Archive for April, 2011
NMA SOS?
An embarrassing public reveal of a list of nominees, a month ahead of schedule, and complaints from a National Magazine Award judge about problems with the judging process, suggest that all is not well with the annual literary awards. On April 6, word spread quickly around Twitter that a list of this year’s NMA nomimees […]
Toronto Standard launch showed off publisher’s assets
Last night, Toronto Standard went live, and a party held to fête the new Toronto-focused site, a “daily digital briefing on the life of the city,” made no effort to hide the strong financial backing provided by founder and publisher Lee Polydor, investor and founder of Queen Street Capital Partners. An open bar, swanky hors […]
Kurt Vonnegut’s tips for storytellers
Whether you’ve seen it before and need a refresher or it’s new to you, this lecture by the late Kurt Vonnegut—who began his incredibly sucessful writing career as a journalist—on the “shape of stories” is as full of laughs as it is an instructive summary of the most popular narrative arcs, and, therefore, always worth […]
Freelance court interpreters consider unionizing
Ottawa-area freelance court interpreters, who provide an essential service in court cases involving non-English-speaking individuals, are continuing a work stoppage that began in February and are considering joining a union, according to this story from the Lawyers Weekly. Those involved in the group action, with the backing of the Court Interpreters Association of Ontario, are […]
Not just for laughs
The story of a group of comedians gigging at the Comedy Store in the ’70s is being compared to the battle for fair compensation currently being fought by unpaid Huffington Post writers. After working for free for six years, the comics — including Jay Leno and David Letterman — were tired of watching the club’s […]
St. Joseph Media keeps mum about Torontoist plans
By Ian Harvey Three weeks after the announcement Torontoist had got hitched to St. Joseph Media, there’s a cone of silence on what the future holds for the newlyweds. Attempts by Story Board to interview the principals involved, Torontoist publisher Ken Hunt and St. Joe’s president Doug Knight, received short email responses or were ignored […]
CWG gets its writers on the Ontario design community’s radar
The Canadian Writers Group has signed on as the official Content Sponsor for the Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario. It’s a unique opportunity for the literary agency, says CWG’s Derek Finkle. “Sponsoring an organization like this is a way of spreading the word about what we do, in an effective and targeted way.” CWG will […]