November 3-5, 2016 - Wordstock Sudburywordstocksudbury.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/... · Sudbury...

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2016 PROGRAM GUIDE November 3-5, 2016 3rd Edition

Transcript of November 3-5, 2016 - Wordstock Sudburywordstocksudbury.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/... · Sudbury...

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12016 PRO GRAM GUIDE

November 3 -5 , 2016

3rd Edition

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With gratitude to

OUR SPONSORSNOVEL

POEM

BOOKMARK

FESTIVAL PARTNERS

MEDIA SPONSOR GOVERNMENT SPONSORS

Chris and Roger Nash Sudbury’s Poet Laureate Kim Fahner

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Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Thursday Event . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Friday Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Festival Schedule . . . . . . . . . .7-9

Schedule at a Glance . . . . . . . 10

Biographies . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-18

Special Thanks . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Board of Directors: Chair Dinah Laprairie, Jessica Watts, Beth Mairs, Kim Fahner and Lara Bradley

Festival Director: Heather Campbell

Programmers: Kim Fahner, Matt Heiti, Heather Campbell

FESTIVAL ACCOMMODATION

AGENCY OF RECORD

@WordstockSud wordstocksudburyWordstock Sudbury

www.wordstocksudbury.ca

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ell, we’ve finally turned the page on our third edition! If

you’re flipping through this program right now, chances are there are words flying fast and furious around you — whether poetry declaimed by our poetic heavy-weights, dialogue drawn from plays and spoken by local actors, passages pulled from novels and read by their authors, or verse set to music by our songwriters.

What started as a project by the Sud-bury Arts Council two festivals ago, has now grown through the work of many hands into its own organization with a Board of Directors. To those of you, who have planned and plotted on a committee or volunteered at one of Wordstock Sudbury’s festivals — thank you!

This is your festival — a festival for readers and writers. Are there any other kind of people? Our vision for Wordstock Sudbury is that it will become a Northern Ontario celebra-tion, pulling in audiences from around

the North East, as well as authors and presses from the rest of Canada. We want to grow our own readers and Northern voices, as part of this yearly love-in for the written and spoken word. So circle the first weekend of November in all your calendars. This time next year, after all the leaves have blown off the trees, we’ll cozy-up together again to talk about writing in all its forms.

We’re hoping you’ll continue to support the festival as members and share your ideas on what you’d like to see or hear at future festivals at our upcoming Annual Meeting (more on this coming soon). You can also let us know what you think through our sur-veys, which will be handed out after each of our sessions.

So, to quote one of our authors, Danielle Daniel, we hope you dig deep into this year’s third edition:

“Stories mined from the dark depths of ancient meteors; extracted and oxi-dized, booming marks on the page.”

WELCOMEto the 3rd edition of

W

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THURSDAYNOV. 3

For one night only, Parliamentary Poet Laureate George Elliott Clarke, 2016 Griffi n Poetry Prize winner Liz Howard, and Metis poet Gregory Scofi eld will exchange ideas and poetry as they discuss diversity, Canada and the creative process.

A revered poet, Clarke has been both the fourth Poet Laureate of Toronto (2012-15) and is currently serving as the seventh Parliamentary Poet Laureate. Now teaching African-Canadian Literature at the University of Toronto, he holds eight honorary

doctorates, plus appointments to the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Canada.

Howard’s Infi nite Citizen of the Shaking Tent won the 2016 Griffi n Poetry Prize, the fi rst time the prize has been awarded to a debut collection.

Scofi eld teaches creative writing at Laurentian University, as an assistant professor in its English department, and has won the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize in 1994 for his debut collection, Th e Gathering: Stones for the Medicine Wheel.

FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!Co-presented with Pat The Dog7 p.m., Clarion Hotel, Worthington Room, 117 Elm St.

George Elliott Clarke, Liz Howard and Gregory ScofieldModerated by: Markus Schwabe

George Elliott Clarke Liz Howard Gregory Scofi eld

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FRIDAYNOV. 4

World premiere workshop presentation of award-winning Sudbury writer Matthew Heiti’s newest play, The Mourning Show. For 30 years, Harry Gzotowski has hosted the morning radio show, travelling from one small town to another. His show is a cultural institution, but up close the tour bus is rusting, the CDs aren’t selling, and Harry’s had enough. Tonight’s his last show, and nobody goes home alive.

