News

PicturePhoto by Dani Cyr Creative
December 2023 - I've done the last update of 2023 to the Spotify playlist "Vancouver Island Indie Folk & Rock." The playlist now has over 200 of my favourite songs from the last 15 years or so by musicians in the Vancouver Island area. You can listen here.

November 2022 - I've updated my Spotify playlist of indie folk & rock by artists based in the Vancouver Island region. I added over 100 songs, a blend of newer releases and older gems. Fun to add a couple of my own songs this time round! (Reminder - I don't perform on recordings of my songs.) You can check out the playlist here!

June 2022 - Thrilled that my manuscript, The Dieppe Letters, was runner-up in the UK 2022 Debut Dagger competition and was designated “highly commended!" So grateful to the judges, the Crime Writers' Association, and sponsor ProwritingAid for this honour.

June 2022 - It was lovely to be interviewed by crime writer Jayne Barnard for her blog on crime writing. I talk a bit about my writing, about the Dieppe Letters which is shortlisted for the Debut Dagger, and about health challenges including the overuse injuries in my hands. You can read more here. https://www.laceymccrae.com/2022/06/daggers-week-welcomes-liz-rachel-walker.html

June 2022 - I had a wonderful chat about writing and my manuscript, The Dieppe Letters, with Joanna VanderVlugt--a fellow crime writer in the Canada West chapter of Sisters in Crime. You can watch it on YouTube! 

May 2022 - Very excited that my manuscript, The Dieppe Letters, has been shortlisted by the UK Crime Writers' Association for the 2022 Debut Dagger! It's so fun to be sharing the shortlist with my husband, Kevin P. Bartlett, for his manuscript, Henry's Bomb, too! 

April 2022 - Honoured to have made the longlist for the Debut Dagger! And excited that my husband, Kevin P. Bartlett, is on the longlist, too! The Crime Writers' Association in the UK hosts the Debut Dagger competition, which is for the opening of an unpublished crime manuscript by a writer who hasn't been traditionally published. Very grateful for this contest opportunity.

February 2022 - A seasonal song of mine has been named as a semifinalist in the folk/singer-songwriter category of the International Songwriting Competition! “Dance With Me, It’s New Year’s" is performed by singer Marie Clyde and Pearl Snap Studios. You can have a listen here: “Dance With Me, It’s New Year’s"

December 2021 - “Dance With Me, It’s New Year’s" is a new seasonal song of mine, and it made the finals of SongwriterUniverse's song of the month contest! I wanted to create a holiday song that people from different cultures could connect with, and I chose the New Year's holiday. It's performed by singer Marie Clyde and Pearl Snap Studios. I've released it to streaming services, and you can check it out here: “Dance With Me, It’s New Year’s"

November 2021 - I'm excited that two of my songs have been accepted by the Women of Substance Music Podcast. "Open Up Your Heart" - Featuring Ari was included in episode #1309 on November 24, 2021, and "Dance With Me, It’s New Year’s" is going to be played on New Year's Eve as part of their 2021 holiday series!​

August 2021 - I've released a second single to streaming platforms! "Open Up Your Heart" is in a singer-songwriter style. I don't perform on recordings of my songs, and I think of all of them as collaborations. This song was produced by Pearl Snap Studios and performed by their fantastic singers and musicians. There are two versions, one featuring Ari and another featuring Doug Moore. Both versions have been signed by a music library and are being pitched for film and TV. Fingers crossed the song fits a scene one day!
"Open Up Your Heart" - Featuring Ari
"Open Up Your Heart" - Featuring Doug Moore

May 2021 - Lyrics for my song "Looking Out For One Another" have received an honorable mention in the Lyrics Only category of the 2020 International Songwriting Competition! They also placed first in a related "Demo Your Lyrics" contest. So grateful for everything I've learned about songwriting from the fabulous song coach Robin Frederick.

April 2021 - Looking forward to talking about writing historical fiction on Wednesday, April 7 from 7-8:30 pm PDT with Claire Mulligan, Diana Jones, and Vanessa Winn. The Zoom panel discussion is free and open to the public. Thanks to the Victoria Writers' Society for hosting the event! Details and Zoom link are at www.victoriawriters.ca

March 2021 - "Find My Way Back To Myself" is being included in two podcasts! Women of Substance played the song in their music podcast on March 12, 2021. I introduce the song at minute 8:45 in that episode. The song is also going to be included in a Sisters In Music podcast on April 5, 2021.

