Swanky New Digs & A Dead Things Contest

THE WRITERS GUILD of CANADA, after months of meticulous work, has finally launched a wholesale redesign of its website. The new site, at www.wgc.ca, streamlines lots of great stuff for members and non-members alike. If you're a member, you can now sign in and the site will "remember" you each time you return, giving you full functionality and access to the member only features like script registration, and Benefits and Retirement information.

There's also new stuff there if you're a producer or merely a curious member of the public, including the industry agreements that govern professional screenwriters working in English in Canada.

I encourage you to go there and kick the tires a couple times.

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Now, that's prelude to one of the other things you can do on the site, which is buy tickets to the upcoming 13th Annual WGC Screenwriting Awards. The Awards, which celebrate the best in Canadian Screenwriting, will take place in Toronto on Monday, April 20, 2009. That's less than three weeks away. If you don't want to order the tickets online, you can use one of the manual ticket forms on the site and ... wait, I want to get this right... Fax? You can apparently "Fax" it -- whatever that is. You can also mail it or, presumably, deliver it by passenger pigeon or tamed zombie.

The Awards are traditionally one of the most raucous, fun events of the year. Way cheaper than the ACTRA Awards, Geminis, or the DGC Awards, the tradition calls for great food, lotsa drinks, and a nice, short show. This year there's a new, bigger venue (the place was packed last year) in Toronto's hip Liberty Village.

The Host is Geri Hall from 22 Minutes, who will apparently be observing Dalton McGuinty's 'five foot rule' at all times.

Like everybody else, the WGC and these Awards are feeling the pinch of the recession, and that's changed a couple things. Firstly, member tickets are now $45 in advance -- for up to two tickets at that member price. For non-members, the cost is $75.

At the door -- if there are any tickets left, that price goes up to $75 for members, $100 for non-members -- so it's worth it to buy in advance.

One of the other major hits the awards has taken this year was in Sponsorships. Usually the networks come in with some underwriting, but that's been thin on the ground this year. So it's not much, but I decided that I've done pretty well from this industry over the last couple years, so this year for the first time, the Blog goes where the Big Boys wouldn't. Dead Things ON Sticks is a 2009 Bronze Sponsor.

Beyond a handshake, that doesn't get you all that much -- but it does score you a couple of extra tickets, as well as a free subscription to Canadian Screenwriter magazine.

Now, as a member of the Writers Guild of Canada Council, I'm in the door anyway, so I've decided to offer these tickets gratis to two Dead Things on Sticks readers.

There's a catch, of course. There's ALWAYS a catch.


DEAD THINGS ON STICKS WGC SCREENWRITING AWARD
TICKET GIVEAWAY RULES AND REGS


In order to qualify for the ticket giveaway, you have to write something for me. You don't have to be a writer -- the job is open to any kind of broadcast industry professional.

You have a choice of two topics:

• My Daily Creative Process -- this is the topic of preference, most likely, for writers or aspiring scribes. You can be funny, disconnected and discombobulated, earnest, tongue-in-cheek, reflective, accusatory, weepy, manic, or even creepy (though I'd advise against the latter.) Remember the takeaway: it's fun if you offer some useful tip, hard-earned truth, or simple homespun advice about your secret for getting through the day without letting procrastination defeat you.
  
  If you're not a writer, or if your process is protected like the Colonel's 11 Herbs and Spices (ps. the secret ingredient is fear) you might want to wax eloquent on our other topic:
  
  
• If I Could Change One Thing About My Job --aha..the preferred topic of overworked production secretaries, P.A.'s, story coordinators, 3rd A.D.'s, Closed Captioners, Sales Assistants, Junior Publicists and Hobos. It doesn't have to be a slam-fest. Don't jeopardize your low-paying, low-status position. You can write about your job in the industry, or the job that you do to try and steal some hours to be creative while hoping that you'll graduate one day to having the latter pay the bills.

Obviously, these shouldn't be screeds designed as a cry for help or a settling of scores. Any essays of this type will be disqualified.

The essays (800 words max) can be submitted by email to heywriterboy@hotmail.com They should also include a description of yourself, up to 15 words in length, and phone & email contact information (which will not be shared with telemarketers, government officials, or online dating services) so I can get in touch with you. The subject heading should be "DTOS Screenwriting Awards Contest Entry."

HOW YOU WIN:

There are two tickets available. They will be awarded thusly:

ONE TICKET & THE CANADIAN SCREENWRITER SUBSCRIPTION will be awarded to the essay judged the best overall. The decisions of the Sticksville Judges is final, and involves a highly technical process employing super intelligent readers, helper monkeys, and a poultice made from the tears of unicorns. That essay will be reproduced in this space. The winner will also be entitled to be referred to at the awards as "the Squire of Sticksville."

ONE TICKET will be awarded in a RANDOMLY SELECTED DRAW of all entrants.

By submitting to the contest, you give Dead Things ON Sticks the right to reproduce any part of your essay.

There you go. Tickets are non-transferrable. To claim tickets, winners will have to show I.D. at the door of the awards.

DEADLINE FOR ENTRY is 5:00 p.m., FRIDAY APRIL 10th.

Good Luck to you all.