WOMEN'S WORDS:
Summer Writing Week

Luanne Armstrong, MFA, PhD, is a novelist, freelance writer, editor, and publisher. She is deeply interested in writing about place and nature. Her new book, Blue Valleys, An Ecological Memoir, a book about growing up in the Kootenays, was published in the Fall of 2007 by Maa Press. Her research interests also include the ethics of autobiographical writing, ecological identity, and writing as inquiry. She has published over fifty stories and essays in magazines and journals.

Sandra Campbell’s first novel Getting to Normal explores ‘normality’ from a child’s perspective (www.gettingtonormal.com). Her new novel The Pig and the Soprano tells of a 19th century woman who defied social conventions to pursue her artistic desires. As a teacher Sandra combines her literary pursuits with her visual media work in the imagination, culture and learning, and adds her yoga practice and her sense of play to offer experiences that unleash the stories inside us.

Althea Cunningham has a BFA from MacEwan University and established a career in the world of entertainment since graduating. She states, “the inspiration to write is as natural and organic as breathing.” Her primary medium is creative writing and most prominent genres are poetry and songwriting. She has worked across several platforms in the literary arts that include spoken-word, playwriting, journalism and fiction. On The Verge, a cd she released in June 2010, receives worldwide airplay.

Kim Echlin has been a documentary-maker, editor and teacher. She has worked and travelled in Europe, China, the Marshall Islands, Africa, Cambodia and Central America.  Her novels include Elephant Winter, Dagmar's Daughter, and The Disappeared which was published in 19 countries, won the Barnes and Noble Best Novel award, and was nominated for The Giller Prize. Her new essay on witness and literature called Tell Others will be published in the fall.

Jannie Edwards taught creative writing at MacEwan University for over 25 years. She published three poetry collections, most recently Falling Blues, selected for Dektet 2010, a national competition. Her Blood Opera: The Raven Tango Poems was featured in Workshop West’s 2010 Canoe theatre festival. She collaborated on a poetry/video installation Resonance: Urban Wind, featured at the 2012 Edmonton Poetry Festival. Jannie was the 2011-12 Canadian Authors Association Writer in Residence for Northern Alberta.

Joan Marie Galat is the author of eight books including Day Trips From Edmonton and the best selling and award winning Dot to Dot in the Sky series, which blends astronomy with mythology. Published by Whitecap Books, Scholastic, Capstone Press, and numerous magazines, Joan is a frequent presenter and public speaker. She also operates MoonDot Media, a communications business offering writing, editing, and training in broadcast, print, and multi-media (www.joangalat.com).

Reinekke Lengelle is a poet and academic. Her area of interest and expertise is therapeutic writing. She designs and teaches “life changing” graduate courses for Athabasca University and was a hospital poet with the award-winning Artists on the Wards program. She is a member of the National Association for Poetry Therapy and Lapidus. Her book Blossom & Balsam is a work of "searing courage" and Bath Oil for Heartbreak a popular self-help book. www.blacktulippress.com

Janice Williamson, PhD, has been writing and teaching creative writing, Canadian literature, and women’s cultural studies in Edmonton since 1987. She has published innovative essays, fiction, and poetry chapbooks on various social issues. Two of her five books are image/text works and she has won national poetry and essay awards. Her interdisciplinary and multi-genre edited anthology Omar Khadr, Oh Canada will be released by McGill-Queen's UP in Spring 2012.