Let me start by saying that authors clean up nicely. Even the Irish like Patrick Taylor looked almost civilized. Rhonda Lee Stephenson, Awards Committee Chair, looked simply ravishing. Anthony Dalton, CAA President and intrepid marine adventurer was probably concealing a .pdf (personal flotation device) under his clothing but outwardly looked almost Bay Street.
Julie and Colin Angus, National Geographic's 2007 Adventurers of the Year award winners and authors of their most recent book Rowed Trip, gave a truly d(h)aunting and surprisingly amusing account of their adventures bicycling Siberian blizzards, rowboating Atlantic Hurricanes and interpreting Bulgarian customs. After all that they even navigated publishers and started a family. Their youthful energy was exhausting.
The banquet food and service at the Harbour Towers was terrific. I do apologize to whoever ate my salmon. When the chicken came by first, I was famished so I just said that I'd ordered chicken. I really had no idea Laura chose salmon for us. I was feeling a bit fishy until I cleared that up. The chicken really was delicious.
R. L. Stephenson-Read presented the awards with flair:
The Bookland Press Emerging Writer Award went to British Columbian author, Rachelle Delaney for The Ship of Lost Souls, (HarperCollins Publishing).
The CAA Award for Poetry went to Newfoundland poet, Tom Dawe, for Where Genesis Begins,(Breakwater Books).
The Carol Bolt Award for Drama went to Manitoban playwright, Michael Nathanson, for Talk, (Playwrights Canada Press).
The Lela Common Award for Canadian History went to Ontarian Jonathan F. Vance for A History of Canadian Culture (Oxford University Press).
The Mosaid Technologies Award for Fiction went to Newfoundlander Michael Crummy, for Galore (Doubleday Canada).
Bernice Lever, a former award winner herself, presented the Allan Sangster Award, honouring long and meritorious CAA service, to British Columbian, Walter MacConville. Fellow poet, Sheila Martindale accepted the award for Walter who at 95 wasn't about to Colin Angus himself to some late night writer's banquet.
With that Jean Kay was called up by Anthony and R.L. so Margaret Hume could present her a bouquet of flowers with special thanks for all the amazing work and organization that she'd undertaken to make this a truly memorable conference that will be the 'buzz' for years to come.
I have had the privilege of meeting prime ministers, Nobel Prize Winners, Olympic Athletes and World Religious leaders. I really can't recall being as moved by anyone as much as by Julie and Colin Angus, two thoughtful young adventurers with a baby on the way after hurricanes and Siberian snow storms couldn't come between them.
http://www.angusadventures.com/
Colin circumnavigated the world under human power. Julie accompanied him much of the way but especially for the crossing of the Atlantic in which they encountered 2 hurricanes. Julie became the first woman to row from mainland to mainland across the Atlantic. Their epic 2 year journey began at the Maritime Museum in Vancouver and ended there.
I had read Julie Angus' book, Rowboat in a Hurricane, after Phil a retired oceanographer and sea captain, thrust it into my hand last winter saying, "You've got to read this. There's nothing like it." Later at the Canadian Author's Association I would hear Julie's publisher singing her praise as one of the most enjoyable writer's she'd ever had the opportunity to work with. Colin's book of his 2 year, 43,000 km trek Beyond the Horizon is my next must read book.
Waiting to hear them speak at the CAA Literary Awards Banquet, sitting at a table of learned and accomplished writers and genius, the topic was of the devastation of the British Petroleum oil catastrophe. It was so apropos coming spontaneously before these two shining lights of ecology celebrating human energy and renewable resource. Julie and Colin Angus, two spiritually gifted writers and visionaries gave hope by their action and the gift of their presentation and words.
What a priviledge to be in the same room with such humble and humorous superhumans.
Their latest book Rowed Trip described their journey by oar from Scotland to Syria, through 13 countries, across the waterways and lands. For now Julie pats her bulging belly and says "this is our next adventure."
