Every April, members of the CNFC from across Canada gather in the Rocky Mountains, at the Banff Centre of the Arts, for a lively and convivial weekend of readings, lectures, and discussions, as well as the Annual General Meeting and (as of 2009) the Readers’ Choice Awards. Previous keynote speakers have included distinguished Canadian authors Andrew Nikiforuk, Heather Robertson and Charlie Foran. Workshop and plenary sessions have covered such topics as copyright, self-marketing, the memoir, hybrid forms of CNF, travel writing, the nonfiction novel, and creative nonfiction in international contexts. It’s an event not to be missed.
2010 Conference, April 23-25, The Banff Centre
Friday, April 23
4:00 pm & on – Check-in
4:00- 6:00 p.m.- Hospitality Suite
6:00- 7:15 p.m. Dinner, Vistas Restaurant
7:30-9:30 p.m. Official Welcome Reception, CNFC Cabaret Readings (5 minutes MAX. each). Host: Ted Bishop.
Saturday, April 24
7:30 am – 8:45 a.m. Breakfast (Vistas Restaurant)
9:00 am -11:00 am Keynote Address: Erna Paris, national chair of the Writers’ Union of Canada, “My Life in Words: An intellectual biography as a reader and writer”
(Open to the public.)
11:15-12:30 pm Workshops #1 and #2
Workshop #1: “The Name Game: What genre are we?” Host: Betsy Warland
In this workshop, we will take the question of the name for our genre by the horns. First, we will hear a short summary from our research committee (chaired by Betsy Warland). This summary will reveal what are the various genre names actually being used and which one(s) are most prevalent. Our research will compare Canadian and U.S. universities creative writing programs, intensive C.W. programs, publishers catalogues, booksellers’ and libraries’ shelving categories, and agents pitching terms.
Having established what the dominant genre term(s) is/are (amidst up to 10 terms that are in use), we will explore the why of what genre term best suits Canadian authors.
Workshop #2: “A Funny Thing Happened: Using humour in creative nonfiction,” Host: David Leach
The best way to a reader’s heart is often through the funny bone. In this workshop, we’ll look at why creative nonfiction writers are sometimes reluctant to apply comedy to serious subjects and how (and why) to add humour into our own writing using scenes, characterization and word play.
12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30-2:45 pm Workshops #3 and #4
Workshop #3: “The New Nature Writing,” Host: Luanne Armstrong
New environmental awareness, research and understanding pose interesting questions for nonfiction authors writing about the human connection with the non-human world. This “new” writing is emerging in many places and challenges the familiar romantic conventions of this genre. In this workshop, we will examine some possibilities and approaches to nature writing as “something urgent, vital and alert to the defining particulars of our times.”
Workshop #4: “Personal and Lyrical Essays: Structuring the Page,” Host: Susan Olding
(Open to the public and supported by The Writers’ Union of Canada.)
The personal essay is often identified by its loose and meandering shape and its tolerance, or even requirement, for explicit thought and self-reflection. In contrast, the lyric essay foregrounds structure, with devices such as braided narratives, collage, and juxtaposition; typically, it limits summary reflection. Are these forms really as opposed as they may seem? And why might a writer choose one over the other in the attempt to think on the page? In this workshop we will look at traditional and more experimental essays to discover their distinct and overlapping pleasures and virtues — for writers and for readers.
3:15- 4:30 p.m. Roundtable Discussion (Plenary): “Against the Grain: Should creative nonfiction challenge social, political and literary conventions?”
Host: Myrna Kostash.
Panelists: Erna Paris (chair of TWUC), Don Sedgwick (president of the Transatlantic Literary Agency), Amanda Jardine (MFA student, memoirist, former same-sex sex columnist).
6:00-7:15 pm Dinner (Vistas Restaurant)
7:30-9:00 p.m. – The CNFC’s Second Annual READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS Host: David Leach
Sunday, April 25
8:00-9:00 am Breakfast (Vistas Restaurant)
9:15-11:45 am Annual General Meeting
12:15-1:30 pm Lunch (Vistas Restaurant)
REGISTRATION:
Contact The Banff Centre by phone at 1-800-884-7574 or e-mail Reservations@banffcentre.ca. Cite the code CNF1004 or tell say you’re with the Creative Nonfiction Collective.
Conference rates (not including taxes):
Single Bedroom per person per night $99.00
Double Bedroom per person per night $49.50
You can book three extra nights before and/or three extra nights after the conference at this same rate.
Meal Package – per delegate, per stay: $182.31
Includes: two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners at the sumptuous Vistas Restaurant, plus coffee / tea / refreshments between workshop sessions. (We’re also making arrangements for Friday and Saturday night receptions).
Service Charge – per delegate, per night: $7.00
The Centre has set aside a block of rooms (single and double) for until March 23. Accommodations may be available but can’t be guaranteed after this date.
There is no registration fee for the conference itself. If you are a paid-up member ($35 per year), you are welcome to register and attend the conference. (If not yet, go here to become a member.)
As a member, all you have to do to register officially (before or after you book accommodation) is drop us a line at info@creativenonfictioncollective.com and let us know you’ll be attending. You can also let us know if you’d like to read your own CNF (5 minutes MAX) at our Friday night Literary Cabaret. And feel free to submit a nomination for our Second Annual Readers’ Choice Award.
Locals who just want to attend parts of the conference over the weekend, and don’t need to stay at the Centre, can just make sure their membership is paid up and register via the CNFC email above.