Events Bios Blue Pencil/Pitch Register Travelling to Bowen Blog site Home

Presenter Biographies

Braund, Susanna Gala Evening Presenter Some know Susanna Braund as Professor of Latin Poetry and its Reception at UBC, others know her as bass player with Bowen bands Deer In The Headlights and Taken. She has written, edited or coedited fourteen academic books and her lectures on Virgil's Aeneid are available on Stanford's iTunes. While teaching at Stanford, she had a regular radio show KZSU called Old, New, Borrowed and Blues which featured a regular item called Myth Made Modern. Her contribution to Write On Bowen will combine an ancient myth with a modern poem on that myth.

Coyote, Ivan E. Opening Event Presenter Ivan E. Coyote is a writer and performer, and the author of five books published by Arsenal Pulp Press: the four story collections Close to Spider Man, (shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed Short Fiction Prize), One Man's Trash, Loose End (shortlisted for the Ferro-Grumley Women's Fiction Award), and her latest, The Slow Fix, as well as the novel Bow Grip (also shortlisted for the Ferro-Grumley Women's Fiction Award and named a Stonewall Honor Book by the American Library Association). Ivan was a founding member of the performance collective Taste This. She is a long-time columnist for Xtra! in Toronto and Xtra! West in Vancouver. Originally from the Yukon, Ivan recently relocated to Vancouver from Ottawa.

Dalton, Anthony Saturday Opening Session Presenter Workshop Facilitator: Writing Adventure Travel Articles and Books Blue Pencil Editor Anthony Dalton is the author of five non-fiction books and co-author of two others, with two more due for publication in 2010. He is the national President of the Canadian Authors Association and has presented workshops on a variety of writing-related subjects at conferences and conventions across Canada. An adventurer, explorer and a public speaker, he uses his experiences to teach with passion and with humour.

Charles, Norma Panelist: Writing Books for Children Blue Pencil Editing Norma Charles has taught Creative Writing in the Continuing Education Department at UBC and given workshops and readings in schools and libraries locally, across Canada and in the USA. In addition to three picture books, Norma has written fifteen novels for children including Sophie Sea To Sea (Beach Holme) which won the British Columbia Year 2000 Book Award, The Accomplice (Raincoast) which was nominated for the Sheila Egoff award in 2002, and All The Way To Mexico (Raincoast), winner of the 2005 Chocolate Lily Award. Her latest novel, Chasing A Star is about a girl trying to track down the famous figure skater Olympic star, Barbara Ann Scott. It will be published in August, 2009.

dyer, kc Workshop Facilitator: Writing Historical Fiction Blue Pencil Editing kc dyer lives with her children (and other animals) in the wilds north of Vancouver, BC, where she works as a freelance writer, speaker and educator. She is a board member and long-time participant at the Surrey International Writers' Conference, and a mentor with Creative Writing for Children in Vancouver. Her sixth novel will be published by Doubleday in 2010. This year, she has been writer-in-residence at New Westminster Secondary School, and will be a featured presenter at the Youth Write Conference in Penticton, and at writing conferences in Surrey, BC and Washington State. She can be found online at www.kcdyer.com http://kcdyer.blogspot.com and sweetly tweeting @kcdyer

Ferguson, Julie Workshop Facilitator: Book Magic: Turning Writers into Published Authors Panelist: Publishers Panel Blue Pencil Editing Julie H. Ferguson believes writers need practical assistance, current information, and support throughout their journeys to publication. So far, she has guided hundreds of freelancers and authors towards publishing success through her lively presentations and practical one-on-one coaching. A working writer for nearly 40 years, Julie is the author of fourteen nonfiction books, including Book Magic: Turning Writers into Published Authors (2008) and Crafting Irresistible Query Letters that Result in Publication (2004), as well as four on Canadian history (Dundurn). Her many articles have appeared in national and international magazines, as well as online. Julie is also the owner and operator of Beacon Literary Services and a sought-after professional speaker for writers and teachers' events.

