On September 6th, Lit Live Returns to the Skydragon

Join us to celebrate the winners of the 2009 gritLIT Poetry Competition and to hear thought-provoking readings from writers on tour Bill Howell, Sheila James and Andreas Gripp.

Bill Howell presents new work and his latest book of poems Porcupine Archery from Insomniac Press.

Katherine Lawrence took First Prize in the gritLIT Poetry Competition and will read from the winners' chapbook, Start with the Answer.

Sheila James reads from her latest collection of short fiction In the Wake of Loss, a set of short stories focusing on the conflicts and challenges experienced by diasporic South Asian characters.

Charmaine Cadeau took Second Prize in the gritLIT Poetry Competition and will read from the winners' chapbook, Start with the Answer.

Andreas Gripp delves into his latest book, Anathema: Poems Selected & New, published by Harmonia Press in 2009.

Emily Silbert took Third Prize in the gritLIT Poetry Competition and her poems in the winners' chapbook, Start with the Answer, will be read by one of the contest judges, Adam Getty.

Bill Howell

One of the original Storm Warning poets, Bill Howell has enjoyed an award-winning literary career spanning four decades. He has published four poetry collections, including The Red Fox (1971), In a White Shirt (1982), and Moonlight Saving Time (1990). His latest book, Porcupine Archery, was released in May 2009 by Insomniac Press. Last year, his work Ghost Test Flights (Rubicon Press) was a winner in the WCDR Chapbook Challenge. His writing has appeared in literary magazines across Canada, in the United Kingdom, and the USA. Bill has recent work in The Antigonish Review, Existere, Magma (UK), New Quarterly, Nthposition (UK), Rampike, and The Best Canadian Poetry in English, 2008 edition. Howell was a network producer-director with CBC Radio Drama for almost three decades; his plays have garnered multiple ACTRA and international awards. He lives in Toronto.

Katherine Lawrence

Katherine Lawrence won First Prize in the 2009 gritLIT Poetry Competition for Heartland of the Dominion. She is a fund development consultant and writer. Her first collection of poetry, Ring Finger, Left Hand (Coteau Books, 2001) won the Brenda Macdonald Riches Award for best first book with the Saskatchewan Book Awards. Her second collection, Lying to Our Mothers (Coteau Books, 2006) was a finalist for the Saskatchewan Book Award for poetry and a runner-up for the Alfred G. Bailey Prize for poetry. She also has a short story published as a chapbook with Jack Pine Press (2005) titled Split-ends. Katherine is originally from Hamilton and currently lives in Saskatoon.

Sheila James

Sheila James was born in the UK, grew up in Nova Scotia and presently lives in Ottawa. She has trained in the arts in India, England and Canada and completed a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Theatre from the University of British Columbia. Sheila has worked as a writer, director and performer in music, theatre and media arts. Her videos, including the award-winning Unmapping Desire, have been screened around the world. Her poetry and short fiction have been published in Canadian anthologies and journals.

Charmaine Cadeau

Charmaine Cadeau’s first book of poems, What you used to wear, was published by Goose Lane Editions in 2005. She took Second Prize in the 2009 gritLIT Poetry Competition for Dog star and Argo. Her work has also appeared in The Fiddlehead, The Malahat Review, Smartish Pace, and Poetry on the Way (Toronto). In 2007, she attended a residency at Banff Centre for the Arts to work on her second book. Currently, she is completing her PhD in contemporary poetry.

Andreas Gripp

Andreas Gripp is the author of 11 books of poetry. His work has appeared in Ascent Aspirations, Carousel, Van Gogh's Ear, The Literary Review of Canada, Canadian Zen Haiku and a number of anthologies and small magazines. His newest release is Anathema: Poems Selected & New (Harmonia Press, 2009). His work has been recognized for its accessibility, cadence, and its topical renderings of the human condition. He lives in London, Ontario, and is a great admirer of Hamilton's vibrant arts and literature community.

Emily Silbert

Emily Silbert is a poet, freelance writer, translator and teacher from Hamilton, Ontario. She took Third Prize in the 2009 gritLIT Poetry Competition for The Infinity Poems, Valentine's Day Opera, and An Offering.

Scared of permanent scarring from her poetry sucking in public, this was only her second submission. Now that she has her big girl underwear on, she is encouraged to continue writing poetry that may see the light of day. Currently on a leave of absence from the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board, she lives in Cali, Colombia, where she teaches English Literature and Art & Ethics at the high school level. Educated at the University of Toronto and the Sorbonne in Literary Studies and French, she has translated literary works for award-winning French author Anne-Sophie Brasme and she won the the Pilot Guide's (producer of the
Lonely Planet television show) Travel Writer of the Month award while exploring and blogging about India, Pakistan, Thailand and Cambodia. She is currently learning how to ask her landlord to fix her broken windows, in Spanish.