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Reading Words for Listening Ears

Mark Koning

Ever asked yourself what it would be like to experience multiple books at one time? Saturday May 13th 2017 will allow just that and the possibilities of the experience are beyond endless.

I’m referring to The Bookshelf, a book fair led by the Writer’s Community of York Region, which will showcase the hidden gems and talent of 14 local authors who will share readings from a range of genres from Poetry to Fiction, from Children’s tales to Mystery. Starting at 10am and going until 1:30pm, people will be given the opportunity to go on storytelling tours, to hear the written words in their truly authentic nature, from the mind of their creator.

Some of our amazingly talented readers:

Top left: John Di Leonardo, Jen Frankel, Kamal Palmer, Judy Penz Sheluk, and Mark Pezzelato

Bottom left: Donna Koffman, Mary Louise Jarvis, Wendel Messer, Val Tobin, and Cynthia St-Pierre

There is nothing like hearing from the written teller of tales as they weave through their work, doing their best to capture and intrigue the audience with the tools of their imagination and experiences. And the best part is, this is all a prelude to a larger world of story crafting.

Meet these writers and more inside the doors of The Bookshelf event. Think of these fourteen readers as the MC’s to a literary world of magic and wonder.  Listen; laugh; cry; take a spin on a rollercoaster; mostly though, enjoy!

THE SCHEDULE:

10:00-10:10am: Elise Abram – Genre: Fiction

10:15-10:25am: Mary Louise Jarvis – Genre: Non-Fiction

10:30-10:40am: Toronto Romance Writer

10:45-10:55am: Sigal Haber – Genre: Children’s/Fiction

11:00-11:10am: Mark Pezzelato – Genre: Non-Fiction

11:15-11:25am: Ont. Poetry Society – Genre: Poetry

11:30-11:40am: Wendel Messer – Genre: Fiction

11:45-11:55am: Judy Penz Sheluk – Genre: Mystery

12:00-12:10pm: Cynthia St-Pierre – Genre: Mystery

12:15-12:25pm: Donna Koffman – Genre: Children’s

12:30-12:40pm: Jen Frankel – Genre: Speculative Fiction

12:45-12:55pm: Toronto Romance Writer

01:00-01:10pm: Moe Vyas – Genre: Fiction

01:15-01:25pm: Val Tobin – Genre: Speculative Fiction

Come Meet Your Next Favourite Author!

Vendor Registration is Now CLOSED

MJ Moores

REGISTRATION is now CLOSED for May 2017

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It’s official! All vendor tables for THE BOOKSHELF 2017 are fully registered. We would like to thank all those authors, artists, and literary/genre themed sellers who will be participating in a fun-filled day of fans, freebies, and finding new authors — we couldn’t do this without you.

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Vendor registration for 2018 will open November 2017.

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We hope that anyone who wanted to participate this year will still join us on May 13th to help celebrate Canadian literature and all things reading 🙂

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In the weeks leading up to THE BOOKSHELF event, be sure to watch for participating vendor highlights on our social media threads.

THE BOOKSHELF TEAM

Volunteers Needed

MJ Moores

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THE BOOKSHELF is a fantastic not-for-profit venue that works to unite readers with authors and provide fun reading-related craft items. It is our goal to help celebrate Canadian talent and provide a festive atmosphere where readers can meet their next favourite author.

However, events such as The Bookshelf cannot run on good-will alone. We need to rely on volunteers to help us both behind the scenes and on the day of the event.

This is an ALL CALL for EVENT DAY VOLUNTEERS 🙂

We require extra help in a number of different ways:

  • guiding vendors to their table during morning set up
  • helping return the space to “neutral” at the end of the day
  • watching vendor tables when someone needs to step away for a short period of time
  • assisting the Event Day Manager with the Welcome Table
  • handing out free prizes and giving away free stuff
  • letting people in the Farmers Market (at our booth) know what’s going on inside the Community Centre
  • advising author readers of when they need to be ready
  • running the beverage station and helping with tea, coffee, and water

As a thank you for donating your time, anyone who is able to help for 3+ hours will receive a free lunch from our Literary Cafe (located on the premises) and unlimited beverages during the duration of your aid.

