+

Brian Brett: Writer in Residence 2010

Guest author: Lawrence Hill

Wayne Grady + Merilyn Simonds: Writers in Residence 2009

National book launch 2010: leslie Anthony’s White Planet

2011. Lit Grit. 10 Years and Still Kicking. Up. Our. Heels.

In celebration of writers and Whistler.

+

Since 2001, the Whistler Writers Group’s mission has been to promote Whistler as a centre for artistic excellence and creative retreat.

2011 marks the 10th anniversary of the Whistler Readers & Writers Festival

+Grit.

Sometimes a slog can be beautiful. Grit is tough, because you don’t get the psychic payoffs that come with an exciting discovery or a shift in direction. You rarely get big wins to celebrate. In fact, you may never truly win… [but] slow, inch-by-inch progress? It’s called winning. ~ Dan Heath and Chip Heath

+10 gritty years on, the Whistler Readers & Writers Festival and fall Writer-in-Residence have become:

Connected

Credible

Acclaimed

Growing

Joseph Boyden and Shelagh Rogers sell out the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre as guests of the Whistler Writers Festival, Feb 2009

“Writers’ festivals and writer-in-residence programs are absolutely essential for keeping Canadians connected, reviving writers and the audiences, and for fostering local culture and identity.” Brian Brett, 2010 Whistler Writer-in-Residence and winner of the 2009 Writers’ Trust of Canada Non-Fiction Prize

+

Canada Reads 2011 winner Terry Fallis reads in Whistler, May 29 2011

CBC’s Best New Writer of 2010 and Giller Prize nominee, Sarah Selecky, to be Whistler’s 2011 Writer-in-Residence

+Connected: Partnered with the Vancouver International Readers & Writers Festival : “the

best of the largest festivals in Canada” Noah Richler

Now part of the fall national literary festival circuit that sees authors travel to Kingston, Toronto, Ottawa, Banff, Calgary, Whistler, and Vancouver

Allied with partners at all levels of Canada’s cultural infrastructure, including the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, and Whistler Arts Council, as well as publishers, media, and literary magazines

Moleskine notebooks: Sponsor the 2009 Festival. Sponsors and patrons from the 2010 Festival

+Acclaimed:

“Good people, good discussion, plenty of viewpoints. It doesn’t get much better than that.” Winner of the BC National Non-Fiction Award, Russell Wangersky

“I liked the venues, the weather, the scenery, the mountains, the gorgeous hotel. I liked the drive up to Whistler, the drive down, the ferry to and from the North Shore, the small white jug I bought in the village for half price (!!), the exact size and shape I have been seeking for years. In other words I liked the entire experience.” poet Patricia Young

“First class. I would hold it up with any festival I’ve been too.” author Nancy Lee

“Rejuvenated my desire to write” : 2010 Festival participant

+Credible:

Host to 50+ Canadian authors, who have performed, read or instructed in Whistler since 2001, including: Caroline Adderson, Leslie Anthony, James Barber, Maude Barlow, Paulette Bourgeois, Amanda Boyden, Joseph Boyden, Brian Brett, Kevin Chong, Ivan Coyote, William Deverell, Candas Jane Dorsey, Jen Farrell Mark Forsythe, Stephen Galloway, Bill Gaston, Wayne Grady, Lee Henderson, Mel Hurtig, Brian Kaufman, Ross Laird, Nancy Lee, Jen Sook Fong Lee, Annabel Lyon, Elizabeth Lyon, Carrie Mac, Charles Montgomery, Lisa Moore, Claire Mulligan, Susan Musgrave, Stephen Osborne, Kathy Page, Kate Pullinger, Eden Robinson, Shelagh Rogers, Laisha Rosnau, Mary Schendlinger, Merilyn Simonds, Michael V. Smith, Timothy Taylor, Michael Tippert, John Vaillant, Russell Wangersky, Howard White, Michael Winter, Patricia Young, & Terence Young.

+Growing:

+2011 is the year to get your Lit Grit on.

Subscribe to the blog: http://whistlerwriters.wordpress.com/

Follow us on twitter: @whistlerwriters

Befriend us on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Whistler-Readers-and-Writers-Festival/142626965780548

Attend the May 29 fundraiser and reading with Terry Fallis: http://www.theviciouscircle.ca/news/index.php

Get writing. Applications for the fall residency program with Sarah Selecky will be accepted in the summer.