The 2017 Word on the Street Festival is fast approaching. It will be held on Sunday, September 24th at Harbourfront Centre. WEN will have a booth and is presently looking for volunteers for the booth. Volunteers will be able to sell their books while promoting WEN. Contact Marianne Funny who will be coordinating the booth. Even if you are not a volunteer, you are encouraged to come out to the festival and stop by the booth.

For more details, visit the Word on the Street website at  https://thewordonthestreet.ca/toronto/  .

Jasmine D’Costa, former President of WEN, launched her new book titled “A Matter of Geography” at the Heliconian Club on April 12, 2017.  WEN members, Maria Marchelletta, Fran Edelstein and Heather Dick attended the launch.

Congratulations to the winners of the WEN 2017 Joseph Smrdelj Short Story Contest:
1st Prize- Heather Dick

2nd Prize- Jacob Hogeterp

3rd Prize- Leticia Rodrigues
Honourable Mention:
Zohra Zoberi
Reva Stern
Barb Nobel
Special appreciation to our Judges Dr. Rosmarin and Nina Munteanu and the benefactor of the contest, Bernarda Smrdelj.

Here are the guidelines for the Second Joseph Smerdelj Short Story Contest.  The deadline is January 1st, 2017 so get your entries in as soon as you can.

Topic: Open

Submission Requirements:  Open to WEN members ONLY

1.  entries must be original, unpublished fiction or non-fiction, typed and double-spaced, between 500 and 2,000 words (excluding the title) using Times New Roman 12 font.
2. Stories that have been published in all other formats , such as blogs, newsletters, on-line groups are considered previously published. The authors retain their copyright, but first-print rights are granted to WEN for the anthology.
3. The contest deadline is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 1, 2017 (e-datestamp or postmark) . Late submissions will not be considered.
4. Entries will be judged anonymously. The author’s name should not appear anywhere in the story. Authors can submit only one entry.
5. Submission should be sent via email as a Word file to communications@wenetwork.ca.   Entries must be accompanied by a separate cover sheet with the author’s name, complete mailing address, email , phone number, the title of the piece, and the word count.
6. There is a $10 fee for the entry. Payment is in Canadian funds via cheque /money order payable to WEN at 251 McKee Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M2N 4E2 or payable in cash at one of the WEN breakfast meetings.

Pay Online Using PayPal

1. First place is $250, second place is $125 and third place is $75. Three Honourable mention prizes of $25.00 will also be awarded.  All winning entries will be read at our Members Reading in July
2. Winners will be contacted by June. Results will be posted on our website and Facebook.
3. Contest Judges are Nina Munteanu and Professor Leonard Rosmarin.

The National Association for Multicultural Education

Goal: Advancing and Advocating for Social Justice & Equity through multicultural education

Jasmine Jackman was elected as Regional Director for Region 8- American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Virgin Islands, Sovereign Nations within the U.S, International Members, and Indigenous Peoples.

Link http://www.nameorg.org/board_of_directors.php

This year WEN participated in the Word on the Street Festival at Harbourfront. Marianne Funny did a great job at organizing the event and many thanks to her and to the volunteers who manned the booth. Everyone said it was successful with many festival attendees saying they are interested in WEN. Everyone said we should do it again next year.

On June 26, 2016 at Studio 89 in Mississauga long-time WEN member John Ambury launched his first book titled “Living Waters”. It is a collection of poems and short stories. Several WEN members came out to support the launch.

At the July 18, 2015 Breakfast Meeting, Jasmine Jackman announced the winners of the  Joseph Smerdelj Short Story Contest winners.

First Place:   Barb Nobel

Second Place:   Reva Stern

Third Place:   Didi Lemay

Honourable Mentions:   Ann Birch, Alan Joe, Braz Menezes

FIRST: The Paper Mache Project: this is a simple yet touching story with a strong consistent voice about an older woman in grief and how she copes with it in her way—very interesting. It is original, elegantly written in simple conversational language in keeping with the character’s voice. The story unfolds deliciously, the reader follows the building tension, and it resolves well.

SECOND: Pink Sky: this is also a good story carried through a strong theme of colour and its symbolism that links events as they unfold. The story encapsulates a child’s evolution and understanding toward an adult quite well.

THIRD: Mother and Daughter: a Journey Together: this is a touching story of a mother’s passionate devotion whose strong theme is carried through good plot toward a strong resolution/end. Told in a memoir-style voice (which works for the most part).

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

• Language of Hands
• Death of a Beloved Bandit
• Bert