6:30 pm to 11:00 pm

North River Community Hall
37 Oregon Road, North River

Opening Reception and Readings

• Join the authors for an evening of socialising, readings, and more.
• At 6:30, the Readers' Market opens for the run of the Festival. Our opening reception features an assortment of cheeses from Herring Choker Deli, fruit, and some lovely examples of their craft from Cape Breton Fudge Co. Buy some books (and get them signed!), chat with the authors, select something from the cash bar, enjoy the company.
• At 8:00, listen, enthralled, to Michael Crummey, Marq de Villiers, and Sheree Fitch, as they read from their own work. Bring your questions. Oh, and you will not want to be late!
• At 10:00, the cash bar and Market re-open, and you're invited to mingle.
• $20 gets you everything except Market purchases and beverages.

9:00 am to 9:30 am

North River Community Hall
37 Oregon Road, North River

Morning Break

• Join us for a wake-up snack before the morning's events get going. Tea, coffee, treats.
• Visit the Readers' Market. Guest artists' books for sale. When authors are not otherwise occupied, you'll find them here to sign your purchases.
• Included in your Saturday Sessions pass.

9:30 am to 11:30 am

Various Venues

Author Presentations—Early Session

Attend one of these offerings, included in your Saturday Sessions pass:

• North River Community Hall, 37 Oregon Road
  Michael Crummey—Writing from life

  A look at my own exploitation of family and friends for writing material, with a focus on my first books which made constant use of stories and incidents from my parents' lives.

  What are a writer's rights and responsibilities when writing from their own lives? Are there lines that can't be crossed? How do you avoid getting yourself shot by someone close to you?

• Walsh-MacDonald Residence, 24 Meadow Road
  Marq de Villiers—Refining the idea, reporting and researching, and constructing the narrative

  • Making the Beginning:
    Finding the story in a mess of facts
    • Topic (or subject) versus story (or focus)
    • The idea as the focusing lens
    • Writing the outline
  • Reporting and research
    • Using archives and the Internet
    • The art of the interview
    • The cynic versus the skeptic
    • Can you be objective? Should you be? The reporter's "Stockholm Syndrome"
  • Constructing the narrative
    • Finding the right way to tell the story
    • The search for the revealing anecdote
    • The narrative arc: the shape of the ³e²
    • Rounding out (wrapping it up, making the ending)
    • Architectronics in writing—that is, pattern ability and story management

• Shape Shift Pottery Retreat, 31 Oregon Road
  Sheree Fitch—Serious joy! Writing for children

  Whether it's the joyful celebration in the lipslippery tradition of nonsense verse, the sparse distilled poetic prose of a picture book, or finding voice and character in a teen novel, writing for children and youth is challenging, and standards of literary excellence are high. We will ask, "what means excellence?"

  This workshop will focus on language, imagination, and playing with words. Come prepared to write, and bring your sense of humour.

11:30 am to 1:30 pm

North River Community Hall
37 Oregon Road, North River

Lunch

• Soups, sandwiches, beverage, and dessert.
• Veggie-only options available.
• Parking available.
• Easy walking distance to/from other venues; gentle hill, some groomed gravel road.
• Prepared by Clucking Hen Café.
• Included in your Saturday Sessions pass.

1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

St Andrew's Presbyterian Church—Memorial Hall
42462 Cabot Trail, North River Bridge

Book Fair and Café

• This afternoon, local authors are selling their books directly to you. Drop in and see what they've done; ask them how they did it!
• The Church community is putting on the tea and coffee all afternoon. We hear they'll have desserts! Proceeds of the café stay with the Church, to help keep this lovely building available for events like our Book Fair.
• There's no admission fee, and the café is open to all. Do drop in, and be sure to spread the word!

4:00   Reading at the Café
Join us to hear our own Sue Miller read from her just-published science fiction tale Is There Anybody Out There?

1:30 pm to 3:30 pm

Various Venues

Author Presentations—Late Session

Attend one of these offerings, included in your Saturday Sessions pass:

• North River Community Hall, 37 Oregon Road
  Michael Crummey—Writing from past lives

  A look at the research process that was at the heart of my three novels; how to work with historical material in a fictional context.

  How do you make archival material come to life? What responsibilities does a writer have to source material? How much fictionalising can historical stories take? Are there lines that can't be crossed? How do you avoid getting yourself shot by historians?

• Walsh-MacDonald Residence, 24 Meadow Road
  Marq de Villiers—Introducing the techniques of narrative non-fiction

  • The primary differences between fiction, non-fiction, and film
  • Finding the right tone
  • Finding the right style
  • Avoiding the over-use of historical narrative
  • A discussion of the four primary techniques of realism
  • The art of the paragraph and the use of surprise

• Shape Shift Pottery Retreat, 31 Oregon Road
  Sheree Fitch—Women and Words

  "Everyone is talented, original, and has something important to say."—Brenda Ueland in If You Want to Write

  How do we find faith in our voices, discover our own mythologies, and honour the creative gifts we are given as we explore in the world of words? How do we tell our stories and define our lives? What stories are we burning to tell?

  This workshop includes guided exercises to spark the inner writer in everyone, and focuses on authentic voice and vision.

5:00 pm

Book Fair and Café close

7:30 pm to 9:00 pm

North River Community Hall
37 Oregon Road, North River

Vision—a Dramatic Adaptation

Cape Breton playwright Bev Brett interprets this Alistair MacLeod short story.

Included in your Saturday Evening pass.

9:30 pm to 11:30 pm

Rocky Shore Entertains

Cape Breton music performed by some of our best!

• The Readers' Market is open.
• The cash bar is open.
• Pub snacks on offer.
• Included in your Saturday Evening pass.

9:30 am to 2:00 pm

North River Community Hall
37 Oregon Road, North River

Readers' Market

• Guest artists' books and music for sale. When authors are not otherwise occupied, you'll find them here to sign your purchases.

9:30 am to 10:00 am

Morning Break

• Join us for a wake-up snack before the morning's events get going.
• Tea, coffee, treats. Browse the Readers' Market!
• Included in your Sunday pass.

10:00 am to 11:30 am

Moderated Panel Discussion Writing Maniac: How I Grew Up to Be a Writer

• Michael Crummey, Marq de Villiers, and Sheree Fitch tell us how this happened to them, and how they like the life. Thanks, Sheree, for letting us steal the title!
• Moderated by Frank Macdonald, celebrated author of A Forest for Calum, long-time journalist, and former publisher of The Inverness Oran.
• Included in your Sunday pass.

12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

Sunday Brunch

• Join us for a delicious Brunch.
• Lacto-ovo vegetarian options.
• Prepared by Lisa Finney; featuring local seasonal produce.
• Included in your Sunday pass.

12:45 pm to 1:30 pm

Tuneful Storytelling

• Singer-songwriter and North River native Carmel Mikol shares her music and her words as we settle back and compare new memories of the weekend.
• Included in your Sunday pass.

1:45 pm to 2:00 pm

Closing of the Festival