Visiting Writers: George Bowering, Stephen Collis, Ivan E. Coyote, Marcello Di Cintio, Gary Geddes, Daphne Marlatt, Ruth Ozeki, Alan Twigg, Rex Weyler, and Carol Windley.

Moderator/Hosts: Des Kennedy and Sheryl MacKay.

Denman Writers: Janey Bennett, Graham Brazier, Sheila Carnegie, Bill Engleson, Dennis Forsyth, Jane Masutani, Megan, Jeronimo Miller, Del Phillips, The Raging Grannies, and Ron Sakolsky.

Musicians & Other Performers: Gretchen Elsner, Carla Hallett and Robert Minden.

 

Festival 2007

Festival 2006

Festival 2005

Visiting Writers: Marilyn Bowering, Baba Brinkman, Deborah Campbell, JB MacKinnon, John Pass, Brian Payton, Alisa Smith, Chris Tenove, and Richard Van Camp.

Moderator/Hosts: Juan Barker and Des Kennedy.

Denman Writers: Graham Brazier, Hersh Chernovsky, Ro DeDoming, Bill Engleson, Jan Florian, Elaine Martin, John Millen, Jerry Miller, Sheila Nopper, Del Phillips, Ron Sakolsky, Glen Snook, and Shaun Woods.

Visiting Writers: Bill Gaston, Christian Bök, M.A.C. Farrant, Daniel Francis, Terry Glavin, D.J. Hauka, and Susan Musgrave.

Moderator/Hosts: Keith Keller and Des Kennedy.

Denman Writers: Alison Bibby, Graham Brazier, Ro DeDoming, Bill Engelson, Jan Florian, Dennis Forsyth, Amanda Hale, Tim Hicks, Paul LeBaron, Elaine Martin, John Millen, Ana Miriam, Del Phillips, Gillian Rambold, Sheila Simpson, and Norah Wright.

Festival 2004

Visiting Writers: Emmajoy Crone, Amanda Hale, Julie Lawson, Jocelyn Reekie, Chris Robertson, and Tom Wayman.

Moderator/Hosts:

Denman Writers:

Festival 2003

Visiting Writers: Arthur Black, Anne Cameron, Gail Anderson-Dargatz, Sheryl McFarlane, and Wendy Morton.

Moderator/Hosts:


Denman Writers: Tricia Andrews, Graham Brazier, Giselle Charlebois, Hersh Chernovsky, Maddy Christe, Diane Davis, Roberta De Doming Jan Florian, Deborah Graham, Amanda Hale, Hans Jungman, Linda Kadlec-Diver, Madeleine Keller, Jos Kollee, Bentley LeBaron, Ana Miriam Leigh, Lorraine Martinuik, Jane Masutani, John Millen, Del Phillips, Sandra Puga, Joy Reeves, Annie Russell, Jessie Russell, Kian Slobodin, Ruth Terry, Theo Terry, and Lea Trepanier.

2002 Denman Island Festival of the Arts

Young Writers: Maya Christie, Annie-Rose Lessard Kirwin, Emily Lonsdale, Madeline S. Keller MacLeod, Jesse Russell, Kian Slobodin, Theo Terry, Merle Therrien, and Alec Wright.

Fiction: Graham Brazier (w/Cynthia Minden & slides by Dennis Forsyth), Diane Davis, Jos Kollee, Hans Jungman, and Janet Simpson-Cooke.

Non-fiction: Jane Masutani, Maxine Matilpi and Rolf Ludvigsen.

Poetry: Roberta DeDoming, Ana Miriam Leigh, Roxanne Cowles-McPhail, Del Phillips, and Neysa Turner.

Past Festivals

Denman Island Readers & Writers Festival

Photos from 2009 on this page by Andrew Fyson

Festival 2008

Visiting Writers: Eliziabeth Bachinsky, bill bissett, Sharon Butala, Maggie de Vries, Dennis Foon, Shaena Lambert, Jen Sookfong Lee, Brian Payton, Calvin Sandborn, and Howard White.

