The Book Broads

The Book Broads are proud to present ReadUP TweetUP. This literacy event will rock the house at the Nanaimo Museum (100 Museum Way, Nanaimo) on Thursday, January 27, 2011 as Nanaimo’s social media community comes together in support of Family Literacy Day.  From 5pm-7pm avid readers and aspiring writers will all have the chance to meet a variety of published authors, enjoy the hospitality of event sponsors and do some fun activities while exploring the amazing exhibits of the Nanaimo Museum.

You can RSVP to the official online invitation here: http://tweetvite.com/event/ReadUPTweetUP

At this kid friendly event, guests will mix and mingle with authors and fellow readers. Confirmed special guests include:

·         Nanaimo’s favourite kindergarten teacher and author of 123 Kindergarten, the celebrated Barbara Allisen (http://123kindergarten.com/), shares her knowledge on the important skills required to become a reader.

.           Gabriola Island, author and illustrator Dianna Bonder (http://diannabonder.com/) will share a bit of her magic.   Her  most recent book is The West is Calling.

·         Rachel Dunstan Muller has written many books for kids and tweens and is a popular writer based in Ladysmith. (http://www.orcabook.com/contributorinfo.cfm?ContribID=322)

·         Lantzville resident and certified yoga instructor, Kathy Beliveau is the author of The Yoga Game. Perfect fit for the theme of literacy and play. Check her out at http://www.kathybeliveau.ca/

·         Nanaimo’s Charity Gosling will be on hand to talk about her newly released novel, The Guardian. http://cjgosling.wordpress.com/shadowlands%C2%A0series/.

We have not left out the adults… we have authors for them too. We believe that if kids see parents read, they will too!

·         Website guru George Plumley (http://ahundredquestionstoask.com/)  shares his latest book Website Design & Development: 100 Questions to Ask Before Building a Website.

.        Nick Daniels will be there. He is newish to Nanaimo and was a science writer and is now working on novels. His book, The Gentlemen’s Conspiracy is a thrilling and deep read and fun for the adults in the crowd. (www.nickdanielsbooks.com)

·         Novelist Chevy Stevens (http://www.chevystevens.com/) will be there talking about her fabulous novel Still Missing.

Guests will also have the opportunity to do alphabet art activities with Tara Gray from 4 Cats Nanaimo (http://www.4cats.com/StudioHome.aspx?Studio=Nanaimo) . Attendees will also get to play with their food with an alphabet themed chocolate buffet generously provided by the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory – Nanaimo (http://www.nanaimoloveschocolate.com/)

All guests are asked to bring unwanted books for donation. Children who donate a book will be given a free ticket to pick a used book to bring home to read at bedtime thus continuing this literacy focused day. Remaining books will be donated to this Books for Kids, an organization that takes pre-loved books, sells them and puts the money made back into the school libraries.

Special thanks to the Nanaimo Museum (http://www.nanaimomuseum.ca/) for providing the venue and to former Nanaimo resident, Wendy D (http://wendyd.ca/) for donating her services as official photographer. The Book Broads (www.thebookbroads.com) are Angela Crocker, Peggy Richardson (from Gabriola Island) and Kimberly Plumley (from Lantzville).

To register for this free event, http://tweetvite.com/event/ReadUPTweetUP. The official hashtag is #ReadUPTweetUP. Please register for the tweet-up or call 250-390-9285. Check out the poster for My Story, Your Story it features some other great literacy events that are happening at local libraries.

My Story – Your Story

Check here for more information about Family Literacy Day across the country… http://www.abclifeliteracy.ca/en/family-literacy-day

-30-

For more information and/or to arrange an interview with any all of the authors and sponsors, please contact Kimberly Plumley at Publicity Mavens at 250-390-9285 or via email at kim@publicitymavens.com.

Tweet This Post

What a delight to talk about WordPress, social media, eBooks, and other online opportunities for editors with participants in the Editors’ Association of Canada [#EAC] workshop. This workshop was held on the SFU campus at Harbour Centre in Vancouver, and we had a large and friendly group that participated eagerly with questions and discussion. George Plumley (yeah, Kim’s hubby, and Author of WordPress 24-Hour Trainer, and another new WordPress-related book coming out shortly) joined us as an Honourary Broad to spearhead our day with one of his famous WordPress talks.