We will need help at various times throughout the day starting from 7:30am – 3pm. Please contact the Event Coordinator at thebookshelf@wcyork.ca before Monday April 24th.

Our Social Media Partners

Douglas Owen

We are Just Testing

Social MediaYes, it happens all the time. Something goes wrong and our social media feeds stop working. But this is not the end of the road. No, we are diving into the problem and checking out what can be done about it. In order to see what the problem is, this post is being made.

That’s right, this post is not about information, it is about testing our site in order to make sure everything is working correctly. We want people to know what is happening with The Bookshelf, and in order to do that, we need it to push to our Social Media accounts. If it does not, then how else are you going to get important information about this wonderful event?

Keep your eyes open for what comes down the pipe in the next few days.

And make sure you bookmark our website, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and just basically keep your friends in the loop about what you will be doing come the day of May 13th!

See you at The Bookshelf!

!THANK YOU!

MJ Moores

The Volunteers at THE BOOKSHELF can’t thank our sponsors enough for all of their wonderful contributions. Without them, it would be nearly impossible to run this Reading & Book Event so that our local authors can interact with the community 🙂

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If you or someone you know would like to support this “love of reading” event, please check us out on our website.

All the Best,

The Bookshelf Team

Come Meet Your Next Favourite Author

Writers’ Community of York Region     Town of Newmarket       Newmarket Farmers Market  

           I C Publishing           Studio Comix Press           Galaxy Teas

Meet Mystery Author Cynthia St-Pierre

MJ Moores

Newmarket mystery author Cynthia St-Pierre is looking forward to meeting readers from across the GTA and beyond at The Bookshelf 2017 on Saturday May 13th from 9am-2pm.

A member of Crime Writers of Canada, International Thriller Writers, and Short Mystery Fiction Society, Cynthia’s recipes and short stories appear in magazines and collections, including Harmoni, Feastie, Finding Vegan, Over My Dead Body!, Mystery Weekly and Flash Bang Mysteries. Awarded for fiction, she has also been a writing contest judge.

Best of all for a mystery writer, Cynthia has received a York Regional Police Citizens Awareness Program certificate, presented and signed by Julian Fantino, former Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police.

Cynthia grows fruit and vegetables in her backyard, speaks English-accented French with her husband, Yves, and writes mystery novels with her friend Melodie Campbell. Come to The Bookshelf to pick up A Purse to Die For and A Killer Necklace!

Connect with Cynthia online:

@stpierrecynthia

Author Central

Crime Writers of Canada

Gearing Up for Another Great Event!

MJ Moores

The Bookshelf 2017 is Closer than you Think 🙂

The 2016 event saw more than 350 guests walk through our doors…

With over 50 Authors and Reading-related Vendors at the launch of the WCYR’s Bookshelf, we couldn’t be happier 😀 Check out the slideshow below for some highlights.

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For the 2017 Event we are carefully looking at the invaluable feedback received from guests and vendors alike. We are currently in conversation with the Farmers Market about expanding our presence in the marketplace on the day of the event, and opening up our Author Readings to early registrants as we work toward a new structure for presentation (more info to come in early winter).

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We look forward to having a wider variety of reading-related vendors present and broadening options at our Literary Cafe, as well as having multiple spot prize giveaways, a revamped scavenger hunt, and dollar-draws.

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With fun for the whole family, we can’t wait to see you on Saturday May 13th, 2017.

The Bookshelf’s Debut :)

MJ Moores

Oh what a packed and exciting day we had at The Bookshelf yesterday!

The vendors were wonderful, the volunteers fabulous, and the atmosphere electric. The organizers received lots of constructive feedback to help make next year’s event even better and we were pleased to see so many smiles on the faces of patrons and sellers alike.

