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1 Welcome to the 7th annual Galiano Literary Festival! As we move into our 7th Annual Galiano Literary Festival, we are again excited and pleased to welcome authors and readers, first-time attendees and returning guests, and local residents and visitors from near and far. This year’s lineup of authors is again a stellar one and we are very pleased with the great diversity of authors who will be joining us. You will hear and meet authors across the spectrum, from first- published authors to authors with over 50 years of writing experience and numerous books to their credit, from poets to biographers to historians to, of course, fiction writers, and from tragedy to comedy. We believe that one of the best features of our festival is that readers are given the chance to see writers they have read and admired for years while at the same time discovering new and exciting authors with whose work they are unfamiliar. And, of course, an especially unique feature of the festival is that readers don’t just get to hear these authors, they get to talk to them in a casual and informal atmosphere. Those who have attended past festivals often comment on this opportunity to rub elbows or perhaps have a drink with the authors and fellow readers as the best part of their experience. Past attendees also often comment on the very special nature of the festival venue. Whether you stay at the Galiano Oceanfront Inn & Spa throughout the festival or venture out into the forests and seashores of Galiano Island, you are bound to find the serenity and beauty of the surroundings enchanting and captivating. Thank you for joining us this year. We look forward to meeting each of you in person. We are sure that you will find this unique blend of small, informal groups, outstanding authors, and tranquil, scenic environment makes for a wonderful and memorable experience. Lee and Jim – and the staff at Galiano Island Books
Jim Schmidt and Lee Trentadue opened Galiano Island Books in 1997. Jim currently spends much of his time practicing neuropsychology as well as many weekends at the store. Lee manages the bookstore and sits on the Board as Past President of the BC Booksellers Association. She is the originator and organizer of the annual Galiano Literary Festival. Both are passionate about books and the importance of independent bookstores. They believe the physical book will continue to hold value for many readers – young and old – for many years to come. 2 LITERARY FESTIVAL SILENT AUCTION We are holding a Silent Auction this year to assist the festival funding. We have some lovely items including local artists’ works, dinners, accommodations on Galiano, and more. The auction will run from Friday, February 19th to Saturday February 20th. Winning bids will be announced at our dinner on Saturday. A huge thank you to all those who have generously donated these items to help support the festival.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 19th 1:00–5:00 pm Workshop: Audrey Thomas (Short Fiction) 1:00–5:00 pm Workshop: Linda M. Morra (Writing/Righting the Archive) 1:00–3:00 pm Workshop: Pam Galloway & Susan McCaslin (Poetry Lessons)
7:00 pm WELCOME RECEPTION
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 20th
10:00 am The Writer as Subject George Bowering, Maggie de Vries, Sonja Larsen, Christine Lowther, Linda M. Morra Moderator: Bill Richardson
11:00 am David Boyd 11:00 am Aislinn Hunter with Billie Livingston
12:00 pm LUNCH
12:45 pm Margaret Horsfield with Ian Kennedy 12:45 pm George Stanley with Kim Trainor
1:45 pm George Bowering with Audrey Thomas
3:00 pm Sonja Larsen with Michael Christie 3:00 pm Paul Leblond with Charles Tidler
4:00 pm Bill Richardson
7:30 pm DINNER 3 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 21st
9:30 am Maggie de Vries with Stacey Matson 9:30 am Christine Lowther with Irina Kovalyova
10:45 am Theresa Kishkan with John Pass 10:45 am Linda M. Morra
11:45 am LUNCH
1:00 pm Michael Crummey with Terry Fallis
2:15 pm William Deverell with Robert Wiersema 2:15 pm George Bowering with Charles Demers
3:15 pm CLOSING REMARKS
Welcome! The Galiano Oceanfront Inn and Spa is honoured to welcome the Galiano Literary Festival. Helping you create beautiful memories – We hope you will return soon, whether for ■ your own writing retreat ■ a corporate or spa retreat ■ wedding or elopement celebration ■ or just because you love Galiano With just 20 suites, your group can literally take over the complete resort: meeting spaces, dining, transportation – all so very close. 250.539.3388 galianoinn.com 4
George Bowering, Canada’s first Poet Laureate, was born in the Okanagan Valley. A distinguished novelist, poet, editor, professor, historian, and tireless supporter of fellow writers, Bowering has authored more than 80 books, including works of poetry, fiction, autobiography, biography and youth fiction. Recent titles include Writing the Okanagan and Ten Women. His writing has also been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, German, Chinese, and Romanian. Bowering has twice won the Governor General’s Award, Canada’s top literary prize.
