We enjoyed our time at LitFest, sponsored by Northwestern Ontario Writer's Workshop, to celebrate all things writing in Northwestern Ontario.
The special guest, journalist and author Waubgeshig Rice, was personable, honest, and funny. He was part of an interview/reading evening on Friday, and on Saturday he presented a workshop (funny and practical, a magical combination) and also gave the keynote address at the banquet. His two speculative fiction novels about an Indigenous community surviving and thriving in a challenging future won acclaim, and Rice is completing edits on a humorous novel.
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| Author Roy Blomstrom at the banquet |
NOWW also recognized its contest winners and presented two awards.
The Kouhi Award, designed for a writer's outstanding contributions to the literature and writing of Northwestern Ontario, this year was awarded to Marathon writer David Giuliano. He's the author of two literary novels for adults and many other books and is the former Moderator of the United Church of Canada. (Shuniah House Books author Roy Blomstrom won this award a couple of years ago.)
And the Margaret Phillips Award, recognizing an individual or group that supports writers and the literary community, went to the Laughing Fox Collective. Laughing Fox is a grassroots organization. It started with with a group of friends celebrating the writing life over dinner and has morphed into a group that creates creative opportunities and conversations for writers. Because although learning through workshops and sharing work in readings (both worthy endeavours of NOWW) are important, so is a place to ask questions and sometimes let off a bit of steam.
The summer has begun with cool, foggy weather, plus a lot of downed trees. It looks as if summer will have its share of physical labour--always a great time to get some (mental) writing done.
