News Items

Susan Jennings has been elected president of Ottawa Independent Writers for 2012.

Jennings replaces Carl Dow, whom she defeated in an election at the organization’s Annual General Meeting on Feb. 23

She is a published author who has been a member of OIW for five years. Prior to becoming president, she held the position of Vice-President and has also served as OIW’s Social Director. Her other contributions include co-organizing OIW’s annual writers’ retreat in Pembroke.

OIW was created in 1984. It consists of approximately 160 authors, journalists, freelance writers, poets, illustrators, editors and publicists, covering most genres.

“President is being a team leader regardless of the organization,” Jennings said in an address to the AGM prior to the vote. “Because of my leadership skills and passion for both writing and author/writers I think being the leader of OIW would be a welcome challenge and one that I feel adequately qualified to fill.”

All other members of OIW’s 2012 board of directors were voted in by acclamation. They are:

Bill Horne, Vice-President and Corporate Secretary; Darren Jerome, Treasurer; Kathy Champagne, Membership Director; Lorna Clark, Recording Secretary; Randy Ray, Communications Director; Theresa Jobateh, Web Strategy Director, Neven Humphrey, Hospitality Director; George Laidlaw, Director at Large; Beverley Blanchard, Director at Large; Bob Barclay, Member Communications Director, Brooke Broadbent, Member Communications Director, Brian McCullough, Director, Volunteers and Carl Dow, Past President.

Ottawa Independent Writers (OIW) has created a writing scholarship for students who attend the University of Ottawa (U of O).

Known as the Ottawa Independent Writers’ Scholarship for Creative Writing, it will award $500 per year to a student involved in creative writing courses at U of O during the academic years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13.

The first and third years will see scholarships given to the student who has achieved the highest mark on the portfolio of finished works completed at the end of the seminar ENG3264, Creative Writing, a U of O course in the English program.

The second year will see a scholarship given to a deserving undergraduate student registered in a program at the Département de français at U of O that includes at least one course in creative writing. Applicants must submit a portfolio composed of three of their finished works.

OIW’s board of directors will review the scholarship in 2012 and decide if it will be renewed.

"OIW does its best to help writers in the Ottawa area develop their skills. Our board felt it was appropriate for the organization to contribute money to deserving young writers who show promise during their academic years," said OIW President George Laidlaw.

Ottawa Independent Writers is a 165-member organization created in 1984 as a gathering place for people with a passion to weave fiction and non-fiction books and short stories, write poetry and plays and string words together in a variety of other formats. OIW provides a venue where writers and others can share experiences and learn new aspects of their craft.

Members are involved in fiction and non-fiction writing, children's literature, advertising, biographies, business communications, literary publicity, book illustrating, editing, memoirs, translation, publishing, freelance writing and more. OIW meets monthly at Library and Archives Canada at 395 Wellington St. Its Web site is: www.oiw.ca

For more information, please contact: Randy Ray, OIW director of publicity at: (613) 731-3873 or rocket@intranet.ca

Please click here for an update on the 2009 OIW Membership Survey

OIW has produced a catalogue of its members' books in CD format, to be sent to buyers at major Canadian bookstores, libraries and school boards to boost the sale of books written by OIW authors.

Click to download the OIW Authors Catalogue [6MB, .pdf]