David R. Boyd is one of Canada’s leading environmental lawyers, an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University, and an adviser on environmental policy to governments in Canada and Sweden. He is also an international expert on human rights and the environment, assisting countries from Iceland to Tunisia in securing constitutional protection for the right to a healthy environment. Boyd’s latest book is The Optimistic Environmentalist.
Michael Christie is the author of If I Fall, If I Die, which was long-listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, won the Northern Lit Award, and was selected as a New York Times Editors’ Choice. His collection of short stories, The Beggar’s Garden, was also long-listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, a finalist for the Writers’ Trust Prize for Fiction, and won the Vancouver Book Award. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Globe & Mail.
Michael Crummey’s writing has appeared in a broad range of literary magazines and anthologies. In 1994 he won the inaugural Bronwen Wallace Award for Poetry. Crummey’s debut novel, River Thieves (2001) became a Canadian bestseller, and won the Thomas Head Raddall Award, the Winterset Award for Excellence in Newfoundland Writing, and the Atlantic Independent Booksellers’ Choice Award. It was also shortlisted for the Giller Prize, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, the Books in Canada First Novel Award, and was long-listed for the IMPAC Award. His second novel, The Wreckage (2005), was longlisted for the 2007 IMPAC Award. His third novel Galore (2009) was shortlisted for the 2011 IMPAC Award. Crummey’s new book is Sweetland.
5 Charles Demers is an author, stand-up comedian, and faculty in the Creative Writing Program at the UBC. His collection of essays, Vancouver Special (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2009), was shortlisted for the Hubert Evans BC Book Prize for Non-Fiction. He is also the author of a novel, The Prescription Errors (Insomniac Press, 2009). He is one of the most frequently returning stars of CBC Radio’s smash-hit comedy The Debaters, with a weekly listening audience of 750,000. His latest book, The Horrors: An A to Z of Funny Thoughts on Awful Things is already meeting with critical aclaim. Demers lives in Vancouver, BC.
William Deverell is a novelist, activist, and criminal lawyer. His first book, Needles, which drew on his experiences as a criminal lawyer, won the McClelland & Stewart $50,000 Seal Award. Deverell has achieved recognition for suffusing his novels with satire. Both Kill All the Judges and Snow Job were shortlisted for Canada’s Stephen Leacock Award. Snow Job, a political satire, was named in The Globe and Mail as one of the top crime books worldwide in 2009. His latest book, Sing a Worried Song gives his readers yet another story of his all-time favourite character, Arthur Beauchamp. He has twice been invited as guest of honour at Canada’s main crime writer’s venue, Bloody Words, and received the Best Canadian Crime Writer Award at the Scene of the Crime Festival in Ontario.
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6 Maggie de Vries is the author of eight books for children, Once Upon a Golden Apple (co-authored with Jean Little and illustrated by Phoebe Gilman), How Sleep Found Tabitha (illustrated by Sheena Lott), Tale of a Great White Fish (illustrated by Renne Benoit), Chance and the Butterfly, Fraser Bear, Hunger Journeys, Somebody’s Girl and Big City Bees. Her book Rabbit Ears, won the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize in 2015 She is also the author of one book for adults, Missing Sarah: a Memoir of Loss, and a number of other pieces about her life.