At this year's Canadian Author's Association, "blue pencil" sessions were held in the lobby. Due to complaints by other hotel guests about the 'noise and shameful carrying on" these 'blue pencil' sessions will in future be held off site, in padded rooms.
Through out the conference writers heard their fellows chanting "Not my bon mot! Not my bon mot!" as authors staged rallies in groups hoping vainly political action might influence editors.
One petite white haired woman cried desperately to no avail 'that scene defined my grandmother, I simply can't remove it from her memoirs." Senior writers, ever available to criticize, wielded Luke Skywalker Blue Pencils with great flair. Others ganged up on the unpublished, two on one ,while the third operated the chain saw.
A veritable tug of war went on for hours with kc dyer on one end of a paragraph and a budding author at the other. By her utter deviousness, Bernice Lever, demonstrated that she'd been at this editing business a very long time. "Whose that behind you," she'd say and then whole chapters would disappear into thin air. "I could have sworn I included my 60's recipes for mushrooms in my cookbook for wholesome childen's food…I just don't know what's become of it." said the long haired author. Bernice smiled coyly like the proverbial cat.
However gentle the published authors were the newcomers just kept thrashing about on the floor and gnashing their teeth. At times the keening interrupted keynote speakers. Bob Mackay, his own novel just accepted for publication wanted to offer solace to one particularly forlorn writer but Rodger Cove stopped him. "He's got to face the loss of that one comma!" Rodger said.
http://www.richardwagamese.com/R.L introduced Richard Wagamese, the Friday evening keynote speaker. Richard received the Canadian Authors Association award for fiction for his 3rd novel Dream Wheels in 2007. He was the first native Canadian to win a National Newspaper Award for Column Writing in 1991. His debut novel Keeper'n Me won the Alberta Writer's Guild Best Novel award in 1994. His other books include: The Terrible Summer; A Quality of Light; For Joshua, An Ojibway Father Teaches His Son; Ragged Company; One Native Life, his memoir. He has also received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters making him Dr. Richard Wagamese.
R.L having introduced him said, "Please take the podium, Dr. Wagamese" To this he responded, "Wrong thing to tell an Indian to take something, I'm already imagining how I'm going to carry it home on my back". After that he spoke of street life as a young man, leaving school and finding 'at 16 my idea of safety was the library." He described reading stacks of books there and 'when creator came I was ready."
He was out of work at 17 and saw an ad "Native writer wanted" so "I thought I'm half way there, I'm native." When he was asked what training and experience he had, he said, "I lied." Asked for transcripts, he said, "they'd all been lost in a fire." He was told to come back and show his work so he went to the library to read up on how to write 'journalism' and got the job. Since then he has worked as a professional writer.
"I allow myself to be all for Creator and the creative process, to be the vessel."
"Each time we face an empty screen it is a spiritual experience." He shared. "The thing we are called upon to do is fill that empty space with spirit and spirituality……we are conjurers……we pull rabbits out of the hat…..we arrange words in ways they have never been arranged before…it's magic."
"I spoke to the Ojibway elders and they told me that I was supposed to create stories for the story's sake."
"You have to hear it, feel it, smell it, taste it so you can put it on paper so someone else can hear it, feel it, smell it, taste it."
"We're all tribal people, " he said," We have a desire to hear the one voice speaking and we lean closer around the campfire to hear that voice. Regardless of your background we all have oral tradition in common."
Then he created the most amazing complex and beautiful story as a game, receiving three words and a sentence, the sentence being the one that would end the story. Then he told us all a wonderful story and the whole room of authors stood en mass applauding at the wonder he shared.
In closing he said, "When people encouraged me to be the best I could be spiritually, I thought the acronym FAITH meant , Find Another Indian To Hassle, but now I know the acronym for FAITH is Find Another Insight That Heals."
It was an honor to be in the room with and hear this great man say, "It's an honor to come to a room of my peers who face that same paper." When he stepped down from the podium there were tears in the eyes of a few.
