Kalamalka Press has announced that Saskatoon writer Leona Theis is this fall’s writer-in-residence at the Mackie Lake House.
The residency runs from now until Oct. 5, and marks the 10th year Kal Press, which operates out of Okanagan College’s Vernon campus, has hosted writers at the historic Mackie house in Coldstream.
Theis is an award-winning author comfortable crushing many genres: short fiction, novels and nonfiction. Her collection of short stories, Sightlines, won two Saskatchewan Book Awards, while her writing has been short-listed for the CBC literary awards four times, and took first place in the nonfiction genre in 2006.
During her stay in Coldstream, Theis expects to write an essay inspired by either the region or the Mackie estate, as she has done previously for the Stegner House residency in southwestern Saskatchewan. She will also be visiting creative writing classes at Okanagan College in both Vernon and Penticton.
“My writer-self is thrilled to witness the living force that generates such award-destroying prose,” said Kevin McPherson, Okanagan College instructor and managing editor of Kalamalka Press.
Theis heard about the residency through her good friend Brenda Schmidt, who composed the book Flight Calls as the Mackie house writer-in-residence in 2011.
Readers can read more about her at LeonaTheis.com and can experience the eyes and brain of a character from her current novel-in-progress online at AlwaysUnderRevision.com.
Word lovers are also invited to meet Theis and hear her read—free and freely—from a selection of her work on Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Mackie Lake House, 7804 Kidston Rd. The reading is part of Culture Days events taking place around the province and country this weekend, starting Friday. Visit www.culturedays.ca for more info.
