September is here, Members and Friends.
And along with the breeziness of Fall, comes plenty of activity – whether we’re ready for it or not.
I am both excited and stupefied to tell you that for the first time since 2015, the WFNB has received additional funding from Arts Culture NB to offer a mentorship program for a small number of emerging writers. Please stay 
tuned for more details as we get ready to roll them out. Other writing associations such as the WFNS and the WANL have enjoyed fruitful mentorship programs from year to year, and we hope that this pilot project will be just as fruitful, and provide a roadmap for future years. We are immensely grateful to ArtsCulture NB for approving this grant. More information in the coming weeks.
After our charitable number was awarded to us in January, the WFNB struck a fundraising committee. The committee is currently establishing priorities. More on that to come, but in the meantime, remember that your donations are tax deductible. You can read more information about donations or Planned Giving on our Donations page.
Please check out all our upcoming events and sign up!
September
1. Of course, the first is The Writers of the Realm Literary Festival and Fantasy Ball, taking place this coming Saturday. The ball was sold out months ago, but the lit festival, running from 10 am to 4 pm at the Fredericton inn, is open to the public. The book fair costs $2 at the door. If you are not already setting up a table there to sell your books, come along and enjoy the festivities.
2. Word Travels – September 27, Moncton, award-winning Canadian mystery/thriller author Linwood Barclay will be in conversation with Jonna Brewer. He’ll also sign books (his new release is called Not a Word) We’ll be at the Delta Beausejour Hotel, 750 Main Street, in room Beausejour A, from 6 pm to 7:30 pm – Beausejour A is beside the hotel’s side exit door, which opens on to the back parking lot. Should be easy to find! Sign up to let us know you’re coming, and bring a friend.
October
3. Word Travels event – Drawing for Writers with Jon Claytor- October 17, St. Martins, (@St. Martins Country Inn) - jonclaytor@gmail.com (maximum of 20 participants, lunch provided). This event is everyone – no drawing skills are necessary. We are looking forward to a fun, enlightening and insightful day with Jon as he helps us generate new ideas and perspectives for our writing! This event is offered in partnership with www.fundyfootstepsflavours.ca/. Come for the day, or arrange to stay the evening and enjoy the flavours of the Fundy region.
(psst...Sign the "For the Love of Fundy" pledge!)
4. Word Travels event – Two workshops on October 31: --- How and Why Atmosphere has a Place in Novels with Luke Beirne and How to Write Noir/Crime fiction with Francis-Adrien Morneault at The Write Cup Café and Bookstore, Market Square, Saint John. A fun and atmospheric Halloween activity!
November
5. Online workshop – Researching your Next Novel, with Chuck Bowie, November 5 at 6 pm
6. Open Mic – St. Andrews, November 12, from 7 pm to 9 pm, presented by the WFNB and Fundy Bay Writers.
7. Pages in the Province - The WFNB will also have a table at Pages in the Province at NBEX, November 7, as will many of you. Hope to see you there!
January
7. Online Saturday Series – Building Up our Sensory Writing Muscles with Sandra Phinney - Jan 9, 16, 23, and 30 – (Maximum 8 participants)
February
8. Writers’ Retreat – Weekend of February 19. Our writing mentor is WFNB member and retired English professor, Kathy Mac.
March
9. Zoom Workshop - Finding the Life Story you Need to Write, with Marjorie Simmins – March 4, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, via zoom. We asked Marjorie to share this session at WordSpring back in June, but unfortunately she had a conflict. Now, we are reprising our idea in a two-hour, online workshop. Join Marjorie as she explores what is behind the compelling need to share our life journeys, and our deep desire to create something meaningful, resonant, and of universal interest.
More information on events is forthcoming, including our pilot mentorship program. Stay tuned! Hope to see you at an event soon. These are bewildering and uncertain times, We are tempted to give in to cynicism, but remember, as Joan Didion said, “I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”
Use your power for good, writers.
Cheers and all good wishes,
Rhonda
WordWorthy
“Writers’ Block: An Artificial construct that justifies a discipline problem.” Steven Pritzker
Welcome, New Members
Jessica Buckley writes in several genres – Biography, Creative nonfiction, Editing, Essays, Memoir, Songwriting, and Spoken Word, from her home in St. Andrews. Welcome, Jessica! Hope to see you at the Open Mic in St. Andrews in November, hosted by the WFNB and Fundy Bay Writers. Welcome, Jessica!
