Calendar of Events
Past Events

June 4, 2010
8:00 pm

THIN AIR 2010 Fundraiser with Lawrence Hill and the Steve Kirby Quartet

The multi-disciplinary entertainment fundraiser will take place at 8 pm at the CanWest Global Performing Arts Centre (MTYP) at the Forks in Winnipeg. Tickets are $35 ($30 for THIN AIR Club Card Holders) and will be available starting on May 3 at McNally Robinson or through the Festival: www.thinairwinnipeg.ca or 927-7323. Hill will read from his award-winning, international best-seller, The Book of Negroes (HarperCollins 2007). The novel is a culmination of years of research, and many of the research documents (photos, maps, historical records) are included in an illustrated edition of the novel, released in 2009. The narrative will be accompanied by documentary images, and intercut with songs depicting the African-American experience performed by the Steve Kirby Quartet—Steve Kirby on bass, Erin Propp on vocals, Jimmy Greene on saxophone, and Curtis Nowosad on drums. The performance will be followed by an on-stage interview of Hill, conducted by THIN AIR Director, Charlene Diehl. Hill has a history in Winnipeg: in the early 80s, his first posting as a fledgling journalist was as parliamentary correspondent at the Winnipeg Free Press. His first novel, Some Great Thing (Turnstone Press, 1992), features a young Winnipeg reporter tangling with the French-English politics in Winnipeg during that time. In the intervening years, Hill has written several novels and a memoir, Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada (HarperCollins, 2001) He’s also published non-fiction and written for film. THIN AIR 2010, the fourteenth installment of Winnipeg’s annual writers festival, takes place September 19-26. THIN AIR has become one of the most respected literary festivals in the country, and offers programming for all ages in English and in French.

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September 27, 2009
1:30 pm

The Mainstage Matinèe: Sunday Afternoon at the Movies. Featuring: Judith Keenan, Executive Director and Founder of BookShorts

BookShorts take the written word onto the big screen, and the results are fanciful, hilarious, disturbing, poignant. We’ll have the popcorn ready! (Rating: PG13)

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September 26, 2009
10:30 pm

After Words: T'ai Pu

T’ai Pu has been charging up Winnipeg’s spoken word and alternative music scene over the past couple of years. His quicksilver language and infectious energy will lift you out of your seat…

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September 26, 2009
8:00 pm

The Mainstage: My Winnipeg. Featured writers: Guy Maddin & George Toles

Iconoclasm and outrageous talent create a city we know and a city we can only imagine.

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September 26, 2009
4:00 pm

A Pint of Bitter Murder. Featuring: Terry Griggs

Terry Griggs will read from her new novel, Thought You Were Dead—the work is as witty and sharp as the writer. Local crime fiction writer Michael Van Rooy will host. Donations welcome.

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September 26, 2009
1:30 pm

The Mainstage Matinèe: Farley! Featured writers: Beth (Johnston) Cruikshank & Lynn Johnston

That beloved sheepdog from For Better or For Worse is on the loose—in a kids’ book!

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September 26, 2009
1:00 pm

Portes Ouvertes à la Maison Gabrielle-Roy / OPEN DOORS at The Gabrielle Roy House

Journée portes ouvertes pour célébrer le 100e anniversaire de naissance de Gabrielle Roy. Visite autoguidée de la maison qui a joué un rôle important dans ses livres et sa vie. Entrée gratuite. To mark the centenary of franco-manitoban writer Gabrielle Roy, take a self-guided tour through the house that was so central to her life and work

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September 26, 2009
10:00 am

The Writing Craft Workshop: Writing for Kids. Featuring Tim Wynne-Jones

Interesting and original characters, lively dialogue, a persuasive narrative voice, a well-turned story: sounds like a suitable checklist for any kind of fiction writing. But writing for younger readers does present really interesting challenges, whether you’re writing picture books, middle-grade or young adult novels. In a two-hour, craft-centered workshop, join one of the best in the business to look at what makes for wonderful in the world of writing for youth. There’ll be plenty of time for discussion.

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September 25, 2009
10:30 pm

After Words: George Elliott Clarke

You can hear generations of tradition when George Elliott Clarke takes over a room. Be swept away by the drama of the star-crossed love story in I&I, George’s new verse novel.

