Writers fest director starting a new chapter

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.”

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 between newer staff. “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,” she said. “In the last few weeks, I’ve put pedal to the metal.”

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