The Authors

These fantastic authors are confirmed for the 2013 Literary Festival. We are most pleased to welcome:

Joelle Anthony is a writer and sometimes-actress who currently lives on a tiny island in British Columbia with her musician husband, Victor Anthony, and two cats, Sophie & Marley. Her debut novel, Restoring Harmony, was long listed for the American Library Association’s Best New Young Adult Fiction 2010, and chosen as the Feature Title for Cincinnati’s Teen on the Same Page Festival 2012. Her latest release, The Right & the Real is available now, both from Putnam. She also teaches writing workshops to writers of all ages.

John Belshaw’s first book, Colonization and Community: The Vancouver Island Miners and the Making of the British Columbian Working Class, was the 2004 winner of the Robert S. Kenny Prize in Marxist & Labour/Left Studies. In a long international career as a history professor he has written a slew of scholarly articles as well as Becoming British Columbia: A Population History, all of which counted towards becoming a Friend of the Royal Historical Society. He is the co-author, with co-presenter Diane Purvey, of Private Grief, Public Mourning: The Rise of the Roadside Shrine in British Columbia and Vancouver Noir: 1930-1960, and has a piece in the forthcoming SubTerrain. A native Burnabonian, Belshaw makes his home in Strathcona where he works as an independent consultant to the post-secondary sector, runs a lot, and continues to write both non-fiction and fiction.

Robert Bringhurst has published over twenty books of poetry, including Bergschrund (1975), The Beauty of the Weapons (1982), Pieces of Map, Pieces of Music (1986), The Calling (1995), The Book of Silences (2001) and two recent volumes of Selected Poems (with Gaspereau in Canada, Jonathan Cape in the UK, and Copper Canyon Press in the USA). With Doris Shadbolt, Geoffrey James and Russell Keziere, he coedited Visions: Contemporary Art in Canada (1983), which after nearly thirty years remains a key work on Canadian visual art since the Second World War. With Haida sculptor Bill Reid, he is coauthor of The Raven Steals the Light (1984). The Black Canoe (2nd ed., 1992), Bringhurst’s study of Reid’s sculpture, is a classic of Native American art history. Design schools, trade and academic publishers throughout North America and Europe rely on his book The Elements of Typographic Style, which is now in its fourth edition. When it was first released, in 1999, Bringhurst’s groundbreaking study of a Native American oral literature, A Story as Sharp as a Knife: The Classical Haida Mythtellers and Their World, unleashed a storm of controversy and a tidal wave of praise. Bringhurst’s other recent books of poetry include Ursa Major (2nd ed. 2009), a “polyphonic masque” for speakers and dancers, written in English, Latin, Greek and Cree, and Stopping By, a long poem published in 2012 in a letterpress edition by Hirundo Press in Hamburg. Recent prose works include The Surface of Meaning: Books and Book Design in Canada (2008) and two volumes of selected talks and essays: The Tree of Meaning (2006) and Everywhere Being Is Dancing (2007), published in Canada by Gaspereau and in the USA by Counterpoint.

Kevin Chong is the author of four books, including Neil Young Nation—honoured as a book of the year by the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, andOttawa Citizen and aired as a documentary on CBC’s Definitely Not the Opera—and the novels Baroque-a-Nova and Beauty Plus Pity. He is an editor at Joyland.ca and teaches creative writing at UBC.

Daniela Elza was born in Bulgaria, and grew up in Nigeria. After earning her Masters in English Philology from Sofia University, she lived in England for a year. She then acquired her second Masters (in Linguistics) at Ohio University (USA). In 1999 she immigrated to Canada and has since lived in Vancouver with her husband and their two children. Daniela’s poetry has been published in many periodicals and anthologies, including Rocksalt: An Anthology of Contemporary BC Poetry and 4 poets ( Mother Tongue Publishing). In 2011 Daniela received her doctorate in Philosophy of Education from SFU and launched her first eBook, The Book of It. She is currently the Vancouver regional editor for the Pacific Poetry Project: An anthology of three cities (Portland, Seattle and Vancouver) forthcoming from Ooligan Press (US) in the Fall of 2012. She is also the Vancouver/Lower Mainland Rep. for the Federation of BC Writers, a member of The League of Canadian Poets and The Writers Union of Canada. In 2010 Daniela was the recipient of Pandora’s Collective Citizenship Award.

