Editor’s Notes

Greetings Readers,

I hope you're enjoying the cold crisp winter weather we've been having of late. This issue features two young poets who are currently in university. Mallory Tater won our Think Ink Secondary School Poetry Contest a few years ago and goes to the University of Victoria, while Ian Martin is a student at Carleton.

The day we go live for the January issue, January 15, is also the date of our ninth annual Bywords Warms the Night fundraiser for the Cornerstone Women's Shelter. The money we raise will help provide emergency shelter and support to Ottawa's downtown homeless women. This is one of two community outreach activities we participate in each year to show our city that we care. The second activity is Ottawa's AIDS Walk for Life which takes place in the fall. If you missed the fundraiser for Cornerstone, you can still donate directly to Cornerstone on their site.

To keep yourself warm, how about attending some of the great literary events happening in the city this winter? The schedule is up for the VERSeFest poetry festival, which will take place between February 28 and March 4. Check the Bywords.ca calendar to see the line up and go to www.versefest.ca for all the details, ticket prices and venues.

Thanks to our selection committee:

Janie Beriault
Gwen Guth
Pamela Mosher
Kemisha Newman
Claudia Coutu Radmore
Sarah-Grace Ross
Carol A. Stephen

If you have questions, comments or a pot of fragrant green tea to offer, please contact me at amanda@bywords.ca

For regular event updates, please follow us on Twitter or join our FaceBook fan page.

Amanda Earl