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the Claremont Review's Annual Writing & Art Contest is on 02.05.2016

Last fall, we teamed up with the Claremont Review (tCR) an international magazine for young writers based out of Victoria, BC. tCR generously helped out the 2015-16 Alpha Textbooks Short Story Contest, by offering a space for our winners to be published in the journal. Judging for our contest is in the final stages, but tCR has a great contest of its own.

tCRs Annual Writing & Art Contest is open to teens (13-19) anywhere in the world. Not only are winners published, but they are awarded a handy sum of cash too. Jody Carrow, tCR editor-in-chief, told Alpha Textbooks “just this year [they] doubled the prize money, which makes the amounts very significant[,] $1000 for first” place, and a new $500 prize for visual arts. Second and third place young writers get $600 and $400 respectively. Winners are selected in both poetry and fiction categories.

Carrow mentions that the magazine receives entries from all over the world. Winners have come from Canada and the United States up until now, but she “expects that to change as [they] get more entries from youth around the world (Korea, Vietnam, India, the UK, Columbia, etc.).” The stories are kept anonymous throughout the judging process to keep the contest results free of bias.

When it comes to the volume of contest entries, Carrow says that she finds herself “in awe of how many young people still want to write”:

I am continuously amazed by the range of unique perspectives on age-old topics such as love, loss, identity, what makes a meaningful existence, relationships, the future…

To read so many heartfelt explorations of the human condition gives me hope for our collective future (even when, actually, ESPECIALLY when the writing is dark) because the act of writing means one hasn’t given up; it means that people still care to grapple with this great, messy, glorious event called Life.

What sets tCR apart from other magazines is that it offers feedback or mentorship to all youth who submit to the magazine. Unfortunately, because of the sheer volume of contest entries, the magazine editors cannot offer feedback on contest submissions. However, young writers are invited to rework their stories or poems and resubmit for general publication, or they can try submitting a totally different piece. Even if the works-in-progress aren’t published, the feedback process helps youths become better writers, bringing them one step closer to their goal.

Mentorship and feedback is essential to the longevity and quality of a young writer’s experience not only because when they take the time to read and consider it they become better writers, but the exchange creates a relationship that is always available to them. Our editors are committed to remaining mentors for young writers long after the initial exchange of feedback. Anyone who sends us work will get feedback from us and the writers/artists know they can write to us anytime with questions or concerns they have.

The contest deadline is March 15, 2016. Visit the Claremont Review‘s contest page for more details.

Read Alpha’s full interview with Jody Carrow.

the Claremont Review, along with the generous support of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament, and Pizza Pizza, made the Alpha Textbooks 2015-2016 Short Story Contest possible Thank You.

Heartfelt explorations of the human condition...Jody Carrow speaks about youth writing 02.04.2016

 

“… the act of writing means one hasn’t given up; it means that people still care to grapple with this great, messy, glorious event called Life. The fact that so many youth are choosing this method of making sense of the world means that they care deeply about the world they inhabit and want to share their perspectives on it.” ~ Jody Carrow

Nearly a quarter of a century old, the Claremont Review (tCR) is a journal that has come-of-age while publishing writers who are coming-of-age. As an international journal, the Canadian magazine publishes youth writing (ages 13-19) in English from five continents.

What separates the tCR from other journals is that it offers a rare, if not coveted, submission experience – the editors offer feedback: “All submissions accompanied by an email address receive a written comment on their work,” says the magazine’s website.

tCR also runs an annual contest. Not only are winners published in the magazine, but winners are offered generous monetary prizes. The 2016 first place winner is awarded $1000 CAD, second place receives $600, and third receives $400. Winners are selected in both poetry and fiction categories. There’s also one visual art prize of $500.

We spoke to Jody Carrow, Canadian writer and the editor-in-chief of tCR. Carrow offers an insightful understanding of youth writing, and the importance of nurturing and celebrating it.

Jody Carrow’s work has appeared in several Canadian literary magazines, including Grain and The Malahat Review (under her spy name: Jody Lesiuk). She has been a featured reader at many poetry events in Victoria, B.C., and is a graduate of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Victoria. As editor-in-chief at tCR, she is thrilled to work with skilled young writers and artists from all over the world.

This is what she had to say about youth writing and the contest:

Q: How long have you been volunteering at the Claremont Review as editor-in-chief and overall?