Two award-winning writers will explore how myth and the supernatural, drawn from their culture influences their work — Archibald pulling from his French Ca-nadian background and Howard, drawing on her Ojibwe roots. Samuel Archibald’s debut collection of short fiction, Arvida won Quebec’s Prix Des Libraries 2012 and its English translation was nominated for the 2015 Giller Prize. Howard’s Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent won the 2016 Griffin Poetry Prize, the first time the prize has been awarded to a debut collection.

Join Indigenous-Finnish musician Marc Merilainen and Sudbury singer-songwriter Sean Barrette as they put verse to song and talk about the process of lyric writ-ing. Merilainen has performed at the 2010 Winter Olympics, across Canada at folk festivals, as well as earned nominations for Best Rock Album at the Native American Music Awards and Best Male Artist at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards for his album, Brother. Barrette mines his northern roots in his albums Live Through This and Signs. He gained national exposure as co-writer and member of The Puckhogs, with its song, For the Love of the Game — a runner-up in the 2013 CBC Hockey Night in Canada Song Quest.

THE MOURNING SHOW

The Power of Myth and the Supernatural

Stories and Verse in a Tune

Pat The Dog’s Pop Up Play Smelter presents:

5 p.m., Sudbury Secondary School

8 p.m., Sudbury Secondary School

9:30 p.m., Fromagerie Elgin, 5 Cedar St.

Matthew Heiti

Samuel Archibald and Liz Howard Moderated by: Roxanne Charlebois

Marc Merilainen and Sean Barrette

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SATURDAYNOV. 5

Kids can bring their favourite adult with them to enjoy story-time with Jael Richardson, author of the Stone Thrower, and Mrzcedes Quinlan Labelle, author of Patooti the Pig.

The influence of our surroundings, whether a city, small town or landscape, can shape the architectural bones of a novel or other literary work. Archibald, author of Arvida, and Heiti, playwright and author of, City Still Breathing, will share their insights on how their fiction has incorporated the places around them.

If you are wondering what acronym CNF stands for, you are not alone! Tim Falconer is a Ryerson University professor and mentor at the University of King’s College MFA in its Creative Non Fiction Program, as well as the author of, Bad Singer: The Surprising Science of Tone Deafness and How We Hear Music. He will share the intricacies of Creative Non-Fiction, putting the misconceptions of this much misunderstood genre to rest.

Chat with three of Canada’s top indie presses and find out what it takes to make the literary cut, as they share a glimpse of what happens behind the galley. Wilcox, Munroe and Truax have worked with some of Canada’s award winning authors and have a wealth of information to share. Truax is the executive director and publisher of Éditions Prise de parole, a literary publishing house based in Sudbury. Munroe is the Director of Marketing and Publicity at Biblioasis, a freelance writer, and founder of the Woodbridge Farm Writes’ Retreat. Wilcox is the Editorial Director of Coach House Books, an independent literary press located in Toronto and the editor of the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize–winning novel Fifteen Dogs, by André Alexis.

Children’s Hour

Writing from Where You Are

What is CNF anyways?

Behind the Galley: Inside the Small Press

REGISTRATION BEGINS AT 9:30 a.m.Author sessions at Sudbury Secondary School

unless otherwise noted

CONCURRENT SESSIONS: Choose one per time slot

Jael Richardson and Mrzcedes Quinlan Labelle

Samuel Archibald and Matthew Heiti Moderated by: Daniel Aubin

Tim Falconer Moderated by: Laura Stradiotto

Alana Wilcox, Grant Munroe and Denis Truax Moderated by: Heather Campbell

MacKenzie Branch of the Greater Sudbury Public Library

10:30-11:30 a.m.

1:15-2:15 p.m.

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SATURDAYNOV. 5

Both Richardson and Daniel are multitalented women who keep filling the world with their creations. In addition to having published popular children’s books with Groundwood Books, both have recently penned provocative memoirs. Daniel’s The Dependent offers an intimate glimpse into a marriage and life in the military, while Richardson uncovers her relationship with her father in, The Stone Thrower: A Daughter’s Lesson, a Father’s Life. This session will explore the importance of sharing “your” story and the process of deciding what to keep and what to cut.

