Oh Kanata! Our 2017 Governor General’s Literary Awards Gala.

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We are thrilled to finally share the details of our exciting annual GG Literary Awards event. In this year of national flag-waving, we’re creating opportunities for fruitful conversation about the cultural layering that underlies this country we call Canada.

On Thursday, June 22, we bring together three writers who have won or been nominated for our nation’s most prestigious literary prize, the Governor General’s Literary Award, for an evening of readings and conversation.

Edmonton writer (and former Winnipeg resident) Rudy Wiebe has won the Governor General’s Award for Fiction twice, first for The Temptations of Big Bear and then for A Discovery of Strangers. From the start of his writing career, he has been exploring the complexities of engagement between First Nations and the various settler peoples in Canada.

Louise Bernice Halfe, also known as Sky Dancer, grew up on the Saddle Lake Reserve. and now lives in Saskatoon. She was nominated for the Governor General’s Award for Poetry for her first collection, Bear Bones and Feathers. All of her books offer a glimpse into Indigenous lives, and provide an unflinching view of residential school devastation.

We regret to announce that due to a last-minute flight cancellation, Louise Bernice Halfe is unable to attend tonight’s event. The event will continue with Rudy Wiebe and Garry Thomas Morse, in conversation with Charlene Diehl.

Garry Thomas Morse is of KwaKwaka’wakw descent. He recently relocated from the west coast and now considers Winnipeg his home. Two of Morse’s collections have received nominations for the Governor General’s Award for Poetry: Discovery Passages and Prairie Harbour. Morse’s work has a trickster’s flexibility and sense of parody.

We’re happy to be teaming up with McNally Robinson Booksellers, and with the Artsfest folks at Crescent Fort Rouge United Church. The Canada Council for the Arts makes it possible each year for us to bring these high-level writers to our community.

Tickets are available at McNally Robinson, through PayPal on our EVENT PAGE and in the festival office at 624-100 Arthur st. Call 204 927 7323 or email info@thinairwinnipeg.ca for more information.

PLEASE NOTE — Tickets purchased online will not be mailed. Your tickets will be ready at the door of the event.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”3390″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row]