Bates, Judy Fong - click to visit website

Author of the critically acclaimed short-story collection, China Dog and Other Stories, and the novel, Midnight at the Dragon Café, which was the Everybody Reads selection for Portland, Oregon, and an American Library Association Notable Book for 2006. Judy will read from her latest book, The Year of Finding Memory, a family memoir, published by Random House of Canada in April, 2010.

Bidulka, Anthony- click to visit website

Author of the Russell Quant mystery series, Bidulka is a multi award nominee and winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Men’s Mystery for Flight of Aquavit. Anthony will read from Aloha, Candy Hearts and Date With a Sheesha.

Brunt, Stephen- click to visit website

Has been the lead sports columnist for the Globe and Mail, Canada’s National Newspaper, since 1989. His book, Gretzky’s Tears, was a national bestseller in Canada, as was his previous book, Searching For Bobby Orr. His book, Facing Ali: The Opposition Weighs In is the story of fifteen of Muhammad Ali’s opponents. Brunt will read from Gretzky’s Tears.

Chong, Denise- click to visit website

Denise Chong is best known for The Concubine’s Children and her second book, The Girl In The Picture, about the “napalm girl” of the Vietnam War. Her latest book, Egg on Mao is an exploration of human rights in China during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.

Crozier, Lorna- click to visit website

One of Canada’s most read and honoured poets, Distinguished Professor and former Chair of the Department of Writing at the University of Victoria where she continues to teach. Inventing the Hawk received the Governor General's Award in 1992. In 2009 she was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada. Lorna will read from Small Beneath the Sky, her memoir about Saskatchewan.

Currie, Robert

Robert Currie is Saskatchewan's Poet Laureate; his most recent collection of poetry is Witness. His first book, Diving into Fire, was short-listed for the 1977 Commonwealth Poetry Prize; Running in Darkness was a finalist for the 2007 Acorn-Plantos People's Poetry Award. In 2009 Currie was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Saskatchewan Lieutenant-Governor's Arts Awards.

Galloway, Steven- click to visit website

Reads from his third novel The Cellist of Sarajevo, heralded as "the work of an expert" by the Guardian, an international bestseller. Two previous books have been nominated for the Amazon Canada First Novel and the BC Book Prizes’ Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.

Glenn, Lorri Neilsen- click to visit website

An award-winning poet, essayist, and ethnographer, has published four collections of poetry including Lost Gospels, and several books on literacy and inquiry. Lorri will read from Lost Gospels and discuss poetry and loss.

Goodison, Lorna- click to visit website

Goodison has published eleven collections of poems and published two collections of short stories. An accomplished painter, Lorna has exhibited her paintings internationally and on the covers of her books. Lorna will read from the memoir, From Harvey River.

Herriot, Trevor- click to visit website

An award-winning author, naturalist and speaker whose first book, River in a Dry Land, won numerous prizes and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award. Jacob’s Wound was shortlisted for the Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize. He will read from his latest book Grass, Sky, Song.

Hill, Gerald - click to visit website

Has a special interest in the province’s culture, landscape and history and has published several books of poetry. Gerald will read and present visuals from the subject of his book, 14 Tractors, winner of the 2009 Saskatchewan Book Award for Poetry.

Hodgins, Jack - click to visit website


Winner of Governor General’s Award, the Canada Australia Prize, the regional Commonwealth prize, the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In 2006 he received both the Terasen Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence in BC. Jack Hodgins is a Member of the Order of Canada.

Hodgins will present a workshop for writers who are yet unpublished or have published little so far. Writers can call the festival to register.

Hryniuk, Margaret

Margaret Hryniuk won a 1978 Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild award for her article on the brick and fieldstone Hudson Bay Store at Fort Qu’Appelle. Larry Easton is a professional photographer and editor of the Regina Photo Club. Frank Korvemaker has been a heritage conservationist for 40 years - as an archeologist, historian, architectural historian and archivist.

Hryniuk and Easton will present a visual presentation on the vanishing stone structures in the book, and stories of builders and early residents.

Humphreys, Helen

Author of four books of poetry, five novels, and one work of creative non-fiction. Humphreys will read from her novel, Coventry, also a #1 national bestseller and chosen as one of the top 100 books of the year by the Globe & Mail. Humphreys will do a Great Big Book Club discussion of Coventry on Thursday at the festival.

Johnson, Harold

Johnson is a traditional storyteller and the author of three books, Billy Tinker, Back Track, and Charlie Muskrat, set in northern Saskatchewan against a background of traditional Cree mythology and both shortlisted for Saskatchewan Book Awards.

Kuipers, Alice- click to visit website

Her first novel, Life on the Refrigerator Door, was published in 29 countries, won several awards, including the Saskatchewan First Book Award, and was long-listed for the Carnegie Medal in the UK. Alice will read from her newest book, The Worst Thing She Ever Did, her second Young Adult novel, due out in May.

Lent, John- click to visit website

Has been publishing poetry, fiction and non-fiction nationally and internationally for the past thirty years. His last novel, So It Won’t Go Away, was short-listed for the BC Book Prize. John will read from Cantilevered Songs, a volume of poems, and talk about experiments with poetic form and phrasing.

