A Valentine's Day weekend writing workshop with Linda Solomon on Gabriola Island

Linda Solomon and Kathryn Molloy invite you. Relax into a structured, encouraging atmosphere, enjoying the guidance of an experienced mentor, while writing about love in any of its infinitely varied forms. There will be plenty of chocolate and amazing stories.

The workshop will take place at Kathryn's home, a short walk from the ocean. There are six spaces available at Kathryn's for out of town guests to stay for two nights free. These are available on a first come first serve basis. There are also a number of lovely bed and breakfast options near Kathryn's home for those who would like more privacy.

When: Begins Friday February 13 at 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
Saturday February 14, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Sunday February 15, 9:30 a.m. to noon
Cost: $125.00 per person
Experience Required to Attend: Life

Other Requirements: You must be mentally, physically and emotionally prepared to enjoy the experience of writing, listening to the stories of others, and reading out loud.
What to bring: A pen, a notebook, or your laptop computer. A sense of humour. Memory. Tears. Laughter. Willingness. A dash of bravery. Your truth. Your heart.

To reserve your space, please send your nonrefundable deposit of $60.00 to Linda Solomon by February 1.

Linda's mailing address:
1501-2628 Ash Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z4L2

BIO - LINDA SOLOMO

Linda Solomon is editor-in-chief of The Vancouver Observer. She also writes for The Tyee. Linda has written for publications such as The International Herald Tribune and the LA Times. She has won awards for public service and investigative reporting from United Press International and has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. She has received a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism and two of her newspaper series led to US senate hearings and legislative change. She was nominated for a CBC award last year in the short story category and her story on a Vancouver psychotherapist who was refused entry to the US was the inspiration for a Colbert report and was nominated by The Tyee for a Jack Webster journalism award in 2007. Linda's short stories have been published widely in North American literary magazines and she has a work of literary nonfiction coming out this spring in Geist.

Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Linda has lived and worked in Paris and Manhattan, where she was a web pioneer, co-founding and writing for one of the first web soap operas, thecouch.com, a serialized comedy about six New Yorkers in group therapy. The New York Daily News called thecouch.com "The New Yorker meets Rent in cyberspace." She taught journalism and creative writing at the Women's Institute for Continuing Education in Montparnasse in Paris and was a workshop leader at the Emerson College Writer's Retreat in Holland. Linda has produced stories for WBAI public radio in New York and written for magazines such as Yoga Journal, New Age Journal, Orion and The Utne Reader. She was the co-author of Hollyhock Cooks: Recipes For the Body, Mind and Soil, a BC bestseller.

Following 9/11, Linda immigrated to Cortes Island, where she lived for five years. In 2006, she moved to Vancouver with her two young sons and founded the Vancouver Observer.
Gifted at bringing forth the literary talents of others, Linda offers writing workshops through Hollyhock Workshop and Retreat Centre in Vancouver and on Cortes Island. Linda also offers hands-on editing and mentoring to new writers on a private basis. Through the Vancouver Observer, she works with interns from local universities to help launch their journalism careers.

Linda has an MFA from Vermont College and a BA in American Culture from Northwestern University. She studied French at the Sorbonne.

Linda Solomon
linda@thevancouverobserver.com