Words Alive Literary Festival 2010

Advisory Committee

Katherine Belrose

Katherine’s role on the Words Alive Committee is to ensure the smooth delivery of the venue on the day of the Festival. In addition to being Sharon Temple’s Administrator, she helps with education programs at the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum. She’s passionate about recreating forgotten voices of the past and is involved in promoting literacy as a volunteer reading coach in schools and as a trustee of the Richmond Hill Public Library. Katherine holds a BA from the University of Ottawa and has worked as a museum educator, publicist, event planner and wardrobe mistress.

Jim Bolton, President

In addition to taking over as president in 2010, Jim assists the Festival with publisher and author recruitment and liaison. Following a career at Historic Fort York he has been a bookpedlar for the past almost twenty years working in very independent small shops as well as at Canada’s national chain.  Books near his desk today include titles from his gardening, cookery, blacksmithing and military history collections.  Jim also has a passion for fiction and poetry written from the edge. His favourite book of poetry is Karen Connelly’s The Disorder of Love.

Edward Fenner

Edward Fenner is Words Alive’s media relations contact. He works and studies at York University where he also acts as publisher and executive editor of York’s Existere - Journal of Arts and Literature and as the managing editor of e-MAGINED (The Canadian e-Magazine for International Education). Learn more about Edward at his web site.

Joe Nittoly

Joe is the talent behind the evolution of the Words Alive web presence and online communications. In 2008, he redesigned WordsAlive.ca and created the Festival’s new logo. Promoting the literary arts in York Region is very important to Joe and the reason he joined Words Alive.

Joe is a web consultant, designer, writer and owner of Sidetrail Media Inc. Joe’s thoughts on life, art and politics can be read at his personal blog, Supposes. He holds a B.A. in English and History from the University of Toronto.

Vali Stone, Founder

Vali Stone is not only the inspiration behind, and founder of, the Words Alive Literary Festival, but a published author in her own right.

Winner of the “In Celebration of Women” author’s award, an editor and public speaker, she is also a full time faculty member at Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario.  Vali teaches Communications and English and recently developed a first-of-its-kind program, Visual Analysis.

A creative writing teacher of adults for several years, she understands the importance of literature and writing and fully appreciates the frustrations new writers face. Vali’s dream of bringing writers together with published authors and book lovers to share ideas and stories became the impetus for the Words Alive Literary Festival.

“Words Alive has been a dream of mine for many years, one that wouldn’t let go, until one day, I knew it had to come alive”