Both Murphy and Partridge have recently published debut novels, undertaking a mammoth amount of research to support their works with the historical detail needed to pull readers into their stories. Set in the Northern Ontario city of Sault Ste. Marie, the novella Rule of Seconds is a semi-autobiographical fiction by Partridge that interlaces a city’s and a family’s history through storytelling, family lore, hearsay, medical accounts, newspaper clippings, and other archival materials. Murphy’s novel, A Beckoning War, follows Capt. James McFarlane of Canada’s “A” Company, 1st Irish, into the Second World War.

Griffin and Marttila will explore what’s needed to fuel Fantasy Fiction. Griffin, who lives in Cobalt, is the author of, The Wintermen, and co-author of, We Lived a Life and Then Some: The Life, Death and Life of a Mining Town, Between the Lines, which was listed as a must-read on the 2011 CBC Cross-Country Check-up Summer Reading list. Sudbury based Marttila is a science fiction and fantasy novelist, a published poet, and award winning short story writer. She has been writing since the age of seven, when she submitted her first short story to Canadian Broadcast Corporation’s (CBC’s) Pencil Box.

A pioneer and trailblazer, Niedzviecki is once again breaking the rules. Find out how storytelling on a digital platform is changing the evolving publishing environment. He is the author of 11 books of fiction and nonfiction, including Trees on Mars: Our Obsession with the Future, and the publisher/founder of Broken Pencil, a magazine of zine culture and the independent arts.

From My Own Heart: Memoir

Archeology of Historical Fiction

Wild Imagination: Fantasy Fiction

Digital Storytelling: Power of Literary zines

CONCURRENT SESSIONS: Choose one per time slot

Jael Richardson and Danielle Daniel Moderated by: Liisa Kovala

Matt Murphy and Shawna Partridge Moderated by: Rosanna Battigelli

Brit Griffin and Melanie Marttila Moderated by: Scott Overton

Hal Niedzviecki Moderated by: Dinah Laprairie

2:30-3:30 p.m.

3:45-4:45 p.m.

Author sessions at Sudbury Secondary Schoolunless otherwise noted

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SATURDAYNOV. 5

5:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

10:00 p.m.

Douglas was born and raised in Sudbury. The only girl in a large family, Douglas developed an early passion for writing, and after winning a local short story competition, she went on to travel and study in Western Canada. An accomplished actress and singer/songwriter, she has performed on stages across Canada and the United States. Somewhere Picking Dandelions is her first novel.

Workshop presentation of local playwright Lara Bradley’s Blind Nickel Pig, a rollicking tale of times past and the people who lived in our town a hundred years ago. Bradley brings to life a heart-warming and hilarious cast of characters: The sis-ters Flyberry: Annie and Frannie, Fast Willie Dorland, barfly Pickles and songstress Miss Mabel-Lynn — to name just a few. An original local, and maybe true story by one of Sudbury’s most talented writers.

Fresh from their TEDx Talks in Montreal, International Latin and Salsa Champions Trevor Copp and Jeff Fox will present a very special late-night evening of dance as they demonstrate Liquid Lead Dancing, a technique created by Copp and Fox that challenges the idea of traditional gender roles through dance.

Hosted by Greater Sudbury’s Poet Laureate, our magician with words will start the reading off and then hand over the mic for those who want to take the opportunity to bring your best to light.

Latitude 46 Book Launch: Somewhere Picking Dandelions

Liquid Lead Dancing

Open Mic Night

Diana Douglas

Lara Bradley

Kim Fahner

Fromagerie Elgin, 5 Cedar St.

Sudbury Secondary School

Sudbury Secondary School

Fromagerie Elgin, 5 Cedar St.

