Catherine Austen Writing

I was thrilled to receive a grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec this fall to compile my short story collection, "Alone in the World." (The title sounds depressing, but there will be a lonely laugh or two in there amongst the tears.) I'll be spending the next few months finishing the book while sending out individual stories for publications in literary journals....

Short Story News and Markets I was thrilled to receive a grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec this fall to compile my short story collection, “Alone in the World.” (The title sounds depressing, …

Come out this weekend to a free bilingual celebration of literacy in Aylmer (Gatineau) featuring authors for all ages. Join me and a dozen other local authors in the Librairie Michabou Bookstore this weekend for the first annual Gatineau Book Festival to celebrate reading and writing for all ages. This 2-day event will take place on Friday, September 8th from 10:00 am-6:00 pm and Saturday, September 9th from 10:00 am-7:00 pm at the…...

Gatineau Book Festival Come out this weekend to a free bilingual celebration of literacy in Aylmer (Gatineau) featuring authors for all ages. Join me and a dozen other local authors in the Librairie Michabou Bookstore th…

Literary performance and spoken word artists in Quebec, it's the last call for the QWF Spoken Word Prize. Deadline July 2, 2023. Check it out.

Call for Submissions: 2023 QWF Spoken Word Prize – Quebec Writers' Federation News Call for Submissions: 2023 QWF Spoken Word Prize Posted on: 17 April, 2023 Category: Calls for Submissions, QWF Awards, QWF News Deadline for submissions: July 2, 2023 Winners to be announced at the QWF Awards Gala: November 13, 2023 Download This Call for Submissions as a pdf Up to three prize...

The Ottawa Public Library's Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest was a huge success this year, with more entries than ever. Over 700 young writers of poetry, comics, and short stories submitted pieces this winter, leaving judges like me with many difficult decisions (but many hours of delightful reading!). Check out the library's post of all the winners and honourable mentions…...

Awesome Authors 2023 (Update) The Ottawa Public Library’s Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest was a huge success this year, with more entries than ever. Over 700 young writers of poetry, comics, and short stories submit…

It was fab! In person! So many happy young faces! So many talented authors and illustrators! This year's MYAIF was a one-day event at Ottawa's Science and Technology Museum. And what a day! Hosted by JustJamaal ThePoet, with over 140 kids attending, with workshops led by Tim Wynne-Jones, Philippa Dowding, Adrienne Kress, Soyeon Kim, Kean Soo…...

MASC Young Authors and Illustrators Festival 2023 (Update) It was fab! In person! So many happy young faces! So many talented authors and illustrators! This year’s MYAIF was a one-day event at Ottawa’s Science and Technology Museum. And what a …

I'm resurrecting my old list of Young Writers' Markets because there are so many young writers who are not eligible to submit to the Ottawa Public Library's Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest. What are they to do with their awesome stories, poems, and comics? Well... If you are a young writer in Canada with no local contests to enter, there is still a market for your work....

Young Writers’ Markets I’m resurrecting my old list of Young Writers’ Markets because there are so many young writers who are not eligible to submit to the Ottawa Public Library’s Awesome Authors Youth …

It's back! In person! And I want to see you there. Young writers and artists in eastern Ontario and western Quebec can sign up now for the MASC Young Authors and Illustrators Festival (MYAIF) to be held in Ottawa on April 4th....

MASC Young Authors and Illustrators Festival 2023 It’s back! In person! And I want to see you there. Young writers and artists in eastern Ontario and western Quebec can sign up now for the MASC Young Authors and Illustrators Festival (MYAIF)…

The Ottawa Public Library's Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest is back! Young writers of the nation's capital, get to work on your poems, short stories, and comics. You could win publication, glory, cold hard cash! The contest opened on January 10th and it closes on February 24th. Learn all the details from the Awesome Authors page on the OPL website....

Awesome Authors 2023 is on! The Ottawa Public Library’s Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest is back! Young writers of the nation’s capital, get to work on your poems, short stories, and comics. You could win pub…

Attention Quebec writers: There are loads of QWF workshops on offer in 2023. Check it out.

