Deerchild collects two honourary doctorates
As a writer who wears many hats, it's perhaps not surprising that Rosanna Deerchild has been awarded a pair of honorary doctorates in one month.
The Winnipeg Cree author received an honourary doctor of letters from the University of Manitoba on June 4, then on June 12 had the same honour bestowed on her from the University of Winnipeg.
In addition to hosting CBC's Unreserved, Deerchild is an award-winning poet, playwright and author; her most recent book was the 2024 poetry collection She Falls Again, published by Coach House Books. The collection, featuring her Sky Woman character, is shortlisted for the Indigenous Voices Award in published poetry — the winner is being announced today.
Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com
● ● ●
American essayist and novelist Leslie Jamison has won the 2025 Writers' Trust of Canada's $75,000 Weston International Award for her career in writing non-fiction.
Jamison has written one novel (The Gin Closet) as well as five works of non-fiction including 2018's The Recovering and 2019's Make it Scream, Make it Burn. Her most recent book is the 2024 memoir Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story.
Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com
The Weston International Award is a companion prize to the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Non-fiction, which is awarded to a Canadian author for their work of non-fiction. The most recent winner was Martha Baillie, who won the 2024 prize for her memoir There Is No Blue.
Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com
● ● ●
The Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer prizes were also announced earlier this month in literary fiction, non-fiction and romance categories.
The top award in literary fiction went to Scott Alexander Howard for his novel The Other Valley, which also made the long list for this year's CBC Canada Reads and was shortlisted for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.
Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com
On the non-fiction front, Anh Duong was the winner for his memoir Dear Da-Lê: A Father's Memoir of the Vietnam War and the Iranian Revolution.
Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com
The winning book in the romance was Leanne Toshiko Simpson's novel Never Been Better. Each of the winning authors receives $20,000 as well as marketing and communications support to help grow their audiences.
Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com
● ● ●
The short lists for the High Plains International Book Awards have been announced, and feature a handful of books with Manitoba connections.
The awards recognize regional authors whose work reflect life on the 'high plains' — including Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta as well as seven states.
Among those in contention: Carmen L Robertson, Judy Anderson and Katherine Boyer for Bead Talk: Indigenous Knowledge and Aesthetics from the Flatlands (published by University of Manitoba Press) in the art and photography category; Winnipeg's Michael Hutchinson for The Case of the Pilfered Pin: A Mighty Muskrats Mystery #5 in the Indigenous category; Trisia Eddy Woods for A Road Map for Finding Wild Horses, published by Winnipeg's Turnstone Press, in the woman writer category; and Winnipeg's E. McGregor for What Fills Your House Like Smoke in the first book category.
The winners will be announced Oct. 4.
● ● ●
Winnipeg-based journals Prairie Fire and Border Crossings were among those honoured at the 43rd National Magazine Awards, presented in Toronto on June 13.
B.C.'s Shashi Bhat won silver in the fiction category for her story Code Orange, which appeared in the Summer 2024 edition of Priarie Fire, while Ontario's Erin Wilson won a silver in the poetry category for A Walking Prayer, which appeared in the Winter 2023-2024 edition, while. Black Umbrella, a suite of poems by Susan Musgrave which appeared in Border Crossings, merited a honourable mention.
