Elephant Mountain Literary Festival offers prized for area book clubs, writers’ groups
By Contributor
For the second year in a row, Nelson, B.C.’s Elephant Mountain Literary Festival is running a contest for West Kootenay book clubs. And for the first time, a separate contest is aimed at West Kootenay writers’ groups.
The winning club or group wins a 10 per cent discount on a festival Gold Pass for all its members. The Gold Pass admits the holder to every 2019 festival event, July 11 to 13. As well, members of the winning book club will meet with festival author Iona Whishaw over lunch on Friday, July 12. The winning writers’ group will meet with festival writer-in-residence Marilyn Bowering over lunch on Saturday, July 13.
For each contest, a competing book club or writers’ group will submit a 250-word-maximum anecdote about their organization. The Elephant Mountain Literary Festival organizing committee will select the winning entry. Submissions should be sent to emlf@emlfestival.com Deadline is Tuesday, July 2.
Please use the subject line: “Book Club contest” or “Writers’ Group contest”.
“We had an excellent response last year to our contest for area book clubs,” said EMLF executive director Robyn Lamb. “At the festival, though, we were approached by a member of a local writers’ group who asked us to offer a similar contest for writers’ groups.”
Lamb said the festival is happy to oblige. “We know that just like there are dozens of book clubs in the West Kootenays, there are similar groups of writers who meet to share and improve their writing. Since the Elephant Mountain Literary festival is here to serve both readers and writers, having two contests just makes sense.”
A full listing of 2019 EMLF events, as well as registration information, is at www.emlfestival.com
Besides meeting with the winning book club, Vancouver, B.C. author and educator Iona Whishaw will be reading at the festival’s Friday, July 12, 7:30 p.m. “Wine & Crime” wine-tasting and short crime fiction readings event. She will also introduce a talk by fellow detective fiction writer William Deverell on Saturday, July 13 at 1:15 p.m.
Victoria, B.C, novelist, poet, playwright and educator Marilyn Bowering, besides meeting with the winning writers’ group, presents a talk on the writing craft at the Nelson Public Library at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 11. She will be part of a panel on Saturday, July 13 at 9 a.m. entitled “Can Creativity Be Taught?” And she will read at the Saturday, July 13, 7:30 p.m. presentation by festival headliners, along with singer-songwriter Stephen Fearing and screenwriter and novelist Ian Weir.