A: I have been with tCR for almost 4 years. I began as editor-in-chief and remain in that role. I am supported by an incredible team – Shannon Horlor, Leah Baade, Erin Renwick and Emily Henderson.

What inspired you to join the tCR?

Susan Stenson, a Victoria poet and co-founder of tCR, asked me if I would consider taking over the magazine as she, along with the other co-founders Terence Young and Bill Stenson, were looking to retire. They had been with the magazine for over 20 years and were looking to move on. I was very interested in the project because I love editing and the chance to be involved with a publication was a challenge I was keen to take on. My mind was virtually made up before I had even read any previous issues, but then when I actually read some back issues, I got really excited about what the pages held. I could not believe the quality of the writing – it far exceeded my expectations for youth literature (I am now humbled to admit). The writers became the inspiration for me.

How long has the Annual Writing Contest been running?

I believe there has always been a contest but just this year we doubled the prize money, which makes the amounts very significant ($1000.00 for 1st!) and added a first prize ($500.00) for visual arts.

What’s the contest vetting process like?

The process is a lengthy one as we get so many submissions and each one has to be read and considered. In the past I have done the shortlisting, but this year some of the editors will assist with that process. There is always a pile of obvious considerations, then a pile of maybes, and a pile of ones that don’t make the cut. The “maybe” pile is always the biggest and I return to it several times before making the final decision on what work goes to the judges. The shortlisting is a blind process, the cover letters are separated from the work before I even take a look at it to ensure no bias affects my decision making. Once there is a collection of work finalised in each category, we then send the work to the judges. We always have 2 judges in each category and have always managed to secure esteemed and successful writers to decide the winners. In the past we have had Melanie Siebert, Garth Martens, Ali Blythe, Jay Ruzesky, Hal Walling, Aaron Shephard, Susan Gee, Beth Copeland…this year’s judges are just being confirmed.

What’s your favourite part of the process (contest)?

My favourite part is the initial read through. Every year I find myself in awe of how many young people still want to write and take the time and effort to send us their work. I am continuously amazed by the range of unique perspectives on age-old topics such as love, loss, identity, what makes a meaningful existence, relationships, the future…

To read so many heartfelt explorations of the human condition gives me hope for our collective future (even when, actually, ESPECIALLY when the writing is dark) because the act of writing means one hasn’t given up; it means that people still care to grapple with this great, messy, glorious event called Life. The fact that so many youth are choosing this method of making sense of the world means that they care deeply about the world they inhabit and want to share their perspectives on it. This subverts the stereotype that youth don’t care about anything, that all that matters to them is the shallow surface of their lives. tCR proves how wrong anyone who assumes this is. The magazine (and others like it) gives us a glimpse into the future by showing us what matters to our youth. Anyone who doesn’t take the time to “check in” with this demographic by valuing and paying attention to their art has no idea what is going on or where the future is headed. Critics should be paying attention, social scientists should be reading us, political and spiritual leaders ought to know what is in our pages. The Canada Council for the Arts has been a huge proponent of what we do because they see the value in investing in a publication that showcases the talent of young writers and artists from Canada and around the world.

Are the winners generally from Canada, or have you had any international winners?

Both. We have winners from Canada in every contest and have had several from America. No one outside North America has won a prize yet, but I expect that to change as we get more and more entries from youth around the world (Korea, Vietnam, India, the UK, Colombia, etc.)

How do you think mentorship and feedback changes a young writer’s experience?

Mentorship and feedback is essential to the longevity and quality of a young writer’s experience not only because when they take the time to read and consider it they become better writers, but the exchange creates a relationship that is always available to them. Our editors are committed to remaining mentors for young writers long after the initial exchange of feedback. Anyone who sends us work will get feedback from us and the writers/artists know they can write to us anytime with questions or concerns they have.

It is very hard to have your work rejected. Adults struggle with it and I think it is especially difficult for young writers because they are that much more vulnerable to public opinion. This is why we give detailed feedback to every submitter (except for the contest entries) – we want them to know what is really great about their writing (and there is always something) and where it needs some work. This is done in the gentlest way possible while still giving them a taste of what the world of trying to publish looks like. We often hear back from youth who have given a piece another go and want us to take another look at it, or who have just even taken the time to write back and thank us for the feedback. We have a lot of repeat submitters, not all of whom have been published, so that gives us assurance that our feedback is useful and respectful. Something that builds writers up rather than tears them down.

In which countries is tCR distributed?

Magazines Canada distributes tCR in Canada and I believe the US. We get subscriptions from all around the world and handle those ourselves.

