(photo of Ivan Coyote by Laura Sawchuk)
WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg’s Department of English is proud to announce that Ivan Coyote will be the Carol Shields Writer-in-Residence for 2011.
As Writer-in-Residence, Coyote will have an office in the English Department at UWinnipeg and will meet with writing students and members of the public in private consultations from January to April, 2011. She will read from her work on Thursday, January 27 at 7:30 pm, Convocation Hall. She will also deliver the Carol Shields Distinguished Lecture on Wednesday, March 16 at 7:30 pm, Convocation Hall. Both events are free and open to the public.
Award-winning Author
Coyote is an award-winning author of six collections of short stories, one novel, three CDs and four short films. Her latest book is the short story collection Missed Her. A superb story-teller and performer, Coyote works in innovative ways with musicians and other artists to bring her stories alive to audiences. Her readings draw crowds at spoken-word, poetry and music festivals across North America and in Europe.
Gifted Teacher
She is also a gifted teacher of creative writing who has mentored writers at Capilano College, Carleton University, and the Vancouver Public Library. She has designed cross-generational workshops for families and memoir writing classes for seniors. She believes in the transformative power of story-telling and promotes oral history as a way of learning where we come from and how to shape our futures. You can see and hear her work at www.ivanecoyote.com.
Coyote is the sixth Writer-in-Residence. Past writers in this program include Margaret Sweatman, Sandra Birdsell, John Weier, Maria Campbell and David Bergen.
Cultivating Emerging Writers
Carol Shields was known for cultivating emerging writers, mentoring students and members of the writing community and the Carol Shields Writer-in-Residence Program continues this legacy, which was established in 2005. Coyote’s residency has been made possible thanks to the generosity of Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art, UWinnipeg’s Institute for Women and Gender Studies, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Carol Shields family.
