Editor’s Notes

Greetings Readers,

June's issue features the moon, rockets, salt and a rock-formation. It's no surprise that all of the poems are set outside, given the onset of actual warm weather at last. Let's celebrate by reading some poetry and even writing some.

Are you a current or former Ottawa student, resident or worker? Send us your poems. Guidelines are on the site. Don't be daunted. You just need to send up to five poems in one document along with a cover letter with a current address, and a biography in the third person. In the letter, if your current address is not in Ottawa, you must also specify your Ottawa connection. Bywords.ca publishes the work of emerging and established poets. Our selection committee reads the poems without knowing your identity. If you've never written a bio for yourself before, take a look at the Writers' Index to see how it's done. If you don't have any publishing credits yet, list a few of your activities, such as volunteer work or a contemporary poet who influences you.

If your poem is published on Bywords.ca, not only will you receive a $40 honorarium, but your poem will also be considered for the John Newlove Poetry Award. This year the judge is Montreal poet Gillian Sze. Winners and honourable mentions receive an honorarium for reading, a copy of "A Long, Continual Argument: The Selected Poems of John Newlove" (Chaudiere Books, 2009) and an opportunity to read at the Fall edition of the Ottawa International Writers Festival, complete with swag bag and Festival pass giving access to the entire Festival for free. The winner will also have the opportunity to have a chapbook edited and published by Bywords.ca. That's quite a haul. So get your poems in today. And feel free to contact me with any questions you might have. I'm a friendly person and Bywords is a labour of love.

Speaking of love, Bywords will have a table at the Ottawa Small Press Book Fair on Saturday, June 24. It is free to the public. We'll be selling copies of chapbooks from the John Newlove Poetry Award chapbook series and giving you a special gift for stopping by. Come say hi, but don't show up with a manuscript in hand. That's a small press fair faux pas.

Thanks to our selection committee this month:

Wes Babcock
Robert Martin Evans
Jason Lamantia
Anne LeDressay
Tanya Mead
Kemisha Newman
Leslie Smith
Carol A. Stephen
JC Sulzenko
Rob Thomas

If you have questions, comments, suggestions or a cure for dizzy spells, please contact me at amanda@bywords.ca.

Amanda Earl
Managing Editor

For regular event updates, please follow us on Twitter or join our FaceBook fan page.