GREENSTONE, Ontario – Seventeen authors will speak and lead group sessions for Squatchberry Literary Festival on Canada Day weekend.
The Festival runs concurrently with the celebrations for Geraldton’s 75th Anniversary of Incorporation. The small community is gearing up to receive many hundreds of visitors.
“Crime as a legitimate enterprise”. In this workshop, William Hryb shares his experience from the Internet radio show, Crime Beat, that he co-hosts with Ron Chepesiuk. His workshop partner is Alan Wade, who investigates historical crimes in Northwestern Ontario and other places in Canada.
Lorna Olson is a columnist and magazine writer, and Margie Taylor has authored two novels, written articles, and hosted and produced CBC radio programs. They bring their expertise to the topic of “Portraying real people”.
Peter Fergus-Moore, novelist and columnist, partners with Jane Jantunen, non-fiction author, to lead the workshop “Fast track . . . from manuscript to print”. Both are independent publishers.
Lee Chambers teaches in the film program of Confederation College, and recently published a young adult thriller that became an Amazon.com best-seller. He brings his various skills and experience to “Script, novel, eBook, film: Creating multiple markets for the word”.
“Making music out of your life”. Poet Marianne Jones and songwriter Clarence Michon show workshop participants how to use sound to tell a story. “How do you connect with your listeners at a heart level?” they ask, and answer.
Michael Christie and Amy Jones, both authors of short fiction, will deliver on “Getting published the traditional way”. They share tips and secrets to help aspiring authors break into print.
How do you become a newspaper columnist? Annette O’Brien and Maureen Arges Nadin write about very different topics – aging, and space exploration. But some things about writing and publishing never change.
Writing a best-selling history. Elle Andra-Warner has done it on a national stage; Edgar J. Lavoie, at a regional level. Lavoie, also a first-time novelist, and Andra-Warner apply techniques of fiction writers to achieve success.
The Festival program begins Friday evening with a feature presentation by author Charles Wilkins, and winds up early Sunday afternoon, July 1st. On Saturday, Wilkins will give a PowerPoint presentation on his 2011 journey, crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a crew of sixteen rowers. His book is scheduled for publication in early 2013.
On Saturday evening, Arthur Black, well-known writer and humorist, will speak at the Squatchberry Banquet. He will be signing copies of his latest book. Edgar Lavoie, Chair of the Festival Committee, confirmed a rumour: “Yes, we will be serving squatchberries.”
Registration forms as well as program and author descriptions are available on the website: SquatchberryFestival.ca. Early registrants will qualify for seating at the banquet.