Brad Frenette is an art journalist and editor, currently with CBC Music. He
has previously written and edited for The Guardian newspaper in London,
UK, the Vancouver Sun and the National Post in Toronto, where he also
co-founded The Afterword, the newspaper’s successful literary blog.

Bill Gaston‘s seventh novel, The World, is just out from Hamish Hamilton/Penguin Canada, who have also just reissued Sointula. His work has been nominated for Giller, Governor General’s, and Ethel Wilson Awards, and has won the Victoria Butler Book Prize, Relit, CBC and National Magazine Awards, and was awarded the inaugural Timothy Findley Award for a body of work. He teaches at the University of Victoria.

Kim Goldberg is a poet, journalist, and the author of six books. Her Red Zone collection of poems about urban homelessness has been taught at Vancouver Island University and beyond. Her previous collection, Ride Backwards on Dragon, based on an ancient martial she studies, was a finalist for the Gerald Lampert Award. She has written nonfiction books on wildlife, nuclear submarines, Canada’s military policy, and citizen-controlled media. Kim has received the Goodwin’s Award for Excellence in Alternative Journalism, the Rannu Fund Poetry Prize for Speculative Literature, and other awards. Her poems and short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies around the world.

Frances Greenslade was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, has since lived in Winnipeg, Regina, Vancouver and Chilliwack. She has a BA in English from the University of Winnipeg and an MFA in Creative Writing from University of British Columbia. She’s been writing stories since she could write and was once given the advice to write the book she wanted to read. Since she loves a gripping narrative and a hint of mystery, her first novel, Shelter, published in Canada by Random House in August, 2011, opens with a missing person. By the Secret Ladder and A Pilgrim in Ireland (Penguin) are her two previous books, both memoir. Penticton is finally home, where Frances lives with her husband and son and teaches at Okanagan College.

Pauline Holdstock is a Canadian citizen who has lived in Canada for over thirty years. She writes novels, short fiction and essays. Her books have been published in the U.K, the U.S., Brazil, Portugal, Australia and Germany, as well as in Canada, where CBC’s The Arts Tonight has featured her work. Pauline’s short fiction has appeared in numerous literary magazines. Into the Heart of the Country, longlisted for the 2012 Giller Prize, is her most recent novel. Her novel, Beyond Measure, was a finalist for the 2004 Giller Prize and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, Canada and Caribbean Region. It won the BC Book Prizes Ethel Wilson Award for Fiction in 2005. A recent novella, The World of Light Where We Live, was the winner of the Malahat Review 2006 Novella Contest. Pauline Holdstock also writes non-fiction. Her essays and book reviews have appeared in Canada’s national newspapers and have been broadcast on CBC radio. She was the winner of the Prairie Fire Personal Journalism Prize, 2000.Pauline has taught at the Victoria School of Writing and at the University of Victoria. She has served on the faculty of the Banff Centre Wired Writing Studio, and the Banff Writing with Style program.

Christina Johnson-Dean was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a BA (History, Art) before earning a Professional Teacher’s Certificate at San Jose State University and teaching in public schools. After travelling around the world, teaching ESL in Thailand and elementary school in New Zealand, she returned to live near her sister and family in Canada. At the University of Victoria, she completed an MA (History in Art), worked as a teaching assistant for the department and created courses on local art history for Continuing Studies. Her publications include The Crease Family: A Record of Settlement and Service in British Columbia (1981, B.C. Archives) and “B.C. Women Artists 1885-1920” in British Columbia Women Artists (Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1985). She teaches in the Greater Victoria School District. She and her husband, Robert Dean, raised their two daughters, Heather and Susan.

Mark Leiren-Young is the author of Never Shoot a Stampede Queen, winner of the 2009 Leacock Medal for Humour. He wrote, directed and produced the award-winning feature film The Green Chain and wrote and produced the EarthVision award–winning TV comedy special Greenpieces. His stage plays have been produced throughout Canada and the US and have also been seen in Europe and Australia. As a journalist he has written for such publications as TIME, Maclean’s and the Utne Reader. He’s half of the comedy duo Local Anxiety and has released two CDs—Greenpieces and Forgive Us We’re Canadian and stars in the new solo stage comedy Greener Than Thou. His other books include The Green Chain—Nothing Is Ever Clear Cut and This Crazy Time, written with/about Canadian environmentalist, Tzeporah Berman.

