The Winnipeg International Writers Festival is a Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

, Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

 based organization that puts together an annual literary festival known as THIN AIR. The festival program runs for a week each fall, and there are also several off-season events regularly occurring throughout the year. Programming is available in both English and French. While most of the events occur in Winnipeg, there are also some at Brandon University

Brandon University

Brandon University is a Canadian university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, with an enrolment of 3383 full-time and part-time students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon College as a Baptist institution. It was chartered as a university by then President Dr....

 and throughout the province.

History

The Winnipeg International Writers Festival was founded by Andris Taskans, Mark Steven Morton

Mark Steven Morton

-Bibliography:*Cupboard Love: A Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities .*The End: Closing Words for a Millennium . Co-authored with Gail Noble.*The Lover's Tongue: A Merry Romp Through the Language of Love and Sex ....

, and Robyn Maharaj in 1996, with the first festival running from October 14 to 19 of the following year. The festival hosted approximately 50 writers from across Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and around the world. The creation of the festival was explained as follows:

"It grew out of the determination to see that the writing, reading and publishing community was being served the way other [Winnipeg] cultural communities were being served.

"You have music aficionados being offered events such as the Jazz Festival and the New Music Festival, theatre-goers have the Fringe Festival - we're a festival town. People like to have large-scale events which offer them a lot of choice and that's what we wanted to do for the writing community." - Paula Kelly, coordinator for the 1997 Winnipeg Writers Festival, quoted in The Manitoban.

The festival involved collaboration from a number of organizations, including Prairie Fire

Prairie Fire (magazine)

Prairie Fire is a Canadian literary magazine. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the magazine publishes as a quarterly. Prairie Fire magazine was created in hopes to expand Canadians' knowledge and awareness of literary work rather than focusing on mainstream writings of our generation. Included in the...

, the Manitoba Writers' Guild

Manitoba Writers' Guild

The Manitoba Writers' Guild was inaugurated in August 1981 at Aubigny, Manitoba, as a grassroots organization for and of Manitoba writers. The Guild has grown from the twenty members who joined after that first meeting to a membership of over 600. The Manitoba Writers' Guild's primary aim is to...

, the West End Cultural Centre (which had previously hosted a Word on the Street

Word on the Street

Word on the Street is a Canadian book and magazine festival held each September in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Kitchener and Halifax.Each city's festival features author readings, workshops, information booths and reading and writing-related activities....

 series), the Interfaith Marriage and Family Institute, and the University of Winnipeg

University of Winnipeg

The University of Winnipeg is a public university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and theology as well as graduate programs. The U of W's founding colleges were Manitoba College and Wesley College, which merged...

. In addition, Balmoral Hall School

Balmoral Hall School

-History:Balmoral Hall was founded in 1901 as Havergal College, located at 122 Carlton Street. The name was changed in 1917 to Rupert's Land College to end the confusion with the institution of the same name in Toronto....

 hosted a number of school events related to the festival.

Since that time the THIN AIR festival has become a regular fixture in the province.

Current Staff

Currently the Winnipeg International Writers Festival is staffed by Director Charlene Diehl, General Manager Perry Grosshans, Administrative Coordinator Tavia Palmer, and Coordonnatrice Karen San Filippo.

2009 THIN AIR Programming

The 2009 THIN AIR festival ran from September 20 to 27. During this week writers including France Adams, Jan Andrews, Elizabeth Bachinsky

Elizabeth Bachinsky

Elizabeth Bachinsky is a Canadian poet. She's published three collections since 2005: Curio, Home of Sudden Service, and God of Missed Connections. Her second book, Home of Sudden Service, was nominated for a 2006 Governor General's Award for Poetry...

, Christian Bök

Christian Bök

Christian Bök is an experimental Canadian poet. He is the author of Eunoia, which won the Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize, and which has been said to be "Canada's best-selling poetry book ever."-Life:...

, Bonnie Burnard

Bonnie Burnard

Bonnie Burnard is a Canadian novelist.She grew up in Forest, Ontario, lived much of her life in Saskatchewan, and now lives in London, Ontario.-Awards:...

, George Elliott Clarke

George Elliott Clarke

George Elliott Clarke, OC is a Canadian poet and playwright. His work largely explores and chronicles the experience and history of the Black Canadian community of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, creating a cultural geography that Clarke refers to as "Africadia".-Life:Born to William and Geraldine...

, Beth (Johnston) Cruikshank, Cyril Dabydeen

Cyril Dabydeen

Cyril Dabydeen is a writer who was born in the Canje, Guyana, a locality which also produced his contemporaries Arnold Itwaru and Jan Shinebourne.He grew up in a sugar plantation with the sense of Indian indenture rooted in his family background Cyril Dabydeen (born 1945) is a writer who was born...

, Nick DiChario, Deborah Ellis

Deborah Ellis

Deborah Ellis is a Canadian author. Born in Cochrane, Ontario, she had to move several times in her childhood due to her parents' work. Ellis decided to start writing when she was 11-12 years old. When she grew up, her work and writing was mainly done by traveling and talking to others that have...

