The Honourable Laura Ross, Minister of Parks, Culture, and Sport, has officially declared September 27-October 1 as Saskatchewan Book Publishing Week 2021!
From September 27th to October 1st, 20 authors will present 13 readings online and in-person across Saskatchewan. Book Week features stories about small towns and big cities, Indigenous and Black experiences, and coming together after being apart. Everyone can find a place or story to connect with at Book Week.
Plains Cree artist and writer, John McDonald, will read from his collection of free-verse poetry, Kitotam, in an exclusive video premiere at 7 pm on September 27th. A virtual reading featuring Robert Boschman, who grew up in Prince Albert, on September 29th from White Coal City: A Memoir of Place and Family, explores an important exploration of family trauma and settler colonialism.
On September 30th, Métis filmmaker and poet Diana Hope Tegenkamp will read from her debut poetry collection, Girl running, in conjunction with a screening of an accompanying “film poem”. October 1st, in partnership with Black in Sask, a youth-led non-profit dedicated to the holistic growth of the Black community, Habiba Cooper Diallo will be reading from #BlackinSchool, a memoir that critically engages anti-black racism in the Canadian education system.
On Tuesday, September 28th, rural contributors to apart, a pandemic anthology published by the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild, will come together online, from Big River, Val Marie, Swift Current, Beaver Creek, Rosetown, Lampman, and Indian Head, for a virtual discussion and screening of their author readings. The reading of apart will be followed by a reading of Gather, by Tłı̨chǫ Dene author Richard Van Camp.
On Friday, October 1st, SaskBooks will virtually feature the revised and updated edition of Robin and Arlene Karpan’s best selling title, The Great Saskatchewan Bucket List. Nature lovers and avid bird watchers can also attend a reading of Backyard Bird Feeding: A Saskatchewan Guide with Trevor Herriot on September 29th, followed by a bird feeding workshop with Nature Saskatchewan at the Lady Slipper Courtyard at Wascana Place in Regina.
SaskBooks, in partnership with provincial schools, will feature online readings of Ride, Gabe, Ride, 20.12m: A Short Story Collection of a Life Lived as a Road Allowance Métis, and Road to La Prairie Ronde, by Métis authors Wilfred Burton, Arnolda Bowes, and Cort Dogniez. Patricia Deiter will read from Peepeekisis âtayôhkêwina: Sacred Stories of Peepeekisis Cree Nation in Plains Cree to her students at the Peepeekisis Pestakastew School. A virtual reading featuring Crista Bradley, author of If These Places Could Talk: Snapshots of Saskatchewan will reach students in rural communities across the province.
Saskatchewan Book Publishing Week 2021 could not happen without the enthusiasm and support of our publishers, writers, librarians, school staff members, and book lovers across the province.
SaskBooks gratefully acknowledges the support of Creative Saskatchewan, the Canada Book Fund, and Canada Council for the Arts.