Angie Abdou was born and raised in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. She received an Honours B.A. in English from the University of Regina, an M.A. from the University of Western Ontario, and a Ph.D. from the University of Calgary. Angie currently teaches at the College of the Rockies in Cranbrook, British Columbia and makes her home in Fernie Her work has been published in several Canadian literary journals, including Other Voices, The Windsor Review, and Grain. She has also published two books -- Anything Boys Can Do (a collection of short stories) and The Bone Cage (a novel). BC BookWorld praised Anything Boys Can Do as an "extraordinary literary debut" and the Kootenay Library Federation picked The Bone Cage for its first ever "One Book One Kootenay" road tour. Canadian Literature also selected The Bone Cage for its list of Top Ten Moments in Canadian Sport Lit. Angie's new novel, The Canterbury Trail, is forthcoming from Brindle & Glass Press. For more information, see www.abdou.ca.
Keynote Speaker - Moose Jaw Teen Writing Experience
Carla Braidek lives and writes in the boreal forest near Big River. Thistledown Press published her book Carrying the Sun in 2005. It was shortlisted for the The Sask. Book Awards best book of poetry for that year. Her work is also published in her chapbook Quickening and in the Hagios Press anthology New Saskatchewan Poets. Carla has taught in classrooms from grades 1 through 12. She has also taught adult workshops and collaborated in a poetic play. Her work reflects her close connection to the natural world: "I write about what I love or fear or question, sometimes all at once."
Guest Writer - Prince Albert Teen Writing Experience
Lorna Goodison is the author of eight collections of poetry, including Travelling Mercies, Controlling the Silver, and Goldengrove: New and Selected Poems. She has also written two collections of short stories, and the memoir, From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her People. It was a finalist for the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction and the Trillium Award, and won the B.C. Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. Goodison has received much international recognition for her fiction and poetry, including the Musgrave Gold Medal. Born in Jamaica, Goodison has taught at the University of Toronto and now teaches at the University of Michigan.
Keynote Speaker - Moose Jaw Teen Writing Experience
Alice Kuipers was born in London, England. She moved to Saskatoon in 2003. Her first novel, Life on the Refrigerator Door, was published in 28 countries and won several awards. Her second, The Worst Thing She Ever Did, is coming out in May 2010. She has had stories and poems published in literary magazines and anthologies, and one of her stories was the inspiration for a short film. Her non-fiction has been published in Easy Living Magazine, The Sunday Telegraph and The Bristol Review of Books. She has taught creative writing in Panama, Hong Kong, Canada, the UK and for Sage Hill. Be sure to visit her website
Keynote Speaker - Saskatoon Teen Writing Experience
Taylor Leedahl's poetry has been nationally broadcast on CBC radio, and she was a competitor in the 2006 National Poetry Face-Off. Her work has appeared in Claremont Review and most recently in Fast Forward: New Saskatchewan Poets (Hagios Press). In September 2008, she released her debut poetry collection, No Apologies for the Weather (Thistledown Press), which was nominated for "Best Poetry" at the Saskatchewan Book Awards. Leedahl lives in Saskatoon where she runs the city's only weekly poetry series, Tonight it's Poetry, serves on the collective of JackPine Press, and studies art history at the University of Saskatchewan.
Keynote Speaker - Saskatoon Teen Writing Experience
Daniel Macdonald is a playwright, director and educator. His plays have been produced and workshopped in Canada and the United States. Pageant premiered at the Alberta Theatre Projects PlayRites Festival and has been produced in Regina, Fort MacMurray and Austin, Texas. MacGregor's Hard Ice Cream and Gas premiered at Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon and has been produced at Prairie Theatre Exchange (Winnipeg), Ship's Company (Nova Scotia) and Shadow Theatre (Edmonton). His play Velocity was part of the Lark Play Development Centre's Playwrights Week 2007 in New York and was part of the Saskatchewan Spring Festival of New Plays. He has written several pieces with and for high school students including the dramas Waking and Tragedie. He also wrote several short pieces for the Globe Theatre's On the Line series (12 Menus, Negotiations). Macdonald is a recipient of the Regina Writer's Award and is a two time recipient of the SIMPIA (Saskatchewan) award for film acting. Daniel is past president of the Saskatchewan Playwrights Centre and has served on its board for eight years. He lives, writes and teaches in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Keynote Speaker - Regina-Teen Writing Experience
Anne McDonald has an MA in Psychology specializing in communication and has studied at Second City in Toronto. She facilitates communication, team, and creativity workshops for businesses and organizations across the Prairies. Anne is a published author whose work has been produced by CBC radio.
Keynote Speaker - Regina-Teen Writing Experience
Lynda Monahan is the author of two collections of poetry, A Slow Dance in the Flames and What My Body Knows, both published by Coteau Books. Her work has been published in a number of Canadian literary magazines and broadcast nationally on CBC radio. She has recently completed a third manuscript Red Boots in the Snow. Lynda has taught creative writing at SIAST Woodlands campus for the past several years and facilitates a variety of writing workshops for schools and organizations across the province. She compiled and edited Second Chances: The Stories of Acquired Brain Injury Survivors for the Saskatchewan Acquired Brain Injury Association. She was the managing editor of Spring Volume IV, a mentor in the Artsmart Youth Mentorship program and was the facilitator for the Sage Hill Teen Writing Experience in Saskatoon this past summer. Most recently, she was writer-in-residence at Balfour Collegiate in Regina.
Guest Writer - Prince Albert Teen Writing Experience