author. The social messaging application has set big media companies' hearts aflame. According to a post in Gawker, both Microsoft and Google have expressed interest in buying the startup. Facebook offered $500 million in cash and stocks, but it's the reported $700 million offer from Apple that could have the most bite.
AMPA heard about Twitter in early 2008, when the publisher of Beyond magazine suggested it to me to build community. To say she was ahead of the curve is an understatement.
To date, we haven't started a Twitter account yet. Personally, it seems to be a bit too self-indulgent. Plus, it's yet another investment of our time that could be spent on this blog, or administering AMPA's many programs (internships, Pros On the Road, Alberta Magazines Conference, etc).
So I'm putting this out to you. The question is: to tweet or not to tweet? why or why not?
It's become a verb (tweet), class (twitterati), and attached to the biggest hype since Facebook. In 140 characters or less, anyone can be his own micr0-fiction author. The social messaging application has set big media companies' hearts aflame. According to a post in Gawker, both Microsoft and Google have expressed interest in buying the startup. Facebook offered $500 million in cash and stocks, but it's the reported $700 million offer from Apple that could have the most bite.
AMPA heard about Twitter in early 2008, when the publisher of Beyond magazine suggested it to me to build community. To say she was ahead of the curve is an understatement.
To date, we haven't started a Twitter account yet. Personally, it seems to be a bit too self-indulgent. Plus, it's yet another investment of our time that could be spent on this blog, or administering AMPA's many programs (internships, Pros On the Road, Alberta Magazines Conference, etc).
So I'm putting this out to you. The question is: to tweet or not to tweet? why or why not?
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