books@freepress.mb.ca
Ben SigurdsonLiterary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press's literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press's editing team before being posted online or published in print. It's part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
15 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Deerchild collects two honourary doctorates
As a writer who wears many hats, it's perhaps not surprising that Rosanna Deerchild has been awarded a pair of honorary doctorates in one month. The Winnipeg Cree author received an honourary doctor of letters from the University of Manitoba on June 4, then on June 12 had the same honour bestowed on her from the University of Winnipeg. In addition to hosting CBC's Unreserved, Deerchild is an award-winning poet, playwright and author; her most recent book was the 2024 poetry collection She Falls Again, published by Coach House Books. The collection, featuring her Sky Woman character, is shortlisted for the Indigenous Voices Award in published poetry — the winner is being announced today. Buy on ● ● ● American essayist and novelist Leslie Jamison has won the 2025 Writers' Trust of Canada's $75,000 Weston International Award for her career in writing non-fiction. Jamison has written one novel (The Gin Closet) as well as five works of non-fiction including 2018's The Recovering and 2019's Make it Scream, Make it Burn. Her most recent book is the 2024 memoir Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story. Buy on The Weston International Award is a companion prize to the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Non-fiction, which is awarded to a Canadian author for their work of non-fiction. The most recent winner was Martha Baillie, who won the 2024 prize for her memoir There Is No Blue. Buy on ● ● ● The Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer prizes were also announced earlier this month in literary fiction, non-fiction and romance categories. The top award in literary fiction went to Scott Alexander Howard for his novel The Other Valley, which also made the long list for this year's CBC Canada Reads and was shortlisted for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Buy on On the non-fiction front, Anh Duong was the winner for his memoir Dear Da-Lê: A Father's Memoir of the Vietnam War and the Iranian Revolution. Buy on The winning book in the romance was Leanne Toshiko Simpson's novel Never Been Better. Each of the winning authors receives $20,000 as well as marketing and communications support to help grow their audiences. Buy on ● ● ● The short lists for the High Plains International Book Awards have been announced, and feature a handful of books with Manitoba connections. The awards recognize regional authors whose work reflect life on the 'high plains' — including Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta as well as seven states. Among those in contention: Carmen L Robertson, Judy Anderson and Katherine Boyer for Bead Talk: Indigenous Knowledge and Aesthetics from the Flatlands (published by University of Manitoba Press) in the art and photography category; Winnipeg's Michael Hutchinson for The Case of the Pilfered Pin: A Mighty Muskrats Mystery #5 in the Indigenous category; Trisia Eddy Woods for A Road Map for Finding Wild Horses, published by Winnipeg's Turnstone Press, in the woman writer category; and Winnipeg's E. McGregor for What Fills Your House Like Smoke in the first book category. The winners will be announced Oct. 4. ● ● ● Winnipeg-based journals Prairie Fire and Border Crossings were among those honoured at the 43rd National Magazine Awards, presented in Toronto on June 13. B.C.'s Shashi Bhat won silver in the fiction category for her story Code Orange, which appeared in the Summer 2024 edition of Priarie Fire, while Ontario's Erin Wilson won a silver in the poetry category for A Walking Prayer, which appeared in the Winter 2023-2024 edition, while. Black Umbrella, a suite of poems by Susan Musgrave which appeared in Border Crossings, merited a honourable mention. books@ Ben SigurdsonLiterary editor, drinks writer Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press's literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben. In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press's editing team before being posted online or published in print. It's part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
16 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Cyprus' lyrical duelists spit fierce rhymes as they battle it out to the licks of a fiddle
LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) — Lyrical duelists in Cyprus spit rhymes in head-to-head contests, keeping alive a tradition known as 'tsiattista' that emerged centuries before the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Konstantinos Christou Grilias and Adamos Peratikos are among a new group of poets in this Mediterranean country who battle it out live on stage to the rhythms of the lute and fiddle. The battles are fierce, but you won't find any Kendrick-Drake style beef. Tsiattista made UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011. The similarities with American hip-hop diss songs and battle rap are many: two duelists using their wits and turns of phrase to boast how superior they are, giving opponents a schooling in an onslaught of lyrical beatdowns. It's complete with assertive gestures and the hands-behind-the-back patience of the poet waiting to pounce. 