Margaret Hume, president of the Vancouver chapter of the CAA, introduced Patrick Taylor as this morning's keynote speaker. His accomplishments in Obstetrics and medical research are as noteworthy as his remarkable career as a short story writer and later novelist. As Margaret so well pointed out Patrick makes light of his achievements which include 170 scientific papers, 6 text books and 10 years as the Editor in Chief of the Canadian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
I was personally delighted to read his stories in Stitches the Journal of Medical Humor in which he was the book reviewer. His own books now include: Only Wounded: Ulster Stories; Pray for Us Sinners; The Apprenticeship of Doctor Laverty; Now and In the Hour of Our Death; An Irish Country Doctor and an Irish Country Village. An Irish Country Girl was just released this spring and he is presently working on An Irish Country Partnership due to be released next year.
"In the Beginning was the Word." He quoted in his most mellifluous Irish accent. "And we all here love words," he continued at his whimsical best. His topic that day regarded what traditional writers needed in an electronic world. He described how he himself had progressed from pen to word processor but said to much laughter, "I had a short time with voice recognition technology but with an accent like mine…."
Making fun of his own efforts in this realm and connecting to all the writers there, he shared on the downside of electronic age, "I've a habit of losing stories to cyber space. There's one still hovering over Regina Saskatchewan from when I pressed the wrong button on the computer." "Back up! Back up! Back up!" he drilled home the message to all writers using computers.
But he highlighted the speed and ease of editing sharing his recent experience of sending 20 chapters to his editor from Tenerife and getting them back a week later.
Getting down to the grit of marketing in the electronic age, he advised, "Don't ask so much about royalty but ask what your book's publicity budget will be." The problem with ease of publishing on the internet is that books can come out but if no one hears about them then it's little different than if they collected dust in the basement or attic.
He emphasized the importance of 'word of mouth…it's still the best tool for selling." With that he shared anecdotes from his personal book tours, satellite tours and even talked about Margaret Atwood's auto signer robotic arm.
As he progressed with his topic he entered more and more into the twists and turns of modern publishing warning of the pitfalls and sharing anecdotes about what to do and not to do with contracts. He warned writers to consider how e publishing was affecting the music industry and the increasing concerns of piracy.
The American Author's Association and Canadian Authors Association were directly involved in addressing all the new changes that were coming legally as a result of this new media.
While there seemed to be much to be concerned about he closed on a very positive note: "the youngsters are still reading."
The e world had too he said affected the ability of readers to interact with writers. "I don't twitter or tweat, " he said, "but I have a web site and I respond to my reader's emails."
It was a wonderful speech specific to the needs of the writer audience. But the standing ovation he received was as much for the man.
The Friday morning session of Canwrite 2010 opened with Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin's remarks to the audience. "Arts and culture define our city" he said. "I believe we have the most independent bookstores in the country." " Our city has it's own Poet Laureate. This year it's Linda Rogers."
Mayor Fortin was indeed a man of vision and saw the central role for arts and culture in postmodern society. Victoria thrives on tourism. Tourism has increasingly become a major industry in today's world. Where once the individual depended on big business to supply their 'commerce' from other countries and regions, today, that very same individual goes directly to the source. Why buy from some place in the world at a distance when I personally can visit that place and bring back what I find I want. Why hear second hand about a place when I can have the full esperience first hand. This Canwrite conference talked increasingly about the nature of technology removing middlemen and Mayor Fortin expressed his realization of this.
"Our movement is to see arts and culture thrive", he said, citing the creation of Victoria's "Random Acts of Poetry" series. "We want to fill our city with Random Acts of Art".
"Tourism is so important to our city….where other cities were cutting the budget to the arts we were not."
Mayor Dean Fortin was highly applauded by those in attendance. He expressed the kind of foresight and spirit that are needed today as the world changes from an economy of war to economy of creation.
Posts
All Comments
