We are pleased to announce a new President and four new Board Members, who were elected to the Board during our first virtual Annual General Meeting.
President - Ashley Martin
It has been Ashley’s honour to serve on the board the past year, getting to know the SWG staff, and becoming more familiar with the guild, its members and programs. Ashley has been part of the policy/governance and audit committees, and as a signing authority has authorized cheques and payments every couple of weeks at the guild office. A goal would be to encourage new members to join the organization and build longevity on the board. A guild is only as strong as its members.
Board Member - Joy Brown
She has been writing poetry and non-fiction since grade 2. Her poetry collection, “Heavy” won third place in John V. Hicks Awards as well as being a finalist in High Plains Book Awards. She is a 73-year-old competitive powerlifter and grip athlete. (just saying…)
Board Member - Dirck de Lint
He has lived in Regina almost his entire life but has only been writing since the age of 14. He works mainly in short fiction, offering horror, SF in both its meanings (although the Science Fiction is pretty soft) and fantasy. His work has appeared in online periodicals Trigger Warning: Short Fiction with Pictures, AE: The Canadian SF Review, Pseudopod Horror Podcast, and Polar Borealis, and in the anthologies Creatures in Canada and Monsters in Spaaaace!
Board Member - Margot Johnson
A graduate of the University of Regina with a BA in English, Margot grew up in a family of writers and has always loved reading and writing. She is the author of two romance novels: Love Takes Flight, published by The Wild Rose Press in 2019 and Love Leads the Way, coming soon. Before she switched her focus to writing, she held senior leadership roles in Marketing, Communications and Human Resources at SaskEnergy. As a volunteer, she has helped newcomers to Canada improve their English skills.
Board Member - Heather Winter
Heather is a high school educator in Lumsden, SK. The valley hills and river are her favourite playground. They also serve as her inspiration for daily writing or musings. For work, Heather is fortunate to do two things that she loves. She is a certified yoga teacher and Chopra certified Primordial Sound Meditation teacher. She owns her own studio in Lumsden – Prairie Soulitude Yoga. She also teaches French, ELA, and Creative Writing at Lumsden High School. Heather’s involvement with inclusion and diversity is a direct result of the creative writing community that she helped develop for youth from across the province, Creating in the Qu’Appelle. Her 10-year involvement with this youth writing retreat is one of her career highlights.
We thank and congratulate all new Board Members and the new President and look forward to working with them.