Jodie Callaghan is from s from the Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation in Gespe’gewa’gi (Gaspé Coast in Eastern Quebec), and currently resides near Campbellton, where she writes children’s books and horror. The Whistler in The Woods is her next publication, coming March 2027. Welcome, Jodie!
Evan Jones is a writer and teacher from Moncton. Evan won the second annual Books for Youth and Young Adult award for his nonfiction book, What to Do when You Don’t Know What to Do. He is continuing to write in the genres of fiction, nonfiction, and young adult. Welcome, Evan!
James Katan is a retired librarian of the Campbellton Centennial Library, and now enjoys photography and writing poetry from his home in Campbellton. Welcome, James!
Tony Merzetti is an award-winning arts administrator, who is currently Executive Director of the NB Film Cooperative. He is a part-time lecturer at UNB since 2000 in the Department of Media Arts and Culture where he teaches both digital and celluloid filmmaking. On his own time, he writes
Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, and Screenplay from his home in Fredericton, and he’s excited to meet one of his favourite authors, Linwood Barclay, when he appears in Moncton on September 27. Welcome, Tony!
Victoria Pauley (http://www.victoriapauley.com/) writes romance from her home in Lower Coverdale. Welcome, Victoria!
Bryn Robinson lives in her hometown of Saint John, where she creates visual arts and poetry. Her poetry is published in the forthcoming chapbook Days in Microgravity (Emergency Flashmob Press, 2026), as well as the anthologies Soliloquies (Concordia University, 2024) and Facing Goodbye (Wee Sparrow Poetry Press, 2024). A regular contributor to The Seaboard Review (a community sponsor of the NB Book Awards!) she loves to read others’ poetry, non-fiction, and art essays. Welcome, Bryn!
Margaret Anne Smith joins us from Saint John, and we hope we can connect with her at a local upcoming event. Welcome, Margaret!
Christopher Sweet (http://www.authorchristophersweet.com/) Joins us from Tabusintac where he writes horror, science fiction, speculative fiction and thrillers. Welcome, Christopher!
Member News
Paul Burns is pleased to announce the publication of The Druid and the Dragon. Check out this adventurous new release for youthful readers. (Older readers will like it, too!) Available at Donovan Street Press.
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Sandra Bunting is pleased to announce the publication of her latest short story collection, Lost Feathers.
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Sherry Coffey is pleased to announce the publication of a chapbook of poems, foraging, from High Marsh Press. She has the following readings planned in Fredericton:
Sunday September 27th
The Catch up Reading Series - Westminster Bookmark at 3 pm
Sunday October 4
Poetry Weekend - Chapbook launches at Memorial Hall, UNB, Time tbd
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Kelly Cooper is delighted to announce the launch of her children’s book, Grey is Very Quiet, on November 14, 2026, 10:30 am - 11:30 am at the Fredericton Public Library.
“A delightful and whimsy-filled board book that introduces the very youngest of readers to the world of colours with text that is appropriately simple and which flows with a smooth, lilting cadence that lends itself well to being read aloud,” says Atlantic Books Today.
About writing Grey is Very Quiet, she says, "Grey is Very Quiet aims to teach young children about colour in a way that sparks imagination. Colour is light made visible, but it can also carry emotion and memory, playfulness and creativity. I hope that when children and adults read this book, they will be inspired to think about the many possibilities of colours. If blue can transform itself from a river into a mitten, what else can blue become?"
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Tony Hebert's book, One Memory at a Time©, is now available as a free web-based app for smartphones, tablets and computers. (Check out this month's Inkspot blog, written by Tony about this important project.)
There is nothing to purchase and nothing to download from an App Store. After registering at www.onememoryatatime.org/app, users receive immediate access through their web browser. On a smartphone or tablet, you can also add One Memory at a Time to the Home Screen, so it appears and opens like any other app. If anything changes, the app will display the latest information.
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WFNB member Frederick Mundle is publishing an anthology of the work of previously published NB poets, and is hoping for 80 submissions from writers like you! This is a second and final call for submissions.
