Volume 2, Issue 7
July, 2025
Welcome to the July Newsletter!
We hope to keep you posted on local events, inspire you to read emerging authors, review your next great read and share tips and opportunities to help you keep your finger on the pulse of the Canadian literary community.
Friendly Authors Networking Socials (F.A.N.S.)
In response to requests, we are hosting gatherings for authors who are published and interested in networking with other authors. To learn and share insights on sales, networking, branding and other things that may facilitate income and possibly collaboration on future writing projects and events. It is not a writers' group but more a writers' 2.0 group. What is next, and how do I get these boxes of books into the hands of readers? Let's chat, share tips and learn from and with each other.
The first F.A.N.S. gathering for the fall season will be:
Saturday, September 13, 2025, 10:30 AM until 12:00 PM
Quality Foods - Upstairs Café, Eagle Creek Village Shopping Centre,
#110 - 27 Helmcken Road, Victoria, British Columbia
Bring your elevator speech and copies of the books you’d like reviewed.
September’s meeting will be followed by a Flash Workshop: Book Launch Organizing on any Budget. It will be held at the same location and day from 12:30 pm until 2:00 pm, and there will be a $10.00 per person charge!
Events to Consider
Vancouver Writers Fest - https://writersfest.bc.ca
Gibsons Art and Words Festival 2025 - https://gibsonspublicmarket.com/event/art-words-festival-2024-august-22-25/
Surrey International Writers Conference - https://www.siwc.ca
IV. Victoria Festival of Authors - https://victoriafestivalofauthors.ca
V. Federation of BC Writers - https://www.bcwriters.ca
VI. Canadian Authors Association - https://canadianauthors.org
VII. Victoria Writers’ Society – http://victoriawriters.ca
VIII. Pride In The Word - https://victoriapridesociety.org/pride-2024/literary/
IX. Denman Island Readers and Writers Festival - https://denmanislandwritersfestival.com/festival-2025/
Elephant Mountain Lit Fest – Nelson, BC - https://www.emlfestival.com
Word Vancouver - https://www.wordvancouver.ca
Fraser Valley Book Festival - https://www.fvwritersfestival.com
XIII. Weaving Words Indigenous Writers Festival, Prince George - https://www.weavingwords.ca
XIV. Comox Valley Writers Society - https://cvwriterssociety.ca/conference/2025-north-island-writers-conference/
XV. Whistler Writers Festival - https://whistlerwritersfest.com/
XVI. Wine Country Writers’ Festival - https://wcwfestival.com/
XVII. Word on the Lake - https://wordonthelakewritersfestival.com/
XVIII. Word on the Water - https://www.wordsonthewater.ca/
XIX. Vancouver Island Children’s Book Festival Nanaimo - https://www.vibookfest.ca/
XX. When Words Collide, Calgary, AB - https://www.whenwordscollide.org
July is Pride Month in Victoria!
Filidh Publishing took part in two Victoria Pride Events! The first was Pride in the Word on the evening of July 3rd at the Victoria Convention Centre. This was an evening of authors reading from their books, and the venue was packed! We spoke to many of the folks in attendance and made a few sales. But more importantly, we made people aware of who we are, what we do, and how long we’ve been doing it! People were delighted to find a local publisher with local authors.
Then on Sunday, July 7th, we took part in the After-Pride-Parade- Celebrations, Pride in the Park at MacDonald Park! The day started early, and we had to be at the park between 9 and 9:30 AM to unload our things. Since vehicles were not allowed into the park, we unloaded the vehicle outside the park, and after some sleuthing, we found our spot and had a fun day!
We had a really successful day too! The folks who visited us were delighted to find that Filidh is a local publisher with local authors.
There were two other things that seemed to engage those who visited us:
1. Many of our visitors during both events were delighted to find we had put out a Call for Submissions for our next anthology, and many took photos of the notice we had at our table.
BTW: Don’t forget to submit something you’re working on if you think it may fit! See our notice in this newsletter.
2. The other thing people were enthusiastic about was our Community Collaborative Short Story, in which various folks added one random sentence to create an ongoing story. You’ll find the results of that community collaboration below (spelling errors and all).
Especially for Pride
If you missed our vendor’s table and booth at the Pride events in Victoria, you can still pick up any of the books displayed. Go to our main page at filidhbooks.com and click on the Especially for Pride icon.
Select any of the books on the list and enter the code LOVEISLOVE at checkout to get 20% off your purchase.
Community Collaborative Short Story (July 7, 2025)
(sentences added by random people throughout the day)
I'll never know why I did it. All I knew was something had to change!
But instead of currents, the tide remained the same. I stared out at the writhing waves below. I dove in, for it was the only way forward. My friends met me there beneath the tumbling waves, circling and playing like seals in the tides.It had been a long time, but swimming comes like cycling.So I cycled hard into the rocky wild terrain. And took a big, long breath, before I plunged my head below the surface. Where my thoughts go, my energy flows, and from all the seeds I plant and make everything grows.It was the perfect reminder that just as the waves came crashing, and my heart keeps beating, I am one with every piece of the world around me. My head emerges from the water and I gasp for air. I became different, something knew. Something salty, and free and changed. Suddenly I was brine, I was the sun, I danced off waves – My ancestors called and I heard them, screaming, laughing, watching. It was a great start to my Sunday. But soon, I had to do something about the "incident" from earlier. When they try to break you: Be light, be water. So I turned my face up where the light fractured along the waves. I let the sun's warmth permeate my skin and the tide's coolness my bones. To let the flowers bloom, even through the pains of growth, I flourish. I closed my eyes, and with everything I was and am, I knew everything would be as it should. Ok!
Call for Submissions!
A Whale of a Tale: Anthology of the Sea
Deadline EXTENDED: August 31, 2025
Are you a writer with a passion for the ocean and its inhabitants? Filidh Publishing invites you to submit your short stories or essays for our upcoming anthology, "A Whale of a Tale: Anthology of the Sea."
Submission Guidelines:
- Genre: Short stories or essays
- Word Count: Minimum of 2,000 words
- Theme: The main character must be a sea creature
- Payment: 2.5 cents per word paid upon publication
- Additional Benefits:
- A copy of the completed work
- Ability to purchase at the publisher's price in the future
- Proceeds to charity as chosen by contributing authors
Dive into your imagination and bring the mysteries of the sea to life. We look forward to reading your tales!
manuscripts@filidhbooks.com
When Words Collide Festival for Writers and Readers!
August 15th to the 17th, 2025
Sheraton Cavalier Hotel
Calgary, Alberta
For anybody who is going to be in or around the Calgary area this August, Filidh Publishing will be taking part in the When Words Collide Festival in Calgary this August!
Not only will Filidh Publishing be there selling books, but our Managing Director, Zoe Duff, has been invited to take part in a panel discussion: Troubleshooting Your Manuscript (Friday, August 15 at 1:00 PM)
And, one of our authors, Ron Kearse, has been asked to take part in another panel discussion: A Hostile Age: LGBTQ+ Writings in an age Where Our Rights are Being Rolled Back (Sunday, August 17 at 3:00 PM)
So, if you happen to be in the area, come by and say hello, buy a book, and take part in the discussion panels! The host hotel is the Sheraton Cavalier at 2620 - 32 Ave. NE. Calgary, Alberta.
FILIDH PUBLISHING CORP
A Victoria, BC based small independent press that has been producing quality literature of adult and children’s genres from poetry to fiction to non-fiction for over 20 years. See us on Facebook, X, Instagram and at filidhbooks.com
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