Booking a Name for The Book by Terry Carroll We decided to publish a book.
perhaps more for worse than better, we decided that short stories (not poems; don’t try to pigeon-hole a poet!) ‘must have a small-town theme’. That quote is from the unofficial notes from the April 19, 2023 organizational meeting. What we did not have was a name. In the beginning, we used as a working title, The Book . It survived until the annual general meeting of Elgin Writers Guild on April 9, 2024 when The Triad presented short-listed cover-art samples from St. Thomas Elgin Artists’ Guild and announced the book’s title: Railway City Writes followed by the subtitle: Short Stories and Poems from the Elgin Writers Guild. This was not met with a standing ovation. The reaction was closer to the sound of one hand clapping, followed by a couple of vituperative, if not opprobrious, objections. But what did The Triad expect from a group of individualists who spend all their spare time treating stories that are not true with more seriousness than the daily news? Debates ensued. What do we mean by small town? Does St. Thomas qualify? (Apparently, yes, if you travel from Toronto and no, if you wander in from Wardsville.) Next up, the sales and marketing quandary. We’re making The Book available online. Who in the Outer Hebrides or Malawi ever heard of the Railway City? Cowed by these responses, the Triad relented. We agreed to send out a new request for titles from the members publishing in The Book (including the poets). And we gave them a deadline. In its benevolent dictatorial style, the Triad whittled down the submitted entries to two: Railway City Writes and Talk of the Town . By a statistically significant margin of six to three (with one abstention from a rebellious holdout — a poet, of course — who liked neither title), local writers voted for Railway City Writes. We hope the name will last a hundred years, the life span of the name Kleenex, a product we imagine readers needing as they laugh and cry their way through this anthology. Fortunately, Railway City Writes is being published in the 21st century, not the 18th when literary disputes were settled by target pistols at dawn. Terry may be reached at terry@carrollgroup.ca. Coping with Grief? Looking to help those who are? Coping with Grief? Looking to help those who are? VON Middlesex-Elgin offers a Supportive Care Program that provides information, skills, knowledge and coping strategies to help you through your grieving process. Groups & One on One Peer Supports available
The ‘we’ in that sentence refers to the members of the Fiction Critique Group within Elgin Writers Guild,
an organization founded, appropriately enough, on April Fool’s Day, 2019. Four years later, a core group of us writing fools had been monthly critiquing each other’s 3,000-word submissions for 48 months without a single member having published any of their writing. ‘Let’s change that,’ we decided in the throes of a collective madness last seen when soccer fans were crushed into fences. ‘Let’s publish a collection of local fiction and poetry.’ On April 19, 2023, we met in a session chaired by James Miller, a fiction-writing machine, primarily in the area of speculative fiction, who may soon be publishing under his own name or adopting a nom de plume. See how important, but confusing, this naming business can be? In that same session, we established a timetable for the publication. This hallowed collection is to appear in October, 2024, pre-Christmas being the best time to launch a book and pray for sales. Shortly after that meeting, we selected Tara Walker — the grammar, punctuation and writing-rule queen of St. Thomas — as our editor. We settled on a publishing method, an editing schedule, a financial model and cooperation from the St. Thomas Elgin Artists’ Guild on cover art. Other practical considerations were relegated to a Triad consisting of James Miller, Tara Walker and me. Oh, yes, Geoffrey Rae Managing Editor / Sales Geoff@villagerpublications.com • 519-495-7177 Copy Editor: Peter Bloch-Hansen Publisher: Barb Botten barb@villagerpublications.com Graphic Artist – Cathy Wood Photos, community events and article suggestions welcome. Please email hometown@villagerpublications.com. We look forward to hearing from you. oomers oomers B and EYOND B Copyright @ 2015 Villager Publications. All rights reserved. This magazine or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the Publisher. Information presented has been compiled from sources believed to be accurate at the time of printing however the Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions.
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Page 14 Boomers and Beyond – Elgin • June 2024
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