Terry Fallis is the award-winning author of four national bestsellers, all published by McClelland & Stewart. His debut novel, The Best Laid Plans, won the 2008 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour and was crowned the 2011 winner of CBC Canada Reads as the “essential Canadian novel of the decade.” Terry’s fifth novel, Poles Apart, was released in October 2015.
Pam Galloway was born in northern England but now makes Vancouver her home. Poetry has been her major focus/obsession for a number of years since she moved from being a life-long avid reader to putting her own ideas into words. For a while, Pam worked as part of the poetry group “Quintet” whose joint collection Quintet: Themes and Variations was published by Ekstasis Editions (Victoria, 1998). Pam’s poetry is published in Canadian and UK poetry magazines and in the anthology Love in Four Positions. Pam’s most recent collection of poems is Passing Stranger.
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7 Margaret Horsfield is the author of six non-fiction books, three about the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Her most recent book, Tofino and Clayoquot Sound: A History (Harbour Publishing, 2014), resulted from many years of researching and writing about West Coast history. Recently nominated for the 2015 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Book Prize, the book covers the overall history of this internationally famed area, ranging from pre-European contact until today.
Aislinn Hunter is the author of six books: two books of poetry, three books of fiction and a book of lyric essays. She has a BFA in The History of Art and in Creative Writing from the University of Victoria, an MFA from The University of British Columbia, an MSc in Writing and Cultural Politics from The University of Edinburgh where she has just completed a PhD in English Literature. Aislinn’s latest novel is The World Before Us. She lives in Vancouver with her husband Glenn and two border collies.
8 Ian Kennedy is the author of several books about BC history including Sunny Sandy Savary (Kennell Publishing, 1992). He is also co-author of Tofino and Clayoquot Sound: A History (Harbour Publishing, 2014), a collaboration with Margaret Horsfield. For many years, he has also served as one of Canada’s few rugby journalists and has written for numerous magazines around the world. He currently lives in Comox, BC.
Theresa Kishkan has three full-length collections of poetry – Arranging the Gallery (Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1976), Ikons of the Hunt (Sono Nis, 1978) and Black Cup (Beach Holme, 1992) – as well as several chapbooks including Morning Glory (Reference West, 1992), which won the bpNichol Chapbook Prize for the year it was published. Kishkan’s novella, Patrin, will be published by Mother Tongue in September, 2015, and another novella, Winter Wren, will be the first title in a new imprint, FishGottaSwim Editions, created by Kishkan and Anik See, to showcase the novella form.
Irina Kovalyova has a master’s degree in chemistry from Brown University, a doctoral degree in microbiology from Queen’s University and an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia. She is a senior lecturer in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Simon Fraser University. Specimen is her first collection of stories.
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9 Sonja Larsen’s writing has been published in magazines, newspapers and literary journals, including Room, Descant, Scissors and Spackle, THIS Magazine and the Globe & Mail, and in the anthology Flash 101: Surviving the Fiction Apocalypse. She is the author of the memoir Red Star Tattoo (Random House Canada, 2016).
Paul LeBlond is a Canadian ocean scientist, born in Quebec City in 1938 and is now residing on Galiano Island, BC. A graduate of McGill University and the University of British Columbia, LeBlond taught physics and oceanography at the University of British Columbia where he is now an emeritus professor. His work on ocean waves and currents has taken him to research institutes in Germany, France and Russia and was applied to practical problems through his industrial consulting activities and membership in fisheries conservation councils. LeBlond is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society as well as a foreign member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of the Russian Federation.
