Trillium Book Awards Author Reading 2015

THE WALLFLOWER CONFESSIONS

Submitted by bstone on July 7, 2008 - 6:23am
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4. After the Party’s Over

The pinnacle of the beginning of the process is the launch party.

Cormorant threw a shindig and people I hadn’t seen in years came. Family flew in from other places to surprise me. I bought a new dress (described by my less-than-tactful friend as ‘conservative’ and ‘slippery’, although that seems to be an impossible combination to me).

After the party, I spent the weekend with my surprise guests, dissecting with my siblings which part of the book was most likely to trigger Mom’s stroke. They of course underestimate her, as she’s far tougher than she seems at 82.

Then, everyone one went home. I gathered up the empty wine bottles to return and did the laundry. I held the book in my hand and flipped through it. The book is not officially published and open for reviewing until it is launched.

As of April 3rd, 2008 No BS went to sea, champagne smashed and all. I thought, now what?

My house was awful quiet again. Maybe I should start a new story. Or maybe I could tear out the bathroom…..

The views expressed in the Writer-in-Residence blogs are those held by the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Open Book: Toronto.

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The Long Odds

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Submitted by Andrew Forbes on May 20, 2016 - 8:53am

The Long Odds

I used to keep a Word document detailing where I'd sent what. Now it's a Google spreadsheet, colour coded, sortable. It lists the titles of completed stories and their word counts, tells me where I sent a certain piece, on what date and, eventually, the decision rendered by the outlet. A white row means that, for whatever reason, I have not yet released that piece out into the world to be judged. A row bathed in yellow means I am in the midst of the frequently months-long wait to learn of the editors' decision. Green means a piece has been accepted, and thus retired from the submission circuit. Red means rejection.

There is a lot of red.

Beverley Stone

Beverley Stone grew up in outport Newfoundland before moving to Toronto to attend Osgoode Hall Law School. Her first novel, No Beautiful Shore, is published by Cormorant Books (2008).

Go to Beverley Stone’s Author Page