Winter & Spring 2023 QWF Workshops Are Now Open for Registration! – Quebec Writers' Federation News Winter & Spring 2023 QWF Workshops Are Now Open for Registration! Posted on: 16 December, 2022 Category: QWF News, QWF Programs, Workshops We are thrilled to present the Winter & Spring 2023 workshops in memoir, poetry, storytelling, screenwriting, literary translation, and much more! At this ...

I'm resurrecting my old list of Canadian litmags because it's just so handy for short story writers to know the word limits at a glance. Since I'm updating it for myself, why not share? I've been fortunate in having several stories (for adults) published this year, including a few in online journals: something funny in Carousel something sad in Prairie Journal…...

Stories and Litmags I’m resurrecting my old list of Canadian litmags because it’s just so handy for short story writers to know the word limits at a glance. Since I’m updating it for myself, why not …

The MASC Young Authors & Illustrators Festival is back! 📚

Students in grades four to eight are invited to sign up for a day of literary activities including artist presentations and hands-on master classes. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn valuable tips from the pros.

Join us on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at the Canada Science and Technology Museum (1867 St. Laurent Blvd. in Ottawa) and meet award-winning authors and illustrators Catherine Austen Writing, Philippa Dowding, Lesley Livingston, Soyeon Kim, and Tim Wynne-Jones.

Bring your imagination. Leave inspired!

Register here >> https://www.masconline.ca/event/masc-young-authors-illustrators-festival/
Cost: $65 + HST per participant

We are grateful to the Leacross Foundation and the Rbc Foundation Group for their support!

It's here, awesome authors! The latest volume of Pot-Pourri, containing all the winning stories, poems, and graphic narratives from Ottawa's Awesome Authors aged 9-18. Buy your copy today....

Pot-Pourri 2022 It’s here, awesome authors! The latest volume of Pot-Pourri, containing all the winning stories, poems, and graphic narratives from Ottawa’s Awesome Authors aged 9-18. Buy your copy tod…

Join me online next Saturday, November 12th, at 1pm EST for a one-hour workshop on characterization: Nice is Not Enough, part of the SCBWI (Canada East) "Digging Deeper" workshop series. Here's the blurb: Nice is Not Enough: Developing Likeable and Unlikeable Characters: What makes us root for a character? How flawed can a protagonist be? Is quirky the best we can make of sidekicks?...

November 12th Online Workshop Join me online next Saturday, November 12th, at 1pm EST for a one-hour workshop on characterization: Nice is Not Enough, part of the SCBWI (Canada East) “Digging Deeper” workshop series…

It was an honour to be on the jury of the Ottawa Book Awards this year, with fellow jurors Conyer Clayton and Faizal Deen. We considered more than 80 submissions in the English Fiction category, including poetry and prose for all ages. With such a talented pool of authors in Ottawa, it was difficult to narrow down the finalists to these fabulous five....

Judging the 2022 Ottawa Book Awards It was an honour to be on the jury of the Ottawa Book Awards this year, with fellow jurors Conyer Clayton and Faizal Deen. We considered more than 80 submissions in the English Fiction category, i…

I’m pleased to join the many authors making book recommendations on the new book discovery site, Shepherd.com. Check it out to discover the books your favourite authors recommend....

http://catherineausten.com/2022/09/30/discover-the-best-books-on-shepherd-com/

Discover the Best Books on Shepherd.com I’m pleased to join the many authors making book recommendations on the new book discovery site, Shepherd.com. Check it out to discover the books your favourite authors recommend.

Join me in Shawville, Quebec, on September 10th for a celebration of literacy.

Celebrating Literacy I’m thrilled to be heading to Shawville, Quebec, next month for “Get the Word Out!,” a literacy festival hosted by the Western Quebec Literacy Council. I’ll be joining other…

The Autumn 2021 issue of The Dalhousie Review, released in Spring 2022 🙂 I'm thrilled to have a short story in the latest issue of The Dalhousie Review -- my first one in its pages. The magazine was founded in 1921 and is still in print after 100 years. Amazing. My story, "Down the Drain," is about a writer on the brink of madness....

http://catherineausten.com/2022/05/27/short-stories/

Short Stories The Autumn 2021 issue of The Dalhousie Review, released in Spring 2022 :-) I’m thrilled to have a short story in the latest issue of The Dalhousie Review — my first one in its pages. Th…