Blind Nickel PigPat The Dog’s Pop Up Play Smelter presents:

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SCHEDULEAT A GLANCE

THURSDAY, NOV. 3

FRIDAY, NOV. 4

SATURDAY, NOV. 5

7:00 p .m . For Crying Out Loud! Clarion Sudbury George Elliott Clarke, Liz Howard and Gregory Scofield

5:00 p .m . Pat The Dog’s Pop Up Sudbury Secondary School Play Smelter presents: The Mourning Show Matthew Heiti

8:00 p .m . The Power of Myth and the Supernatural Sudbury Secondary School Samuel Archibald and Liz Howard

9:30 p .m . Stories and Verse in a Tune Fromagerie Elgin Marc Merilainen and Sean Barrette

9:30 a .m . Registration Sudbury Secondary School Events held at Sudbury Secondary School unless otherwise noted

10:30 a .m .

1:15 p .m .

2:30 p .m .

3:45 p .m .

10:00 p .m .

5:30 p .m .

7:30 p .m .

Children’s HourMacKenzie Branch of the GSPLJael Richardson and Mrzcedes Quinlan Labelle

Behind the Galley: Inside the Small Press Alana Wilcox, Grant Munroe and Denis Truax

Writing from Where You AreSamuel Archibald and Matthew Heiti

What is CNF anyways? Tim Falconer

From My Own Heart: MemoirJael Richardson and Danielle Daniel

Digital Storytelling: Power of Literary zinesHal Niedzviecki

Archeology of Historical FictionMatt Murphy and Shawna Partridge

Wild Imagination: Fantasy FictionBrit Griffin and Melanie Marttila

Liquid Lead Dancing

Open Mic NightFromagerie ElginHosted by Sudbury’s Poet Laureate Kim Fahner

Latitude 46 Book Launch Fromagerie ElginDiana Douglas

Pat The Dog’s Pop Up Play Smelter presents: Blind Nickel PigLara Bradley

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Samuel Archibald’s debut collection of short fi ction, Arvida (Éditions Le Quartanier, 2011), won Quebec’s Prix Des Libraries 2012 and Prix Coup de Coeur Renaud-Bray 2012. Th e English translation (Biblioasis, 2015) was nominated for the 2015 Giller Prize. Samuel currently teaches contemporary popular culture at the University of Quebec in Montreal, where he lectures on subjects including fi ction, horror movies and video games.

Lara Bradley writes plays, thanks to the support of Pat the Dog and the wicked dramaturgy of Lisa O’Connell and Matthew Heiti, including Blind Nickel Pig, Sperm Wars and Creekside. She has also collaborated with the talented Cait Hepner, Cora Eckert and Rick Duthie (with Matt pulling it all together) on the recently produced #Th eWatertower at the Sudbury Th eatre Centre. Her short story, Dust of My Own Moon, can be found the fi ction collection by Latitude 46 Publishing, Along the 46th. Former Sudbury Star reporter, Bradley’s day job is now in communications. She lives with her family — Peter, Sebastian and Quinn — in their little log cabin in Sudbury.

Samuel Archibald

Lara Bradley

AUTHORBIOS

ArvidaLibraries 2012 and Prix Coup de Coeur Renaud-Bray 2012. Th e Libraries 2012 and Prix Coup de Coeur Renaud-Bray 2012. Th e English translation (2015 Giller Prize. Samuel currently teaches contemporary popular culture at the University of Quebec in Montreal, where he lectures on subjects including fi ction, horror movies and video games.

Samuel Archibald

. She has also

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Clarion Hotel Sudbury 117 Elm Street | 705.674.7517 [email protected]

Get Together Get full-service facilities and the social space that make it easy to connect with friends and col-leagues: Conferences / Banquets /

Meetings Indoor pool & sauna Free high-speed wireless

internet New modernized guestrooms 24-hour business centre

AUTHORBIOS

Sudbury, Ontario-based songwriter Sean Barrette mines his northern roots for an earthy, acoustic-based sound that deftly mixes county, rock, reggae and pop infl uences. He garnered critical acclaim with his 2011 debut album, Live Th rough Th is, and 2013’s Signs. According to Grammy Award-winning pro-ducer Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Junkhouse), Barrette is “one of Canada’s best songwriters.” Burn approached Barrette about doing a remix of Signs, which was released in 2014.

Barrette gained national exposure as co-writer and member of Th e Puckhogs, with their song, For the Love of the Game, placing runner-up out of over 1,000 entries in the national 2013 CBC Hockey Night in Canada Song Quest.

