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festivals I By S a r a h Ellis 4 Annual North Shore Writers Festival th Writers are usually invisible. Their w o r k lurks a r o u n d t h e back o f m u c h o f w h a t s u r r o u n d s us, political speeches, s o n g lyrics, recipes, car repair m a n u a l s , n e w s broadcasts, T V dialogue, spam, m a g a z i n e articles, advertising a n d t h e s e n t i m e n t s o n g r e e t i n g cards t o say n o t h i n g of If y o u r last conscious t h o u g h t s chemistry involved staring about at an visit the Festival this spring as writers take center stage. Writers c o m e t o their craft f r o m a w i d e variety of backgrounds. university Madeleine as a dance Thien entered major. T w o years later she f o u n d herself in creative w r i t i n g . T h i e n ' s first b o o k , a short story collection with titled e r l e n m e y e r flask in h i g h school, prepare t o revisit t h e subject w i t h n e w eyes in a r e a d i n g by P e n n y LeCouteur, D e a n o f Arts a n d Sciences a n d chemistry instructor at Capilano College. In her book Simple acclaim, Recipes, met critical novels, essays a n d blogs, yet w e s e l d o m think a b o u t these elusive w o r d workers. w i n n i n g t h e 'Asian C a n a d i a n Writer's Workshop and the Emerging 2002 'Ethel Writer" Wilson award Fiction In April a wide-ranging crew o f scribblers will e m e r g e f r o m t h e murky light of their c o m p u t e r screens a n d a p p e a r in local neighbourhood fourth Festival. annual libraries North and during the Napoleon's Buttons L e C o u t e u r explores Prize'. T h e s e a r e stories a b o u t family c o m p l e x i t y , p a i n , love, s t r e n g t h , grief. Like all writers Thien uses, mines, the role o f molecules in historical events. L e C o u t e u r says t h a t t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f researching this fascinating topic was like t a k i n g o n t h e role o f a detective, deep immersion in t h e subject, the the c h a n g e s a n d r e c o m b i n e s material f r o m h e r o w n life, a V a n c o u v e r c h i l d h o o d , Malaysian-Chinese parents, separation, t h e b u r d e n o f history. O n e reviewer Shore Writers who in the Writers readers have e n c o u n t e r e d each other time-honoured virtual w a y via ink have a c h a n c e t o m e e t in real t i m e a n d space. Readers h a v e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o h e a r t h e writer's voice, t o ask questions a b o u t inspiration or working method or r o a d b l o c k s a n d surprises. " T h e c h a p t e r that fascinates me most is t h e one of said, " S h e w r i t e s like a dancer, w i t h a fine sense o f t h e delicate w a y s w e m o v e t o w a r d a n d a w a y f r o m each other." C o m e m e e t this y o u n g w r i t e r at t h e b e g i n n i n g of w h a t promises to be a distinguished career. a b o u t witches and the molecules witchcraft. I h a d n o idea o f the extent o f t h e witch hunts in E u r o p e at t h e t i m e . " T h e n c a m e t h e actual w r i t i n g a n d like most writers tackling their first b o o k she e n c o u n t e r e d s o m e surprises. "I t h o u g h t t h a t w h e n p e o p l e w r o t e , it just sort o f f l o w e d o u t , b u t I w o u l d s p e n d half a n h o u r o n o n e sentence." w h e t h e r t h e y ever p u t A u n t i e Muriel into t h e i r w o r k , t o f i n d o u t a b o u t t h e practicalities o f a writer's life, t o m e e t fellow readers, t o get t h e inside scoop o n t h e stories b e h i n d t h e story, t o o b s e r v e t h e writer's choice o f f o o t w e a r . Plan t o What do rats, opium and intrepid w o m e n travellers f r o m t h e past have in common? The answer is Barbara H o d g s o n . A s t h e a u t h o r o f t h r e e novels 22 M a r c h I A p r i l