The Saskatchewan Festival of Words brought the power of the written word to Moose Jaw’s literary community through four days of readings, workshops, and discussions starting July 18 and featured a captivating lineup of Canadian authors, poets, and wordsmiths.
The festival’s first day included nine events in downtown Moose Jaw at the Moose Jaw Public Library, the Cultural Centre, and the Mae Wilson Theatre.
Starting at 9 a.m., the public library was host to a three-hour presentation titled “Outlining Novels” by Premee Mohamed in the Herb Taylor Room, as well as a concurrent workshop led by Victoria Koops in the library’s South Room.
The Cultural Centre hosted the “Reading for Writers Workshop” starting at 9 a.m. and, later, the Saskatchewan Writer’s Guild began its reception at 9:30 p.m.
The afternoon’s events included a science fiction presentation by author Robert Sawyer in the library’s South Room and a three-hour sold-out discussion about the book Moon of the Turning Leaves moderated by Jael Richardson and led by author Waubgeshig Rice.
At 6 p.m. in the Mae Wilson Theatre, a presentation titled “Café Daughter” was held by Yvette Wong who shared the story of her struggles growing up in the ‘60s as a half-Chinese, half-Cree woman. Following Wong’s presentation, READception ran for one hour starting at 8:30 p.m. with readings from authors Vivian Darroch-Lozowski, Katherena Vermette, Zalika Reid-Benta, Timothy Taylor, and Holly Hogan.
The 9 a.m. event in the library’s South Room led by Koops was titled “Kids Ink: Bardic Inspiration.” The workshop ran for two hours and brought new inspiration to children and teens who worked on developing their storytelling skills through hands-on activities resembling the gameplay for Dungeons and Dragons.
Starting at 10 a.m., a group of around 25 children and their parents met on the library’s front lawn for “Storytime for Little Ones” led by renowned author Candace Savage.
Savage, who referred to the outdoor reading program as one of her favourite events, was born in Grande Prairie, Alta., and began her career in the ‘70s as a news editor with the Sun Color Press. She later became an editorial assistant with the Co-Operative Consumer.
It was through her career and role as a freelance book editor with The Western Producer in Saskatoon that she first discovered an interest in authoring books. Today, Savage has published more than two dozen books and has earned multiple Saskatchewan Book of the Year awards.
During Thursday’s park program she read aloud from two of her recent children’s books, Always Beginning and How to Know a Crow.
Always Beginning told the story of how everybody came to be, staring with the theoretical Big Bang and progressing through the various stages of history to arrive at the modern day. The book included captivating pictures that seemed to spark the imagination of many children who were eager to learn more.
“The most amazing thing about this story is… everything from the Big Bang to now has led to you,” she said as she finished the book.
To make the most of a beautiful morning in the shade of Moose Jaw’s Crescent Park, Savage included a third reading of the book Mina by award-winning author and illustrator Matthew Forsythe.
To learn more, Savage maintains a personal website at CandaceSavage.ca.
You can purchase her books through Post Horizon Booksellers, another local bookstore of your choice, or online at GreystoneBooks.com/Collections/Candace-Savage.
For more information about the Festival of Words and the lineup of literary talent that toured Moose Jaw this past weekend, visit FestivalOfWords.com or follow ‘Saskatchewan Festival of Words’ on Facebook.
