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 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

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 tot ...

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 Balmoral Hall School (BH) is a private all-girls day/boarding school in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. History Balmoral Hall was founded in 1901 as Havergal College, located at 122 Carlton Street. The name was changed in 1917 to Rupert's Land Coll ...

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 Elizabeth Bachinsky (born May 10, 1976) is a Canadian poet. She has published four collections since 2005: ''Curio'', ''Home of Sudden Service'', ''God of Missed Connections'', and ''The Hottest Summer in Recorded History''. Her second book, ''Ho ...

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 Bo ...

Bonnie Burnard Bonnie Burnard (January 15, 1945 – March 4, 2017) was a Canadian short story writer and novelist, best known for her 1999 novel, ''A Good House'',George Elliott Clarke George Elliott Clarke, (born February 12, 1960) is a Canadian poet, playwright and literary critic who served as the Poet Laureate of Toronto from 2012 to 2015 and as the 2016–2017 Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate. His work is known larg ...

, Beth (Johnston) Cruikshank,

Cyril Dabydeen Cyril Dabydeen is a Guyana-born Canadian writer of Indian descent. He grew up in Rose Hall sugar plantation with the sense of Indian indenture rooted in his family background (he lived with his mother and with a grandmother in an extended family of ...

Nick DiChario Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Pla ...

Deborah Ellis Deborah Ellis (born August 7, 1960) is a Canadian fiction-writer and activist. Her themes are often concerned with the sufferings of persecuted children in the Third World. Early life Born in Cochrane Ontario, Ellis and her family moved several ...

, Lesley Fairfield, Endre Farkas,

Jon Paul Fiorentino Jon Paul Fiorentino is a Canadian poet, novelist, short story writer, editor, and professor. Fiorentino was born and raised in the Transcona area of Winnipeg, Manitoba. In his book of poems, ''Resume Drowning'', he wrote that because he has re ...

Linda Frank Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake ...

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 G ...

Charlotte Gingras Charlotte Gingras (born December 10, 1943) is a Canadian author living in Quebec. She was born in Quebec City and studied teaching and the plastic arts. Gingras taught primary school, gave workshops on creativity for adults and did freelance work ...

Terry Griggs Terry Griggs is a Canadian author."Terry Griggs: Writers to Watch". '' Edmonton Journal'', 25 June 1995. Her book of short stories ''Quickening'' was a finalist at the 1991 Governor General's Awards, and she won the Marian Engel Award in 2003. ...

, 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 Lauren may be a given name or surname.The name's meaning may be "laurel tree", "sweet of honor", or "wisdom". It is derived from the French name Laurence, a feminine version of Laurent, which is in turn derived from the Roman surname Laurentiu ...

Jacqueline Larson Jacqueline may refer to: People * Jacqueline (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jacqueline Moore (born 1964), ring name "Jacqueline", American professional wrestler Arts and entertainment * ''Jacqueline'' (1923 film) ...

, Charles Leblanc,

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, Jeanette Lynes, 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, and ...

David O'Meara David O'Meara (born Pembroke, Ontario) is a Life He was raised in Pembroke, Ontario. He lives in Sandy Hill, Ottawa, where he tends bar at The Manx Pub. He is known as the Awkward Brother of Canadian Poetry. O'Meara was a judge for the 2012 ...

, Marc Prescott,

Lorraine Pritchard Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of G ...

, T'ai Pu,

Mélanie Rocan Mélanie Rocan (born 1980) is a Canadian artist from La Broquerie, Manitoba. She works mostly in various paint mediums. She also has been known to work in multimedia, especially when working collaboratively. Education Rocan began her undergradu ...

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, Robert J Sawyer, Deborah Schnitzer,

Gregory Scofield Gregory Scofield (born July 20, 1966 in Maple Ridge, British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geograp ...

, Anne Sechin, Struan Sinclair,

Carolyn Marie Souaid Carolyn Marie Souaid (born 1 August 1959) is a Canadian poet, educator, publisher and editor. Biography Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, she studied at McGill University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature (1981) and ...

Margaret Sweatman Margaret Sweatman (born 1953) is a Canadian writer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Sweatman was educated at the University of Winnipeg, Concordia University and Simon Fraser University. Her 2001 novel ''When Alice Lay Down With Peter'' was a winner of ...

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Serge Patrice Thibodeau Serge Patrice Thibodeau (born August 11, 1959) is a Canadian writer. ...

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, Rhea Tregebov,

Priscila Uppal Priscila Uppal (October 30, 1974 – September 5, 2018) was a Canadian poet, novelist, fiction writer, and playwright. Personal life and career Uppal was born in Ottawa, Ontario, she graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1993. She earned he ...

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, 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 McNally Robinson Booksellers is a family-operated chain of Canadian independent bookstores founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1981. It is managed by new owners Chris Hall and Lori Baker, formerly managed by Holly and Paul McNally. As of 2019 it h ...

Polo Park Bookstore, The Nooner and Big Ideas at the Millennium

Winnipeg Public Library The Winnipeg Public Library (french: Bibliothèque publique de Winnipeg) is a public library system in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Branches provide programming for children, teens, and adults. The Library also contains an Outreach Department which works ...

, and After Words and A Pint of Bitter Murder at

Aqua Books Aqua Books was a Canadian independent bookstore opened in Winnipeg, Manitoba by Kelly Hughes in 1999. It was acknowledged for helping revitalize downtown Winnipeg and creating an eclectic mix of programs and events for the Winnipeg arts and cu ...

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 List of colleges in Canada, 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 cer ...

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 M ...

, and

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

Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name *Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...

, 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 Pa ...

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 Hig ...

, Selkirk, and

Carman In Celtic mythology, Carman or Carmun was a warrior and sorceress from Athens who tried to invade Ireland in the days of the Tuatha Dé Danann, along with her three sons, Dub ("black"), Dother ("evil") and Dian ("violence"). She used her magica ...

. There were also events at

, and

, among other locations.

References

{{reflist

External links

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