The Whistler Writing Society is delighted to present two evenings of historical storytelling and celebration on June 29 and 30 as the second and third events of the Spring Reading Series. Both events start at 7pm, at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre in Whistler.
Featuring established Canadian, Indigenous and international authors, the back-to-back events will comprise readings from the authors’ latest books and provocative discussions exploring themes such as the stories we tell about the past and how history shapes the present.
On June 29, the Historical Fiction event will delve into literature set in times and places of shocking upheaval. Invited authors are Janie Chang (Dragon Springs Road), Kate Quinn (The Alice Network), Roberta Rich (A Trial in Venice) and Jennifer Robson (Goodnight from London). Read author bios.
CBC personality Sheryl MacKay will moderate the event, and invite the authors to read from their diverse novels, by taking the audience to China fractured by civil war; WW1 to follow a female spy network; to the Jewish ghetto in Venice, to a Palladio Villa; and war torn London during the horror of the Blitz.
On June 30, Sea to Sky Discovery: A Storytelling Celebration will mark the eve of Canada’s sesquicentennial with four distinguished Canadian authors taking the stage to read their work and commemorate Canada’s 150th anniversary. Invited authors are Joan Haggerty (The Dancehall Years), Susan Juby (The Fashion Committee), Bev Sellars (Price Paid: The Fight for First Nations Survival) and Paul Watson (Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition). Read author bios
In addition, the winners of the Sea to Sky Discovery Writing Contest in the Open, Youth and Indigenous categories will share the limelight and read their short, award-winning entries. Whistler’s own Rebecca Wood Barrett will moderate the event.
“These two evenings of poignant Canadian literature are a great way to usher in Canada Day and Canada’s big 150th milestone,” said Stella Harvey, Artistic Director of the Whistler Writers Festival. “The diverse and distinct writers featured at both events bring unique perspectives on the role storytelling plays in understanding history and how the past has informed where we are today, both in Canada and globally.”
Those interested in participating in the Sea to Sky Discovery Writing Contest have until June 15 to submit their entries. In ode to Canada 150, entries should take no more than 150 seconds (2.5 minutes) to read out loud, which is equivalent to 450 words. The contest spans the literary genres of poetry, creative non-fiction, fiction and spoken word and includes three categories: Open, Indigenous and Youth, and entrants must be living in the Sea to Sky region, between Lions Bay and Lillooet. Learn more details and enter now.
Tickets for both the Historical Fiction event and Sea to Sky Discovery: A Storytelling Celebration are $22 and available now at www.whistlerwritersfest.com.
The Spring Reading Series is made possible through the support of the Province of British Columbia, as well as the Community Fund for Canada’s 150th, a collaboration between the Community Foundation of Whistler, the Government of Canada and extraordinary leaders from coast to coast to coast.