Malla, Pasha- click to visit website

Was long-listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and named a Globe and Mail ‘Top 100 Book of the Year.’ His book, The Withdrawal Method is Winner of the Trillium Book Award - Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize — Best First Book.

Martel, Yann- click to visit website

Beatrice and Virgil is the newest and highly touted book by the Man Booker Prize-winning Life of Pi author. Quill and Quire named Life of Pi one of the top books of the century. Nine years since the release of Life of Pi, the highly anticipated, Beatrice and Virgil claimed the greatest price ever paid for a single Canadian novel.

McGarragle, Sean- click to visit website

National slammaster for the Vancouver Poetry Slam, and the founder of the West Coast Poetry Festival, Sean will present a workshop for aspiring performance poets and a spoken word feature in the Art Museum Theatre on Friday.

Moritz, A.F.- click to visit website

Will read from his most recent poetry book, The Sentinel, and include poems from other books. The Sentinel won the 2009 Griffin Poetry Prize and was also a finalist for the 2009 Governor General’s Award. Globe and Mail chose The Sentinel as one of the 100 Best Books of 2000.

Page, James R.- click to visit website

Wild Prairie: A Photographer’s Personal Journey. Images of the spectacular mixed grass prairie of southern Saskatchewan: landscapes, wildlife, close-ups, and weather.

If it can be caught in a photo, James R. Page has it available to share in his stunning visual presentations at this year's festival. James R. Page lives in Victoria but spends his summers at his home in Val Marie and teaches photography each year at the Grasslands National Park between Swift Current and Moose Jaw. this national park is right in our backyard, and maybe Page's photographs will inspire us to see it close-up.

Palmer, Stephen

On Sunday at the Farewell Lunch we'll have Prairies songwriter Stephen Palmer who already has 3 recordings of his 'Original and Traditional' music to his credit. His newest project 'Jackalope Ramble' is being recorded right here in Moose Jaw and is slated for release in 2011. One of the best finger-pickers and song-writers at music festival across Canada.

Scarsbrook. Richard- click to visit websitev

His fourth book, The Monkeyface Chronicles is about a boy who overcomes a severe facial deformity to become a hero of sorts. His previous books were winners or short-listed for many prizes and awards.

Please note that this year’s Readception, with its short samplings of readings from TEEN WRITING EXPERIENCE

Straker, Jeffrey- click to visit website

Straker’s strong and playful vocals combined with his considerable songwriting talents make his energetic performances impossible to resist. Jeffrey is doing a songwriting workshop on Saturday morning so please join him for an interactive discussion on songwriting, which will include acoustic performances. Musicians, please bring your instruments. Call the festival office to register.

Tamaki, Mariko- click to visit website

This year with Mariko Tamaki, we introduce a new genre, the graphic novel, ….no longer known as a comic book. The graphic novel Skim is written by Mariko Tamaki, with drawings created by her cousin, Jillian Tamaki. Mariko will discuss the collaborative process.

Tregebov, Rhea- click to visit website

Brings us her riveting debut novel The Knife Sharpener’s Bell. Teaching in Vancouver at UBC, Tregebov has published six volumes of poetry and five children’s picture books.

Rhea will instruct creative writing for young artists from 10-13 years of age on Thursday morning at the festival. Cost is $10.

Thursday afternoon, Rhea Tregabov will read to children, age 4 and over, in the Art Museum Theatre. Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles are invited to bring the little ones down for afternoon storytime, from 2-3pm. where Rhea will tell stories based on her children’s picture books. This is a free event.

Trofimuk, Thomas- click to visit website

Edmonton writer, editor and speech-writer. Winner of the Georges Bugnet Award for The 52nd Poem. He reads from his third novel, Waiting for Columbus, about truth, loss, love and hope.

Ursell, Geoff

Saskatoon writer, Geoffrey Ursell presents his musical on the life of award-winning Saskatchewan wheat grower, Seeger Wheeler. The Wizard of Wheat, act one, will feature professional local talent in a presentation on stage at the Art Museum Theatre.

Warren, Dianne

Dianne Warren’s new novel Cool Water, published by HarperCollins in 2010, was called unforgettable by the Globe and Mail, a “contemplation on the subtle and magical ecology of the great sand hills.” Her play Serpent in the Night Sky was short-listed for a Governor General’s Award for Drama in 1992. She won the Marian Engel award for fiction from the Writers Trust of Canada in 2004, and her book A Reckless Moon was listed in the Globe and Mail’s top 100 books for 2002.

Vassanji, M.G.- click to visit website

Winner of the 2009 Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction, for his book A Place Within: Rediscovering India. Also a two time Giller Prize winner, he is the author of six novels and two collections of short stories. His novel, The Assassin's Song, was short-listed for both the Giller Prize and the Governor-General's Prize for best novel in Canada. In 2005, Vassanji was named a Member of the Order of Canada for his contribution to arts/writing.

Zieroth, David- click to visit website

David Zieroth’s most recent book of poetry, The Fly in Autumn, won the Governor General’s Literary Award in 2009 and has been nominated for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize in 2010. He also won the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize for How I Joined Humanity at Last.