, Lesley Fairfield, Endre Farkas, Jon Paul Fiorentino

Jon Paul Fiorentino

Jon Paul Fiorentino is a Canadian poet, novelist and short story writer.Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he currently teaches at Concordia University, is editor-in-chief of Matrix magazine and founded Snare Books , a Canadian publishing Company....

, Linda Frank, Marie-Louise Gay

Marie-Louise Gay

Marie-Louise Gay is a Canadian children’s author and illustrator.- Background :Born in Quebec City, as a child she lived in Montreal and Vancouver. Gay has received numerous awards for her written and illustrated works in both French and English, including the 2005 Vicky Metcalf Award, multiple...

, Charlotte Gingras, Terry Griggs

Terry Griggs

Terry Griggs is a Canadian author. Her book of short stories Quickening was a finalist at the 1991 Governor General's Awards and she won the Marian Engel Award in 2002. She presently lives in Stratford, Ontario, but has occasionally lived on Manitoulin Island since her youth...

, Catherine Hunter

Catherine Hunter

Catherine Hunter is a Canadian poet, novelist, editor, professor and critic.Hunter received a BA from the University of Winnipeg and an MA and PhD from the University of Victoria...

, Lynn Johnston

Lynn Johnston

Lynn Johnston, CM, OM is a Canadian cartoonist, well known for her comic strip For Better or For Worse, and was the first woman and first Canadian to win the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award.-Early life:...

, Judith Keenan, Lauren Kirshner

Lauren Kirshner

-External links:*...

, Jacqueline Larson, Charles Leblanc, J.R. Léveillé, Jeanette Lynes, Jake MacDonald

Jake MacDonald

Jake MacDonald is a Canadian author who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Over twenty-five years he has produced eight books of both fiction and non-fiction and several hundred stories for many of Canada’s leading publications, including the Globe and Mail, Canadian Geographic, Macleans, Cottage Life,...

, Guy Maddin

Guy Maddin

Guy Maddin, OM is a Canadian screenwriter, director, cinematographer and film editor of both features and short films from Winnipeg, Manitoba...

, Hal Niedzviecki

Hal Niedzviecki

Hal Niedzviecki is a Canadian novelist and cultural critic.Born into a Jewish family, he was raised in Ottawa, Ontario and Potomac, Maryland, did his undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto and his graduate studies at Bard College...

, David O'Meara

David O'Meara

-Life:He was raised in Pembroke, Ontario. He lives in Sandy Hill, Ottawa, where he tends bar at The Manx Pub.-Awards:* Gerald Lampert Award, for Storm Still* 2004 Lampman-Scott Award, for The Vicinity-Poetry:*-Reviews:...

, Marc Prescott, Lorraine Pritchard, T'ai Pu, Melanie Rocan, Serge Salvador, Robert J Sawyer, Deborah Schnitzer, Gregory Scofield, Anne Sechin, Struan Sinclair, Carolyn Marie Souaid

Carolyn Marie Souaid

Carolyn Marie Souaid is a Canadian poet, educator, publisher and editor.-Biography:Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, she studied at McGill University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a diploma in Education , and at Concordia University, where she earned a Master...

, Margaret Sweatman

Margaret Sweatman

Margaret Sweatman is a Canadian writer.Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sweatman was educated at the University of Winnipeg, Concordia University and Simon Fraser University....

, CJ Taylor, Serge Patrice Thibodeau, George Toles, Rhea Tregebov

Rhea Tregebov

Rhea Tregebov is a Canadian poet and children's writer who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.- Background :Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tregebov attended the University of Manitoba, Cornell and Boston universities. For many years she lived in Toronto,...

, Priscila Uppal, Robert Charles Wilson

Robert Charles Wilson

Robert Charles Wilson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.Wilson was born in the United States in California, but grew up near Toronto, Ontario. Apart from another short period in the early 1970s spent in Whittier, California, he has lived most of his life in Canada, and in 2007 he...

, and Tim Wynne-Jones

Tim Wynne-Jones

Tim Wynne-Jones is an English–Canadian author of children's literature, including picture books and novels for children and young adults, novels for adults, radio dramas, songs for the CBC/Jim Henson production Fraggle Rock, as well as a children's musical and an opera libretto.-Biography:Born...

 will be performing readings, workshops and discussions throughout Manitoba.

Some events planned include the Mainstage readings at the CanWest Global Performing Arts Centre at The Forks

The Forks, Winnipeg, Manitoba

The Forks is a historic site and meeting place in Downtown Winnipeg located at the confluence of the Red River and Assiniboine River. For at least 6000 years, the Forks has been the meeting place for early Aboriginal peoples, and since colonization has also been a meeting place for European fur...

, Afternoon Book Chats at the McNally Robinson

McNally Robinson

McNally Robinson Booksellers is a family-operated chain of Canadian independent bookstores founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1981. It is managed by Holly and Paul McNally and their daughter Victoria .- Overview :...

