Subject: Free Parking AND Plenty of Writing at the 2009 Whistler Readers and Writers Festival, Creekside, Sep 11-13 2009

Save the date, Vicious Ones!  The line-up for the 2009 Whistler Readers and Writers Festival has been confirmed - and it's so hot, it's radioactive.

WHISTLER PLANS FOR LARGEST GATHERING OF WORD-NERDS EVER

8th Whistler Readers and Writers Festival Moves to Creekside, Sept 11-13 2009

June 12, 2009 Whistler, BC – More than twenty invited Canadian authors and editors will descend on Whistler this fall as special guests in a weekend-long siege of word-wielding and poetry-slinging at the eighth Whistler Readers and Writers Festival.

Guest writers include the 2009 Writers-in-Residence (who will spend the fall at Alta Lake Station House) - Wayne Grady (Tree) and Merilyn Simonds (The Convict Lover), as well as 2009 BC Book Prize winner, Lee Henderson (The Man Game), Vancouver author, Annabel Lyon (The Golden Mean) and Claire Mulligan, long listed for the Giller Prize for her book, The Reckoning of Boston Jim. Whistler writer Sara Leach will also be celebrating the publication of her first book, Jake Reynolds: Chicken or Eagle.

The Festival moves to Creekside this year, turning Whistler’s oldest neighbourhood into ground zero for a creative boot-camp that will allow writers at all levels of practice, from green circle to double black diamond scribblers, to learn some tricks, meet some legends, pitch stories, workshop their drafts, avoid push-ups, and generally enjoy a creative recharge.  The Festival is also budget-friendly – with free sessions on offer, two and a half hour workshops at just $25, and a full Festival pass (not including the month-long residency) for $180.

Says Festival Director, Stella Harvey, “The Whistler Readers and Writers Festival is the most accessible way people can give their creative selves a boost.  It also offers a one-day immersion in a choice of writing streams.”

With various sessions to choose from, participants can pick, mix and dabble their way through the program, or can follow a more intensive stream in Writing for Children, Writing for the Screen, Writing for Magazines, or the Technique Tune-up: Getting your Prose Lean, your Characters Mean (or meaningful), and your Writing Voice Tuned Up.

Also new for 2009, the Festival will bring together five of Canada’s leading magazine editors for The Pitching Mound, a lunch-hour session presented by the Association of BC Magazine Publishers.  Audience members will walk away with a full belly, a full brain and a bag full of magazines for just $35. A limited number of aspiring magazine and non-fiction writers will have the chance to step up to the plate and go all-star, selling their best story ideas to James Little from Explore magazine, Leslie Anthony from Skier magazine, Sandro Grayson from Color magazine, Matt O’Grady from BC Business magazine and Charlene Rooke from Western Living magazine.

The festival program will be available for download at www.theviciouscircle.ca on Wednesday, June 17, 2009.  Tickets can be purchased on line on the same day. All events will be taking place at Legends at Creekside, with the Saturday night Gala taking place at Players Chophouse. All day parking at Creekside is free.

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Contact: Stella Harvey, Festival Director, Tel: 604 932 4518, Stella25@telus.net
Tickets: www.theviciouscircle.ca