Find out more about my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket
Have you always wanted to write a family history but felt overwhelmed? Thought of writing a memoir but didn’t know how to start? Would you like to document the highlights of your organization’s past? I’ll be sharing both practical and inspirational tips — and how to avoid research pitfalls — in my new Vancouver School…
Life’s challenges can sometimes bring fear and doubt. How do you sustain your faith, allowing it to flourish? What symbols or metaphors represent your faith journey: e.g. a mighty rock, flowing river or immovable mountain? What does faith look and feel like for you? Who or what tests or strengthens it? Please note that as…
Look for me outside the downtown Vancouver Public Library on Sunday, Sept. 27 at the annual Word Vancouver event. I’ll have a Meet the Author banner and a display table with all of my books for sale, including anthologies that feature my writing, such as Emails from India and Raincoast Chronicles 22. Win a chance…
I’m pleased to be hosting a new workshop FROM GODDESS TO GAIA: Celebrate the Divine Feminine with SoulCollage(R) on Saturday, April 18 at a private home in Gibsons. This workshop, held from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., is open to anyone who wants to explore her deeper, feminine self. All materials are provided. We’ll briefly cover…
I’m honoured to introduce SoulCollage(R) on April 15 to those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. I’ll be hosting a private workshop from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. at the Sunshine Coast Hospice Society. This will provide an opportunity for people to grieve the loss of their loved one in a creative way…
Had a great time April 7-9 at the Powell River Digital Film School teaching high school students how to write short documentaries and dramas. They pitched film ideas for a three-minute profile, and school director Tony Papa and I critiqued them. I screened a variety of short videos, from mockumentaries to Academy-award-winners. Lots of stimulating…
What are the challenges of writing about trauma, whether it’s sexual abuse, incest, or a life-altering illness? How do you connect with others through a personal story of crisis? These are some of the topics to be addressed next month at an event I’m co-hosting. Manitoba author Donna Besel and I are presenting a panel discussion…
It wasn’t Sam McGee’s fiery demise in Lake Lebarge, but I knew that Stewart River in the Yukon was the right spot to honour her memory. Before writer friend Janet Collins died in the summer of 2013, she made an innovative request to those who later attended her memorial. To find out how I fulfilled her…
Most Canadians consider Sir John A. Macdonald, the nation’s first prime minister, as “the Father of Confederation.” But this crusty politician, an ancestor of mine on my mother’s side, might well be called “father of residential schools.” Want to learn how his policies launched aboriginal children into decades of forced assimilation and abuse? Read my opinion piece “Macdonald’s legacy not…
I’ll be selling my books and staffing a table at Word Vancouver this Sunday, Sept. 28 outside the downtown public library. Come by and chat any time between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Word Vancouver is hosting a variety of readings and other events Sept. 24 to 27 at venues around the city, including Joy…
I’ll be retracing Ernest Hemingway’s steps in Pamplona, Spain, with tales of his favourite haunts, at Gibsons Public Library on Wednesday, July 16. I’ll give a five-minute reading of my blog post, written as part of my travel series on walking the Camino de Santiago. (I will be augmenting these into a book later.) My short presentation is part…
I’m hosting my first drop-in session of SoulCollage(R) on Saturday, June 28 at beautiful Mission Point House in Davis Bay. Enjoy the gorgeous waterfront views, forest shade, and tall cedars and Douglas firs while creating art that reflects a deeper you. This is NOT a structured workshop. Those already familiar with SoulCollage are welcome to…
My first involvement with restorative justice, which occurred in 2013 in Gibsons, BC, was hugely rewarding. I appreciated the opportunity to share my fear, anger, and forgiveness with an offender. This process reinforced my own view that reaching compassion and forgiveness is truly healing. I wrote a brief synopsis of my restorative justice experience in…
Celebrate sisterhood with creative women! Enjoy fun self-discovery on INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY with Trained SoulCollage® Facilitator HEATHER CONN Create compelling 5 x 8 collages that represent the inner and outer you. Learn a new form of sharing your life story. No experience necessary. All materials provided. 1 – 4 p.m. Saturday, March 8,…
I’m facilitating the SoulCollage® workshop “Rebirth: The Daring and Doubts of a New Beginning” on Feb. 7 at a private home in Burnaby. Inclusion is limited to those who have already taken one of my SoulCollage® workshops. Click here to find out more about my SoulCollage® workshops.