Welcome to our “Island Retreat” The Galiano Island Chamber of Commerce is pleased to support the Galiano Literary Festival as the highlight of our Winter calendar. Galiano is the perfect place for your next retreat. We will greet your guests with warmth, show them the beauty of the wild West Coast, introduce them to new experiences, wow them with art and books and wine and yoga and music and fun and food and great, great people.....all in the natural setting E COMMUN of our island home. AT IT IV Y LT U With so many options for places to stay, dine, play C and learn, you will find your ideal island retreat.... Y SHOP GALIANOM O S N UP O on Galiano Island. P EC ORT LOCAL galianoisland.com [email protected] (250) 539-9993
10 Billie Livingston is a fiction writer, poet, and sometime essayist. She has been shortlisted for a National Magazine Award, the Journey Prize for fiction and the Pat Lowther Award for best book of poetry. Her 2012 novel, One Good Hustle, was nominated for the Giller Prize and became a year’s best book selection for several publications including The Globe and Mail, Now Magazine and January Magazine. Billie’s latest book is The Crooked Heart of Mercy.
Christine Lowther is a poet and non-fiction writer living in Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island. Her latest book is Born Out of This, a memoir. Born Out of This made the BC Book Prizes Shortlist for the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. This book is a mixture of autobiography, nature writing, humour, activism and punk.
Susan McCaslin is the author of thirteen volumes of poetry and nine chapbooks. Most recently, Susan has published a memoir, Into the Mystic: My Years with Olga (Toronto: Inanna Press, 2014), a spiritual autobiography exploring the sixteen years she spent as a young woman learning from Olga Park, an elderly mystic from Port Moody, British Columbia. Her most recent volume of poetry, The Disarmed Heart (Toronto: The St. Thomas Poetry Series, 2014), explores the roots of violence and peace-making in the individual, the community, and the world. Her previous volume, Demeter Goes Skydiving (2012), was short-listed for the BC Book Prize (Dorothy Livesay Award) and the first- place winner of the Alberta Book Publishing Award (Robert Kroetsch Poetry Book Award) in 2012. She is collaborating with J. S. Porter on a book to be titled Thomas Merton: Abundantly Alive. Susan’s Selected Poems is forthcoming through Inanna Publications in 2017.
11 Stacey Matson always wanted to be a writer, but didn’t get around to actually attempting it until a few years ago. The result is her first children’s novel, A Year in the Life of a Total and Complete Genius. Now that Stacey has mastered her own craft, readers can look forward to two more novels in this planned trilogy.
Linda M. Morra teaches Canadian literature, Canadian and cultural studies, Indigenous literatures, women’s writing, feminist theory, theories of globalization, and American literature at Bishop’s University. Dr. Morra has won several research awards (her books have been finalists for the Gabrielle Roy Prize and the LAMBDA Prize) and teaching awards, including the Departmental Teaching Award (2008- 2009) and Best Professor of the Humanities (2007-2008 and 2009-2010); she has been nominated for several other teaching prizes, including the William and Nancy Turner Teaching Award (2010-2011).
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12 John Pass’s poems have appeared in magazines and anthologies in Canada, the US, the UK, Ireland and the Czech Republic. He is the author of nineteen books and chapbooks. His collection, crawlspace, published by Harbour in 2011, won the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize in 2012. John’s latest book is Forecast, a collection of his earlier poems. He lives with his wife, writer Theresa Kishkan, near Sakinaw Lake on BC’s Sunshine Coast.
Bill Richardson has hosted many shows on CBC Radio, including Saturday Afternoon at the Opera and In Concert. Most recently, he collaborated with Veda Hille in creating Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata, which was staged at the Arts Club in Vancouver. His books include Bachelor Brothers’ Bed & Breakfast and After Hamelin, a novel for children. His new book is The First Little Bastard to Call Me Gramps: Poems of the Late Middle Ages.
11 11 1 Hummingbird11 Inn SundayOpen todaily: Thursday am –Midnight FridayNeighbourhood and Saturday am – am Pub Kitchen open daily am – 10 pm 250-539-5472 Family Friendly! 10% off for Galiano Literary Festival@ attendees! Bus service from Montague Harbour and Montague Park campground 13 from May Long Weekend to end of September. Daily service from mid-June. hummingbirdpub.com hummingbirdpub telus.net like us on Born in San Francisco, poet George Stanley has been living in BC since the early 1970s, first in Vancouver, then in Terrace and back in Vancouver. A former instructor in the English department at Capilano College, he has published six books, including Gentle Northern Summer, Opening Day, The Stick, and You. He is the recipient of the 2006 Shelley Memorial Award for Poetry.
