George Opacic
BIO
Biography

George was co-founder of the magazine that is currently called “Recreational Flyer”. He was the main contributor of articles and fictional stories, as well as the Editor.

While traveling on business during his career, George wrote numerous short stories and many filmscripts, including Shroomtown, Hellenic Digits, Hammurabi, L5, World HQ, Where There's Smoke, and Protocol Omega.

A past president of the Federation of BC Writers, he was awarded their prestigious Honorary Life Membership in 2016.

Current books include Out There, and its sequel, The Donut Takes Over, which are both about a space colony at L5; Albert Quimby, a murder mystery; In a Cloud of Sails, about a 3-masted barque that was built in North Vancouver in 1968, sailed down the coast to California then set off across the Pacific to become the feature ship in Australia’s 1970 Bicentenary celebrations; and his collection of short stories, plays and a poem called Quantum Events. In progress are an ambitious novel called The Antichrist of Stanley Park, which takes place in Nunavut and Vancouver; and The Giants of Cathedral Grove, about a clan of neandertals who, unsuccessfully, tried to hide from the other humans in a remote part of the world.

In 2015 George founded a publishing company called Rutherford Press. Its first publications were Notes To Mother by Jeff Berry of Olympia, WA, and Flying With White Eagle by Ben Nuttall-Smith. Also proudly offered are Explore the Alaskan Coast and French Silk on Water, by Patrick Hill, along with further works by Ben Nuttall-Smith titled Margot: Love in the Golden Years, Crescent Beach Reflections, Mad God of the Toltecs, The Birdie at Willets Cottage, and Henry Hamster Esquire. Two further publications are Beyond the Blue Door by Kay McCracken, and a memoir by John Napier-Hemy, titled Evacuee, his life and loves as a boy in Victoria during WW2. A major work, Anxiety: Debug It Don’t Drug It, by Dr. Michael Catchpole explains in clear terms how to safely cure anxiety-related disorders without recourse to addictive and disabling drugs.

George has presented workshops around British Columbia that are intended to boost the professionalism of writers: Copyright; Income Tax for Writers; Publishing Your Own Work; Understanding Blockchain; plus others.

ADDRESS
City: Qualicum Beach, Province/Territory: British Columbia
EMAIL
GENRE
Mystery; science fiction
LANGUAGES
English
PUBLICATIONS
Publications
Title
The Donut Takes Over
Publisher
Rutherford Press
Year
2024
Title
Out There
Publisher
Rutherford Press
Year
2023
Title
Albert Quimby
Publisher
Rutherford Press
Year
2020
Title
Quantum Events
Publisher
Rutherford Press
Year
2018
Title
In a Cloud of Sails
Publisher
Rutherford Press
Year
2018
AWARDS
Awards
Name
Honorary Lifetime Member
Publication
The Federation of BC Writers
Year
2916
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS
Presentation details
Audience Size
Audience size
Up to 100
Presentation Genre
Enhancing professionalism in writing
Presentation Length
1 hour
Presentation Description
Presentation description

Taxing Writers:

Explaining the possible benefits of identifying as a professional writer to the Canada Revenue Agency.

Tips on filling out one's personal income tax to access tax benefits.

Presentation Fee(s)
Travel costs plus $10 per attendee.
Workshop details
Audience Size
Up to 100
Intended Audience
Writers
Workshop Length
1.1/2 to 2 hours
Workshop Description
Workshop description

Copyright:

Explaining a writer's ownership of works;

Issues presented by some publishing agreements;

Ongoing issues between Access Copyright and corporate and academic organizations;

Emerging problems such as artificial intelligence co-opting writers' works without permission; and

AI being used to manufacture documents that may be presented as original works by humans. 

Workshop Fee(s)
Tarvel costs plus $15 per attendee.
School presentation details
Audience Size
Any size
Intended Audience
High school
Presentation Length
1.1/2 to 2 hours
Presentation Description
Presentation description

Publishing your own work:

What do you really want to do?;

How to convert an idea to a copyrightable work;

Formats that can be used to publish;

Tips on moving past social media sentences to short stories to longer manuscripts;

Online publishing tips.

Presentation Fee(s)
Travel costs plus $15 per attendee.
Programs & Interests
Interested in participating Union’s Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program:
All members are eligible for the Union’s Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program. Are you interested in participating in this pro
No
Interested in participating in the Northern Ontario WITS program:
The Union’s Northern Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program funds in-person visits to northern Ontario schools when possible. Ar
No