In 2014, Barrette attracted the attention of industry legend, Producer/Songwriter Alan Glass (Earth Wind and Fire, Aretha Franklin, Temptations, Maxi Priest, Kenny G.). Together they achieved cross-Canada radio airplay with a Glass produced radio remix of his song, Cool Side of the Pillow. Th is past Christmas, they repeated that success with the Barrette-penned track Angel On My Tree, which they hope will become a new Christmas standard.

Th e 4th Poet Laureate of Toronto (2012-15) and 7th Parliamentary Poet Laureate (2016-17), George Elliott Clarke is a revered poet. Now teaching African-Canadian Literature at the University of Toronto, Clarke has taught at Duke, McGill, the University of British Columbia and Harvard. He holds eight honorary doctorates, plus appointments to the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Canada. His recognitions include the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellows Prize, the Governor-General’s Award for Poetry, the Premiul Poesis (Romania), the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction, the Eric Hoff er Book Award for Poetry (US), and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award.

Sean Barrette

George Elliott Clarke

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AUTHORBIOS

Danielle Daniel is the author and illustrator of Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox, a fi nalist for the First Nation Community Reads Literary Award and one of NY Public Library’s most notable books for 2015.

She has recently released her memoir Th e Dependent: A Memoir of Marriage and the Military. Her second children’s book, Once in a Blue Moon, is forthcoming fall 2017.

Her short stories have been published in Room and Event Magazine. Daniel is currently working on a novel and completing an MFA in Creative Writing through the University of British Columbia. She writes and paints in Sudbury, where she lives with her husband Steve and their son Owen.

Tim Falconer is the author of Bad Singer: Th e Surprising Science of Tone Deafness and How We Hear Music from House of Anansi Press.

Based on Face the Music, a National Magazine Award-winning feature, it is much more than the story of his sometimes-humiliating attempt to sing in tune. It’s also about what we hear when we listen to music and why singing is so important to us. An entertaining mash-up of science, culture and personal journey, this book is for everyone who sings–badly or not.

His previous books are Watchdogs and Gadfl ies: Activism from Marginal to Mainstream, Drive: A Road Trip Th rough Our Complicated Aff air with the Automobile and Th at Good Night: Ethicists, Euthanasia and End-of-Life Care (all published by Penguin). He also collaborated with psychologist and popular parenting expert Alex Russell on Drop the Worry Ball: How to Parent in the Age of Entitlement (fi rst published by Wiley in 2012; reissued by Collins in 2014).

Based in Toronto, Falconer started teaching magazine journalism at Ryerson University in 1995. He’s also a mentor in the MFA in Creative Non-Fiction program at the University of King’s College in Halifax and an editor at the Literary Journalism program at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff , Alberta. He conducts writing seminars and is available as a speaker for book clubs and other groups. In 2012, he spent three months in Dawson City, Yukon, as writer-in-residence at Berton House.

Danielle Daniel

Tim Falconer

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AUTHORBIOS

Kim Fahner lives and writes in Sudbury, teaching English at Marymount Academy. She is the Poet Laureate for the City of Greater Sudbury for the 2016-18 term.

Fahner has published three books of poetry, You Must Imagine Th e Cold Here (Scrivener Press, 1997), braille on water (Penumbra Press, 2001), and Th e Narcoleptic Madonna (Penumbra Press, 2012).

She has worked with various literary mentors, including Timothy Findley, Marnie Woodrow, Lawrence Hill, Ken Babstock, as well as noted Scottish poets John Glenday and Jen Hadfi eld.

She is a member of the League of Canadian Poets, the Writers Union of Canada, and PEN Canada.

Fahner is currently completing her fi rst novel, her fourth book of poetry, and a new play.

Brit Griffi n author of Th e Wintermen and co-author of We Lived a Life and Th en Some: Th e Life, Death and Life of a Mining Town, Between the Lines, (1996) that was listed as a must-read on the 2011 CBC Cross-Country Check-up Summer Reading list. For 10 years she ran an independent magazine (High-grader Magazine) on rural and resource-based communities. She received two American Catholic press awards for her writing on family life, and has worked as a freelancer in print, video and radio. Griffi n currently works for Timiskaming First Nation, an Algonquin community in northern Quebec. She lives in the town of Cobalt with her husband, and is the mother of three daughters.