Fitz-Gibbon, Sally Panel Presentation 1: Mining Memory When Writing Kids' Books A former special education teacher, Bowen Island writer Sally Fitz-Gibbon is the author of five picturebooks for children:"The Patchwork House," "Two Shoes, Blue Shoes, New Shoes," "Lizzie's Storm," "On Uncle John's Farm" (which has been translated into Spanish and was named an Ontario Library Association Best Bets Selection in 2005), and "Pig in the Middle," (which was illustrated by Sally's daughter Kirsti Wakelin who participated in last year's Festival.") Sally has given talks and readings in many B.C. schools and has toured Saskatchewan during Canadian Children's Book Week.

Katz, Michael Workshop Facilitator: Writing the Chapter Book Panelist: Publishers Panel Blue Pencil Editing/Author Pitches Michael Katz taught school in London, England, for 20 years and has been the publisher of Tradewind Books, specializing in children's picture books, since 1994. He has also taught publishing courses at Langara College, Capilano College and Simon Fraser University.

Kraljii Gardiner, Elee Workshop Facilitator: Silencing the Inner Critic: Filling the Page Elee Kraljii Gardiner leads creative writing classes at the Carnegie Centre in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, BC. She is the founder of Otter Press, the editor and publisher of three chapbook anthologies of work from the Thursdays Writing Collective, and she has lead workshops on both narrative nonfiction writing and editing. In 2009 she was the poetry adjunct at SFU's Writer's Studio and attended the Andover Breadloaf Writers Workshop. She has an MA in Hispanic Literature from UBC. More than 60 of Elee's freelance articles have appeared in Canadian and US publications in print and online. Her poetry is forthcoming in Poetry Is Dead and can be found in www.PoetsAgainstWar.ca, www.thursdayspoemsandprose.ca, www.thetyee.ca, Quills Canadian Poetry and the anthology emerge 2009.

Lever, Bernice Host of Lieben Lands Walk Bernice Lever, after years of teaching creative writing college classes, and editing for book publishers and literary magazines in Ontario, now writes and edits on Bowen Island, BC. Her 9th poetry book is "Generation", 2009, Black Moss. She has been a Surrey International Writers Conference presenter for 3 years and is active with the Canadian Authors Association and other groups. Bernice enjoys helping others get published. Her "No fine print..." is her published article on contracts. Information about her textbook and Awards: www.colourofwords.com

Mackie, Richard Workshop Facilitator: Finding the Narrative Thread Blue Pencil Editing Richard Somerset Mackie (rsmackie.com) is the author of five books on BC history and biography. Two of them, Trading Beyond the Mountains (1997) and Island Timber (2000) won the Lieutenant-Governor's Prize, and Island Timber was also short-listed for the Haig-Brown prize. He is now working on a biography of the environmental activist Melda Buchanan (1924-2004), to be published by Ronsdale Press, and on Pacific Timber, to be published by Sono Nis Press. Richard teaches a course on writing history-based narrative (fiction and non-fiction) in the Writing and Publishing Program at SFU, and has previously taught at Island Mountain Arts at Wells, BC, and took part in the Lines & Passages Writers' Festival at Sointula, BC. His most recent book, Mountain Timber, was published by Sono Nis Press in October 2009.

Manson, Ainslie Panelist: Writing Books for Children Blue Pencil Editing Ainslie is the author of eleven books for young people: three biographies, three picture books, three history connected stories, and two novels. In addition, she has given hundreds of talks and readings in schools across Canada and in the U.S., and even in England and Uganda. Ainslie has also facilitated workshops for adults who wish to write for children. See http://www3.telus.net/ainsliemanson

Martin, Susanne Workshop Facilitator: Memoir Writing Along with Jacqueline Massey, Susanne Martin runs Truffletree Publishing, a company that specializes in the production of creative non-fiction. Susanne is an established professional freelance writer who shares a love of story and a practice in writing creative non-fiction. See www.truffletreepublishing.com.

