Chris Benjamin

Environmental Writing Workshop Oct 7

Writing Workshop: Environmental Writing with Writer in Residence Chris Benjamin

Tuesday, October 7th from 6:00 – 7:30pm

The People’s Place: Antigonish Town & County Library, 283 Main Street, Antigonish

Registration required. Call the library at 863-4276.

The world is awash in environmental crises and their magnitude overwhelms many of us. This session will look at how writers can use their skills to shine a light on the darkness of human futures, whether by exposing environmental misdeeds or highlighting sustainable alternatives.

Chris Benjamin has studied, reported, and acted on environmental issues since the late 90s. He was the “Sustainable City” columnist for The Coast from 2008 to 2013. His 2011 book, Eco-Innovators: Sustainability in Atlantic Canada, won the Best Atlantic-Published Book Award and was a finalist for the Evelyn Richardson Non-Fiction Prize. He writes regular environmental features for Halifax Magazine and Saltscapes.

Chris Benjamin reads from Indian School Road at Halifax North Public Library

Fierce Ink Press Supports Kids Help Phone with the Release of Becoming Fierce Anthology

On Sept 23, Fierce Ink Press released its new anthology Becoming Fierce: Teen Stories IRL (the IRL is “in real life”, now ya know). Twenty percent of proceeds go to help Kids Help Phone. Included in the collection is Chris Benjamin’s short story, “Cuisvé”, about his eye-opening, and heart starting, time in St. Lucia as a young man.

From the press release:

Each short deals with something the author struggled with during his or her teen years. The goal of the anthology is to let teens know that adults do understand what they’re going through and that it does get better.

Click here to read the full release. You can get your copy at Bookmark, Chapters or Woozles.

Talking Indian School Road with the Coast

In the Sept 18 issue of the Coast (Halifax’s independent weekly newspaper), city editor Jacob Boon interviewed author Chris Benjamin about his new book, Indian School Road: Legacies of the Shubenacadie Residential School. Here is a brief excerpt from the interview:

Why did you want to write this book?

I’m interested in all kinds of social justice issues, but I was fascinated by the residential school system and what happened. Always the question left in my mind was, as a European-descended Canadian, what the hell were we thinking? I just wanted to understand the thinking that went into the school. I had a rudimentary idea of what that was, but where did it come from? Who was behind it?

Click here to read the full interview at thecoast.ca.

Personal Stories Made Profound – Sept 30 Workshop

Personal Stories made profound, poetic, and/or prosey

or

“how to make your story into literature”

New Glasgow Public Library (902-752-8233)
Tuesday, September 30, 6:00pm – 7:30pm

In this session, Writer in Residence Chris Benjamin will look at how to mine the riches of our personal lives for great stories – be they family histories, travel experiences, rites of passage or obstacles hurdled. The truth can make great memoir, essay or even inspire your next work of fiction.

Indian School Road New Glasgow Launch

Tuesday September 23, 7:00 pm, at the New Glasgow Public Library (Community Room), author and Writer in Residence Chris Benjamin will read from his new book, Indian School Road: Legacies of the Shubenacadie Residential School, and launch his time as writer in residence.

All are welcome to join us!

Writer-in-residence looking forward to connecting to area

Antigonish’s newspaper, The Casket, published a piece on Chris Benjamin as the Writer in Residence at the Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library. Here is an excerpt:

New writer-in-residence at the Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library Chris Benjamin is looking forward to connecting to the area more, through his role.

Though he has done many workshops through the Writer’s Federation and in schools each year this is his first experience as an official writer-in-residence.

“I’ve always passed through this area – as a kid I did summer camps in New Glasgow – but I’ve never fully connected to the place or spent a lot of time here,” Benjamin said. “I’m really excited about just getting to know another part of Nova Scotia.”

Chronicle Herald calls Indian School Road “powerful, hard-hitting”

Paul Bennett’s review of Indian School Road: Legacies of the Shubenacadie Residential School appeared in last Saturday’s Halifax Chronicle Herald. Here is an excerpt:

In Indian School Road, Halifax writer Chris Benjamin tackles the tragic story of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School, its predecessors and its painful legacies. It’s a powerful, hard-hitting book that will bring the whole sordid history of the schools to new audiences. Hailed by Quill & Quire as one of the season’s most-anticipated Canadian non-fiction titles, the book lives up to that advance billing.

Click here to read the full review.

Travel Writing Workshop

On Tuesday, September 16, 6-7:30 pm, Writer in Residence Chris Benjamin will give a workshop on Travel Writing at the Antigonish Town and County Library, 283 Main Street, Antigonish.

Many people love to travel, and many people love to write. This session will give good practical advice on how to turn your travel experiences – whether trekking far from the beaten path, luxuriating at a spa or showing your out-of-town in-laws some local attractions – into publishable stories.