Visiting Authors

The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies invites accomplished novelists, essayists, poets, screenwriters, and playwrights present their work through the public FCCS Reading Series at the Okanagan Regional Library and other venues around the Okanagan

IWC Public Reading Series

This year’s reading series is a collaboration of UBCO’s Creative Writing Program, Inspired Word Café, and Cool Arts Society. The IWC Public Reading Series, organized by Inspired Word Café, brings together nationally celebrated writers and spoken word artists with local talent monthly, in a free, easily accessible venue in downtown Kelowna.

The readings will be from invited local authors and from across Canada.

All readings will be held in the Cool Arts studio, Rotary Centre for the Arts, #205, 421 Cawston Ave., starting at 7:00 p.m.

Schedule of events:

Date Event
Oct. 17 poet Margo Tamez and Ashleigh Giffen
Nov. 21 Amber Dawn and Justin Ducharme
Jan. 23 Ian Ferrier and Samuel Archibald

All events are free and open to the public. Visit the Inspired Word Cafe Facebook page for author bios and information.

The RCA is a wheelchair accessible venue. For more information, contact matthew.rader@ubc.ca

Thank you to this year’s sponsors: Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, Inspired Word Café, Cool Arts Society, City of Kelowna

Tough Language, Tender Wisdom
Memoir Writing Workshop

Join us for a writing workshop led by local author, Amber Dawn on memoir writing.

Date: Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019
Time: 11:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m.
Location: Okanagan Regional Library, Downtown branch, 1304 Ellis Street

Tough Language, Tender Wisdom is a writing workshop that invites participants to press on forward into some of the more challenging aspects of writing from personal experience. These challenges may be all-around writers’ block or feeling out of practice, or these challenges may lie with writing specific memories or events. Come break the isolation of writing through challenges alone.

Amber Dawn will lead participants through a series of freewriting exercises, group discussion and optional peer-to-peer sharing and strategizing. Tough Language, Tender Wisdom is memoir-focused, although easily adapted for poets, playwrights, lyricists and fiction writers.

Past Visiting Authors

  • Milkcraters of the Moon Reading Series 2018-2019

    The MOM Reading series is a collaboration of UBCO’s Creative Writing Program, Inspired Word Café, and Milkcrate Records.

    The readings from invited local authors and from across Canada included:  Laisha Rosnau (Book Launch) & Erin Scott; Darren Bifford (Book Launch) & Cole Mash; Liz Howard (Summer Intensive Artists-in-Residence); Richard Van Camp (FCCS Writer-in-Residence); Michael Turner & dia kabunda; Sharon Thesen & Penn Kemp; Suzette Mayr  & Damien Rogers;  Catherine Leroux; Dania Tomlinson & Ashley Little; Kelly Shepherd & John La Greca

     

    MOM Reading Series

  • FCCS Reading Series 2017-2018

    The FCCS Reading Series featured writers from the Okanagan and beyond offering workshops, panels, and readings.

    Events included Shifting CanLit, a panel with Juliane Okot Bitek, Karen Hofmann, Karis Shearer, Rob Budde; Stories Between: A conversation about Narrative and Voice, a panel with Margo Greenwood, Pauline Terbasket, Teresa Marshall, and Sarah de Leeuw; readings by authors Heidi Garnett, Sarah de Leeuw, Rob Budde, Juliane Okot Bitek, Clifton Joseph;editing poetry and spoken word workshops.

  • Reading the Valley 2016-2017

    Reading the Valley welcomed a number of great writers and artists including:
    Jeannette Armstrong, Corinna Chong, Joan Crate, Dina Del Bucchia, Sean Johnston, Jake Kennedy, John Lent, Evan Munday, Cecily Nicholson, Matt Rader, Harold Rhenisch, Renee Sarojini Saklikar, Moheb Soliman, Margo Tamez, Sharon Thesen, Caitlin Voth, and Daniel Zomparelli.

    Various events were held on  campus and in the community from February 7th to 10th, offering the chance to meet with writers, attend panels, expand your social network, and more.

  • Visiting Authors 2015-2016

    The 2015-16 series included authors Kevin Chong,  author of five books; Joanne Arnott ,a Métis/mixed-blood writer & arts activist; Ashley Little, author of five young adult novels; Garry Gottfriedson, a self- employed rancher from the Secwepemc Nation; Karen Hofmann, who has published fiction and poetry in several national literary magazines; Sean Johnston, author, co-edior of Ryga: A Journal of Provocations, and teachrs at Okanagan College.