Kim Fahner

Brit Griffin

) on rural and resource-

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AUTHORBIOS

Matthew Heiti is a writer and theatre creator living it rough in Northern Ontario. His plays have been workshopped across Canada and produced at various festivals, including SummerWorks, Lunchbox Th eatre and the Sudbury Th eatre Centre.

He is the winner of the Tarragon Th eatre RBC Emerging Play-wrights Award and his play, Mucking in the Drift, was shortlisted for the Carol Bolt Award by the Playwrights Guild. His play, Black Dog: 4 vs. the world, is published by Playwrights Canada Press.

His fi ction has been published in many journals and anthologies. He is a past winner of Grain Magazine’s prize for short fi ction, a CBC “Writer to Watch” and the winner of the 2016 Carter V. Cooper Award for Best Emerging Writer. His novel Th e City Still Breathing is published by Coach House Books.

A proud advocate for developing voices in neglected landscapes, for fi ve years Heiti ran the Playwrights’ Junction, a workshop for developing writers, at the Sudbury Th eatre Centre. Now an associate with Pat the Dog Th eatre Creation, he is the co-director of PlaySmelter, Northern Ontario’s fi rst workshop and reading festival of new plays.

He writes at harkback.org and explores new work in strange places at crestfallentheatre.com. In his spare time, he is usually working.

Liz Howard’s Infi nite Citizen of the Shaking Tent won the 2016 Griffi n Poetry Prize, the fi rst time the prize has been awarded to a debut collection. It was also a fi nalist for the 2015 Governor General’s Award for Poetry.

Born and raised in Northern Ontario, Howard received an Honours Bachelor of Science with High Distinction from the University of Toronto, and an MFA in Creative Writing through the University of Guelph. She now lives in Toronto.

Matthew Heiti

Liz Howard

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AUTHORBIOS

Th e fi rst Nadjiwan compact disc titled Brother, released in 1995 went on to achieve much success in both Canada and the United States earning him an nomination for Best Rock Album at the Native American Music Awards, as well as the No. 1 album spot on the Aboriginal Voices Top 10. Meriläinen also received a Best Male Artist nomination from the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards for this eff ort.

Over the years, Meriläinen has performed at various music festival and events including, 2010 Winter Olympics, Th e Mariposa Folk Festival, Th e Northern Lights Festival Boreal, Folk On Th e Rocks, Hillside Music Festival and many, many more.

In addition to releasing his own original music, Meriläinen has composed scores for theatre and television. His work on the production Agokwe earned him a Dora Award Nomination in 2009 for Best Original Composition. Some of the other theatre productions Meriläinen has worked on include, New World Brave, Coyote City and Artifacts. Meriläinen has also provided music and scores for CBC, CTV and APTN.

Meriläinen lives in Toronto runs Merilainen Music, an audio-production house that specializes in artist development.

Grant Munroe is the Director of Marketing and Publicity at Biblioasis. His writing has appeared in Th e Walrus, McSweeney’s, One Story, Th e Globe and Mail, Canadian Notes & Queries, and elsewhere.

Earlier in 2016, he founded the Woodbridge Farm Writers’ Retreat, which invites authors to enjoy free summer residencies in Kingsville, ON.

Marc Meriläinen

Grant Munroe

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AUTHORBIOS

Matthew Murphy was born and raised in Sudbury and now lives in Montreal. His fi rst novel, A Beckoning War (Baraka Books, 2016), has been called “a wonderful novel .... from an author ready for a glittering literary career,” (Kirkus Reviews) and “the product of an amazing new talent,” (Paul Gessell, Quill & Quire).

Hal Niedzviecki is a writer, speaker, culture commentator and editor whose work challenges preconceptions and confronts readers with the off enses of everyday life. He is the author of 11 books of fi ction and nonfi ction, including Trees on Mars: Our Obsession with the Future, and the publisher/founder of Broken Pencil, a magazine of zine culture and the independent arts.

Niedzviecki’s writing has appeared in newspapers and jour-nals across the world including, Th e New York Times Magazine, Th e Guardian, Utne Reader, Th e Globe and Mail, Th e Walrus and Geist. He lives and works in Toronto.

