Editor’s Notes

Greetings Dear Readers,

We are now in the heart of summer. I hope you are finding some joy. The July issue features rhubarb, salt, cake, and the sweet taste of solitude. I hope you enjoy the issue.

I am very pleased to announce that Bywords has been awarded a Project Grant from the City of Ottawa again this year. This grant allows us to pay our contributors for the remainder of the year and to go forward with our plans to publish the Newlove Award chapbook and hold the reading in the autumn via the Ottawa International Writers Festival. Our judge for the John Newlove Poetry Award this year is Elee Kraljii Gardiner. She will be choosing from the poems published between September 2020 and August 2021 to decide on a winner and honourable mentions.

Throughout the year, Bywords editors have been working with Megan Misztal on her chapbook manuscript. It is always a pleasure to participate in this process and get a chance to support the poets in creating a work they can be proud of. We will finalize the chapbook in the next few months, after which it will be printed by the wonderful local print shop, Elephant Print, owned and operated by Naheed Davis, who we have been working with for years for Bywords chapbooks. She always does an amazing job. You can purchase previous chapbooks in the John Newlove Poetry Award Series from the Bywords.ca store. And once we can do it, we'll be back to selling them at the Ottawa Small Press Book Fair.

Thanks to our selection committee this month:

Jesse Aubin
Dan Boland
Margo Lapierre
Stephanie Mason
Kemisha Newman
Jade Riordan
Helen Robertson
Carol A. Stephen
JC Sulzenko

If you have questions, suggestions, or a picnic hamper full of treats to offer, please feel free to e-mail me at amanda@bywords.ca.

Take care of yourself and your loved ones and enjoy the sunshine.

Amanda Earl

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