'Even if you'd been a paramedic, I'd send you to hospital with a heart attack,' Peratikos told one adversary — a line with more snap in the Cypriot Greek dialect, whose syntax is akin to ancient Greek. Grilias dissed his opponent as a lightweight and a laughingstock. The audience of hundreds along a seaside promenade murmured in approval. Tsiattista battles which have been around since at least the end of the 19th century, are undergoing a bit of a revival, thanks to performers like Grilias and Peratikos. 'We urge other kids who like it to come along to safeguard this institution,' said Peratikos, 41. 'The goal isn't about awards, the goal is to keep tradition alive.' The 44-year-old Grilias said he's never really delved into the world of Kendrick Lamar or Jay-Z. 'Honestly, I've never listened to rappers. They told me that they battle in their own language, in their own way,' Grilias said as he prepared for a tsiattista duel at the peak of a festival for the Orthodox Christian Pentecost. 'Rappers don't know where Cyprus is,' he added. The new group of performers, known as tsiattistaes, started to replace the older generation about 15 years ago at the premier competition in Larnaca during the annual Pentecost festival known as Kataklysmos, said ethnomusicologist Nicoletta Demetriou, who is director of the island nation's Music Archive. The new generation includes women, though few participate because of lingering social exclusion, Demetriou said. The current tsiattista format of a two-verse rhyme with a total of 15 syllables was developed in the late 18th to early 19th century, evolving from the introduction of the rhyming verse to the Greek-speaking world in the 15th and 16th centuries, Demetriou said. It draws on a tradition of poets matching wits from the times of Pericles in ancient Greece. The structure and musical accompaniment are simple, so that the rhymes are clear and understandable for both the audience and the adversary. Contests can address a range of themes, but the underlying premise is to determine who's the best at the diss. 'It's usually a fight, meaning 'I'd clobber you, kill you, bury you,' Grilias said. 'But I believe the public likes more a bit of humor, too.' For contestants, it's about who shows up ready, can stay cool and make the fewest mistakes in front of a crowd. 'Truth is, you're stressed, you're under pressure,' Grilias said, and 'the person who can best handle this has the advantage.' Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. One useful strategy is guessing how to get into your opponent's way of thinking, predicting possible responses to your lines, Peratikos said. He dismissed AI technology as incapable of coming up with effective rhymes in the Cypriot Greek dialect. 'There are words that we've heard but we don't even know, so there's no way artificial intelligence does,' Peratikos said. At the end of a long night of battling, Grilias and Peratikos finished fourth and fifth, respectively. A judging panel composed of men and women determined the winners. The two contestants took their places in stride. 'We're all friends, that's what's important,' Grilias said.
Vancouver Sun
a day ago
- Vancouver Sun
Dad shocked by eye-popping $1,000 Disneyland breakfast bill
Disneyland may call itself the 'Happiest Place on Earth,' but one guest was very unhappy when he received the breakfast bill for his family of five. John 'Rock & Roll' Tolkien, who goes by @jrockandrollt on X, took to the social media platform to share a photo of his receipt at Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures — which came up to $937.65. That included his $150 tip, which amounted to just over 20% of the meal cost. ''Princess Breakfast' at Disneyland with my kids,' he captioned the post. 'Almost spit out my coffee.' The post, which has been viewed more than 17 million times, has received thousands of comments from stupefied users. 'Please tell me you have 35 kids,' one person wrote, to which he replied, 'There were only five of us!' The dad admitted 'the breakfast was good,' alongside a photo of a plate holding what appears to be prime rib, jus, shrimp, asparagus and a devilled egg. However, he added: 'Still — nine hundred f***ing American dollars?' 'Princess Breakfast' at Disneyland with my kids. Almost spit out my coffee Commenters bombarded him with questions, from the amount he tipped to whether the experience was worth it overall. Plan your next getaway with Travel Time, featuring travel deals, destinations and gear. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Travel Time will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'It was fun, the food was probably 7/10, service was attentive and enthusiastic, princesses were all trained pro actresses and spent a lot of time with the kids. I enjoyed it,' he said. Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures, which take place at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, is a dining experience where guests get to enjoy a three-course breakfast priced at $142 for both adults and children, and includes 'one-of-a-kind Princess-themed activities,' according to the park's website . The meal begins with three-tier towers of appetizers like lobster rolls, beignets and cornbread. For the main course, the kids can dine on items like waffles and macaroni and cheese, while the grown-up guests can choose items like short ribs, deviled eggs and scrambled eggs. For dessert, cake pops, sorbet and cream puffs are options, the website notes. The dad revealed that before receiving the bill, he 'thought it would be about half' of the amount. 'I think if someone went to Disneyland and insisted on doing all the things they could easily spend $3,000 per day,' he noted. He then joked: 'If I find that goddamn mouse I am going to mug him.'