Jael Ealey Richardson is the author of Th e Stone Th rower: A Daughter’s Lesson, a Father’s Life, a memoir based on her relationship with her father, CFL quar-

terback Chuck Ealey. Th e memoir received a CBC Bookie Award and earned Richard-son an Acclaim Award and a My People Award as an Emerging Artist and was adapted into a children’s book in 2016.

Her essay Conception is part of Room Magazine’s fi rst Women of Colour edition, and excerpts from her fi rst play, my upside down black face, are pub-lished in the anthology T-Dot Griots: An Anthology of Toronto’s Black Storytellers.

Richardson has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph and lives in Brampton, where she serves as the Artistic Director for the Festival of Literary Diversity.

Matt Murphy

Hal Niedzviecki

Jael Richardson

now lives in Montreal. His fi rst novel, Books, 2016), has been called “a wonderful novel .... from an Books, 2016), has been called “a wonderful novel .... from an author ready for a glittering literary career,” (Kirkus Reviews) and “the product of an amazing new talent,” (Paul Gessell, Quill & Quire).

Matt Murphy

terback Chuck Ealey. Th e memoir received a CBC Bookie Award and earned Richard-son an Acclaim Award and a My People Award as an Emerging Artist and was adapted into a children’s book in 2016.

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AUTHORBIOS

Gregory Scofi eld is Red River Metis of Cree, Scottish and European descent whose ancestry can be traced to the fur trade and to the Metis community of Kinesota, Manitoba.

He has taught First Nations and Metis Literature and Creative Writing at Brandon University, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, and the Alberta College of Art + Design. He currently holds the position of Assistant Professor in English at Laurentian University where he teaches Creative Writing.

Scofi eld won the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize in 1994 for his debut collection, Th e Gathering: Stones for the Medicine Wheel, and has since published seven further volumes of poetry, as well as a memoir, Th under Th rough My Veins (1999).

Scofi eld has served as writer-in-residence at the University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg and Memorial University.

Denise Truax is the executive director and publisher of Éditions Prise de parole, a literary publishing house based in Sudbury, since 1988. She is a founding member and fi rst publisher of Éditions l’Interligne in Ottawa, a founding partner of the Salon du livre du Grand Sudbury, and of the Regroupement des éditeurs canadiens-français in Ottawa, on whose board she served for over 10 years. She is a past member of the board of the Ontario Arts Council and of numerous volunteer organizations, mostly in the arts sector, and a current member of the board of the Librairie Grand ciel bleu in Sudbury. She has taught classes at Laurentian University and has served on a number of juries for both the Ontario and Canada Arts Councils.

Gregory Scofield

Denise Truax

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19

Alana Wilcox is the Editorial Director of Coach House Books, an independent literary press located in Toronto.

She is the editor of the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize–winning novel Fifteen Dogs, by André Alexis, and is the co-founding editor of the uTOpia series of anthologies about Toronto.

She is also the author of an out-of-print novel, A Grammar of Endings.

Mrcedz Quinlan Labelle lives in Azilda. She is a human and non-human rights activist. She lives with her co-author husband, her two pot-bellied pigs, and seven hens. She is also an avid environmentalist, so she drives an electric car because of her concern for the environment. She lives by the motto: “Feel the fear and do it anyway.”

She has written a number of articles for newspaper and magazine and is currently working on a novel, Th e Diary of a Contented Pig. Th e future novel and the book she is about to read is based on the life of one of her pot bellied pigs, Patooti.

Alana Wilcox

Mrcedz Quinlan Labelle

non-human rights activist. She lives with her co-author husband, her two pot-bellied pigs, and seven hens. She is also

magazine and is currently working on a novel,

read is based on the life of one of her pot bellied pigs, Patooti.

S P E C I A L T H A N K SMarymount Academy

for lending us microphones and supplying a brilliant bunch of volunteers

Sudbury Secondary School

Roger and Chris Nash

Kim Fahner

River and Sky Music Festival

AUTHORBIOS

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@WordstockSud

[email protected]

Wordstock Sudbury

www.wordstocksudbury.ca

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