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  Writers Festival 2010Writer in Residence 2010Writing for KidsCreek Bread fund raiserLawrence HillGrowing the Seed - PembieTEN WAYS TO TELLHow to get you feet wetLINE-POACHING MONTHBookclubs battleLeaked DocumentsOnly seven spaces on W-in-R programWRITER-IN-RESIDENCE 20092009 Whistler Readers and Writers FestivalLIterary Leanings 2009 - FeedbackPOETRY COMPETITION "POET’S PAUSE"Seminar for never-ever writersNews Release - Literary Leanings 2009Literary Leanings 2009 Whistler Select Awards and JudgesWhistler Designated 2009 Cultural Capital of Canada
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 Whistler Select Awards and Judges  The aim of the newly established Whistler Select Writing Awards is to recognize that great writing is the result of an intersection between place, perspective, craft and community. Whistler, at the heart of Sea to Sky country and host of the 2010 Winter Olympics, is an X marking the spot on a map that charts not just landscape, but storyscapes, personality and flavour… and a growing concentration of talented writers, a fact fully evidenced by the 81 submissions received in the first annual Whistler Select Writing Awards. Whistler Features is an award established to recognize excellence in travel writing, by gathering up some of the best published print journalism featuring Whistler of the past year (15Aug07-15Aug08), with $1000 cash prize for the winner, to be presented at the Whistler Readers and Writers Festival Opening Night Gala, 7pm, Friday, September 12 2008, at the Whistler Public Library. Whistler Features Winner The Bomb Shack Ski Patrol Museum by Stephen Vogler, published in Mountain Life, Winter 2007/2008 The judges commented that it was a “unique and surprising story on the hidden ‘museum relics’ that evoke Whistler’s early resort days. From its gripping opening to its wry humour, it’s a fresh, eye-opening take on the region.” Honourable Mention Whistler’s ‘Bioblitz’ unearths creatures from all walks of life by Cathryn Atkinson, Globe and Mail, August 11 2008 The judges enjoyed this piece as “an entertaining alternative view of Whistler’s natural world, with plenty of colourful quotes and anecdotes.” “Exceptional writing. Captivating imagery.” “An escape that a non-Whistler resident would never have expected, beyond the traditional themes of snow culture.” Hail Himmelsbach by Steve Hainsworth, Sea to Sky News, 4 October 2007 The judges enjoyed the piece’s “evocative taste of backcountry hiking, placing the reader right in the story. You can almost smell the hut and feel the early morning chill the writer encounters on his trip.” The judges for the Whistler Features contest were John Lee, Leslie Anthony and Jeffery Tam. Originally from the UK, John Lee is a full-time independent travel writer whose work has appeared in more than 125 magazines and newspapers around the world. These include the Globe and Mail, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, US Airways Magazine, National Geographic Traveler, The Australian and the Guardian. He has a monthly travel column in BC Business and has written or co-written 13 Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the new Vancouver City Guide. Whistler-based Leslie Anthony is a former Managing Editor of POWDER magazine, Creative Director of SKIER magazine, and current Editor of award-winning Peak Performance magazine. He has bribed his way onto the masthead of a number of North American magazines and claims that due to Canada’s lax copyright laws his ski writing appears annually in a dozen publications in nine countries and seven languages. He also writes broadly on other travel, adventure and science subjects ranging from imaginary monsters to fossil smuggling. He is the author of Snakebit: Confessions of a Herpetologist. Girlfriends have convinced him that when it comes to judging, he’s a natural. Jeffery Tam is Senior Producer for CTV Canada AM, the number 1 morning television program in the country. For the past decade, he’s told stories for a living…not the kind you read but the ones you feel and hear and see. He bore witness to the horror and drama of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, introducing Canadians to a man who lost everything but his beloved pet pig. He has wrangled can-can dancers in Paris and has traveled through China learning everything from the history of the terracotta warriors to the disposable world of disabled children who