Massey, Jacqueline Workshop Facilitator: Memoir Writing Along with Susanne Martin, Jacqueline Massey runs Truffletree Publishing, a company that specializes in the production of creative non-fiction. Jacquie is an established professional freelance writer who shares a love of story and a practice in writing creative non-fiction. See www.truffletreepublishing.com.

Neale, Jude Presenter: Saturday Evening Gala Celebration at the Gallery @ Artisan Square Jude is a long-time resident of Bowen Island, and has taught at the local Elementary school for many years. As a Primary and Intermediate educator with over 30 years experience, Jude has nurtured a generation of young writers, many of whom continue to pursue their own exploration and passion for the written word. Jude was short-listed for the Prime Ministers' Award for Excellence in Teaching, and has attended the Humber College School of Creative Writing in Toronto, Ontario, where she was mentored by acclaimed author and poet Elisabeth Harvor. She has participated in many workshops over the years, most notably with Susan Musgrave and Patrick Lane. Jude has recently published her first volume of poetry, The Perfect Word Collapses, reads her work publicly at various literary events both on Bowen Island and the mainland, and continues to create poetry of uncommon beauty, simplicity and depth. Her next book of poetry entitled Only the Fallen Can See will be published by Leaf Press.

Nicolson, Cynthia Panelist: Writing Books for Children A Bowen resident since 1980, Cynthia Nicolson is writer and educator who has taught at both elementary and university levels. Cynthia has written 18 books for children, including Exploring Space, winner of the American Institute of Physics annual science writing award, and Kids of Courage, fictional stories inspired by the Paralympics.

Pearson, Miranda Workshop Facilitator: Writing Poetry Miranda Pearson's poetry has been published widely in literary journals and anthologies, and her first collection "Prime" was published in 2001. "The Aviary" was released in 2006 from Oolichan Books and was awarded the Alfred G. Bailey prize. Her latest book, "Harbour", also from Oolichan, has been shortlisted for the BC Book Prize for poetry. Miranda holds an MFA from the University of British Columbia and currently teaches in Simon Fraser University's Writing and Publishing program. Miranda will be reading at the Vancouver Writer's Festival in October 2010.

Safyan, Susan Workshop Facilitator: Seven Tips for Publishing Panelist: Publishers Panel Blue Pencil Editing and Author Pitches Susan Safyan, BA, MLS, is Associate Editor at Arsenal Pulp Press in Vancouver, BC, and was formerly a senior editor at alive magazine and freelance editor. Arsenal has over 200 titles currently in print, which include literary fiction and nonfiction; cultural and gender studies; gay, lesbian, and multicultural literature; cookbooks; and guidebooks. We are interested in literature that traverses uncharted territories, publishing books that challenge and stimulate and ask probing questions about the world around us.

Stephens, David Keynote Session: Getting Publishing Author Pitches R. David Stephens, MA, is the Senior Editor for Tradewind Books and an Associate Editor for Granville Island Publishing. He has taught at Tufts University, the University of San Francisco, Shoreline Community College and the U. B. C. (Editing and Re-writing Fiction / Getting Published) as well at S. F. U. (Editing Fiction). His children's book, My Animal Friends was chosen by the B.C. Ministry of Education to be given to 40,000 pre-school children as part of their Ready, Set, Learn Program. He has won the Irving Prize for American Wit & Humor from the University of California at Berkeley.

Suzuki, Lorna Workshop Facilitator: The Challenges of Writing Fantasy for the Adult and YA Market Lorna is a scriptwriter and fantasy novelist. Her first documentary for Life & Times Productions was aired on The Biography Channel and her works on West Coast Adventures will be aired this spring on KCTS-9. A black belt martial arts instructor, when Lorna is not working on non-fiction, she is the author of nine adult fantasy novels of which the first three novels are being optioned for a movie trilogy. Her first YA fantasy will be released October 2010. An experienced public speaker, having appeared on local & national TV, Lorna was also invited as panelist/workshop participant at VCON 34.

