By Barb Brouwer
Contributor
In just three weeks, 11 accomplished authors, several of them award-winning, will arrive in Salmon Arm to present to the 21st Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival.
The festival is nurtured by dedicated members of the Shuswap Association of Writers (SAW), several of whom are talented published authors, who understand the power of the written word and find joy in sharing their love with other writers and readers.
Kay McCracken moved to Salmon Arm from Vancouver in 1993 and opened a bookstore named Reflections.
She served the community with an eclectic mix of thoughtful publications until Reflections closed more than five years later.
That adventure was the inspiration for her first memoir, A Raven in My Heart: reflections of a bookseller. A follow-up memoir, Beyond the Blue Door: a writer’s journey, came next, followed by a children’s book, A Spooktacular Halloween.
In 2023 her novel Between Two Worlds was published by Gracesprings Collective.
McCracken co-founded Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival in 2003 and, along with a dedicated team of board members and volunteers, continues to bring a first-class writer’s festival to Salmon Arm.
After her children left home, Shirley Bigelow DeKelver turned to her dreams of becoming a published author, beginning with courses in writing for children and teens.
DeKelver dove in with Climate of Fire, a trilogy and future post-apocalyptic novel. The year is 2045, and Vancouver has been devastated by an earthquake and tsunami, and a motley crew of survivors hike to the Interior, hoping to find a better life. DeKelver is currently working on Treachery, the second of the series, which will be released in November and a final story that will complete the trilogy later.
Among her many books are Voices from the Valleys, Lilacs & Bifocals a historical, fantasy story for young adults involving suspense, time travel and a touch of romance. Ziggy’s Revenge is a humorous, young-adult short story about bullying.
The Trouble with Mandy is an adventure story for young adults, set at White Lake, and reflects DeKelver’s love for animals and birds, as well as the beauty of the region.
Born in Salmon Arm, Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski travelled extensively in the 1970s and spent three years living in Europe. Her travels were financed by intense bouts of tree planting back in B.C. In 1974 she studied writing with George Ryga and in 1975 with W.O. Mitchell. She later spent 13 years leading a pioneer existence in the wilderness of northern B.C. and writing about it for various magazines including Country Journal and Mother Earth News.
Now a Shuswap resident, Barnhardt Kawatski continues to write and is close to releasing her ninth book. A founding member of the Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival, she is featured on the first Literary Map of BC.
Barnhardt Kawatski is the author of best-selling memoir, Wilderness Mother and Clara and Me, a BC Book Prize nominee, plus the novel, Stalking the Wild Heart, a unique eco-literary novel set in the 1970s and told through the voices of childhood friends.
Read more: Award-winning wordsmiths to share stories, insight at Salmon Arm festival
Read more: Fest a feast for writers, readers in the Shuswap
She also released her travel memoir, Burning Man, Slaying Dragon, an exciting, high stakes spiritual adventure that spans decades, continents, cultures and generations.
Kawatski’s latest, My Life is in Your Hand, is historical fiction based on the life of the her great-grandmother, Sophia, who was raised on a farm in Norway in the 1800’s.
Another member of the festival planning committee, Eleanor McGaughey has written two books, A Road Too Steep: Estelle’s Story, and Asea, A Journey Told. She is in the early stages of getting her third book, Room 217, and has another, as yet untitled in the works.
A member of SAW but not on the planning committee, longtime Salmon Arm educator and scriptwriter/playwright,James Bowlby began writing a fictional series set in Egypt with a story about a young boy who is being hunted by a madman working for an evil Egyptian god. Begun during the Covid 19 pandemic as a short story, as Jonathan became a teenager, his increasingly complex problems led to the full-length novel, Jonathan and the Sacred Scarab.
Always captivated by ancient Egypt, Bowlby began studying hieroglyphics after visiting the country and is getting better at reading the ancient Egyptian language.
The Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival takes place from May 17 to 19 at the Prestige Harbourfront Resort and Okanagan College. The event kicks off on Friday evening with the entertaining Café Lit where authors read or perform from their own works.
Author-led workshops roll out on Saturday and Sunday in a relaxed atmosphere, and a Saturday evening gala includes dinner and entertainment. Talented Neskonlith storyteller Kenthen Thomas shares stories that are part of the age-old Indigenous experience.
Registration closes on Sunday, April 28 so time is of the essence. Visit wordonthelakewritersfestival.com for more information and to register.