Ray's Launch

As Wikipedia says about the very lovely and talented board member and writer extraordinaire, Ray "grew up in Toronto, Ontario. Hsu received an Honours B.A. and an M.A. in English literature from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in English Literary Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. While completing his Ph.D., he taught for over two years at Oakhill Correctional Institution, where he founded the Prison Writing Workshop. He is currently based in Vancouver, where he is a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.

He has published over a hundred and twenty-five poems in over forty magazines internationally. His work has appeared in such anthologies as Breathing Fire 2: Canada's New Poets and The Echoing Years: An Anthology of Poetry from Canada & Ireland. In 2007, Hsu and his work were the subject of an episode of the television documentary series Heart of a Poet produced by Canadian filmmaker Maureen Judge." Watch here as Ray performs for the Issue 15.3 magazine launch of Ricepaper.

Books

Anthropy (2004)[4]
"Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon" (2010)[5]

Awards

Gerald Lampert Award (2005)
Trillium Book Award (Poetry), finalist (2005)
Lyman S.V. Judson and Ellen Mackechnie Judson Award (2007)
E.J. Pratt Medal and Prize in Poetry (2000, 2001)

Want to Get Published? Lorimer is Looking, ACWW Wants to Help You

James Lorimer & Company Ltd., a Canadian publishing house in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is looking for writers. In particular, it is searching for submissions to its Children’s and Young Adult Series and has come to ACWW, looking for manuscripts for its "SideStreets Series" – an edgy, issues-based novels for ages 13 and up.

While first priority is good writing, with believable characters, situations, and dialogue, all settings must be Canadian, with storylines that take place in the child or teen world with minimal adult involvement. As publishers of novels and short stories based on the original Degrassi TV series, Lorimer shares the commitment evident in that pioneering series to serious engagement with themes and issues in a way that reaches a contemporary youth audience.

At this time we do not publish picture books, seasonal stories, cookbooks, board books, activity books, historical fiction, or fantasy. We are not interested in stories written to convey a lesson or moral.

Want to know more about SideStreets?

• Interest level: ages 13 and up (high school/YA)

• Reading level: grades 3-5 (hi-lo)

• Length: 30,000 words

• Genre: realistic, contemporary, issues-based fiction

SideStreets novels are fast-paced, high-interest stories with the ability to pull in even the most reluctant teen readers. They feature realistic characters, situations, and dialogue, and explore the often difficult feelings and situations faced by contemporary Canadian teens. We’re not interested in overdone story lines drawn from the world of movies and television rather than from real life. Past topics include: addiction, sexuality, bullying, gangs, mental disorders, and gambling. Characters must be aged 15 and up. Stories that feature male main characters are especially welcome. Settings must be Canadian and contemporary, and diversity of background in terms of race, class and ethnicity is particularly welcome.

ACWW will provide the rest of the details for submissions if you're interested. Please contact us at: info@asiancanadianwritersworkshop.ca. If you are interested in having your manuscript read, we would also be happy to do that, too. The ACWW is committed to helping emerging writers publish in the genre of Asian Canadian writing. When we helped create Henry Chow & Other Stories Anthology, we wanted a young adult fiction book that would appeal to readers who have grown up in Canada reading stories which oftentimes rarely had stories that they could personally relate in an ethnically diverse country such as ours. Here's our chance to make a difference, a change.

Larissa Lai's Automaton Biographies Reading

Long-time Ricepaper contributor, writer, and UBC English professor, Larissa Lai brings us Automaton Biographies. Larissa's new book of poetry consists of four long poems: “Rachel,” a meditation in the voice of the cyborg figure Rachel from Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner and its source material, Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?; “nascent fashion,” which addresses contemporary war and its excesses; “Ham,” which circulates around the chimpanzee named Ham sent up into space as part of the Mercury Redstone missions by NASA in the 1960s and later donated to the Coulston Foundation for biomedical research; and “auto matter,” a kind of unfolding autobiography told in poems.

Judy Fong-Bates in Vancouver

On Friday May 29, 2010, Judy Fong-Bates gave a reading at UBC's Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. In partnership with Random House Canada, UBC Community Partners for Learning, the Chinese Canadian Historical Society (CCHSBC), the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop (ACWW), Schema Magazine, the North American Association of Asian Professionals (NAAAP), and ExplorAsian, the IKBLC invited author Judy Fong-Bates' for a reading of her new book, Year of Finding Memory. An elegant and surprising book about a Chinese family's difficult arrival in Canada, and a daughter's search to understand remarkable and terrible truths about her parents' past lives. Growing up in her father's hand laundry in small town Ontario, Judy Fong Bates listened to stories of her parents' past lives in China, a place far removed from their every-day life of poverty and misery. But in spite of the allure of these stories, Fong Bates longed to be a Canadian girl. Fifty years later she finally followed her curiosity back to her ancestral home in China for a reunion that spiralled into a series of unanticipated discoveries. The Year of Finding Memory explores a particular, yet universal, world of family secrets, love, loss, courage and shame. This is a memoir of a daughter's emotional journey, and her painful acceptance of conflicting truths. In telling the story of her parents, Fong Bates is telling the story of how she came to know them, of finding memory. Watch as Larry Wong, Vancouver community historian, introduce Judy to the audience.

Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop & UBC Creative Writing 439/539 at Word on the Street

Ray Hsu of the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop talks about "cultural writing" and confronts the challenges of theorizing Asian Canadian writing.

Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop at Word on the Street

On September 26, 2010, Ray Hsu of the The Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop and instructor at the UBC Creative Writing Program's first Asian Canadian creative writing course, will be offering a session called "Cultural Writing" at WOTS that will teach participants how to be meme-splicers: taking cultural materials and remixing it so that it catches in people's minds, sticks, and even go viral.

The Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop (ACWW) assists Asian Canadian writers in publishing and showcasing their work. ACWW has been in operation since 1969 and is also the publisher of Ricepaper Magazine, showcasing creative and inspirational Asian Canadians. Ray Hsu will also be reading in The Poetry Tent from his new book, Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon. The workshop is limited to 30 people, so early queuing is recommended.

Accès Asie! Asian Heritage National Symposium in Montreal September 2010

The Accès Asie Festival, which celebrates its 15 year of existence in 2010, organizes in collaboration with the MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels) an exclusive event for the first time in Canada. Thanks to the Symposium, Accès Asie brings together many professionals from Asian arts and culture who will propose debates, information sessions. Two years ago, the Symposium project was created by Accès Asie organisers. Indeed, this symposium will create a national exchange between the different Asian communities in Canada, to introduce the Asian Canadian wiki and work with a dynamic, passionate and engaged team.

On September 17-19, 2010, various organizations, including the Asian Heritage Month organizations across the provinces, and various artists from different horizons will come together. For the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop, it will be a really rewarding experience be able to create and facilitate new networks between the pan-Canadian communities. The Symposium is a unique event in Canada as the three days of meeting will be under the sign of conviviality, friendship, sharing and respect among the organizations.

Eury Chang, Editor of Ricepaper Magazine and Artistic Director of Creative Dominion, will be presenting a session called, "Writing Diversity, Positioning yourself for success in today's global marketplace," while ACWW board of director and UBC Creative Writing instructor, and poet, Dr. Ray Hsu will be a convener for the panel called "Asian (Canadian) History & Culture in Education Systems & Integrations?" and Tetsuro Shigematsu, another ACWW board of director, will be emcee throughout the symposium. Needless to say, ACWW & Ricepaper will be well represented at this important symposium. For more information about this event, please see:

Press release

Program