Robyn Michele Levy is a visual artist, radio broadcaster, and writer. Her writing has been published in the Vancouver Sun, the Georgia Straight, and the Vancouver Courier, and she has also dabbled in stand-up comedy and slam poetry. At age forty-three, Robyn Levy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and, eight months later, with breast cancer. She lives with her family and her remaining body parts in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Billie Livingston published her critically acclaimed first novel, Going Down Swinging, in 2000. Her first book of poetry, The Chick at the Back of the Church, was a finalist for the Pat Lowther Award. Her second novel, Cease to Blush was a Globe and Mail Best Book as was her story collection, Greedy Little Eyes, which went on to win the Danuta Gleed Literary Award and the CBC’s inaugural Bookie Prize. Her most recent novel, One Good Hustle, was long-listed for this year’s Giller Prize

Annabel Lyon’s first novel, The Golden Mean, was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Award, the Ethel Wilson Prize, and the Commonwealth Prize. Winner of the Rogers Writers’ Trust Prize, The Golden Mean has been translated into fourteen languages and became a #1 bestseller in Canada. Among Lyon’s other work is Oxygen, a short story collection nominated for the Danuta Gleed Award, and The Best Thing for You , a collection of novellas that was nominated for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Before Lyon decided to write full-time, she studied classical music, philosophy, and law and taught piano. She lives in Vancouver with her partner and two children.

Emily McGiffin is the author of Between Dusk and Night, a debut collection of poetry published in spring 2012 by Brick Books. Her poetry was awarded the 2008 Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers from the Writers’ Trust of Canada and was a finalist for the CBC Literary awards in 2004 and 2005. She lives in northwest BC.

Billeh Nickerson is a Vancouver-based writer, editor, performer, producer, arts advocate and a silver medalist at this year’s National Gay Curling Championships. He is the author of The Asthmatic Glassblower, Let Me Kiss it Better: Elixirs for the Not So Straight and Narrow, McPoems, and his newest collection, Impact: the Titanic Poems. He is also a founding member of the performance troupe Haiku Night in Canada and the Chair of the Creative Writing department at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

Diane Purvey recently joined the newly established Faculty of Arts at Kwantlen Polytechnic University as its first Dean. When she is not commuting across Metro Vancouver she pursues a demanding research and writing agenda focused primarily on the history of de-institutionalization in BC. Formerly an Associate Professor in the Education programs at Thompson Rivers University, she is the co-editor of Child and Family Welfare in British Columbia: A History. She is also, with co-presenter John Belshaw, the co-author of Private Grief, Public Mourning: The Rise of the Roadside Shrine in British Columbia and Vancouver Noir: 1930-1960. She lives in Vancouver’s East End, not far from where she was born and raised.

Nancy Richler ’s short fiction has been published in various American and Canadian literary journals, including Room of One’s Own, The New Quarterly, Prairie Fire, Another Chicago Magazine and The Journey Prize Anthology. Her first novel, Throwaway Angels, was published in 1996 and was shortlisted for the 1997 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Crime Novel. Her second novel, Your Mouth Is Lovely, won the 2003 Canadian Jewish Book Award for fiction and Italy’s 2004 Adei-Wizo Prize. It has been translated into seven languages. Born in Montreal, Nancy Richler lived for many years in Vancouver but has recently returned to Montreal.

Audrey Thomas Born in Binghamton, New York she immigrated to Canada in 1959, where she attended and later taught at the University of British Columbia. From 1964 to 1966 she lived in Ghana, an experience which has had a deep impact on her work. In 1987 she won the Marian Engel Awardfor her body of work. She has three times received the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, for Intertidal Life (1984),Wild Blue Yonder (1990), and Coming Down from Wa (1995). In 2008, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

J an Zwicky has published eight collections of poetry including Songs for Relinquishing the Earth, which won the Governor General’s Award in 1999, Robinson’s Crossing, which won the Dorothy Livesay Prize in 2004, and Forge, which was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2012. Other books include Wisdom & Metaphor, which was short-listed for the Governor General’s Award in 2004, Plato as Artist, a non-specialist celebration of Plato’s writerly talents, and Lyric Philosophy, recently released in a revised second edition by Gaspereau Press. Zwicky’s first book of fiction, The Book of Frog, is forthcoming in 2012. A native of Alberta, she now lives on Quadra Island, off the coast of BC.