The Whistler Writers Festival (WWF) is back again from Oct. 12 to 16 with a diverse lineup of speakers, from Corner Gas star and national treasure Brent Butt to beloved local improv troupe Laugh Out LIVE. It is the event’s second year back since COVID-19, and there are a few new wrinkles in store.
For instance, the headliner on Oct. 14 features Butt reading from his debut thriller novel, Huge, whilst sharing the stage with Laugh Out LIVE frontpeople Ira Pettle, Rebecca Mason and Dave Francis. This is a divergence from past iterations of the festival, which would normally pair a high-profile author like Butt with an equally prolific interviewer.
This time, Saturday night at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler will be more performative.
“I’m in touch with many festivals of different stripes: music festivals, children’s art festivals, and it’s been a struggle to come back from COVID,” says Whistler Writing Society (WWS) director Rebecca Wood Barrett. “So I think part of what we want to do is really invite people to have fun and have a laugh.”
The WWF has done its part to develop homegrown talent over the years. That’s why Barrett enthusiastically agreed when Pettle pitched an idea that would become the Writer’s Block Party: an improv and stand-up comedy event that pokes fun at many literary tropes familiar to authors, readers, and book club aficionados. The show takes place on Sunday and Monday night to conclude the festival.
“Part of what we try to do as a festival is really nurture talent that grows within the Sea to Sky,” Barrett says. “We have all kinds of opportunities for people to get their foot in the door. If you get some traction, then ideally at some point you’re going to get published, or you’re going to be on stage with someone like Brent Butt.
“That’s the whole ecosystem that our writing society tries to create for locals. It’s really special when someone who’s been super green and super nervous [makes it] to a professional level and will sell out the shows. It’s a dream come true.”
From wildfires to jazz bands
When asked if she was especially excited for any specific part of the imminent festival, Barrett remarked that it was like picking her favourite child.
The first of several noteworthy evening events will be an Oct. 12 storytelling showcase helmed by two First Nations artists: Yvonne Wallace of Lil’wat Nation and Squamish Nation’s Tsawaysia Spukwus. Together at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, they will lead other locals in sharing the flavourful and culturally eclectic tradition of oral storytelling.
John Vaillant stops by the Fairmont the following night to discuss his book Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast, which contextualizes the disastrous 2016 Fort McMurray blaze within the interplay between climate change and humanity’s relationship with fire itself. In the process, Vaillant and longtime WWF moderator Leslie Anthony will explore a topic that Whistlerites—like all Canadians—have more reason than ever to care about.
Barrett herself is working on a kids’ fiction book about wildfire, and the issue is on her mind in a way it wasn’t 15 years ago. At times, the sound of thunder or the sight of lightning can trigger anxiety for her.
“I think [we’ve all seen] the video of the fire tornado on Gun Lake,” Barrett said. “John will be able to connect some of these events that are happening, that are all so new, with how we got here in terms of the oil and gas industry and our use of that resource as a society. In our neighborhood, we’ve been doing FireSmart activities now for about five to seven years, but it just seems like such a small thing in the face of what he calls the beast of a fire that is not going to stop and cannot be stopped.”
Also returning is the Literary Cabaret on Oct. 13, a unique mix of live music and literary performance. The West Coast Front jazz band will provide a soundtrack as nine authors—Patrick deWitt, Justene Dion-Glowa, Michael Janyk, Jen Sookfong Lee, Jennifer Manuel, Nick Marino, Rabbi Paul Plotkin, Bronwyn Preece and this year’s Writer in Residence Cody Caetano—read from their latest works. The Cabaret is improvisational, with authors having only one rehearsal to prepare their delivery.
Those who have seen the Netflix film Fantastic Fungi may want to show up for Michael J. Hathaway’s Saturday morning session. Hours before Butt’s anticipated event, Hathaway will dive deep into how matsutake mushrooms and other fungi help make our planet tick.
A bizarre new world
A few short years ago, the idea of human writers being supplanted by artificial intelligence would have been unthinkable. ChatGPT has been changing the game since it was released last November, leaving content creators to ponder or dread the implications of such technology. After all, Marvel Studios has already used A.I. to generate opening credits for its Secret Invasion miniseries, presumably taking jobs away from human animators.
Sci-fi classics like The Matrix and The Terminator depict haunting, worst-case scenarios about the endpoint of machine dominance, and while ChatGPT is (hopefully) not Skynet, questions regarding the ethical usage of artificial intelligence must be posed. Mona Awad and Paul Tremblay are two of the first authors to do so, suing the parent company of ChatGPT for copyright infringement: specifically for using their books to train the A.I. without consent or compensation.
On Oct. 15, Awad will share with WWF guests the impact digital trends and technologies have had on her career. In many ways, it’s a topic just as relevant as the wildfires that have plagued North America all summer.
“I feel so green in that area,” Barrett admits. “I’ve dabbled a little bit in ChatGPT. I’m a writer in the commercial market and I’m working with some of my clients, and we’re all sort of scratching our heads going: ‘hey, is this affecting our work? Are we getting less work? What’s going to happen here?’
“I’m nervous. I’m also a creative writer. I have intellectual properties that are out there, and I’m really worried about that as well. Is A.I. going to impact my ability to get my work out and be paid fairly for it? Mona is on the frontlines of that fight.”
Whether you’re a stand-up comedy fan looking for a laugh or a high-minded thinker interested in deep questions, the WWF has something for you. Barrett hopes that, under her guidance and buoyed by all kinds of creative talent, the perennial festival will continue to make literature accessible for all.
“The literary arts should not be intimidating, and everyone is welcome to come,” she says.
Tickets and more information can be found at whistlerwritersfest.com.