crowd China’s orphanages. He is not to be confused with Jeff Tam, the former Major League Baseball player which is often the result when you google his name. Whistler Untold acknowledges non-fiction writing and was created to seek out fresh voices, fresh perspectives and fresh approaches in the best telling of an untold Whistler story. $1000 cash prize will be presented to the winner at the Whistler Readers and Writers Festival Opening Night Gala, 7pm, Friday, September 12 2008, at the Whistler Public Library. Whistler Untold Winner Sophie’s Cappuccino Bar by Katherine Fawcett The judges commented that the piece had a wonderful story arc, delivers an irrevocable sense of place, and was well-crafted and graceful in structure. “It tells a good story in a very fresh way.” Honourable Mention Rise and Shine, by Gerhard Gross The judges hailed Gross’ intersection of community, perspective and place. “Young, fresh and long on verve. I loved the edgy, authentic dialogue and straight-up honesty.” “It opened my eyes to an aspect of Whistler I knew existed but never understood, because it delivers the chance to be a fly on a (dirty, sauce-splattered) wall.” Judges for the Whistler Untold contest were Steven Threndyle, Glenda Bartosh and Bob Barnett. Steven Threndyle, newly ensconced in the Communications Department of the Canadian Tourism Commission, was previously one of BC's busiest freelance writers and communications specialists. He founded COAST: The Outdoor Recreation Magazine in 1995, kickstarting the careers of several current travel and adventure writers, has contributed to almost every ski and adventure publication in North America, and has twice won the Harold Hirsch award for snowsports writing. After five years in the Okanagan, he is thrilled to be returning to Vancouver and Whistler in time for the 2010 Olympics but will need to buy a new Gore-Tex jacket. Glenda Bartosh is an award-winning freelance writer and editor, and former publisher of the Whistler Question, who scribes a weekly food column in the Pique. She founded the Whistler Arts Council and wrote Sea to Sky Country. Bob Barnett is the founding editor of the Pique newsmagazine and Whistler’s most modest and insightful commentator. He has quietly incubated fresh voices and perspectives in Whistler for more than 10 years at the helm of the proudly independent publication. Barnett also published, edited and contributed to Whistler: History in the Making, a collection of stories from Whistler’s popular, and largely untold, history. The Postcard Jam contest aims to showcase the best undiscovered creative writing from the broader Whistler region. The first three winners will have their stories published in the September 11 issue of the Pique newsmagazine, and will have the opportunity to perform their stories for the Audience Choice award at the Whistler Readers and Writers Festival’s Saturday 13th Evening Readings, to warm the crowd up for keynote speakers Leslie Anthony, Candas Jane Dorsey and William Deverell, 8pm, MY Place. Postcard Jam Winners 1st – Rebecca Wood Barrett, “Don’t leave…” 2nd- Feet Banks, “Mice are stupid” 3rd – Katherine Fawcett, “Perfect Match Honourable Mention Pam Barnsley, “Olympic Rap” Nora Ryan, “Bewitched Judges for the Postcard Jam were Jules Older, Stella L Harvey and Laura James. Jules Older is a writer, broadcaster, speaker and editor-in-chief of Ski Press Canada and Ski Press USA. Currently based in San Francisco, Jules is a five-time winner of the Harold Hirsch Award for Excellence in Snowsports Writing. He is a widely published freelance travel writer, and has written more than 20 children’s books, including COW, (Charlesbridge Publishing) which was named a “Pick of the Lists” by the American Booksellers Association. Stella L. Harvey, Director of the Whistler Writers Festival, founded the Whistler Writers Group in May 2001 is at work on her second novel. Her short stories have been published in The New Orphic Review, the Dalhousie Review, Emerge, the Pique, the Question and been shortlisted in several Writers Union of Canada short story competitions. Laura James, Tourism Whistler’s Manager of Media Relations has 20 years experience in the media industry as a producer, director and writer. She has produced, directed and written for many broadcasters including HGTV, Knowledge Network, TVO, Rogers, Shaw and YTV. Her work with TVO Kids was recognized with a Gemini nomination in 2002.
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