Words Alive Literary Festival welcomes Nino Ricci and votes in a new committee chair

Newmarket, ON (17 February 2010) – At a recent meeting of the Words Alive Executive Committee, James Bolton stood for nomination and was voted in unanimously by the board. Vali Stone, festival founder and chair since the Words Alive’s inception in 2007 stepped down to pursue her own writing and work as a college instructor. “It’s been so much fun to do this festival, but I know it will live on and that Jim and the team will do a great job going forward,” said Stone. “I love doing Words Alive but I also love writing and I need to do more of that.” Jim Bolton concurs, “Vali is a fabulous person and a lovely writer. She has done so much for this community in creating Words Alive. It’s quite amazing, really. Here we have a first-rate festival at an incomparable site in the Sharon Temple and we are attracting top talents from the worlds of Canadian literature and poetry. Words Alive will live on and Vali will always have a seat at the table. It’s her baby, after all.”

Bookings for the 2010 festival are under way. “We are pleased to announce that two-time Governor General’s Award winning author Nino Ricci will be with us on September 18th which is our first Saturday festival,” states Words Alive publicist and talent wrangler Edward Fenner. “We listened to our fans and our guest who found competing with Eden Mills frustrating because everybody wants to attend both. So we moved to Saturday and folks can still enjoy Eden Mills the next day. Everybody wins.”

Words Alive has attracted many top writers and poets, rising stars, and a bevvy of local and region favourites and first-timers. “All are welcome,” says Fenner. “Part of the festival’s mission is to provide opportunities for local authors to get some exposure and to gain an audience. It is also an opportunity for local CanLit fans to see major talents come to the area to read for them, to chat, and to buy some books and get them autographed.”

Words Alive had current Griffin Poetry Prize winner A.F. Mortiz here in 2009 along with 2007 nominee Priscila Uppal. Other guests have included poets such as Governor General’s Award nominee Barry Dempster and Molly Peacock who, among other things, was the president of the Poetry Society of America from 1989 to 1994. In previous years, guest poets have included bill bissett and four-time Governor General’s award nominee Christopher Dewdney. Famous novelists have also graced the festival. 2009 saw broadcaster Ted Barris present and was joined by Lee Gowan, Natale Ghent, and mystery writer Andrew Pyper. Maureen Jennings, author of the Murdoch Mysteries novels was a guest in 2008 as was GG winner Karolyn Smardz Frost, and two Scotiabank Giller Prize nominees that year: Mary Swan and Anthony De Sa. “We have been very fortunate to have such wonderful and talented guests,” says Fenner who also edits Existere – Journal of Arts and Literature at York University. “We ask and they come. They want to promote their works, of course, but they really enjoy the live connection with readers and fans. It gives them great energy and feedback. You cannot put a price on that.”

Posted February 17th, 2010 in General