Celebration

Left to right: Andrew Westoll, Ailsa Kay, Carrie Snyder, Sonia Day, Robert
Rotenberg and Terry Fallis at the EWF Reception, Elora Centre for the Arts
(photo: Jean Mills) 

Carrie Snyder, one of our readers at the 2013 Elora Writers' Festival yesterday, was awarded the Gowlings Literary Award at last night's Waterloo Region Arts Awards ceremony at Centre in the Square, Kitchener, Ontario.

     Congratulations Carrie! And thank you so much for being a part of the stunning lineup of authors at this year's Festival.
     And our thanks go out to all the authors who honoured us with readings from their recent works: Sonia Day, Ailsa Kay, Terry Fallis, Robert Rotenberg, Carrie Snyder and Andrew Westoll.
     And who can forget the packed house of enthusiastic fans? Our gratitude is immeasurable.
     Three cheers for our audience!!
     "Hap! Hap! Hap!"
     (You had ta' be there…)

"KITCHENER (May 27, 2013)— Every year, artists in Waterloo Region are recognized for both their achievements and contributions to arts in their community in a gala that attracts hundreds of audience members. Sunday night was no exception. Nearly 60 nominees in 11 categories joined the 25th annual 2012 Arts Awards Waterloo Region event at Centre in the Square, for an evening of music, food, an art auction and celebration of all that makes this community a cultural hot bed."
— The Record
Read more...

Learn more about Carrie here...

And buy all her books here...

The word is out...

Elora Writers' Festival Committee member Roxanne Beale with EAC
chair Barb Lee at the 2013 Writers' Festival Launch
(from: The Wellington Advertiser)

FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 3013 - It was blustery March morning, but surrounded by beckoning shelves of newly-minted books and the scent of fresh-brewed coffee there was much excitement in air, and the promise of spring.
     Elora Writers’ Festival Committee member Roxanne Beale had just announced the lineup of readers for the 2013 Elora Writers' Festival: Sonia Day, Terry Fallis, Ailsa Kay, Robert Rotenberg, Carrie Snyder and Andrew Westoll.

     "We've streamlined it, to some degree," said Festival Committee member Michael Hale. "Made it even more of a personal experience, for both the audience and the authors. As intimate, I guess, as this Media Launch.
     "After the readings there’ll be a question-and-answer session — it was a real success last year — then everyone gets a chance to chat about the readings and books in general — a real schmooze-fest; and we'll have appetizers and wine so people can relax and really get to know each other — no special dinner this year. Just a simple gathering of book creators and consumers."
     "In case you’ve been wondering why you haven’t heard anything about our writing contest this year, here's the scoop: we're taking a break," said former Competition Coordinator and Committee member Jean Mills. "But watch our blog spot for details about next year’s contest; we are re-inventing it for 2014, our 20th Anniversary. So keep writing."
     This year the Elora Writers’ Festival will be held at the Elora Centre for the Arts, 75 Melville Street, in Elora on Sunday, May 26, 2013 from 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M., so space is more limited than last year's venue. Tickets for the Readings (which includes the Reception) are $20. They’re available at Roxanne’s Reflections Book & Card Shop in Fergus (519-843-4391). You can also purchase them on the bookstore website: www.roxannesreflections.ca
     The Elora Writers’ Festival has been celebrating fine Canadian writing in this way since 1994, featuring authors (novelists, poets, biographers, journalists, screenwriters and playwrights) such as Alison Pick, Thomas King, Nino Ricci, Di Brandt, Andrew Pyper, Johanna Skibsrud, Linwood Barclay, Louise Penny, Paul Quarrington, Bonnie Burnard, Leon Rooke, Susan Coyne and Linden MacIntyre. Award winners and losers, veterans and novices—all of them with wonderful stories to tell.
      The 2013 Festival lineup is no exception: it  includes a criminal lawyer who’s a Dagger (Crime Thriller) Award winner; a primatologist and recipient of the 2012 Charles Taylor Award for Literary Non-Fiction; a local (Waterloo) writer whose latest book was shortlisted for the 2012 Governor General’s Award; an acclaimed political satirist (2011 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour); an award-winning author/Toronto Star columnist/chef/gardener/painter; and one of the founders of the Elora Writers’ Festival returning as a first-time novelist.

For more information about the authors go here...
and here…; just follow the links to articles about each of this year's readers.

The word is out... about Ailsa Kay

Join us on Sunday, May 26, 2013 (1 to 4 P.M.) at the Elora Centre for the Arts, 75 Melville Street, Elora for a relaxing yet thought-provoking afternoon of readings by Sonia Day, Terry Fallis, Carrie Snyder, Andrew Westoll, Ailsa Kay and Robert Rotenberg.
     For $20.00 (includes Reception) you get to enjoy readings by six of Canada's finest authors; a Q&A session; a "Schmooze-fest" replete with wine & appetizers… and BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS (Get them signed by the author[s].) courtesy of Roxanne's Reflections.