Have there been any future success stories of writers who were former contest winners or who got their career started at tCR?

Many, many writers who have published in tCR have gone on to become successful writers, filmmakers, poets, editors, etc.

Do you offer any special programs that writers, teachers or schools should know about?

In or around Victoria, BC where we are based, we offer free writing workshops and lectures to any class at the middle and high school level. We will travel to any school outside our region who would be willing to have us at their expense.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Yes, thank you. I would like to ask parents, teachers, relatives and elders to encourage creative expression in the youth they are privileged to know. Don’t be afraid of what they want to say or show you with their art – see it for what it is: a statement or comment on life from someone who cares deeply about itand an opportunity for you to connect with them in a real way about what may be going on in their lives. Don’t worry about them necessarily because their topic is dark or disturbing. It may be hard to read a poem about rape or a story about mental illness or suicide, or look at a painting depicting a dystopian violent world created by your son/daughter/student. Read it anyway. Look at it no matter what and find some way of celebrating the courage it took them to not only create it, but share it with you. Find a way to talk to them about their work in a way that is supportive. You will lose them if you don’t. The time to worry is when they stop creating, stop opening up, stop wanting to grapple with life, not when they’re messy with it and reaching out!

2015 in Review ~ Thank you! 12.30.2015

As we wrap up the year, the team at Alpha Textbooks wants to thank you for making 2015 great.

2015 was a year of breaking records at Alpha and we couldn’t have done it without you.

With your help, contributions and support we:

• raised more money for Kids Help Phone than in previous years.

• received twice as many story submissions to our Short Story Contest, from 100 submissions in 2014 to 200 submissions in 2015. 

• planted more trees with a bigger team – and the TRCA – than in previous years.

• put more cost saving SPC cards in the hands of our fantastic and loyal customers.

Our blog readership – both visitors and views – doubled in 2015 compared to 2014.

We also published more articles, got feedback on our content, and offered you more useful information about the topics and products you care about. Thank you for helping us find better ways to satisfy your needs as readers and our valued customers.

Thank you for being a part of the Alpha Textbooks Community.

We wish you good health and happiness in 2016.

Happy New Year!

Change Your Teaching Materials Periodically and Keep Your Students Engaged 11.20.2015

Teaching is a tough gig. You might have a great year with one set of students, then the following year it seems like your students are recent graduates from the inferno. As the wise Forrest Gump once said, “… you never know what you’re gonna get.”

When students are not engaged, they act out. So how do you keep them engaged?

Although personality management is something one learns over time, other remedies to calm inattentive or unruly students and get them back into learning are found in learning materials.

If you are experiencing difficulties teaching, because students are unable to understand or relate to their books, you do not have to endure a year of madness. There are many supplementary materials that you can implement in the middle of the scholastic year to improve lessons.

One problem area that we hear about all the time at Alpha concerns math books. Schools often use the same math books year after year. At some point, teachers find themselves in a dilemma when students do not relate to the books anymore. The  math lessons are lost on students.

We’ve heard different versions of this experience many times when speaking with teachers at conferences, in our store, or when they call us. We find that teachers share their experiences and issues with us after they realize that we are not a publisher.

It's not just math, however. We hear similar stories in every subject -- English, French, Science, Religion etc. Many teachers and schools are frustrated about their teaching resources, but they do not know where to source new materials. Since they have used the same ones for so long, it seems difficult to find out what else is available.

There are many different publishers to contact in order to figure out what new books would be the right one. It is not work that can be done during the day while a teacher is teaching. After school, there are extra-curricular activities, marking and other administrative obligations. Therefore, at no fault of their own, it is difficult for teachers to make time to meet with different publishers during business hours. So, teaching methods and programs become stagnant and students disengage.

This is when we get a phone call asking, “Can you show us everything in…”, or “Can you recommend something in [insert discipline] that’s new, relevant and age appropriate?” Some teachers come into the store (we are open late on Thursdays) and straight-out ask us, “What are the other schools using?” Or, “What’s new and being adopted in alternative schools?” Or the opposite, “What are the school boards using?” We can offer this information since we have relationships with school boards, private schools and alternative learning centres.

A lot of our information about textbook effectiveness, however, comes firsthand from teachers, principals and homeschoolers. This enables us to recommend certain textbooks and resources based on real teaching experiences and not just what the book jacket claims. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the book you are using is bad; it just means that it is not working for your students at this time or anymore – it is time to try something else.