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September 25, 2009
8:00 pm

The Mainstage: Into the Future. Featured writers: Nick DiChario, Robert J.Sawyer & Robert Charles Wilson

Science fiction as an escapist distraction? Not in the hands of true speculators…

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September 25, 2009
8:00 pm

Foyer des Écrivains: Gala de la Parole. Presént les auteurs suivants: Bertrand Nayet, Marc Prescott, Anne Sechin & Serge Patrice Thibodeau

Une soirée avec une nouvelle romancière locale (A. Sechin), un haïkiste chevronné (B. Nayet), un dramaturge dérangeur (M. Prescott) et un poète acadien récipiendaire d’un prix littéraire du Gouverneur général et directeur artistique des Éditions Perce Neige à Moncton, un fer de lance de la littérature acadienne d’aujourd’hui.

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September 25, 2009
7:00 pm

Rural Tour: Miami. Featured writers Beth (Johnston) Cruikshank & Lynn Johnston

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September 25, 2009
4:30 pm

Big Ideas: Romancing the Wild. Featuring Jake MacDonald

Because Jake MacDonald takes on the world with the curiosity of a journalist and the instinct of a raconteur, readers have experienced all sorts of things they’d never otherwise encounter. In his new book, Grizzlyville, MacDonald tracks the biggest predators on the continent. Are there limits to the wild?

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September 25, 2009
4:00 pm

Campus Program: A Sip of Juice

The U of W’s talented writing students share new work to kick off the school year.

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September 25, 2009
2:30 pm

Afternoon Book Chats: Jan Andrews & Jake MacDonald

For Jan Andrews and Jake MacDonald, stories—from anecdotes to traditional tales—are an essential part of the fabric of our lives.

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September 25, 2009
2:30 pm

Campus Program Panel: The Future. Featuring Nick DiChario, Robert J.Sawyer & Robert Charles Wilson

How do we think about what’s ahead? Three top-flight science fiction writers speculate about their speculating…

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September 25, 2009
12:15 pm

The Nooner: Terry Griggs

Terry Griggs is known for sharp insight and sly wit, both in full evidence in her first mystery novel, Thought You Were Dead.

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September 25, 2009
11:00 am

Campus Program: Reading with George Elliott Clarke

George Elliott Clarke explores the history of black Canadian experience in pitch-perfect poetry and prose.

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September 25, 2009
10:30 am

Campus Program: Reading with Charles Wilson

Acclaimed science fiction writer Robert Charles Wilson paints a provocative picture of 22nd-century America.

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September 25, 2009
10:00 am

The School Program: School Stage - Tim Wynne-Jones

Award-winning writer Tim Wynne-Jones brings to the stage a new round of adventures with Rex Zero.

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September 25, 2009
8:00 am

Business Breakfast: The New Rules of Social Media. Featuring Hal Niedzviecki

Culture commentator Hal Niedzviecki has been exploring the recent upsurge of social media like Facebook and Twitter, and some of his findings are especially pertinent to people in the business sector. Join us for a light breakfast at the Prairie Ink Café and hear Hal’s thoughts on “The New Rules of Social Media: Why the Customer Doesn’t Care about Privacy—and What You Should Do About It.”

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September 24, 2009
10:30 pm

After Words: Jan Andrews

Tonight’s show is solid evidence that storytelling isn’t just for kids! Let one of Canada’s premiere storytellers bowl you over with the power of this art form.

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September 24, 2009
8:00 pm

The Mainstage: It's About Love, Actually. Featuring Jeanette Lynes, Struan Sinclair, Margaret Sweatman, Rhea Tregebov & Tim Wynne-Jones

Magnetic, perplexing, euphoric, profound—there are many faces to that dynamic power we call love.

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September 24, 2009
7:00 pm

Foyer des Écrivains: Vernissage et Lancement. Presént les auteurs suivants: J.R Léveillé & Lorraine Prichard

De nouvelles oeuvres visuelles, un nouveau livre pour les accompagner. L’influence de la culture esthétique de l’Orient est manifeste tant dans les tableaux de l’artiste que dans le recueil de l’écrivain.

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September 24, 2009
7:00 pm

Foyer des Écrivains: La Plume et le Pinceau. Presént les auteurs suivants: Charlotte Gingras, Charles Leblanc, Shaun Morin, Lorraine Pritchard, Mélanie Rocan & Anne Sechin

Une joute d’improvisations visuelles et littéraires qui jumelle écrivains et artistes visuels pour produire des oeuvres mixtes sur papier. La création dans l’instant, le suspense du nouveau. Le temps est la limite. Le public pourra aussi participer à une improvisation.

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