Booklovers gather on Manitoulin

by kate on July 17, 2009

I just spent three energizing days surrounded by the published works of over twenty-five authors – most of them from northern Ontario. For someone who loves books as much as I do, this was a feast for every one of my five senses. Colourful books dotted the tables and perched on book racks to catch the eye of browsing bibliophiles. From one corner of the large room, baking cookies begged to accompany a hot cup of tea or coffee, while in the opposite corner, a live parrot squawked away, punctuating lively human conversations. With heads bowed, patrons and sellers almost caressed soft, smooth book covers, absorbed in mingling sensations and words.
Hosted by the Manitoulin Writers’ Circle, the Northern Book Fair and 10th Annual Writers’ Retreat was housed in the Kagawong Park Centre on Manitoulin Island.  This showcase for northern writers and independent book publishers provided fair-goers an opportunity to browse, ask questions, purchase books and have them signed by the authors, listen to writers reading from works, and attend a variety of writing workshops.
p7100007-21 Julia Snell, poet and volunteer, beams over the success of the 2009 Northern Book Fair, put on by the Manitoulin Writers’ Circle.

 

Surrounded by books, Donna and Klaus Bach enjoy the song written and performed by Bonnie Kogos, author and Sudbury Star columnist. Bonnie wrote the song as a tribute to Manitoulin Island.

Surrounded by books, Donna and Klaus Bach enjoy the song written and performed by Bonnie Kogos, author and Sudbury Star columnist. Bonnie wrote the song as a tribute to Manitoulin Island.

Surrounded by books, Donna and Klaus Bach enjoy the song written and performed by Bonnie Kogos, author and Sudbury Star columnist. Bonnie wrote the song as a tribute to Manitoulin Island.

I leafed through books of all kinds – memoir, humour, horror, literary fiction, self-help, children’s, Aboriginal curriculum and culture, how-to & information, historical, poetry and mysteries. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the downstairs room was filled with listeners, eager to hear northern authors read from their own works. Adventures funny and frightening, poetry and essays inspired and entertained us all. One particularly moving book was the black and white photo essay created by Ellie Kay Bockert, a young woman whose family has endured and risen together through the experience of liver disease, near-death, and organ donation.

I offer my thanks and admiration to the founder of the Manitoulin Writers’ Circle, Margo Little, her volunteers, and the township of Billings for making this excellent weekend possible. I join other patrons in their hope that the Northern Book Fair will carry on in years to come.

 
 
 
 

 

 

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