Highlights from the 2011 Literary Festival,
which took place on Saturday, August 20, 2011

Strathspey Place is pleased to announce the Second Annual Strathspey Literary Festival. A unique celebration of Atlantic Canadian literature—including Gaelic, Acadian and Mi'kmaq traditions—the festival features a full day of readings, workshops on the craft of writing, a spoken word performance, a children’s reading room, a delicious buffet lunch and an on site book store. The evening program begins with a Round Table of prominent media personalities and culminates with a Gala event hosted by Ian McNeil. Special guests this year will be and Alexander MacLeod, Donna Morrissey and Sheldon Currie.

New this year is an opportunity for budding writers to submit a short (1000 words maximum) work for a personal critique by Sheldon Currie.

DAY PROGRAM
10:00 am–4:30 pm Morning or Afternoon session only: $15
Full day: $25

9:30 am Registration, coffee and tea

10:00–11:00 
Cindy O’Neill, Children’s Reading Room
We will begin the day with a children's Reading Room. Cindy O’Neill will read from a selection of readings that include The Moose, by Robert Munsch, which features Luke VanZutphen from Port Hood as the main character. There is no admission but pre-registration is suggested so that we may seat everyone comfortably. A light snack will be provided. This segment of our program is sponsored by the Family Place Resource Centre.

NO ADMISSION PRE-REGISTRATION BY AUGUST 15 REQUIRED
BRING YOUR OWN CUSHION

10:00–10:25 
Jim St. Clair, Bringing the past alive
The deep and resonant voice of historian, Jim St. Clair weaving together local anecdotes and oral narratives with historical details of time and place will bring the past alive for Cape Bretoners and visitors alike. Jim is the author of Nancy's Wedding Feast and other Tasty Tales, and is a broadcaster at CBC as well as the subject of Story Save's 2008 three-CD set release.

10:30–10:55
Muin and the Seven Bird Hunters (Muin aqq L’uiknek Te’sijik Ntuksuinu’k)
Muin and the Seven Bird Hunters (Muin aqq L’uiknek Te’sijik Ntuksuinu’k) printed in Mi’kmaq and English, is a very old Mi’kmaw legend, written by Mi’kmaw Elders Lillian Marshall and Murdena Marshall. All through the year, as the stars and planets travel through the sky, the Mi’kmaq watch the story of Muin and the hunters as it unfolds before their eyes. Murdena Marshall will read in Mi’kmaq accompanied by Andrea Currie.

Lillian Marshall and Murdena Marshall are highly respected elders from from Potlotek (Chapel Island) and Eskasoni First Nations, respectively.

Lillian is devoted to Aboriginal education, working within a small, dynamic team in her home community to develop innovative learning and educational materials.

Murdena, retired from her position as associate professor of Mi’kmaw Studies at Cape Breton University, continues to be highly active in projects locally, regionally and nationally. She has devoted her life to encouraging young people to explore their culture and the nature around them.

11:00–11:25
Lewis MacKinnon
Nova Scotian Gaelic singer, songwriter and poet celebrates his culture through Gaelic song and poetry. His book Famhair Agus Dàin Ghàidhlig Eile, Giant and other Gaelic Poems is considered to be the first complete volume of contemporary Gaelic poetry published in Nova Scotia.

11:30–12:00
Brenna MacNeil, twentythree—concept to completion
An encouraging talk about the creative process of self-publishing, her first missbrenna project, twentythree (a coffee table art book). Plus, 23 things she learned. This will be an interactive, fun session.

Brenna MacNeil is a graphic designer and photographer who grew up in Inverness. She credits the west coast of Cape Breton for her appreciation of seeing beauty in the simple things in life, which is often reflected in her photography. Brenna self-published her first missbrenna project—twentythree—in February 2011. twentythree is a whimsical coffee table art book which was partially inspired by her time teaching ESL in South Korea and which combines her inquisitive nature, love of photography, typography and meeting people from all walks of life. She lives in Halifax and works as a graphic designer at Dalhousie University.

12:00–1:00 pm Lunch break
A buffet lunch is available to all full-day participants

1:00–1:25
Daniel Doucet, A bilingual portrait of the artist Elizabeth LeFort
LeFort's remarkable talent for portraiture in wool resulted in purchases and commissions the world over; her work hangs in Rideau Hall, Buckingham Palace, the White House and the Vatican. Daniel Doucet’s biography of Élizabeth LeFort, “Canada’s Artist in Wool / L’artiste canadienne de la laine”, was nominated for the Dartmouth Book Award for non-fiction. He has two other publications to his credit: Parables from Big Pond, 1998 and Cod Fish and Angels, 2001.

