U of M lands latest writer in residence
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/01/2025 (310 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Nova Scotia author, teacher and flutist Sonja Boon has been named as the winter 2025 writer in residence of the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture.
Boon is the mixed-race author of the 2019 memoir What the Oceans Remember: Searching for Belonging and Home, with numerous other pieces of creative non-fiction and poetry appearing in various literary journals and magazines. She has also co-authored and edited a handful of scholarly books and, if that wasn’t enough, has served as principal flutist for the Portland Baroque Orchestra.
Boon is available for manuscript consultation by appointment; to learn more and/or to contact the author, click here.
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On Thursday, the John Howard Society of Manitoba re-launches arts magazine The Inside Scoop with a fresh new look and new features at X-Cues’ Cafe and Lounge (551 Sargent Ave.).
The society works with individuals age 18 and over who are in conflict with the law, including during and after incarceration. The Inside Scoop features writing, illustrations and more by those who are or have been incarcerated.
The launch is free, runs from 7-10 p.m. and will feature readings by contributors, cribbage, appetizers and more.
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The Winnipeg Architecture Foundation is launching a comprehensive new book detailing the city’s built history and landscapes.
Winnipeg Places + Spaces features contributions by Christian Cassidy, Kaj Hasselriis, Alex Gowriluk, Reanna Merasty and many others, and was edited by Susan Algie, executive director of the foundation.
Algie launches Winnipeg Places + Spaces at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location on Friday at 7 p.m.
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Aspiring illustrators, cartoonists and comic-making folks can meet others of their ilk every Wednesday evening as part of a new initiative spearheaded by the Prairie Comics Festival.
The weekly Comic Coven gatherings run from 6-8 p.m. at 611-70 Arthur St.; those in attendance can enjoy tea or coffee while connecting with other local makers, with organizers suggesting attendees bring works in progress and a sketch book to work on (or show off) new and recent projects.
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Indiana-based Ontario author Dionne Irving has been chosen to chair the Giller Prize jury for 2025.
Irving, who was shortlisted for the $100,000 prize in 2023 for her debut collection The Islands, will be joined on the jury by Nisga’a author Jordan Abel, winner of the 2024 Governor General’s award for fiction for the novel Empty Spaces; Loghan Paylor, the B.C.-based author whose 2024 book The Cure for Drowning was longlisted for the Giller; Toronto’s Deepa Rajagopalan, whose debut collection Peacocks of Instagram was shortlisted for last year’s prize; and Aaron Tucker, author of seven books and professor at Memorial University in St. John’s, N.L.
In July 2024, both international jurors from that year’s five-person Giller Prize jury resigned in protest due to the investment by Scotiabank — the former title sponsor of the prize, and still a major backer of the Giller — in an Israeli weapons manufacturer. The 2024 prize was won by Anne Michaels for her novel Held.
Books published between Oct. 1, 2024 and Sept. 30, 2025 are eligible for the Giller Prize; the long list will be revealed in the fall.
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After a well-deserved holiday break, the Free Press Book Club reconvenes virtually on Tuesday at 7 p.m., welcoming Vancouver Island-based author Maia Caron to read from and discuss her latest novel The Last Secret.
The novel weaves together the story of two women whose paths cross in a Vancouver in 1959 — one a wartime medic in Ukraine and the other an artist who has suffered physical and emotional trauma as a result of an accident at her wedding years earlier.
Caron will be joined by author and Free Press copy editor Ariel Gordon, Chris Hall of McNally Robinson Booksellers and Free Press audience engagement manager Erin Lebar. Copies of The Last Secret are available at McNally Robinson.
For more information and to join the book club (for free), click here.
books@freepress.mb.ca
Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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Updated on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 8:31 AM CST: Adds links