Tag: literary
GPAG: Lori Thicke, Dreamer’s Daughter Book Launch
Lori Thicke, cousin of the late Alan Thicke, will be interviewed by Michael Gurney and read from her national bestselling debut memoir, “Dreamer’s Daughter: Surviving My Childhood and Raising My Father.” In a mining town where hope is as tapped-out as the gold, a mother abandons her two children. Dreamer’s Daughter is a memoir of what happens next as Lori, 10, and Brad, 5, end up in the custody of their free-spirited father. Colourful and larger-than-life, Dacker is a dreamer who fails spectacularly at everything — except at being a loving parent.
GPAG: New Stories with Annie Frazier Henry
She’s is an award-winning Indigenous writer, filmmaker and musician. She and her company, Full Regalia, have produced over 30 dramatic, documentary and experimental films, which have screened Internationally. A recipient of the “Trailblazer” award, “her films have has served as a springboards & inspiration for countless other projects”. She works as creative and production consultant, and produced student films. She was the first aboriginal person to sit on the jury at Sundance Film Festival & several of her films have had US premiers there.
She currently has several projects in development. Her short films have had a renaissance of screenings, to include the acclaimed “Ladies of the Inlet.”
She’s had over 15 short stories published. She is honoured to have her ‘Henry Miller’ short story “don’tcha know” published in NEXUS the International Henry Miller Anthology, about her time with him.
GPAG: Self-Publishing Success Stories
Doris Good, M.J. Milne, and Pat Sullivan share their self-publishing tips for creating and marketing self-published books from cover to cover.
GPAG: Showcase of Book Awards for BC Authors Finalists
Come listen to readings from the finalists from the Book Awards for BC Authors contest, including:
– Daniela Elza
– Marion Dodds
– Veronica Woodruff
– Joline Martin
– Calvin White
– Susan McCaslin
GPAG: AI is Here, Are We Ready: A Panel Discussion
AI Awareness for Bloggers, Artists, Authors & Others
with panelists: Doris Good, CPA and Author, Hilary Moses, Artist, Educator, and Animator, Ruth Rodgers, Artist and Author, Stephen Murphy, Artist, Author, and Bookbinder, and Stephen Smith, Blogger, and AI programmer.
GPAG: Penning the Paragraph: Prose Poetry Playshop with Isabella Mori
Whether you’re a poet or write prose only, you’ll enjoy this highly interactive workshop. We’ll ditch the lines and write beautiful/interesting/shocking/strange sentences, and like Tom Snarsky and Amy Lowell before us, compose poetic paragraphs.
2: 3:0-4:00, Saturday, Aug. 22, Gibsons Public Art Gallery
$25
Sign up by emailing sunshinecoastwritersandeditors@gmail.com
GPAG: Interviews with Artist and Author Teams with Jan DeGrass
Jan DeGrass, Author, interviews Artist and Author teams from the Art & Words Festival, including:
Tracy Hall & Janice Rafael
Karen Taylor & Lianne Kirilenko
Rizz Fischer & Bruce Edwards
Leslie MacFarlane & Karis Gauthier
Richard Feehan & Roger Handling
Pammila Ruth & Lorena Ruth
Kathaleen Quinn & Matt Thomson
Rachel Amina & Denise Olson
Doris Good & Ellen Heale
Atma Frans & Michael Healey
GPAG: Arts & Words Festival 2026
Join us with the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society for the 2026 Arts and Words Festival, a three day literary festival in which writers collaborate with visual artists!
Every year, artists and writers on the Sunshine Coast are randomly paired together. Working together they reflect on each other’s stories, artistic practices, styles, and bodies of work to create a literary work and a visual work that resonate with and echo each other; often resulting in long-term friendship and collaboration across artistic disciplines. We invite all to join us during this festival to view the huge breadth of art and words on display, as well as for workshops, keynote speakers, interviews, and more. Immerse yourself in the Sunshine Coast’s literary and visual arts scene.
Find the full schedule of events, as well as our opening hours during the festival, online!
Heritage Playhouse: Showcase of Sunshine Coast New Books
Enjoy readings from Sunshine Coast Authors of their new books, including:
Ken Blosser
Joan Fletcher
Doris Good
Robin Lamarche
M.J. Milne
Jan DeGrass
Marion McKinnon Crook
Ruth Rodgers
Free. Reserve your seat by emailing: sunshinecoastwritersandeditors@gmail.com
GPAG: Book Binding 101 with Stephen Murphy
Learn the essentials of bookbinding including: paper grain and folding, sewing, and forming signatures to create a basic pamphlet book suitable for journaling or art projects.