1:30–1:55
Frank Macdonald
Longlisted for the 2007 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, Frank will read from his new novel, A Possible Madness. Frank’s first novel, A Forest for Calum, was nominated for the Dartmouth Book Award. He is also the author of T.R.’s Adventure at Angus the Wheeler’s, a children’s book, illustrated by Virginia McCoy.

2:00–2:25
Peter Rankin, Illustrating the traditional way of life
Artist Peter Rankin illustrated Making Room, a children's book by Joanne Taylor that was published by Tundra Books, for which he won the 2004 Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration. He lives in Mabou Coal Mines with his wife and their five children.

2:30–3:25
Sheldon Currie, Critique for writers
Ever wondered if you could write? Holding onto an unfinished piece of work, short story or first draft? Submit your work in confidence to strathspeyplace.com no later Friday, July 29th, and receive a writing critique from author, critic and professor emeritus of English Sheldon Currie.

PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED

3:30–3:55
Marie Aucoin, All about The Participaper
What makes The Participaper special and unique? How did that happen? 32 blank pages to printed publication. What does the Editor need from the Writer? What does the Writer need from the Editor? Question and answer session with Marie Aucoin, editor of The Participaper. Marie first discovered her passion for publishing in 1979; working her way up through the ranks from typesetter to assistant editor at the Cold Lake Courier in Alberta, she honed her craft.

About The Participaper: published by the Municipality of Inverness County, now in its thirty second year of publication, The Participaper covers the history, genealogy, arts, culture and community economic development of the area.

4:00-4:30
Virginia McCoy, Illustration from the perspective of ‘learning by doing’
This year’s talk will be about words and pictures and the making of books. Virginia McCoy is a storyteller via painting and illustration. She grew up in northern Ontario of mixed Ojibwe, French and English heritage and now lives in Inverness, Cape Breton Island. Her stories are set in the land of her ancestors, the island where she lives now, and the realm of her imagination.

On-site book store hosted by Alice Freeman of the Bearpaw, Central Ave., Inverness will be available throughout the day and evening events. Meet and greet. Book signing opportunities.

7:00-7:45
Social Hour – Piano Bar with Marion MacLeod
Enjoy wine and cheese while listening to vocals of Marion MacLeod on piano. Marion is currently working on her PHD in ethnomusicology at Memorial University in Newfoundland. She has played, sung, toured and recorded with a variety of styles of music.

8:00
Evening Gala
Admission: $25 regular / $20 members
 

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Alexander MacLeod was born in Inverness and raised in Windsor, Ontario. His award-winning stories have appeared in many of the leading Canadian and American journals and have been selected for the prestigious Journey Prize Anthology.

His first collection of stories Light Lifting (Biblioasis 2010) was short-listed for the Scotia Bank Giller Prize and recently won the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award. Alexander MacLeod lives in Dartmouth and teaches at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.

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Donna Morrissey is the author of four award-winning novels: Kit's Law, Downhill Chance, Sylvanus Now and What They Wanted as well as a screenplay, Clothesline Patch, which won a Gemini Award. She is currently writing her fifth novel, and her first children's fable.

Donna grew up in a small fishing outport in Newfoundland and now lives in Halifax where she has taught creative writing at Dalhousie University as well as at Humber College in Toronto. Her work has been translated into Japanese, Dutch, German and Italian.

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Sheldon Currie’s body of work includes three novels, two collections of short stories, numerous literary articles, plays and a feature film script. He has written two plays based on his short stories, “Lauchie Liza and Rory”, and “Two More Solitudes”.

“Lauchie Liza and Rory” was nominated for five Merritt awards and awarded the Merritt for best play by a Nova Scotia writer in 2004.

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Ian McNeil will reprise his role as MC for the evening. Former host of CBC’s “Cape Breton Information Morning”, Ian authored Pit Talk, a book of stories and interviews celebrating the rich culture of Cape Breton’s coal miners, published in 2010.

Ian is the principal of Ian McNeil Real Media, consulting in conscientious communication.

Schedule and participants are subject to change without notice.

View highlights from the 2010 Literary Festival...