For Immediate Release: September 30, 2014
Media Contact:
Karen Stewart, Chair, Steering Committee
Alice Munro Writers & Readers Festival
519-523-4328
Alice Munro Writers and Readers Festival:
Festival’s 2014 Weekend Events – A Great Success
The renewed Alice Munro Writers and Readers Festival hosted over 250 guests at their events this past weekend, including a young woman on a Literary pilgrimage from Paris, France. Ms. Munro’s stories have been translated into more than a dozen languages and her work has been published in the New Yorker magazine as well as a number of anthologies over the course of her career.
Also in the crowd was a woman from Toronto who translates Alice Munro’s work into Russian. She shared that sometimes this is a daunting task as the intricacies of Munro’s prose results in longer paragraph translations (defeating the “short story” format) .
The Alice Munro Writers and Readers Festival encourages emerging writers and celebrates storytelling and reading through unique events in venues across North Huron, using the communities of Wingham where Alice grew up and the Village of Blyth as locations for learning about her work and writing skills development.
The weekend festivities launched Friday night with a new event – the Book Club Bash, hosted by the Huron County Library. Over sixty fans of Alice Munro’s work came together for a moderated discussion of Dear Life, hosted by Branch Services Librarian Jennifer Zoethout. Then, Melanie Chambers, a travel and food writer and instructor at London’s Western University, kicked off Saturday with an energizing workshop on Editing skills in the Bainton Gallery in Blyth, while Jodi Jerome, a local researcher and historian, shared her expertise in a workshop “Beyond Google, Research for Writers.” Then, 36 guests enjoyed On Reading Alice Munro – where writer Carrie Snyder and moderator John Cull had a spirited discussion about writing and shared their appreciation of Alice Munro’s work. Following a hearty lunch prepared by the Part II Bistro, guests had an opportunity to visit the North Huron Museum where docents highlighted the Alice Munro Collection housed there. In the vintage television station at CKNX radio Susan Chapman, hosted “Reading Aloud Allowed in Huron.” This fun event was an opportunity for creative writers to share their work with an appreciative audience. Music, poetry, comedy, non-fiction and fiction writing was showcased in this open mic event.
To cap off this exciting day of literary engagement, over 80 guests gathered at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 180, Wingham for the Gala evening. Five of the 9 finalists read from their short story competition entries (one competitor placed twice). Four finalists had selected passages of their story read by Steering Committee Members. Cash prizes and complimentary copies of Miranda Hill’s “Sleeping Funny” were awarded to the top five youth and top five adult writers. The books were donated by Penguin Random House. See Winner's Here
Winning stories can be read on the website at alicemunrofestival.ca. Lyrical music on the harp was provided by Maggie and Hannah Burgsma of Goderich and guests enjoyed a hearty harvest dinner. Miranda Hill, executive director of Project Bookmark and a celebrated writer of short stories, delivered a moving keynote address.
"We try to keep the festival simple, inclusive, relaxed and fun in keeping with the atmosphere of the communities,” says Committee Chair Karen Stewart. “I know our guests, who came from as far as Paris embraced our hospitality and enjoyed new experiences and shared their enthusiasm for Alice Munro’s work as well as celebrating emerging Canadian authors.”
Plans are now underway for the 2015 Alice Munro Writers and Readers Festival. “We look forward to adding content for this unique festival to meet the needs of all the fans of Alice Munro, to continue to support emerging writers, and to encourage participation in the pleasures of reading” concluded Karen Stewart, speaking on behalf of the volunteer steering committee members.
The Alice Munro Readers and Writers Festival is generously supported by the Township of North Huron. Special thanks to our sponsors including Blyth Festival, CKNX Radio, Howick Mutual Insurance, Huron County Library and Cultural Services, Royal Homes, Howson & Howson Ltd. and Huron Business Development Corporation.
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