Writer In Residence: Jack Hodgins

Host: Sheryl MacKay

Denman Writers: Juan Barker, Jennifer Le Baron, Graham Brazier, Hersh Chernovsky, Bill Engleson, Dennis Forsyth, Jennifer Lee, Jane Masutani, John Millen, Jerry Miller, Del Phillips, Ron Sakolsky, and Jackie Ward.

Young Denman Writers: Kassie Warner, Moshe Little-Guient, Maia Stanton, Lucy Dabbs (also reading work by Livia Gibson), Amelia Candy, Grace Rempel, Laura Schmidt-Schweda (also reading work by Faith Dunnett), Max Dabbs, Fiona Le Baron (also reading work by Vail Zerr), and Amy Stewart.

Visiting Writers: Deborah Campbell, Afua Cooper, William Deverell, Sarah Dunant, Steve Galloway, Heidi Greco, Gabor Maté, Mary Novik, Matt Rader, Harold Rhenisch, Eden Robinson, and Ronald Wright.

Writer In Residence: Jack Hodgins

Host: Mark Forsythe

Denman Writers: Jan Florian, Jennifer Lee, Jim Kirk, Ana Miriam Leigh, John Millen, Bill Engleson, Graham Brazier, Ron Sakolsky, Sheila Nopper, Dennis Forsyth, Karl Goodwin, and Del Phillips.

Young Denman Writers: Amelia Candy, Liam Cronin, Lucy Dabbs, Max Dabbs, Louise Eriksson, Livia Gibson, Odessa Gibson, Elishka Hajek, Liam Harrington, Noah Hicks, Kinana LeBaron, Tai McGillivray, Sandra Puga, Kassie Warner, Robin Zerr, and Vail Zerr.

Festival 2009

This year’s wonderful line-up of authors left us with plenty of ideas and readings to work on for at least the coming year.  The many powerful solo sessions, provocative panel discussions and in-depth workshops made for a fantastically stimulating and engaging weekend.

Denman Island hospitality, once again, was highlighted through contributions from local billeting hosts, an on-island catering crew, volunteer helpers, the organizing committee and local community librarians.  We had record numbers for attendance at many events thanks to our eager and appreciative audience members.  And finally, many generous sponsors made it all possible.  Thanks to all of you! 

Who wasn’t spellbound by Sarah Dunant’s presentation, Afua Cooper’s dub poetry, or Matt Rader’s poetry?  Or provoked by the ideas and research of Deborah Campbell, Ronald Wright, and Gabor Maté?  Or delighted by Eden Robinson’s laugh, Harold Rhenisch’s tales or Heidi Greco’s poems? Or transported by the work of Mary Novik and Steven Galloway?  Or awed by the insight of writers such as Jack Hodgins and William Deverell?

Over the few days of the festival, we all traveled vicariously to 17 century London, Mayan Mexico, Iraqi refugee camps in Syria, Canadian-Caribbean communities, downtown eastside Vancouver, 15 century Italy, futuristic Britain, Sarajevo under siege, Cariboo grasslands, and then zoomed back into our own landscape here on the west coast.

What a trip – in every sense of the word!  And CBC’s Mark Forsythe, our panel moderator, brought it all together with his skilled handling of the Main Stage events and his many inclusions of details from the Denman community. 

Visiting Writers: Brian Brett, Robert Bringhurst, Zsuzsi Gartner, Des Kennedy, Joy Kogawa, Richard Mackie, Emily St. John Mandel, Philip Kevin Paul, Nancy Turner, Deborah Willis, and Jan Zwicky.

Writer In Residence: Sharon Butala

Manuscript Assessment Program: Charlotte Gill

Host: Bill Richardson

Denman Writers: Sheila Carnegie, Bill Engleson, Karla Florian, Karl Goodwin, Ana Miriam Leigh, Jane Masutani, Sheila Nopper, Del Phillips, Annette Reinhart, and Ron Sokolsky.

