A young boy begs on a street in Tanzania. A Syrian girl adjusts to a new love and Raggedy Ann in Canada. An Iraqi couple is denied higher education because they haven’t joined the ruling political party.
The recently released anthology New Beginnings presents nonfiction, fiction and poems from thirty-nine BC authors. Many of them are immigrants from Russia, Serbia, Korea etc.
This will be the first time that I publish other people’s writings. It’s more nerve-racking than publishing my own because if I mess up my work, it only affects me. This time my endeavours will shape the writing careers of my friends. It was my goal to highlight the brilliance of my peers.
I have said for years that BC is a hotbed of literary talent. And now I’m about to prove it. I’m proud of the collection I put together. It was a unique experience for my friends. I told them from the start that whatever story or poem they submitted would automatically be entered. They were offered a freedom authors seldom receive; they were free to say whatever they wanted to.
I had to have faith in my friends. Much like they had to trust in me. The final product is what I had set it out to be, a showcase of local talent. To learn more click here.
Erik D'Souza 