Words on the Water offers wealth of words

The days are longer, bulbs are beginning to poke their green heads through the cool soil in some lucky gardens, and Christmas is off the radar for another year. For this avid reader, that combination means only one thing: it’s soon Words on the Water time again. This year’s event is Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20 at the Maritime Heritage Centre.

This year’s lineup  promises to be another winner. Campbell River is fortunate to welcome the following authors:

* Annabel Lyon,  author of The Golden Mean, which was a finalist for the 2009 Rogers Writers’  Trust Fiction Prize, the 2009  Scotiabank Giller Prize, and also in 2009, the Governor General’s Literary Awards – Fiction. The interview I heard on CBC Radio in the fall was compelling and I’m so looking forward to hearing about Aristotle and Alexanders the Great from the writer who brought them to life. Oh yeah – The Golden Mean won the Rogers Writers’  Trust for fiction.

* Gabor Mate, author of In the Realm of the Hungry Ghost – Close Encounters with Addiction. It was published in 2008.  He’s a doctor at a harm reduction facility in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

* Children’s author Kit Pearson, who wrote the brilliant Awake and Dreaming as well as the Guests of War trilogy that tells the story of Nora and Gavin, a brother and sister pair who are sent from England to live in Canada during WW2. I can’t wait to meet her.

* Andreas Schroeder has been a freelance writer for more than 40 years. He’s published poetry, literary critcism, and and and. His most recent book is Renovating Heaven.

* Current Haig-Brown Writer-in-Residence Harry Thurston, whose most recent book is A Place between the Tides, A Naturalist’s Reflections on the Salt Marsh.

* Ronald Wright is the author of What is Amerca, a BC Book Prize finalist. He’s published in more tan 15 langueas. His first novel, A Scientific Romance, was a Globe and Mail Book of the Year.

This ninth annual event gets underway on Friday night. Throughout Saturday, enjoy readings by all the authors and ask questions. Books will be available for sale and you can have them signed too! (I love that).  Saturday night is always tons of fun – it’s the literary cabaret, featuring  the guest writers, music by local musicians, laughter, and gourmet appies.

Be sure to get your Early Bird Pass quickly – they’re bound to sell out. At $65, it gets you into all events and is a terrific deal. They go on sale at the Tidemark theatre Tuesday, February 2. Find out more at www.wordsonthewater.ca . Get ready for a literary bounty that Campbell River hasn’t seen since last year’s Words on the Water!

Busy day for our new Writer-in-Residence Dec. 5

There are two upcoming chances to meet Harry Thurston, our new Writer-in-Residence, both this Saturday, December 5, 2009. 

The first is at a meet-and-greet at Haig-Brown House from  1:00pm to 3:00pm at Haig-Brown House, 2250 Campbell River Road. It’s organized by the Museum at Campbell River, which is also the sponsor of the Writer in Residence program. Call 250-287-3103 for more information.

And then that evening, catch Harry at a reading from 7:30pm to 9:00pm at  Still Water Books and Art, #120-1260 Shoppers Row, between the library and PhotoTech. This literary event is sponsored by The Writers’ Union of Canada. Phone 250-850-3103 or email info@stillwaterbooksandart.ca for more information.

For more information about Harry Thurston, check out    http://www.writers.ns.ca/Writers/hthurston.html

Harry Thurston new Haig-Brown Writer-in-Residence

Mark Saturday, December 5 on your calendar and plan to be at Stillwater Books and Art on Shoppers Row at 7:30pm to hear a reading by Nova Scotia native Harry Thurston. He is the new Haig Brown Writer-in-Residence at Haig Brown House.

Welcome to Campbell River Harry!