Audrey Thomas has published 17 previous novels and short story collections. Her novels Intertidal Life and Coming Down from Wa were nominated for Governor General’s Literary Awards and won B.C.’s Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In 2003 she won the George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award. Her most recent book is Local Customs. Audrey lives right here on Galiano Island!
Charles Tidler is a poet, novelist, librettist, spoken jazz artist and playwright who has written scripts for stage, radio, TV and film. Recent stage plays include Tortoise Boy (Belfry Festival 2014) and Rappaccini’s Daughter (U of Victoria, 2003). Honors include National Radio Awards, a Chalmers Outstanding Play Award, Canada Council and B.C. Arts Council awards, and a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama. Charles has worked for 20 years as a dramaturge and teacher of creative writing at North Island College, The University of Victoria, Camosun College, Canadian College of Film & Acting, The Banff School of Fine Arts, The Kootenay College of Arts, Playwrights Theatre Centre, Intrepid Theatre, Theatre BC, and The Belfry Theatre. He has lived on the west coast of Canada since 1969 and is the father of two sons. He makes his home in Victoria, BC.
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14 Kim Trainor began writing poetry in the spring of 2009. Over the years she has worked at a campus radio station, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, a biomedical library, and is currently a sessional lecturer at UBC. Her poetry has won the Gustafson Prize and the Malahat Review Long Poem Prize, and has appeared in the 2013 Global Poetry Anthology and The Best Canadian Poetry in English 2014. She lives in Vancouver.
Robert J. Wiersema is a writer of fiction and non-fiction and a reviewer who contributes regularly to several national newspapers. He is the bestselling author of two novels and a non-fiction book about Bruce Springsteen. Robert’s most recent novel is Black Feathers. He lives in Victoria, British Columbia.
15 Thank You! The Galiano Literary Festival would not be possible without the many people who give freely of their time, their efforts and their financial support. Naming all of them is impossible but we do want to recognize and thank some of the people who have gone above and beyond to make this event a success. They include: • All our talented authors who make the sometimes long trip to Galiano to share their work with our readers and participate in all the formal and informal events of the festival. • Mary Trentadue who has this year shouldered the lion’s share of coordinating and organizing the festival from getting authors lined up to finding them housing to working out the schedule to getting tickets printed and menus chosen for events and a million other tasks in between to make us look good. • Jessica Brudner of Galiano Island Books who has helped Mary with promoting the event, making sure the authors’ books are available for the festival, dealing with ticket sales and jumping in whenever an extra hand is needed. • Carleigh Baker of Galiano Island Books who promoted the festival on social media. • The many volunteers who help out with last-minute tasks throughout the event. • Donna Moreau of DoMo Communications for again putting together the festival brochure. • Debbie Holmes for installing displays on the ferry to promote the festival. • Kris Krug, our Festival photographer, for documenting the event and promoting the festival through social media. • Larry Foden for allowing us to use his artwork in our posters and other promotional materials. • Conny Nordin and Mel Gibb for again hosting the festival in their beautiful Galiano Oceanfront Inn & Spa and allowing all of us to enjoy the wonderful surroundings while attending the festival. Thanks also to the staff of the Inn for going the extra mile in assuring that everything goes off smoothly. • The many Galianoites who have promoted the event by word of mouth and opened their homes to our authors as their guests during the event. • All our Facebook and Twitter friends who follow and promote the festival on the internet. • To our off-island sponsors who provide financial support to assure that the event is a success. • To the island businesses who sponsor the festival 76 Madrona Drive and support by advertising in our brochure. Galiano Island BC • Most of all, to the attendees who support the V0N 1P0 festival year after year and make it the enjoyable and 250 539 3340 rewarding experience it is. [email protected] galianoislandbooks.com Lee and Jim galianoliteraryfestival.com 16