Janet Hetherington & Ronn Sutton at Fan Expo Canada Sept. 1-4, 2016

Next weekend is Fan Expo Canada, taking place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from September 1-4, 2016. Ronn Sutton and I are back again this year, and if you are at the con, we want to see your smiling faces!



Janet Hetherington (Artists Alley, P9B, South Building) - I will be bringing prints of my artwork from THE SECRET LOVES OF GEEKS GIRLS, copies of INFECTIOUS, OR SQUID-TONGUE SLEEPWALKING MONSTER APOCALYPSE, copies of ETERNALLY YOURS: ILLUSTRATED STORIES OF ETERNAL ROMANCE, DVDs and more. I will be taking commissions for artwork. Autographs are free!

Ronn Sutton (Artists Alley, P10A, South Building) - Ronn will be bringing prints of his artwork for MY FAIR ZOMBIE: THE MUSICAL (from filmmaker Brett Kelly), ELVIRA: MISTRESS OF THE DARK, VAMPIRA, and SPACE GIRL. He will have copies of LUCIFERS SWORD MC and VICTIMS OF WAR, and more. Ronn will be taking commissions for original artwork.  Autographs are free!













PLUS!


Be sure to check out the special screening of GHASTLIES by Brett Kelly on Friday morning in room 707 at 11 am. GHASTLIES is an 80s-style horror film that's sure to be a cult favourite... in fact, I play a cult member in it! Visit Brett at his table in the North Building.

OIAF animates Ottawa high schools

The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), in cooperation with the Community Foundation of Ottawa, and MASC (Multicultural Arts for Schools and Communities), is bringing Animate Ottawa to a number of high schools across the city this spring.

Animate Ottawa is an in-class presentation that gives students the opportunity to explore animation and make their own film all about Ottawa. Participants watch a program of independent animation to get inspired, then create their short film under the guidance of an animation expert.

“We’ve always loved doing outreach activities with students, and we’ve always wanted to collaborate with MASC,” says Kelly Neall, Managing Director at the OIAF. “Animate Ottawa provided us with the perfect opportunity to do both, and highlight the City as well.”

Through Animate Ottawa, students will create a short film exploring what they love about Ottawa. The OIAF will use these films to introduce Ottawa to the hundreds of out-of-town visitors that the Festival brings in each year. Organizers have already visited two schools and the results are impressive!

Animate Ottawa begins with a screening featuring a variety of independent short animated films curated by OIAF’s Artistic Director, Chris Robinson. The 40 minute program includes a number of works from the National Film Board, from the macabre (The Big Swing, Paula Gillgannon) to the adorably absurd (Git Gob, Philip Eddols). Also featured is the accomplished Paper Man from Glebe Collegiate’s David Borish as well as innovative, low tech, personal films like Helen Hill’s Mouseholes. The goal is to present a program that is designed to inspire students to make a film. Many of these films use simple methods such as cut-outs and found objects, techniques students will be using themselves.

After the screening, students participate in a light table workshop with animation expert Tina LeMoine from MASC. Using natural materials such as pine needles, grains, sand and adding cut out characters, students will manipulate objects on a light table and film them. Students will be encouraged to watch and correct their actions.

The OIAF is excited to bring Animate Ottawa to schools free of charge, giving students the opportunity to experience the world of animation and immerse themselves in the creative arts.

This program is made possible with the financial support of the Community Foundation of Ottawa, and the cooperation of MASC and the National Film Board of Canada.

The Ottawa International Animation Festival is one of the world’s leading animation events providing screenings, exhibits, workshops and entertainment since 1976. OIAF is an annual five-day event bringing art and industry together in a vibrant hub, with a total attendance of 28,000 artists, producers, students and animation fans from around the world.

This year’s festival runs from September 21-25, 2016. For more information about the Ottawa International Animation Festival, visit www.animationfestival.ca

Voting is INFECTIOUS! Buy screenplay via Amazon through June 30 in ALL GENRE SCREENPLAY CONTEST

Buy. Read. Enjoy... and help Janet win!

Janet Hetherington's sci-fi horror comedy screenplay INFECTIOUS or SQUID-TONGUE SLEEPWALKING MONSTER APOCALYPSE is now part of Dizzy Emu Publishing's 2016 ALL GENRE SCREENPLAY CONTEST.

