It's been said the very landscape of the prairies leads to art and literature.
Many pages have been written and ideas shared in this province; and for 40 years, the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild has been part of the dialogue. The SWG offers writers of every age, genre and stage of their career a place to find support and community.
There are over 650 members in the guild with approximately one-third living in Saskatoon, one-third living in Regina and the rest living in the rural areas and smaller centres. Over the weekend more than 100 writers gathered at the Park Town Hotel for the annual fall conference, anniversary celebrations and annual general meeting.
There were workshops focusing on poetry, non-fiction, creating characters, publishing and more. The group enjoyed the Caroline Heath Memorial Lecture given by award-winning Canadian poet Don McKay Friday night. McKay also delighted the audience as he read poetry inspired by birds and nature during a session with Myrna Kostash. The open microphone was well attended with many of the members sharing exciting new work.
It was a weekend to celebrate the accomplishment of peers and the short manuscript luncheon gave the organization a chance to recognize writers submitting entries in categories where they have yet to be published in book form. Andrea Ledding of Saskatoon placed first in two out of four categories and third in another.
The John V. Hicks Manuscript Award has been presented since 2001, it revolves from year to year among fiction, drama, non-fiction and poetry. This year the genre was drama and the winner was Saskatoon's Mansel Robinson for his play Two Rooms which will be performed at the Persephone Theatre in the spring of 2011.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the organization some of the founders were invited to take part in a panel to discuss the guild's history and the changes through the decades. There were also presentations of honorary lifetime memberships to some of the longest serving members.
The SWG believes in listening to the concerns of the membership inviting input during a hot issues session and the AGM. Concerns were raised about Bill C-32, the new copyright reform bill. Members were encouraged to contact their MPs to voice concern about an issue that threatens to have an effect on the income of many writers.
New board members were elected and now the guild has directors from Saskatoon, Regina, Estevan, Maidstone and La Ronge.
Saskatchewan has a vibrant writing community with members in every region of the province working to share their stories, voices, beauty and words with the world.