With information about textbooks coming to us from different sources, we can recommend alternative math, science, language, religion, history, or supplementary materials, for example. We can inform teachers about new novels and graphic novels, or books that make it easier and more engaging to teach and learn classical texts.

The advantage we offer over dealing directly with publishers is that we provide an objective perspective on the materials in question. Whenever possible, we try to maintain strong relationships with publishers or we form partnerships, that way we offer their products with a confident understanding of the benefits of their programs.

Schools find that we make buying easy for them, because they do not have to get their books from a million different sources. They can just come to us and we do all the heavy lifting. That also cuts down on administration costs.

As an added benefit, we might be able to buy those books that you no longer want, which is an effective cost saving opportunity for your school.

So if you are having a hard time with your current teaching materials, we welcome you to call us. We are happy to meet with you in our store, office, or we can visit your school if possible. We provide sample copies of books, as well as educational discounts.

Good luck wrapping up the fall semester. Let us know if you have any questions.

We raised $1050 for Kids Help Phone during our 2015 peak season 11.18.2015

Every year, Alpha Textbooks collects donations, both online and in store, to raise money for Kids Help Phone.

Supporting Kids Help Phone has been important to us for many years. We know that supporting children and teens through difficult times is critical to their success in school and later in life.

In 2015, we renewed our pledge to Kids Help Phone and reinvigorated our donation-drive for the duration of the back-to-school season. Customers were asked to donate $2 at checkout, in store and online.

The 2015 drive was successful. We surpassed our goal of $1000 and collected $300-400 more than we have in recent years.

While the team at Alpha Textbooks feels that we can collect more in future years, we’re happy about our success in 2015. More donations mean more awareness about the important service.

This year, Kids Help Phone expanded their online services by adding more time and resources to their live chat – a feature that has been growing in popularity over the years. They also introduced a new resource designed exclusively for teen boys, BroTalk.

Teen Boys are less likely to reach out for help, despite having equal needs for counseling and other support services. As a result, teen boys are more likely to die by suicide than teen girls. Addressing the root causes of this is at the core of the new service. To learn more about BroTalk and/or how you can support it, visit Kids Help Phone’s organizational site.

Thanks to Kids Help Phone for teaching us more about their services and plans for the future.

A special thanks to all of our customers who generously donated this year.

Grammar is not a lost art … so why is teaching it such a challenge? 10.21.2015

The Grammar Debate

The grammar debate is never ending. Should we waste our precious time – and our children’s time – by teaching grammar in schools?

Most parents would say, “Absolutely, please teach them grammar,” while correcting their children’s written assignments. Yet, there is an ongoing push in education to let children learn grammar through “absorption.” Where did we get the belief that students will “pick up” the art of grammar the same way they pick up learning to speak a language? If it were possible, what are the implications of such a method?

Writing How We Speak

We all know learning to do something well is not as simple as being exposed to it. You don’t learn to paint by looking at paintings, and you don’t learn to play the guitar by listening to Slash rip-out solos. So why do we think people can pick up the art of grammar, especially when they are mostly exposed to mediocre grammar at best. Yet, for better or for worse, people do pick up language and speech through hearing it. As creatures of imitation, we learn everyday colloquial speech easily. Children learn from media and peers, adults pick up hip lingo from kids, verbal and nonverbal expressions from colleagues, newscasters, talk show hosts, or cultural icons.

Regrettably, writing the way we speak rarely conveys the message we intend. Speech is full of many other social cues that deliver a person’s intended meaning. From tone-of-voice to hand gestures, environment to social context, meaningful looks, or perhaps slipping-in an analogy for clarification, there are many elements that make us understand people when they speak, whether or not they actually say what they mean.

Write Exactly What You Mean

Writing stands alone. It lacks environmental, visual or acoustic cues that express meaning, which speech provides. Writing must use exact words, contain more detail, draw upon fully formed examples, and follow grammar rules. Consequently, writing must be more precise than verbal communication, or it risks becoming confusing.

If it were possible to learn to write well through “absorption,” students would have to spend an equal amount of time engaging and re-articulating grammatically correct texts as they spend communicating vocally. Unfortunately, with only 24 hours in a day that is a luxury few people can afford. One option would be to major in literature or humanities. However, in a world that prioritizes business acumen, majoring in literature alone results in limited career options. Instead, we teach our children how to be great business people, with no foundation in basic communication.