Hope to see you next year at The Bookshelf!

(more pictures to come)

The Bookshelf 1

Storytelling: An Ageless Passion

MJ Moores

storytelling

A Good Book Never Goes Out of Style

Reading is not a solitary act. At the best of times children are read to by family, their teachers, beside friends in a room full of classmates. As adults we indulge in study groups, book clubs, public readings by authors or simply sit in a cafe, bookstore, or library sharing this common love of literature with the world around us. And then, even if readers find themselves alone, under the covers with a flashlight or by a fireplace on a rainy day we are not alone – the people and characters we read about are there to keep us company as we explore new ideas.

WCYR’s The Bookshelf is a celebration of reading and storytelling.

It is our goal to make accessible to the public as many authors, publishers, artists, and supporters of Canadian storytelling as possible. In fact, one of our key sponsors, I C Publishing, will also be on site at The Bookshelf to meet with and share their love of books and reading.

We had an opportunity to speak with the owner and operator of I C Publishing, Sheri Andrunyk, about her love of the craft. When asked what her favourite books have been since childhood she told us of these treasures and more:

CHILDHOOD

The Princess and the Pea, Twas the Night Before Christmas, Nancy Drew series, and Dr. Seuss books are the first that come to mind, but there are many, many more!

TEEN YEARS

The Erroneous Zones and Real Magic (among others) by Dr. Wayne Dyer, Thinking Big by David Schwartz

ADULTHOOD

The 7 Steps of Highly Effective People (and The 8th Habit) by Stephen R. Covey, The One Minute Millionaire – The Enlightened Way to Wealth by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert G. Allen, The Art of Stillness by Pico Iyer, The Anatomy of the Spirit by Carolyn Myss, and Quiet – The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

PARENTHOOD

Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World by Zig Ziglar, Driven to Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell MD and John J. Ratey, and Leaving the Light On by Smalley & Trent

WRITER/PUBLISHER

Besides the books my company publishes 🙂 I have enjoyed Unless It Moves the Human Heart by Roger Rosenblatt, Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury, and You Should Really Write a Book by Regina Brooks and Brenda Lane Richardson

And when asked what one book she would bring with her to a desert island, Sheri remained true to her non-fiction muses by answering:

Oh, there are far too many to choose from . . . perhaps something spiritual and/or motivating . . . or perhaps a how-to book on surviving (and thriving) on a desert island! 😉

We sincerely hope you join us at The Bookshelf on Saturday June 25th any time between 9am and 3pm. We have a wonderful Reading Room chock full of fantastic authors and a free scavenger hunt where every participant who solves the riddle-chart wins a prize before entering a draw for free books!

Come meet your next favourite author @ THE BOOKSHELF

The Pulse of a Bibliophile

MJ Moores

Heart Beat with Maya A Quote

Without storytellers, humanity would not function as we know it. And for every weaver of words or teller of tales there is a captive audience waiting to be moved, spellbound, and enthralled.

The Bookshelf is proud to continue this honourable tradition of bringing together storytellers and listeners/readers. But without dedicated volunteers and sponsors like I C Publishing, we would be hard pressed to bring over 55 local authors, publishers, and reading-related vendors together in this FREE event.

Join us at The Bookshelf on Saturday June 25th for a fantastic day of author readings. Participate in the free scavenger hunt to win books and place a bid in our silent auction for an opportunity to win hundreds of dollars in merchandise at a fraction of the cost.

Bring your family; bring your friends; bring dog, owl, rat or frog and meet your next favourite author 🙂

I C Publishing is an avid supporter of community events:

  • Member of the Community Advisory Council for York Housing and Support Services serving Belinda’s Place and Salvation Army Sutton Youth Shelter
  • Editorial and Consulting Sponsor of Portraits of Giving 2016
  • Founder of the Hearts Linked by Courage Series celebrating the strength of the human spirit and the value of community, and supporting not-for-profits

For more info: http://www.icbookstore.ca/095~Community/