The job of Editors is changing rapidly these days. Much of our discussion revolved around how Editors can profit from new opportunities in the world of digital publishing, whether it be in blogging, eBooks, or in creating and conceiving social media messaging and content. Content is what drives the new digital economy, and Editors are needed more now than ever.

Participants were very generous with their comments after the session, and we were very flattered to hear things like; ”Best communicators I’ve sat in any class with”, “Overall a very interesting [workshop] from a bunch of personable, intelligent, witty folks.”, and ”Brain full. Very full. Thank you! I learned a lot and am really glad I came.” You are most welcome – we’d love to do more of these sessions! WE LOVE EDITORS!

Thanks to everyone who attended the workshop, and to the EAC for having us as presenters. Please keep in touch with us, as we’d love to know how you use the materials.

Tweet This Post

Shifts in media can mean fewer opportunities for editors. Fewer traditionally-published books being created, newspapers publishing less and less content, and magazines are also changing. The question is – when the shift hits the fan… where are the new opportunities for street-smart Editors? The answer is technology.  On September 25, Kim, Peggy, Angela and special guest George Plumley will be doing a day long workshop on this for the Editors’ Association of Canada.  Hear our thoughts in this podcast as we prepare for this class.

Tweet This Post

Mid-Island Business Blender – Think of it as speed-dating for your business. You get access to four consultants in a single event, one-on-one! BLOGGING – PUBLICITY – SOCIAL MEDIA – PODCASTING – eBOOKS – WORDPRESS – All blended into one day. Event takes place on Saturday, June 26th at Origins (6205 Oliver Road) from 9 to 4 pm. Book your spot at http://midislandbusinessblender2010.eventbrite.com/.

We’re excited to have Lantzville resident,  George Plumley, who is a WordPress specialist and blogging expert, giving his WordPress blogging workshop in the main room (3 hours plus to focus on websites). Then, in the breakout areas attendees have a chance to have mini-consulting sessions (one-on-one) with publicity chick and Lantzville resident, Kimberly Plumley, social media Mamma, Angela Crocker and e-Book and affiliate marketing geek, Peggy Richardson.

In less than 7 hours you will have a whole new outlook, clarity on where to spend your time, fresh ideas to rejuvenate your idea, project and product, tools to explore… and the guts to make it happen.

George Plumley, author of Wordpress 24-Hour Trainer (Wiley) is available for interviews to talk about websites, blogging, the Mid-Island Business Blender, his new book all about improving websites and what a great wife I am, please contact Kimberly Plumley at Publicity Mavens at 250-390-9285 or via email at kim@publicitymavens.com.

There’s a lot of information out there about using new technologies to promote businesses, but how do you actually apply it to your business, your needs?

Getting specific is the goal of a new type of marketing workshop developed by three local consultants.  The Mid-Island Business Blender takes place on June 26th in Nanaimo and it aims to give participants unparalleled access to information in four key areas of marketing today:  blogging, social media, publicity, and e-book publishing.

Peggy Richardson, Angela Crocker, and Kimberly Plumley – who also work collectively as The Book Broads – have each conducted and been to numerous business workshops, but one of the limitations of the typical workshop is that information is very general.  They wanted a way for owners to sit down and talk one on one with a variety of marketing experts as well as participate in a small group workshop.

Enter speed-dating.  The Book Broads say the idea of talking one on one with a variety of people in a single evening seemed like the perfect format for a business function, and that’s when the Business Blender idea was formed.

A small number of participants is divided into two groups.  One group spends half a day in a workshop setting, where the limited seats allows for specific questions, while the other group spends twenty minutes one on one with three different consultants as well as working individually at special training stations for various technologies.  Half way through the day the two groups switch.

The result is that participants have plenty of opportunity to get specific ideas for moving their business forward, while covering a lot of ground in one session.

Tweet This Post