The consequence: for all the business sense our young, brave, wide-eyed, engaged, and entrepreneurial citizens have when they enter the workforce, many of them can barely string together a sentence in correspondence. They have difficulty finding work, supervisors don’t respect them as much as their work colleagues who write well. They can’t adequately or professionally convey their opinion to management and they may find themselves unable to move up “the ladder.”

Teaching Grammar

Contrary to popular belief, it is not social media that’s doing this to young people. It’s us. We need teachers to actively teach grammar in schools, to push for grammar to be taught, regardless of what the provincial curriculum says. We need parents to support that effort; we need small businesses and large corporations to support it.

A big problem with teaching grammar is finding the most effective methodology. Every new study that comes out seems to indicate that one teaching method or another doesn’t work. I find this peculiar, since grammar has been taught in the past, and historically there have been entire generations of educated people who learned “good grammar.”

When I taught writing composition at Simon Fraser University, I found that every class was different. Every class had a unique set of problems when it came to writing their essays. Teaching methods that may have worked for one class just weren’t appropriate for another. Now, while I don’t know much about teaching children grammar, I do know what it’s like to stand in front of a room of stubborn 18-20 year olds who think they know everything, and proceed to tell them that they are not making any sense. I had three short months to teach my classes how to write well. I only saw them once a week. Thus every semester I had to reinvent my approach and only had a small window of time to do so. This is to say, teaching writing – grammar, syntax, form, etc. – with limited time and unexpected obstacles is not impossible. Succeeding in the effort is infinitely rewarding. Every semester my students left my classroom having learnt something.

For Elementary and High School Teachers

At Alpha Textbooks we have an array of books and resources to aid elementary and high school teachers in teaching grammar and writing in general. Not all of them are going to work for every teacher, but that’s the beauty of having options. What makes us unique is that we specialize in all publishers and we aim to source materials that work for you regardless of producer, origin or cost. We want our clients to be happy. When teachers come to us with a request to look at books, we take them through our warehouse to show what we have in stock and what we can source.

We will dedicate some future posts to reviews on books that tackle writing and grammar. In the meantime, if you are interested in looking at options for teaching writing composition, give us a call.

***

Here are some other articles that also deal with the topic of grammar in Canadian schools:

“How is grammar being taught in schools?” by Camilla Cornell in Today’s Parent. 

“The Case for Teaching Grammar,” by Paul Budra in Education Canada.

Alpha Textbooks delivers Audience Choice Award for Inspire Teen Reads 2015 09.28.2015

Alpha Textbooks had an exciting Sunday afternoon at Word on the Street Toronto (WOTS), for Inspire Teen Reads on the Youth Launchpad Stage.

Inspire Teen Reads is an innovative competition created and organized by a group of bright young minds who care about literature. The aim of the competition was simple: encourage teens to read for pleasure. Participants presented a pitch aimed at convincing a panel of experts from the publishing industry, accomplished writers and the WOTS audience that they should read the participant’s chosen work of literature.

We were happy to see that like us, speakers believed that leisurely reading and expressive writing inspires creativity. Whether they were pitching Nabokov, Plath, or any of the other great authors that were represented on Sunday, each participant showed passion, belief and a true understanding of the benefits of reading.

In round one, 16 competitors shared their pitches with a jury of editors from HarperCollins Canada, Simon & Schuster, and Penguin Random House. These pitches ranged from poetry and prose to spoken word. Eight shortlisted contestants then presented their pitch in round two, to young-adult authors Kenneth Oppel, Megan Crew and Bill Richardson.

The Inspire Teen Reads audience had a critical role to play as well. They voted for the winner of the Alpha Textbooks Audience Choice Award. We offer huge congratulations to Alice Cheng for winning the Alpha Textbooks Audience Choice Award for her pitch on Wayson Choy’s The Jade Peony, also to Lauren Chang her first place win for her pitch on Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, the runner-up, Martine Duffy, for her pitch on Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, and all those who participated in the competition.

Kudos to the team at Inspire Teen Reads and all the WOTS volunteers for a successful event!

Although Alpha Textbooks primarily deals in educational materials, we strongly support leisure reading. Reading affords all of us a unique insight into the world around us, and more importantly into ourselves. Reading nurtures our identity and imagination, it assists in the development of strong minds and future leaders. In the words of Harry S. Truman, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”

Thank you Inspire Teen Reads for giving us the opportunity to participate. We look forward to the next Inspire Teen Reads competition.