 Polo Park Bookstore, The Nooner and Big Ideas at the Millennium Winnipeg Public Library

Winnipeg Public Library

The Winnipeg Public Library is a public library service that is provided by the municipality of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Most branches provide programming for children, teens, and some to adults. The Library also contains an Outreach Department which works with the community, as well as people...

, and After Words and A Pint of Bitter Murder at Aqua Books

Aqua Books

Aqua Books is a Canadian independent bookstore opened in Winnipeg, Manitoba by Kelly Hughes in 1999. It has been acknowledged for helping revitalize downtown Winnipeg and creating an eclectic mix of programs and events for the Winnipeg arts and culture community.- Overview :Aqua Books consists of a...

.

2008 Programming

The 2008 festival ran from September 21 to 28. During the week, 73 writers did readings, workshops and discussions at various sites throughout Winnipeg.

The mainstage and school stage events occurred at CanWest Global Performing Arts Centre at The Forks

The Forks, Winnipeg, Manitoba

The Forks is a historic site and meeting place in Downtown Winnipeg located at the confluence of the Red River and Assiniboine River. For at least 6000 years, the Forks has been the meeting place for early Aboriginal peoples, and since colonization has also been a meeting place for European fur...

. The Campus Program events were at the University of Winnipeg

University of Winnipeg

The University of Winnipeg is a public university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and theology as well as graduate programs. The U of W's founding colleges were Manitoba College and Wesley College, which merged...

, the University of Manitoba

University of Manitoba

The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...

, Red River College

Red River College

Red River College of Applied Arts, Science and Technology is located in Winnipeg. The College offers degree, diploma, certificate, and apprenticeship programs in the applied arts, applied sciences, and various trades. The university press, The Projector, is a member of CUP.-Campus:It has a number...

, Canadian Mennonite University

Canadian Mennonite University

Canadian Mennonite University is a Christian university located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that awards three and four-year degrees in a variety of programs...

, and Brandon University

Brandon University

Brandon University is a Canadian university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, with an enrolment of 3383 full-time and part-time students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon College as a Baptist institution. It was chartered as a university by then President Dr....

. The French program, Foyer des Écrivains, was at the Centre culturel franco-manitobain in St. Boniface

Saint Boniface, Manitoba

Saint Boniface is a city ward of Winnipeg, home to much of the Franco-Manitoban community. It features such landmarks as the Cathédrale de Saint Boniface , Boulevard Provencher, the Provencher Bridge, Esplanade Riel, St. Boniface Hospital, the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface and the Royal...

. The Rural Tour covered Brandon

Brandon, Manitoba

Brandon is the second largest city in Manitoba, Canada, and is located in the southwestern area of the province. Brandon is the largest city in the Westman region of Manitoba. The city is located along the Assiniboine River. Spruce Woods Provincial Park and CFB Shilo are a relatively short distance...

, Altona

Altona, Manitoba

Altona is a predominantly Mennonite town in southern Manitoba about 100 km south-west of Winnipeg and 133 km north of Grand Forks, North Dakota. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Rhineland. Much of the surrounding area is devoted to farming and agriculture-based business. Its...

, Morden

Morden, Manitoba

Morden is a small town with a population of 6571 located in the Pembina Valley region of southern Manitoba, Canada. Morden is less than ten minutes west of neighbouring Winkler, and a relatively short distance to Pembina Valley Provincial Park...

, Holland

Holland, Manitoba

Holland, Manitoba is a community in the Rural Municipality of Victoria, in Manitoba.It is located at the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 34, along the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks....

, Portage La Prairie, Selkirk

Selkirk, Manitoba

Selkirk is a city in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, located about 22 km northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg on the Red River, near . As of the 2006 census, Selkirk had a population of 9,515....

, and Carman

Carman, Manitoba

Carman is a small Agricultural town of about 2,900 people that lies in the Pembina Valley Region of southern Manitoba. Carman is located at the junction of Highways 3 and 13, just 40 minutes southwest of Winnipeg . It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Dufferin...

. There were also events at Winnipeg Public Library

Winnipeg Public Library

The Winnipeg Public Library is a public library service that is provided by the municipality of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Most branches provide programming for children, teens, and some to adults. The Library also contains an Outreach Department which works with the community, as well as people...

, Aqua Books

Aqua Books

Aqua Books is a Canadian independent bookstore opened in Winnipeg, Manitoba by Kelly Hughes in 1999. It has been acknowledged for helping revitalize downtown Winnipeg and creating an eclectic mix of programs and events for the Winnipeg arts and culture community.- Overview :Aqua Books consists of a...

, and McNally Robinson

McNally Robinson

McNally Robinson Booksellers is a family-operated chain of Canadian independent bookstores founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1981. It is managed by Holly and Paul McNally and their daughter Victoria .- Overview :...

, among other locations.

External links

• Official site of Winnipeg International Writers Festival