Young Denman Writers: Lucy Dabbs, Louise Eriksson, Sandra Puga, and Kassandra Warner.

Festival 2010

And finally, thanks to all of you - audience, supporters, and readers - we hope we have provided a year’s worth of new ideas and authors to explore and enjoy!

Highlights include Joy Kogawa’s deep and heartfelt reflections in her solo session and main stage appearance, the melodic and inventive polyphonic readings with Robert Bringhurst and Jan Zwicky Friday afternoon, the unforgettable authentic raven call on the Friday night main stage from Nancy Turner, and the irrepressible Des Kennedy with his raucous dedication to Bill(y) Richardson on the Sunday afternoon main stage.

Equally impressive were the delightful young duo of emerging writers, Deborah Willis and Emily Mandel, poet Kevin Paul with his beautiful words, Brian Brett’s boisterous stories from Trauma Farm, Zsuzsi Gartner’s rapid fire prose and humour and her participatory quiz Friday morning, and Richard Mackie’s historical tales of Comox from its logging heyday.

Thanks for wonderful readings which started each day from local Denman writers, both adult and youth. Also, thanks to our writer-in-residence, Sharon Butala who gave a week long workshop for 10 lucky participants.

Thanks also to Charlotte Gill who offered one hour long manuscript assessment sessions by appointment and provided individual feedback for those who prearranged their time with her.

And our evening moderator, Bill Richardson, thanks for his humour and skill at bringing each panel together in approaching a common theme.

Photos from 2010 on this page by Annette Reinhart & Danni Crenna

Festival 2011

Visiting Writers: Gurjinder Basran, Kate Braid, Daphne Bramham, Heather Burt, Anne Cameron, Wayde Compton, Bernice Friesen, Paul Headrick, Jack Hodgins, Evelyn Lau, Andrew Nikiforuk, and John Vaillant.

Writer In Residence: Jack Hodgins

Manuscript Assessment Program: Heather Burt

Host: Bill Richardson

Denman Writers: Sheila Simpson, Sarah Joyce, Laura Busheikin, Karl Goodwin, Sheila Carnegie, Bill Engleson, Jennifer Lee, Graham Brazier, Del Philips, and Ana Miriam Leigh.

Young Denman Writers: Lucy Dabbs, Elishka Hajek, Ondine Mayor, Chenoa Honsinger, Sandra Puga, Ocea White, and Louise Eriksson.

A huge thank you to all the participants and volunteers who made this year’s festival the best ever! It was an impressive event from the Grand Opening with our own Maxine Matilpi, to the Writer-in-Residence program with renowned Canadian author, Jack Hodgins, the Manuscript Assessment service offered by Langara College instructor and novelist, Heather Burt, and the Main Stage Events moderated by CBC’s Bill Richardson.

Our community hall is still ringing with the echoes of Bernice Friesen reading in Irish dialect (channeling her mother-in-law!), Anne Cameron fiercely opposing resource extraction, and Kate Braid reading her poetry between the bass notes of Clyde Reed. Information and insight came to us from Daphne Bramham’s investigation of polygamy in Bountiful, Andrew Nikiforuk’s research into the tar sands of northern Alberta, Wayde Compton’s essays on mixed race identity and John Vaillant’s extraordinary chronicle of the vengeance of a Siberian tiger.

Evelyn Lau gracefully read poetry, and husband and wife Paul Headrick and Heather Burt shared sections from their very accomplished works of fiction. Gurjinder Basran, our youngest author, read from her prize-winning, first novel. Denman writers presented outstanding readings and even young Denman writers contributed their own original stories.

The highlight of the 2011 festival, in the end, was the connections made between writers, between readers, and between readers and writers. We have all come away from a fantastic weekend feeling richer from the ideas heard and expressed, and ultimately, from the making of new friends.