Taylor, Sylvia Workshop Facilitator: Building Better Stories: Secrets to Sensational Articles Blue Pencil Editing Sylvia Taylor is an award-winning freelance writer, editor and educator in Metro Vancouver, with a passionate commitment to communication. From conference keynotes to private tutoring, from book and script editing to business websites, from ghostwriting to LifeStory writing, Sylvia offers writing-related services "Taylored" to every literary need and purpose. She writes a wide variety of magazine and newspaper articles and commercial works and consults with a diverse range of entrepreneurs and businesses. She edits in all genres and works extensively with authors through all stages and phases of writing and publishing. In addition, Sylvia is current Executive Director of the Federation of BC Writers, after eight years as a Regional Director and two years as President. She is also an inspiring public speaker and international presenter at conferences and in writing programs and judges numerous writing competitions. Her creative writing has appeared in anthologies and genre magazines, in Canada and the U.S, and was shortlisted for the 2009 CBC National Literary Awards.

Warr, Lorne Performer: Saturday Evening Gala Celebration at the Gallery @ Artisan Square Originally from Newfoundland, Lorne makes his living as a musician playing with his band The Streels, as a solo artist, and in a duo with Neil Hammond. He's also a scriptwriter, and has had a dozen plays produced by CBC radio, one of which won a Gabrielle award, and another nominated for an ACTRA.

Wong, Wing-Siu Performer: Saturday Evening Gala Celebration at the Gallery @ Artisan Square Wong Wing-Siu learned to story-tell through listening to his grandmother in the kitchen while making Sunday dumplings. The stories that he tells, like his grandmother's stories, are about the funny things and the not so funny things that happen to people in real life. They are stories about family and community, and they celebrate the interconnectedness between us and the planet earth. He has a way of seeing the sacred in the stories of everyday. He will have you at the edge of your seat in laughter one minute and on the verge of tears in the next. Born in Canada but raised in Hong Kong until he was ten years of age, Wing-Siu was raised in a dual culture - dual language home. A long-time resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, Wing-Siu has been performing and teaching storytelling in the classroom and in the community for over 20 years. He was recently a featured performer at the 2009 Vancouver International Storytelling Festival.

Wood, Daniel Workshop Facilitator: Writing Narrative-Based Non Fiction Blue Pencil Editing Daniel Wood has taught non-fiction writing at SFU for 20 years, and given seminars on writing at colleges, local writers' groups, and literary festivals across the province. Dozens of his students now work in the writing field; his students have produced over 20 published books. Wood is the author of 15 books (fiction and non-fiction), hundreds of magazine articles for many of the world's major periodicals, and has won more magazine writing awards than any freelance journalist in Canada. His exploration of international issues has propelled him to almost 100 countries wordwide.

Write on Bowen Programming Committee

Carol Cram, Artistic Director Carol is the author of over 40 textbooks on computer applications, business communications, and Internet-related subjects for college-level courses. She is also a training and communications consultant. As a faculty member at Capilano University for 20 years, Carol coordinated programs in ABT and Continuing Education and chaired the Professional Development Committee. On Bowen Island, Carol is the president of the Bowen Island Arts Council.

Jacqueline Massey, Marketing Director As the Executive Director of the Bowen Island Arts Council, Jacquie plays a key role in promoting and celebrating the arts on Bowen Island. In addition, she is an accredited journalist and a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists. She has written hard and soft news stories, profiles, lifestyle features, previews, and reviews. In addition to print media, Jacqueline has written copy for audio/visual productions and the Web.

Other Members of the Write on Bowen Committee:

• Alison Bate
• Andrea Little
• Bernice Lever
• Richard Labonte
• Sharon Haggerty
• Tina Neilsen