On March 28th 1957, parliament passed the Canada Council act, making today the Canada Council for the Arts’ 50th anniversary. As granting bodies are something I have a continuing interest in I met with the Senior Communications Manager Donna Balkan when she was in town for the Governor General’s Awards. The forty minute interview will be of most interest to folks with some kind of engagement with institutionalized cultural funding bodies — I found out how graphic novels became eligible for grants, what phone calls stress their staff the most, and that technological changes may banish the ghost of vanity press and make self-publishers eligible for funding.

 
 Interview with Donna Balkan from Canada Council for the Arts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Our lo-fi sci-fi movie Infest Wisely is in the last stages of post-production and we’re looking at May for the special advance screening here in Toronto, or as I’m calling it, the Infestor’s Meeting. Now we’re gearing up to get it out in the world, and what’s a movie without a wicked movie poster? And as you can see, there’s a spot at the bottom for sponsors — while we made the movie for free, I’d like to have a budget for a DVD pressing and festival fees. I’ve got one on board and am meeting with another on Thursday, but there’s still some room left — drop me a line and I can get you more details. Read the rest of this post »

Revolver #2, which consists of an excerpt of Salgood Sam and my upcoming graphic novel Therefore Repent!, has been nominated for the Expozine Alternative Press Award for best comic. It’s an offshoot of the awesome Montreal zine fair, one of the more successfully bilingual events I’ve been to. This is the second time they’ve done the award and, although I have fairly ambiguous feelings about prizes and competitions, I think the attention it draws to underexposed artists is definitely a Good Thing.

Case in point, a nominee in last year’s Expozine competition The Hero Book by Scott Waters.

Scott’s a pal, and the book is great, but he’s a curmudgeon. Not likely to tour, or do readings, or talk to people, he’s not exactly a media magnet. But awards like the Expozine Award give a context in which to talk about him. Or, in this case, interview him. Read the rest of this post »