     Welcome home, Ailsa!
     Ailsa Kay and Amy Appleford were the driving forces behind the committee of the Elora Arts Council that started the Elora Writers' Festival (Words by the Water) back in 1994. That first festival was an ambitious confection of formal readings at the Gorge Cinema, along with more casual and intimate events at cafes and outdoor locales in and around the village.

"Ailsa Kay's new novel (Under Budapest) came out of her life-changing visit to Hungary ('I fell in love with Budapest when I lived there in 2004. I return as often as I can, which is not as often as I would like.').
     She has taught writing at college and university where she has learned from her students to laugh a lot, swear occasionally, and always risk that leap of faith ('I teach and I love to teach. I don’t know what this says about me.').
     Kay’s short fiction has appeared in literary journals such as Exile and The New Quarterly. After twenty years in Toronto, she recently returned to her hometown of Fergus, Ontario."
— (from Fictionista! and Ailsa Kay.com)

     Under Budapest, her first novel, will be published in April by Goose Lane Editions.

Find out more about Ailsa Kay here…

And pre-order Ailsa's book Under Budapest here…

The word is out... about Carrie Snyder

Photo: thespec.com

Join us on Sunday, May 26, 2013 (1 to 4 P.M.) at the Elora Centre for the Arts, 75 Melville Street, Elora for a relaxing yet thought-provoking afternoon of readings by Sonia Day, Terry Fallis, Carrie Snyder, Andrew Westoll, Ailsa Kay and Robert Rotenberg.

     For $20.00 (includes Reception) you get to enjoy readings by six of Canada's finest authors; a Q&A session; a "Schmooze-fest" replete with wine & appetizers… and BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS (Get them signed by the author[s].) courtesy of Roxanne's Reflections.




"[Carrie Snyder's] first book, Hair Hat, was nominated for a Danuta Gleed Award for Short Stories, and more recently was selected as one of five finalists for Canada Reads Independently: 2010. Carrie has also won a CBC Literary Award for short fiction (2006).
     A full-time mother to four children, she blogs as Obscure CanLit Mama. Carrie makes her home in Waterloo, Ontario."
— goodreads
Read more...









Carrie Snyder's second book, The Juliet Stories, published by House of Anansi (March, 2012), was shortlisted for the 2012 Governor General's Award.

About The Juliette Stories:

"Snyder’s tone and style is vivid and compelling, and Juliet is both courageous and fragile in a perfectly believable 10-year-old way. She is a voracious reader and dreamer, rolling with the punches that get thrown her way. We can see the flaws in her parents’ marriage through her eyes, and the older and knowing voice never steps in and speaks to the reader.
     The young Juliet is exactly her age and utterly interesting in a way that is difficult to master in prose meant for adults. The tensions among the group of overly entitled Western activists seen through Juliet’s eyes are vivid and sometimes funny. Juliet writes a pleading letter to Ronald Reagan that offers a perfect snapshot of an intelligent child’s hopes for a better world in the 1980s. Nicaragua is a raucous adventure for Juliet and her brother Keith, and the heart-stopping moments of real potential danger are a thrill ride for the reader."
— Zoe Whittal, The Globe and Mail
Read more...

Buy all of Carrie Snyder's books here...

And listen to her read from her latest works at the Elora Writers' Festival (Sunday, May 26 at the Elora Centre for the Arts).

The word is out... about Sonia Day

Join us on Sunday, May 26, 2013 (1 to 4 P.M.) at the Elora Centre for the Arts, 75 Melville Street, Elora for a relaxing yet thought-provoking afternoon of readings by Sonia Day, Terry Fallis, Carrie Snyder, Andrew Westoll, Ailsa Kay and Robert Rotenberg.

     For $20.00 (includes Reception)  you get to enjoy readings by six of Canada's finest authors; a Q&A session; a "Schmooze-fest" replete with wine & appetizers… and BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS (Get them signed by the author[s].) courtesy of Roxanne's Reflections.
Tickets are available at Roxanne's Reflections website here... or by calling 519-843-4391

From: Toronto Botanical Garden

"Whoopee! My latest book, The Untamed Garden, A Revealing Look At Our Love Affair With Plants, is, literally, tops.
     At the U.S. based Garden Writers’ Association annual convention in Tucson, Arizona, it won the Gold Award — beating out all the other books, magazines, newspaper sections and electronic media in the awards program. As most of the 215 entries were American, it’s quite a coup, folks, for a 'mere' Canadian to achieve this. My book had already won Silver for Best Book, but we had to wait until Oct. 16 to hear which 'Best Overall Product' had nabbed the Gold.
     I felt immensely proud (and a bit surprised) as I heard my name called out at the awards banquet." — Sonia Day, soniaday.com
Read more…

Buy all of Sonia Day's books here...