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For immediate release Writers meet in Banff to boost the profile of non-fiction Twenty-one professional writers met April 2 to 4 for a first-ever gathering at The Banff Centre to discuss the conditions they felt seriously undermine Canadian non-fiction. “We have top-notch writers who tackle our most urgent social and cultural issues, and even win big prizes,” says co-organizer and author Myrna Kostash. “But what does it say about the state of Canadian civil society, that national media remain under-whelmed by non-fiction, and its publishers fold while our fiction goes global?” “There’s something wrong with the state of non-fiction in Canada,” says co-organizer and author Betsy Warland, “and it isn’t the writers.” The participants determined to increase their activism, lobbying and dialogue with the public. They are also planning a national creative non-fiction symposium, a summer writing school, a website and electronic toolkit, local non-fiction public readings and book clubs, and thematic and nomadic collections of creative non-fiction. — 30 — The group is contacting national and local media, granting agencies, awards programs and juries. For further information or interviews, please contact these designated spokespersons:
Myrna Kostash, Edmonton
Betsy Warland, Saskatoon
Lynne van Luven, Victoria
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