March 2021 - I'm excited and honoured that lyrics to a song of mine called "Looking Out For One Another" have made the finals in both the lyrics category of the 2020 International Songwriting Competition and its related Demo Your Lyrics contest! 
​
Nov 2020 - I just released my first indie folk single! "Find My Way Back To Myself" is about the deep uncertainty you can feel when you have to let go of something in life before you're ready. I created the song with musician and producer Robbie Hancock, and it was a reincarnation of a song I'd worked on with my brother, niece, and nephew.  All vocal and instrument performances are by SongStar Recording Studio. (I don't perform on the song.) It's available on iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, and other streaming services. You can also check it out here!  https://lizrachelwalker.hearnow.com

Nov 2020 - I was honoured to be on the panel "Women Who Write War" as part of online Remembrance Day commemorations this year. I'm grateful to the Federation of BC Writers for organizing the event and to Jacqueline Carmichael, Annette Fulford, and Susan Raby-Dunne for sharing moving wartime stories. Also, here's the link if you'd like to check out Part 2 of my chat with Emillie Parrish about songwriting for her blog Berries & Barnacles. https://berriesandbarnacles.com/what-can-you-do-with-a-song/

Oct 2020 - My friend Emillie Parrish interviewed me about songwriting for her blog Berries & Barnacles! It was a fun chat that she'll describe over two posts this month. Here's the link to the first: https://berriesandbarnacles.com/songwriting-methods-and-techniques/​

Sept 2020 - Crime Writers of Canada kindly offered me the chance to give a virtual acceptance speech and talk about The Dieppe Letters--awarded Best Unpublished Manuscript in May 2020, with the award sponsored by Dundurn Press. You can check out the video here! http://ow.ly/dCKT50BrDOZ

June 2020 - It was a fun month! My writing friend Emillie Parrish published a blog piece on the importance of research for creative writing with a few comments from me in it. Also, my song "Where We Belong" was named one of the top five by Songwriter Universe in their Best Songs of the Month contest for June!

May 2020 - Very honoured that my mystery novel, The Dieppe Letters, was selected for the "Unhanged Arthur," an unpublished manuscript award offered by Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) as part of their annual Arthur Ellis awards. Huge thanks to CWC and to Dundurn Press for sponsoring the award.

April 2020 - I'm honoured that my Dieppe Raid mystery was nominated for an unpublished manuscript award, offered by Crime Writers of Canada. And I'm sharing the honour with my husband, Kevin Bartlett, whose manuscript also made the shortlist. So fun to be nominated together! My song "Jump The Tracks" received an honourable mention in a contest for International Songwriters Day on April 9, too. You can check out my music on SoundCloud. Feeling very grateful this month.  
https://soundcloud.com/user-788777862

Feb 2020 - I'm looking forward to being a featured reader at the SPOTLIGHT prose open mic on March 10th from 7-9 pm. This event is ​hosted by Canadian Authors–Victoria at Caffe Fantastico in Victoria (Quadra at Kings). There are spots for up to 12 readers at the open mic, so come on out to read or listen to fiction and nonfiction!

Dec 2019 - Two of my songs are being added to OutboundMusic.com’s “Hot Java” Internet radio station for Americana & folk! You can check out the songs on my songwriter page there: https://outboundmusic.com/artists/3231 
Hope you enjoy them. I co-wrote "Find My Way Back To Myself" with my brother, niece, and nephew, and both songs are performed & produced by Robbie Hancock Music. 

March 2019 - It was an exciting month for songwriting! "Find My Way Back To Myself" was a semifinalist in the 2018 International Songwriting Competition, and it placed third in the 2019 Women's Freedom Song Contest. I co-wrote the song with my brother, nephew, and niece, and it was produced by Robbie Hancock Music. You can check it out here!
https://soundcloud.com/user-788777862/liz-walker-find-my-way-back-to-myself-female-lead

June 2018 - There are so many fantastic local bands from Vancouver Island, where I live in Canada. If you're looking for new music or playlists, I've created a Spotify playlist with some great indie folk and rock songs by bands from the Vancouver Island region. Other people's art inspires me to create!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/32p9pkLdwWaHaIdTGVEQIQ?si=k2hqlWZ5RMiealXHeAApdg

March 2018 -  I co-wrote a song with my brother, nephew, and niece a while ago--fun! Musician/producer Robbie Hancock helped shape the song into its final version, and the song made the semi-finals in two categories in the 2017/2018 Canadian Songwriting Competition! Very encouraging. Hoping to enter new songs next year.

Feb 2018 - I enjoyed reading short fiction as a featured reader on February 20 at the prose open mic ​hosted by Canadian Authors–Victoria at Good Earth Coffeehouse in Victoria, BC. Now back to a longer manuscript!