Blog

Storytelling Returns to the CNFC Conference

February 5, 2016

This Really Happened will be holding an open mic event as part of this year’s cabaret. Alongside the 2-minute readings, storytellers will have a chance to be randomly chosen to tell a 3-minute true story. All stories should be true and must be told without notes, but the subject is up to you! (Keep in mind it’s called This Really Happened because something should have happened.) We discourage people from writing out their stories word for word, but we do…

Conference registration deadline is April 4, 2016

February 1, 2016

Conferences, General News, Members

The Creative Nonfiction Collective member conference, Writing True 12: The Roots of Story, takes place from April 21 to 24 2016* at the Banff Centre in beautiful Banff, Alberta. This year’s conference features a keynote address by novelist, journalist, and photographer, Deni Béchard (open to the public for a $10 fee – tickets sold at the door), as well as the courageous Elly Danica, in conversation with Hal Wake, noted interviewer and the Artistic Director of the Vancouver Literary Festival. Registration…

Transform your Aeroplan points into the best CNFC conference yet!

January 23, 2016

Conferences, Members

The CNFC is a volunteer-run organization that depends on grants and donations to help create a top-quality conference for its members. Donations of your unused Aeroplan points can help us stretch our budget to bring in a wider range of excellent speakers to our events. To find out how you can offer this kind of support, click the button below. More information about this year’s conference is available here. Please feel free to get in touch with any questions!

How to build story and adventure with Instagram

December 18, 2015

General News, Members Blog

by Jennifer Kingsley, @meetthenorth Instagram is big, it’s growing, and it’s an opportunity for us nonfiction types. Yes, there’s a bad reality show component, but don’t be fooled. There is fine documentary there too, and we can be a part of it. Instagram made me nervous at first. I saw it, like other social media, as a proliferation of social obligations—without the benefit of leaving the house. A friend convinced me to give it a try; she said it would…

How to do a Banff Centre self-directed residency

December 9, 2015

Conferences, Resources

Planning on attending the 2016 CNFC Conference in Banff this April? Consider doing a self-directed writing residency while you’re there! Set in the heart of Banff National Park, The Banff Centre provides a perfect retreat setting for writers looking for focus and inspiration. This is the place you can come to be free from distraction and to focus deeply on a creative writing project. What to do Go to the Banff website and follow the outlined steps in this link.…

CNF Round-up #5

November 26, 2015

Contests, General News

Links to news, information, stories, and other things of interest to creative nonfiction writers Compiled by Maria Turner The deadline is coming soon! Submit now to our creative nonfiction competition for a chance to win $750 and be published in carte blanche. If you like competitive cooking shows, then this piece from Brevity is for you. Caitlin Horrocks illustrates how “cooking competitions offer a useful lens for looking at revision.”

CNF Round-up #4

October 30, 2015

Publishing, Resources

Links to news, information, stories, and other things of interest to creative nonfiction writers Compiled by Julija Sukys Wondering where to submit your work or read the newest texts of our genre? Canadian journals that publish CNF include Malahat Review, Prairie Fire, Room, Antigonish Review, Brick, and carte blanche. There are many others, I’m sure, that I’ve forgotten, so do send more Canadian titles this way as they come to mind. Still, if you’re reading this roundup, chances are that…

Books to use when teaching CNF

October 28, 2015

Resources

Here’s a list of books to use when teaching CNF. It’s not exhaustive, but it’s a good start. This list originally grew out of a discussion by members of the CNFC. Members of “Essaying the 21st Century” (on Facebook) have added to it as well. Feel free to leave further suggestions in the comments field!

CNF Round-up #3

October 23, 2015

General News

Links to news, information, stories, and other things of interest to creative nonfiction writers The Nobel Prize for literature has gone to a nonfictionist! Here’s an essay by laureate Svetlana Alexievich. The brilliant Patrick Madden on found-form essays. Essayist Dinty Moore on CNF and humour. Julija Šukys talks to William Bradley about his new essay collection, Fractals. Debra Monroe on the memoir of discover rather than of recovery. If you don’t know the journal Assay, do check it out. Here’s…

Writing by your own rules

September 24, 2015

Members Blog

As a child I wrote stories in booklets made of scrap paper haphazardly stapled together, a combination of words with crayon illustrations that made for a colourful—if not entirely comprehensible—storyline. By the time I was ten I fancied myself a journalist, pounding out short news articles on my dad’s old typewriter, covering the big events of my childhood: the crash of the space shuttle Challenger, or the malfunction of West Edmonton Mall’s Mindbender roller coaster. Writing came easily, and it…

cnfcollective