Literary arts

March 20, 2025 - the official first day of Spring. Yet I just drove to work with snow on the ground. This dichotomy used to cause me grief until I started to take note of the small local changes in season and appreciate natures more subtle brushstrokes.

This practice was one of the inspirations of “Nom Chomp”, our upcoming video game where the Nom makes their way through painted landscapes representing Alberta’s seasons.Following the inspiration of seasons has led to us to the art of Haiku. This form of poetry historically includes allusions to the seasons and we would like to incorporate a poem at the end of each round of gameplay.

The challenge for this competition is to write a traditional or modern haiku (not requiring the 5-7-5 structure) reflecting on your personal experience of ‘Spring in Alberta’. As the Nom moves through the world by eating, additional consideration will be given to poems that reference related terms (such as savouring, tasting, eating, etc.).

The submission period opens May 1, 2025, and will close May 28, 2025, at 11:59 pm. MST. Each participant may enter only once, submitting a maximum of two original, self-authored haiku via email to hoby@copperkettlegameoworks.ca . Please submit unpublished work.

There will be one official winner and four honourable mentions chosen by the crew at Copper Kettle with the guidance of Haiku author Tim Sampson. Winners will be notified by e-mail in early June and then publicly announced June 5th, 2025.

The official winner will receive: Their poetry featured in the game. Their poetry featured on a printed art poster. A cash prize of $120 CAD. A copy of the game upon release. A copy of the printed art poster Various features across social media.

The four honourable mentions will receive: Their poetry included in the game. A cash prize of $20 CAD Various features across social media.

Announcing the third year of The Prairie Grindstone Prize — a $50,000 literary award that acknowledges a hardworking, engaged prairie writer. 

Nominations for The Prairie Grindstone Prize open on April 1 and will close on May 15 at midnight.

This annual prize, funded by an anonymous donor committee, alternates between the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. This year, the prize will be awarded to an Alberta writer. The Prairie Grindstone Prize recognizes prairie writers of fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction with a cash prize of $50,000 that will enable the writer to focus on their work for a year or more.

This is not a book prize. It is awarded in acknowledgement of an author’s body of work and their contribution to the public’s appreciation for and understanding of Western Canada’s landscape, people, history, and culture.

The writer must have been a resident of the province of Alberta for the past five years, have a minimum of four professionally published books, and be an active member of the local writing community.

Authors may not self nominate and recipients will be selected by a jury of peers.

Full nomination guidelines can be found here: www.prairiegrindstoneprize.ca/nominate Letters of nomination and inquiries can be sent to grindstoneprize@gmail.com 

For more information, please contact
Lisa Murphy Lamb, Jury Chair
Jun Lee, Marketing
e: grindstoneprize@gmail.com 

www.prairiegrindstoneprize.ca
IG: @prairiegrindstoneprize
FB: Prairie Grindstone Prize

WordsWorth 2025: OURTIME is open for registration!

Week 1 (ages 11 – 14): July 13-18, 2025
Week 2 (ages 15 – 19): July 20-25, 2025

Early Bird rate: $630
Regular rate: $655

Location: Red Deer Polytechnic, Red Deer, AB

WordsWorth is a week-long sleepover creative writing residency for young artists who believe in the power of words and storytelling. Campers will be completely immersed in the creative and diverse world of writing. Guided by established and respected artist-instructors, the young artists will experience writing through fiction, nonfiction, poetry, spoken word, music, movement, and more. But the experiences don’t begin and end with the classes; WordsWorth is a place where young artists come together to celebrate writing through friendship, campfire stories and songs, concerts, open mic sessions, hikes, haiku, and semi-competitive games outside of class.

Register and learn more: writersguild.ca/programs-services/wordsworth 

Building on the impactful presentations and dialogues held at the 2023 Prairie Art Institute in Regina, we are excited to announce the upcoming Prairie Art Network Institute, scheduled for June 25–27, 2025, in Calgary.

This year’s Institute will take place at the Alberta University of the Arts, with the support of partner institutions across Alberta. We will continue to provide a platform for exchanging pedagogical, curatorial, and research strategies that respond to the transformations specific to the Prairie context while also highlighting the art and culture emerging from local communities.

Sessions will include the following panels;

• Creative Visions of the Land
• Teaching Art History in the Prairies
• Curating and Communities in the Prairies
• Crafting the Prairie: Expanding Possibilities
• Artists, Transformation, and Change in Prairie Environments Since 2000

Details about the Keynote speaker will be announced in early June.
Register for early bird tickets now! 

For further information, check out  Prairie Art Network Institute 2025. 
Find us at Illingworth Kerr Gallery | Alberta University of the Arts for more details, questions, or concerns. 

Image: Prairie Art Institute 2023, June 15–17, 2023, Regina, SK. Image courtesy of Prairie Art Network.