He’s looking for at least one of your already published poems, the name of the journal, magazine, article or book in which it was published, along with the date of the publication. Your poem will appear in a journal (title to be identified) which will highlight participating NB poets. This is a pilot project which can be ready to go into print by Christmas depending upon the number of respondents and how quickly they can respond. For further information contact Fred at babalabean@hotmail.com
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Tasha Zima is pleased to announce that her newest novel, Ashby Lake After Dark: Rosa, released August 20. It's a paranormal romance featuring a billionaire vampire, a former dancer in hiding, a goat sanctuary, and the sort of found family that tends to make itself at home in all of her books. Tasha has also been working to bring more of her backlist into print distribution while continuing to build Ashby Lake as an interconnected story world across her contemporary and paranormal romances. And this fall, she’ll also be heading south for a two book signings in Fredericton.
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Trent Pomeroy’s manuscript, Education of a Rabbit Thief won 2nd prize in the Pottersfield Prize for Creative Nonfiction, and will be published by Pottersfield Press in the coming year. Here's the link to the announcement. Very excited!
WRITING GROUPS
Edmundston member Tasha Zima is organizing an English-language romance writing group at the Edmundston Public Library beginning in September, 2026. The goal is to create a welcoming space for local romance writers to talk about the genre and publishing, write together, share work if they choose, and generally find some fellow writers in this very northern corner of New Brunswick. Meetings will occur monthly, every second Thursday from 5:45 to 7:45 p.m. Here is a link to the library details - https://www1.gnb.ca/0003/pages/en/biblio-e.asp?CODE=HE. If you're in the area, Tasha would love to have you join.
EVENTS
Spindrifters, in partnership with Goose Lane Editions for the first season, is thrilled to announce St. Andrews Reads! This brand new initiative is a free, open to the public reading series which seeks to build dialogue and community one book at a time.
The first season of St. Andrews Reads! celebrates maritime publishing. The lineup features author Jon Tattrie and the brand new, expanded edition of his bestselling book Peace by Chocolate on Friday, October 23, and award-winning author and former St. Andrews resident Will Ferguson with his brand new novel Officer Shimada and the Disappearing Girl on Friday, November 20. The spring season is set to feature new books by Sue Sinclair and Beth Powning.
For more information on this exciting new reading series, you can head to the St. Andrews Reads Facebook page or contact Barbara Roberts at robertsolutions@gmail.com.
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Fundy Bay Writers will host a co-facilitated Ekphrastic Workshop at Sunbury Shores Art & Nature Centre with Ramneet Kalra (from Fredericton) and me on Sunday, October 18th from 1:00 to 3:00pm. This event is free or by donations made to Sunbury Shores. If you are able to promote this workshop as an upcoming event in the WFNB online newsletter, that would be very much appreciated. Those interested in attending could contact Louise Chase at ... fundybaywriters@gmail.com for more information.
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Attic Owl Reading Series – Moncton
Join us for another special event at the Attic Owl Reading Series on October 1 st at Cafe C'est La Vie. We're welcoming three poets each launching new books: Loch Baillie, Lisa Ritcher, and Leigh Kotsilidis.
Doors open at 5:00 pm and we'll get underway around 5:30. More info in the link below.
Hope you can join us! https://www.facebook.com/share/14o4Gy8nLGR/
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For Indigenous Writers Only… Monster House publishing is partnering with Joint Economic Development Initiative (JEDI) to present Artrepreneurship on the Wolastoq, November 18–19, 2026. This is a three-day symposium which brings together Indigenous artists, creators, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals for a day of learning, networking, and inspiration. Through engaging presentations, panel discussions, and meaningful conversations, participants will explore how to build sustainable creative businesses while honouring Indigenous knowledge, storytelling, and artistic traditions. This event includes a Pitching Pages panel - participants will move through a series of events including pitching their children's book manuscript, feedback & mentorships and a finalist judging panel with the winner getting their children's book published by Monster House Publishing as part of their 2028/2029 Catalogues. Registration is free (this event is exclusively for indigenous participants).
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Sunday, September 30th
3:00 - 4:00 pm
Bill Johnstone Memorial Park Activity Centre
70 Main Street, Sackville, NB
The Writers’ Open Mic is a free, monthly event open to all. Come out and read your poems, short stories, comics, novels, essays, stand-up comedy, etc. Or just come to listen. A projector will be set up for those with comics or other images or videos they want to share. Files can be brought on a USB or emailed in advance. Accessibility concerns and general questions can be directed to laurawatsonartwork@gmail.com.
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Continued in Part 2!