From April 1 through June 30, 2016, visit Amazon.com or Amazon.ca and download a digital copy or buy a paperback version of INFECTIOUS. Every purchase brings Janet a step closer to winning the competition.

WHAT YOU'LL GET

Your very own copy of the sci-fi horror comedy script INFECTIOUS or SQUID-TONGUE SLEEPWALKING MONSTER APOCALYPSE by Janet Hetherington, in its original screenplay format. Cover design by Janet Hetherington.

SPECIAL OFFER - Free gift!

If you buy a paperback copy of INFECTIOUS and bring it to a convention that Janet is attending, Janet will autograph it, give you a free gift and do a free sketch.

• Order from Amazon.ca
• Order from Amazon.com

If you download a copy of INFECTIOUS and come to a convention that Janet is attending, tell Janet what you think at the show and she will give you a free gift.

• Order from Amazon.ca
• Order from Amaszon.com

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Some dreams won't stay buried.

Dross College isn’t known for its scientific research, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any secret experiments going on. Journalism major Will Atman learns the awful truth when a strange creature bites his friends, his girl and his brother, causing them to sleepwalk and act out their buried dreams. They sing, they dance, they even do lab work… and they do it all while dead asleep. Can Will stay awake long enough to stop the spread of the monster squid-tongue?

From Janet Hetherington, creator of Eternal Romance, writer of the Elvira, Mistress of the Dark comic book and contributor to The Secret Loves of Geek Girls.

Twitter: @bestdestiny
www.best-destiny.com

UPCOMING CONVENTIONS

• East Coast Comic Con - April 16 & 17, Meadowlands Exposition Centre, New Jersey
• CAPE - April 23 & 24, Benson Centre, Cornwall, Ontario
• Ottawa Comiccon - May 13-15, EY Centre, Ottawa, Ontario

FUN TO READ

INFECTIOUS or SQUID-TONGUE SLEEPWALKING MONSTER APOCALYPSE has already been awarded second place for best feature screenplay in the 2015 Zed Fest Film Festival, and was a semifinalist for feature screenplay in the 2015 Eerie Horror Film Festival. Warning: Story involves college kids fighting a weird creature, so some coarse language.

Thank you for supporting my work! -- Janet Hetherington

Happy New Year 2016 and thanks 2015!

Zed Fest - Discovering the cult movies of the future

It's 2016! I'm wishing everyone a happy, healthy and productive new year. I also want to say thanks to everybody who helped make 2015 a memorable year.

Just as it appeared my screenwriting was pushing through -- Jesse James: Lawman with Peter Fonda and Kevin Sorbo premiered in May 2015 and my sci-fi horror comedy Infectious or Squid-Tongue Sleepwalking Monster Apocalypse took second place in the Zed Fest Film Festival Screenplay contest in December -- my comics work was again in the spotlight.

Available as 11 x 17" print

The Secret Loves of Geek Girls, edited by Hope Nicholson, made a huge Kickstarter splash and was released in December 2015. This comics/slice of life/confessional anthology garnered attention around the world, and my Lichtenstein-inspired art was featured in a New York Times online article about the book. I was just one of many, many talented women (including Margaret Atwood) contributing to this, and I was pumped to attend the book release on December 9 at Page and Panel in Toronto, The anthology will be re-released with a new cover by Dark Horse Comics in October 2016. Many thanks to Eisner Award administrator Jackie Estrada for providing an interview for my story. I have made an 11 x 17" print of my full-page "See ya, babe!" faux romance comics art that appears in the book that I will have with me at comic shows.

Speaking of conventions, Ronn Sutton and I enjoyed attending Toronto Comiccon, Ottawa Comiccon, Prose in the Park, Fan Expo 2015 and Ottawa Pop Expo, and I learned a lot at Story Expo in LA. Ronn also enjoyed a successful signing of his Lucifers Sword MC graphic novel at Ottawa's Comic Book Shoppe on Bank Street in February.

Ronn had a busy year too, completing illustrations for the Lucifers Sword MC book, which came out in January, the Victims of War comic book written by ret. Col. Pat Stogran about Canadian veterans, which came out in November, and three episodes of the TV show Natural Born Outlaws, playing now on the American Heroes Channel in the U.S. and the History Channel in Canada.

Ronn and I greatly appreciate that we were able to collaborate with many other fine creators to do the things we love to do and have them reach you in 2015. We look forward to an exciting 2016! -- Janet Hetherington