The Winnipeg International Writers Festival is a

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

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based organization that puts together an annual literary festival known as THIN AIR. The festival program runs for a week each fall, and there are also several off-season events regularly occurring throughout the year. Programming is available in both English and French. While most of the events occur in Winnipeg, there are also some at

Brandon University Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrollment of 3375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon Co ...

and throughout the province.

History

The Winnipeg International Writers Festival was founded by Andris Taskans, Mark Steven Morton, and Robyn Maharaj in 1996, with the first festival running from October 14 to 19 of the following year. The festival hosted approximately 50 writers from across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

and around the world. The creation of the festival was explained as follows:

"It grew out of the determination to see that the writing, reading and publishing community was being served the way other innipegcultural communities were being served. "You have music aficionados being offered events such as the Jazz Festival and the New Music Festival, theatre-goers have the Fringe Festival - we're a festival town. People like to have large-scale events which offer them a lot of choice and that's what we wanted to do for the writing community." - Paula Kelly, coordinator for the 1997 Winnipeg Writers Festival, quoted in The Manitoban.

The festival involved collaboration from a number of organizations, including '' Prairie Fire'', the Manitoba Writers' Guild, the West End Cultural Centre (which had previously hosted a Word on the Street series), the Interfaith Marriage and Family Institute, and the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...

. In addition, Balmoral Hall School hosted a number of school events related to the festival. Since that time the THIN AIR festival has become a regular fixture in the province.

Current Staff

Currently the Winnipeg International Writers Festival is staffed by Director Charlene Diehl, General Manager Perry Grosshans, Administrative Coordinator Aaron Simm, and Coordonnatrice Karen San Filippo.

2009 THIN AIR Programming

The 2009 THIN AIR festival ran from September 20 to 27. During this week writers including France Adams,

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, Elizabeth Bachinsky,

Christian Bök Christian Bök, FRSC (; born August 10, 1966 in Toronto, Canada) is a Canadian poet known for unusual and experimental works. He is the author of ''Eunoia'', which won the Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize. Life and work He was born "Christian Boo ...

, Bonnie Burnard, George Elliott Clarke, Beth (Johnston) Cruikshank, Cyril Dabydeen, Nick DiChario, Deborah Ellis,

Lesley Fairfield Lesley is a placename, given name and surname, a variant of Leslie that can be male or female name and is ultimately an anglicization of a Scottish (Gaelic) placename. Places * Fort Lesley J. McNair, American army facility * Lesley University, Ame ...

Endre Farkas Endre Farkas (born 1948) is a Montreal-based poet, editor and playwright born in Hajdúnánás Hungary in 1948. After the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, he fled to Canada with his parents, who were Holocaust survivors. When he first arrived, his g ...

, Jon Paul Fiorentino, Linda Frank,

Marie-Louise Gay Marie-Louise Gay (born June 17, 1952) is a Canadian children's writer and illustrator. She has received numerous awards for her written and illustrated works in both French and English, including the 2005 Vicky Metcalf Award, multiple Governor ...

, Charlotte Gingras, Terry Griggs, Catherine Hunter,

Lynn Johnston Lynn Johnston (born May 28, 1947) is a Canadian cartoonist and author, best known for her newspaper comic strip '' For Better or For Worse''. She was the first woman and first Canadian to win the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award. Ea ...

, Judith Keenan, Lauren Kirshner, Jacqueline Larson,

Charles Leblanc Charles Leblanc (born June 3, 1996) is a Canadian professional baseball Infielder who is a free agent. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2022 for the Miami Marlins. Amateur career Leblanc attended Georges Vanier Secondary Schoo ...

, J.R. Léveillé,

Jeanette Lynes Jeanette Lynes is a Canadian author, poet and professor born in Hanover, Ontario. She went to high school in Hanover and Flesherton, Ontario. She then earned an Honours B.A. in English from York University, Toronto, and went on to earn an M.A. and ...

, Jake MacDonald,

Guy Maddin Guy Maddin (born February 28, 1956) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, author, cinematographer, and film editor of both features and short films, as well as an installation artist, from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since completing his first film in ...

Hal Niedzviecki Hal Niedzviecki (born January 9, 1971) is a Canadian novelist and cultural critic. Born in Brockville, he was raised by a Jewish family in Ottawa, Ontario, and Potomac, Maryland, did his undergraduate studies at University College, Toronto, ...

David O'Meara David O'Meara (born Pembroke, Ontario) is a Life He was raised in Pembroke, Ontario. He lives in Sandy Hill, Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the ...

, Marc Prescott, Lorraine Pritchard, T'ai Pu, Mélanie Rocan, Serge Salvador,

Robert J Sawyer Robert James Sawyer (born April 29, 1960) is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 24 novels published and his short fiction has appeared in ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'', '' Amazing Stories'', ''On Spec'', ''Nature'', and numerou ...

, Deborah Schnitzer,

Gregory Scofield Gregory Scofield (born July 20, 1966 in Maple Ridge, British Columbia)Gregory Scofield ...

, Anne Sechin, Struan Sinclair, Carolyn Marie Souaid, Margaret Sweatman, CJ Taylor, Serge Patrice Thibodeau, George Toles,

Rhea Tregebov Rhea Tregebov (born 1953) is a Canadian poet, novelist and children's writer who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. In her work as teacher and editor, she has mentored and inspired generations of Canadian poets . Her poetry is characterized by ...

, Priscila Uppal, Robert Charles Wilson, and

Tim Wynne-Jones Tim Wynne-Jones, (born 12 August 1948) is an English–Canadian author of children's literature, including picture books and novels for children and young adults, novels for adults, radio dramas, songs for the CBC/Jim Henson production ''Fraggl ...

will be performing readings, workshops and discussions throughout Manitoba. Some events planned include the Mainstage readings at the CanWest Global Performing Arts Centre at The Forks, Afternoon Book Chats at the McNally Robinson Polo Park Bookstore, The Nooner and Big Ideas at the Millennium Winnipeg Public Library, and After Words and A Pint of Bitter Murder at Aqua Books.

2008 Programming

The 2008 festival ran from September 21 to 28. During the week, 73 writers did readings, workshops and discussions at various sites throughout Winnipeg. The mainstage and school stage events occurred at CanWest Global Performing Arts Centre at The Forks. The Campus Program events were at the

, the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Red River College Red River College Polytechnic (RRC Polytech) is a college located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the province's largest institute of applied learning and applied research, with over 200 degree, diploma, and certificate programs, and more ...

Canadian Mennonite University Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) is a private Mennonite university located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrollment of 1607 students. The university was chartered in 1999 with a Shaftesbury campus in southwest Winnipeg, as well as Men ...

, and

. The French program, Foyer des Écrivains, was at the Centre culturel Franco-manitobain in St. Boniface. The Rural Tour covered Brandon, Altona,

Morden Morden is a district and town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton to the south and Worcester ...

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hi ...

, Selkirk, and Carman. There were also events at Winnipeg Public Library, Aqua Books, and McNally Robinson, among other locations.

References

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External links

Official site of Winnipeg International Writers Festival
Literary festivals in Manitoba Festivals in Winnipeg Annual events in Winnipeg