Dear Editor,
The Whistler Readers and Writers Festival has wrapped up for another year and what an incredible year it was.
Sold out performances for the opening night gala, most Saturday (Oct. 13) workshops and our newly introduced event, Wine, Books and Jazz on Saturday night. A near sell out audience for Pecha Kucha/spoken word night again this year and incredible accolades from visiting authors like Canadian icon Alistair Macleod, author Lawrence Hill and Scottish poet John Burnside, who all commented on the wonderful sense of community they felt in Whistler.
They could feel the “deep love and admiration” Whistler had for this literary festival in the mountains.
We are so grateful for the support of: Writers Union of Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, British Columbia Arts Council, Whistler Public Library, Resort Municipality of Whistler, Fairmont Chateau Whistler (our hotel partner), Whistler Arts Council, Whistler Blackcomb Foundation, Armchair Books (the best bookstore in the world), Whistler Is Awesome, the Whistler Museum, Goodwin Studios, Access Copyright, PEN Canada, Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Center, Maxx Fish, Alta Bistro, Tourism Whistler, Pique Newsmagazine and The Question for their incredible coverage of the festival. Thank you so much for helping us put our best foot forward for our visiting guest authors and festival participants.
Our organizing team is made up of a small group of volunteers who are passionate about the literary arts. They give their time and energy to this festival every year because they know how important it is to have these homegrown events available right here in our community.
I’d like to thank: Katherine Fawcett, Sara Leach, Mary MacDonald, Libby McKeever, Claire Piech, Sue Oakey, Dee Raffo, Nancy Routley, Stephen Vogler, Wendy Whelan, and Rebecca Wood Barrett. They keep me grounded and focused on what is important.
Finally, I would like to thank you for participating in our festival. We had just fewer than 600 attendees (a 39 per cent increase in attendance over last year), an incredible breakthrough for the little festival that could. We are here because of you and we will continue to strive to do our very best. Thank you again for your support.
See you all next year.
Stella L. Harvey
Founder and Director,
Whistler Readers and Writers Festival
