Annie Proulx, Mary Walsh among lineup for Writers at Woody Point
There are big names — including a Pulitzer Prize winner — featured in this year's lineup for the Writers at Woody Point festival, slated for August in western Newfoundland.
Mary Walsh, best known for TV roles that include CODCO and This Hour Has 22 Minutes, will make her debut as an author with Crying for the Moon: A Novel, said Stephen Brunt, the event's artistic director.
"So [it's] Mary Walsh in a very different context," Brunt told CBC Radio's Corner Brook Morning Show.
"She's coming to us as a novelist … I imagine Mary Walsh the novelist is still pretty funny."
Writers at Woody Point festival launched in 2004 and is organized by Friends of Writers at Woody Point, according to its website.
The literary event includes readings by and conversations with authors, along with musical performances.
The Shipping News author returns
Brunt said he is also excited that author Annie Proulx, who won acclaim with her novel The Shipping News — about a reporter working for a fictional northern Newfoundland newspaper — is attending this year's event.
"Well, we're bringing her back to Newfoundland. You know, because she had a house for years, she had a house up on the Northern Peninsula," said Brunt.
"She's won every prize you can imagine from the Pulitzer Prize to the National Book Award … To bring in an international writer with that calibre with the links to the province that she has — yeah, it's a big get for our festival, for sure."
Proulx also wrote the short story "Brokeback Mountain," which was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film.
Brunt said this year's event will have a special show dedicated to the 50th anniversary of publisher House of Anansi Press.
"They're really important to the world of Canadian literature," said Brunt, who notes the company has published works by Margaret Atwood.
"A lot of the publishing business now is very international, but House of Anansi has been a Canadian voice in the publishing world — an independent Canadian voice — for half a century. "
Tunes, too
Brunt said the musical entertainment is top-notch too and includes Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo, Kim Stockwood, and Tim Baker of Hey Rosetta!
"Very strong Newfoundland content," said Brunt.
Writers at Woody Point Festival runs Aug.15-20.
