Thin Air director closes book on job

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After 23 years at the helm of Thin Air, the Winnipeg International Writers Festival, director Charlene Diehl is stepping away to begin the next chapter in her life.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/12/2025 (288 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After 23 years at the helm of Thin Air, the Winnipeg International Writers Festival, director Charlene Diehl is stepping away to begin the next chapter in her life.

Diehl has been at the helm of what is now Plume Winnipeg, the organization that oversees Thin Air, since 2003, and will see out her role as director until the end of December.

“Honestly, there’s so much to juggle that I haven’t really had time to think about how I feel about any of it,” Diehl said by email. “I’m mostly ready to hand over the responsibility to someone fresh and to head into my next chapter.”

Jessica Lee / Free Press files
                                Charlene Diehl

Jessica Lee / Free Press files

Charlene Diehl

Diehl says she’s had the move in the works for a few months; for the 2025 festival she had scaled back her responsibilities, dividing them among newer staff members.

“I kept the lid on everything at that point because I had three newbies and I just wanted them to fly through the festival feeling calm and confident. In the last few weeks, I’ve put pedal to the metal,” she said.

Plume Winnipeg has added a job posting for the executive director position on the organization’s website.

— staff

Ben Sigurdson

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.

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History

Updated on Thursday, December 4, 2025 8:20 AM CST: Adds link

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