The following press release was sent out to Ottawa area media outlets including the Ottawa Citizen, the Ottawa Sun, CTV, and CBC Ottawa.

Library and Authors’ Association Team Up to Let Community Meet Local Authors

OTTAWA October 17, 2008 – In conjunction with the official launch of the newly-established Ottawa Fiction Authors Collection at the Ottawa Public Library (OPL), local authors will be on hand to meet and greet the public at the OPL this Thursday in a Showcase presented jointly by the OPL and the Canadian Authors Association (CAA).

Dan McNeil, one of the featured authors at the Showcase event, says he looks forward to opportunities such as this one. “I enjoy having a chance to meet people who have read my book. Writing and reading are usually such solitary activities, it’s great to have events like this to bring authors and people of the local community together.” Mr. McNeil’s novel, The Judas Apocalypse, has recently garnered rave reviews from hosts of both the A Channel’s Breakfast Television and Rogers Daytime.

Eighteen authors in all are to participate in this exciting event whose aim is to promote local arts and culture:

Barry Alder Chris McNaught
William Bezanson Dan McNeil
Jill Bobula Philip Nagy
Jennifer Cook Emily-Jane Hills Orford
Jean Mohsen Fahmy Esther Paul
Suzanne Glandon Francesca Piredda
George Laidlaw Maurice Richard
Michèle Matteau Gwen Smid
Patricia McCarthy JC Sulzenko

Those who have previously purchased books by these authors are encouraged to bring them to the Showcase to have them autographed.

This Showcase of local authors was made possible thanks to tireless volunteers from the CAA in partnership with the OPL. The Showcase will be held on Thursday, October 23 from 11:00 AM-1:30 PM, and from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM at the Reading Room area of the Main Branch of the OPL at 120 Metcalfe Street, Ottawa. The official Launch of the Ottawa Fiction Authors Collection will be held in the Auditorium of the OPL Main Branch at 7:00 PM that same evening. For more information visit http://www.canauthors-ottawa.org/booklaunch.shtml.

We’re pleased as punch that Dan McNeil, the author of The Judas Apocalypse will be on Ottawa television station A-Channel’s morning show on Monday, July 14th. This is what they say about the interview on their website:

Local author Dan McNeil drops by as he gets set to launch his debut novel, the Judas Apocalypse.  Already being hailed by some as the next Da Vinci Code, we’ll tell you why this is summer’s must read.

Break a leg, Dan!

Newcastle, ON, Canada September 26, 2006 — I Publish Press is inviting writers to enter its inaugural Fiction Writing Competition. Every entry will be individually considered for publication by I Publish Press. Winning manuscripts will launch the I Publish Press website and will be prominently featured and available for sale to the public. Original works of fiction written in English with a length of 60,000-120,000 words are eligible for submission through I Publish Press. The competition closes December 15, 2006.

“We want twelve great new books to showcase to all those eager readers out there,” says Michelle Noël, Editor and Co-Publisher of I Publish Press. “We think the way the conventional publication process works many talented authors are overlooked. We want to change that. After all, many of the greatest novelists had difficulties with traditional publishing. The Brontë sisters, Virginia Woolf, and James Joyce all published through unconventional means at one time or another.”

I Publish Press is taking advantage of the latest in publishing technology and innovative marketing channels to create a fresh and progressive publication process. Conventional vanity presses, because they publish everything, can’t assure readers a minimum level of quality. At the same time, big traditional houses bank on publishing known authors, and smaller presses find it difficult to take risks.

“It can be frustrating for new authors trying to get their manuscript looked at by a publisher,” says Linda Noël, Director and Co-Publisher of I Publish Press. “After all the work that went into writing their book, they now have to find an agent or publisher who will look at a synopsis and solicit their manuscript. Then they have to wait with their fingers crossed, hoping a miracle will happen. Here’s a chance for them to get their manuscript over the transom.”

The competition will be judged by the Publishers of I Publish Press. Winning entries must conform to editorial standards for published works, and submissions will be judged on originality, quality of writing, readiness for publication, and literary merit. Winners will be informed by January 15, 2007 and will be featured on I Publish Press websites in the week following.

Full Competition guidelines can be found on the competition page. For more information, contact competition at ipublishpress.com.