UWinnipeg celebrates Métis writer Katherena Vermette as the 2017 Carol Shields Writer-in-Residence, which begins Wednesday, March 1, 2017 and runs until the end of the month. Writers from the community and University are encouraged to contact Vermette for free consultations during the month of March. Vermette will be reachable at ka.vermette@uwinnipeg.ca as of March 1.
Vermette will deliver her Writer-in-Residence Lecture on Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at 12:30 pm in Room 1L07. This lecture is free and open to the public.
In 2013, Vermette won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry for her first book, North End Love Songs. She is also the author of the children’s picture-book series The Seven Teachings Stories, and the novel The Break. Her short film documentary, This River, was released in 2016. Vermette is from Treaty One territory.
The Carol Shields Writer-in-Residence Program at The University of Winnipeg was made possible by a generous donation from the Shields family. The program’s name honours the memory of Carol Shields, Pulitzer-prize winning novelist and Chancellor of The University of Winnipeg from 1996 to 2000. At Convocations, our students and their families were privileged to hear her wise and beautifully-crafted addresses to the graduands. Carol was also a generous mentor to emerging writers, so this program is a fitting tribute to her. As former UWinnipeg President Dr. Lloyd Axworthy has said, “Carol was enormously committed to cultivating young writers. Through the thoughtfulness and generosity that the Shields family has shown to the University, opportunities have been created for many more people and emerging writers to discover their creative voices.”
Past writers in this program include Margaret Sweatman, Sandra Birdsell, John Weier, Maria Campbell, David Bergen, Ivan Coyote, Jennifer Still, Debbie Paterson, and Chandra Mayor.