Sunday, August 23, 10:30-Noon
Gibsons Public Art Gallery
$10 to cover provided materials.
Register by emailing sunshinecoastwritersandeditors@gmail.com
Far From Home – Book Launch with Ruth Rodgers
Join author and artist, Ruth Rodgers, for the launch of her latest historical fiction novel at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery as she presents this latest story about the thousands of ‘home children’ sent out from England to Canada to fulfill agricultural and domestic service roles in the 1870s to the 1930s. Joseph and Lucy, orphans from London, experience very different fates in their new homes, typical of the stories of many of those caught up in this ill-considered scheme designed to solve Canada’s labour shortage while getting children off the streets of England’s growing cities.
Saturday, August 22, 2026, 11 AM – 12:30 PM
Gibsons Public Art Gallery
Free
Intro to Glosa Poetry with Bonnie Quan Symons
Explore how to write a glosa, a courtly form that steals a quatrain from another poet’s work to structure a poem of your own, in the course of which you create a glosa – or gloss on that poet’s work. Tangling with your chosen poet may allow her or his subtle influence to inform your tone and expand your expressive range.
THE GLOSA OR GLOSE is a form requiring:
a) A cabeza (or motto) – the quatrain borrowed from another poet, whose authorship must be acknowledged
b) Four 10-line stanzas, each endingwith one of the lines in sequence from the cabeza
c) A rhyme-scheme requirement that lines 6 and 9 rhyme with the final word of line 10.
Saturday, Aug. 22nd, 2026, 10:30 am – Noon
Gibsons Public Art Gallery, Joe’s Lounge
431 Marine Drive, Gibsons, BC
$25 – includes a chapbook of glosas and handouts
Register at sunshinecoastwirtersandeditors@gmail.com
GPAG: Poetry & Memoir Reading – Catherine McNeil & Daniela Elza
Sunshine Coast poet and musician, Catherine McNeil (Cat Mac) will be reading from her award-winning poetry book, “Emily & Elspeth.” Joining her is Vancouver author, Daniela Elza, author of scar/city, poetry, and Is This an Illness or an Accident, her memoir. Both of Elza’s books are finalists for awards in this years Book Awards for BC Authors contest.
GPAG: Why Do We Write: A Conversation with Elizabeth Rains & Jessica Raya
Is it nature or nurture, the promise of fame and fortune, or just a pathological compulsion to see our names in print? Could it be the hope to leave the legacy of our life’s story for our grandchildren? Maybe it’s a struggle we can’t abandon, or maybe we’re doing it for fun. Join author Elizabeth Rains and her author daughter, Jessica Raya, in exploring what draws us to the page and propels us through the writing journey. This audience-participation session aims to ramp up your writing energies no matter how or why they arise.
GPAG: Marion Crook Interviews Artists and Authors at Art & Words Festival
Marion Crook, Award-winning Author, interviews Artist and Author teams at the 5th Annual Art & Words Festival at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery, including:
Andrea Coates, Author & Ann-Marie Brown, Artist
Isabella Mori, Author & Hilary Moses, Artist
Emily Jew, Artist & Jean Stewart, Author
Rosa Reid, Author & Erika Mastig, Artist
Joyce Gwilliam, Author & Hana Rose, Artist
Felicia Mareels, Author & Manon Staiger, Artist
GPAG: Michael Gurney Interviews Authors & Artists
Michael Gurney interviews Author and Artist teams from the 5th Annual Art & Words Festival, at Gibsons Public Art Gallery, including:
Karen Webb, Artist & Paula Shadel
Marion Crook, Author & Michelle Nielsen, Artist
Margot Hallman, Artist & Peter Toews, Author
Serena J. Trinder, Artist & Rose Clarke, Artist & Author
M.J. Milne, Author & Doris Biddle, Artist
Catherine McNeil, Author and Musician & Stephen Murphy, Artist
GPAG: Karen Webb Interviews Artists & Authors at Art & Words Festival
Karen Webb, Author, Artist, Actor, and Educator interviews Artist and Author teams of the 5th Annual Art & Words Festival at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery, including:
Elaine Seepish & Michael Healey
Robin Lamarche & Paddy Meade
David Kipling & Landyn Funk
Lynda Manson & Kathleen Vance
Joan Fletcher & Lorraine Gallant
Del Lobo & Sheri Peters
Jo Forrest & Michael Gurney