I’ll be one of the presenters at the Feb. 21 Pecha Kucha evening at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in Sechelt. Screening 20 images from my 800-kilometre walk, I’ll discuss the memorials en route and how the pathway invites contemplation regarding death and eternal life. The event begins at 8 p.m.; doors open at 7:30….
I’ll be teaching screenwriting short documentaries and dramas at Powell River Digital Film School in Powell River, BC from Feb. 24-27 inclusive. This will be my third visit to the school. I love helping the students with ideas and structure for their year-end video and giving them new ideas for projects. I learn a lot…
If you’re looking for a holiday gift and want some written inspiration, why not buy a book? I’ll be at Windows on the Water (formerly Woods Showcase) at Sunnycrest Mall in Gibsons this Saturday (Dec. 14), from noon to 3 p.m. I’ll be selling and signing the following books that feature my writing: Emails from…
The Georgia Straight, Vancouver, B.C.’s entertainment weekly, has recommended Emails from India on its list of holiday gifts for travellers: Emails From India: Women Write Home Edited by Vancouverite Janis Harper, this book collects vignettes by 27 writers—many of whom are also from Vancouver—who have travelled on the subcontinent. The stories speak to the universal travel…
I’m delighted to be a contributor to this new, popular anthology of British Columbia history and coastal life. In the week of Dec. 2, 2013, it’s ranked #2 on Harbour Publishing’s bestseller list. Whooohooo! My feature explores the influential role that volunteers played in saving 6,000 hectares of wilderness forests and lakes, including bear and…
Discover how B.C.’s Sakinaw salmon were saved.What emergency visits did doctors make by boat on the coast in the 1980s? I’ll be doing a brief reading and presentation, with slide-show images, as part of the Sunshine Coast launch of Raincoast Chronicles 22: Saving Salmon, Sailors and Souls. This will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 4…
I’ll be selling new books Emails from India: Women Write Home and Harbour Publishing’s Raincoast Chronicles 22 plus some new, fun products related to my picture book Gracie’s Got a Secret in Gibsons, BC. Author Michael Maser and I will be staffing the MW Book Publishing table at Sunnycrest Mall from 9 a.m. to 5…
I’ll be one of five contributors doing a short presentation and reading at the Vancouver, BC launch for Harbour Publishing’s Raincoast Chronicles 22 anthology. The book Saving Salmon, Sailors and Souls: Stories of Service on the BC Coast celebrates the people who have defined British Columbia coastal history since 1972. My feature covers the impact…
My feature “Workshop inspired by El Camino pilgrimage” appeared in the Sept. 27, 2013 issue of Coast Reporter on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast. The piece promoted my workshop “Twelve Gifts of the Camino,” inspired by my 800-kilometre pilgrimage through France and Spain in May and June 2013. Click this 12 Gifts of the Camino link to read…
Archetype: The Pilgrim What symbols represent your life journey? What’s helping you live your dream? What’s holding you back? What thresholds have you crossed or need to cross? Through a symbolic journey of creative play and walking meditation, discover the gifts of the sacred pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago. With the help of…
I’m one of 30 writers featured in a new anthology Emails from India: Women Write Home, published by Seraphim Editions. I’ll be reading at the book’s Vancouver launch on Sunday, Oct. 6 at Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and readings will begin at 8 p.m. The People’s Co-op Bookstore…
For the next two to three months, I’ll be writing a series of weekly posts, with photographs, about my 800-kilometre walk along the El Camino in France and Spain. Each week, I’ll feature a new topic, from “creating sacred space” to “the Roman road.” I look forward to a lively discussion with readers. If…
An interview with me regarding my year of college and work in Switzerland in 1976-77 appears on the website of the Swiss consulate in Vancouver, BC. Click here to read it and see related photographs.
Author reading of my children’s book Gracie’s Got a Secret at Gibsons Public Library in Gibsons, BC. The event, hosted by children’s librarian Heather Evans-Cullen, includes puppets and an opportunity for hands-on crafts. Click here to see photos of the event.
NOVEMBER 15 to DECEMBER 10 The Gibsons Public Art Gallery in Gibsons, BC will feature the creative works of 40+ members, including me, at a show honouring Leonard Cohen. I will be exhibiting a collage that features the chorus of Cohen’s song Anthem. The gala reception for Hallelujah!: a Tribute to the Songs of Leonard…