Curling legend Jones' memoir coming this fall
One of Canada's most decorated and beloved curlers will tell her life's story in a memoir slated to be released this fall.
Winnipeg-born, Ontario-based Jennifer Jones, who has won two world championships, an Olympic gold medal and many more accolades (and whose face adorns the wall of the St. Vital Curling Club), will release Rock Star: My Life On and Off the Ice, on Aug. 26 via HarperCollins.
The book, co-written with curling writer Bob Weeks, chronicles juggling a law career with throwing rocks, the strains that emerged between teammates and the challenges of balancing her curling schedule and motherhood.
Behind You
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B.C.-born, Winnipeg-based Art Miki has won the $10,000 Canada-Japan Literary Award for his book Gaman — Perseverance: Japanese Canadians' Journey to Justice, published by Talonbooks.
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Released in December 2023, in Gaman the former president of the National Association of Japanese Canadians details the path to reconciliation and resolution taken by Japanese-Canadians around and after the Second World War, when many were interned.
The prize was awarded to Miki by the Canada Council for the Arts.
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Award-winning Ontario author Catherine Hernandez has been named the fall 2025 Jake MacDonald writer-in-residence by the University of Winnipeg.
Hernandez is of Filipino, Spanish, Chinese and Indian descent and the author of four novels for adults, including 2017's Scarboorugh, a Canada Reads finalist, as well as Crosshairs and The Story of Us. Her latest, Behind You, was published in 2024 by HarperCollins.
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Hernandez will be available for manuscript consultations and to answer questions from Sept. 8-Dec. 8. She'll also be participating in a number of other activities while serving in the position, including readings, lectures, Q&As, masterclasses and more.
For more information, see wfp.to/iTF.
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I Hope This Finds You Well
Last week it was noted in this space that Winnipeg Cree author Rosanna Deerchild had received two honorary doctorates in a month. This week it was announced she has won the Indigenous Voices Award for poetry published in English — and the accompanying $5,000 prize.
Deerchild won the prize for her collection She Falls Again, published by Coach House Press.
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In the published prose category, Kanien'kehá:ka author Wayne K. Spear and Dene politician and advocate Georges Erasmus won for Hòt'a! Enough!: Georges Erasmus's Fifty-Year Battle for Indigenous Rights, published by Dundurn Press.
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Every Second Friday
The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney.
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Natalie Sue has won the 2025 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour for her novel I Hope This Finds You Well, published by HarperCollins.
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The Calgary-based author edged out former Winnipegger Greg Kearney's An Evening With Birdy O'Day (published by Arsenal Pulp Press) and Patricia Parsons' We Came From Away (published by Moonlight Press) for the top award, which comes with a $25,000 prize. Each of the runners up receive $5,000.
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.
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CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
10-year-old Ontario girl wins World Ninja League title, a Canadian first
Ella Crichlow-Mainguy at the World Ninja League Championships, right after winning the global title for her division. (Rachel Mainguy) Even though Ella Crichlow-Mainguy had to go through some hoops to make it to the World Ninja Championship, the 10-year-old Ontarian cleared the obstacles to clinch a global division title. The Acton, Ont. athlete says she first got into the sport a couple of years ago when she noticed a group training at the gym. 'I did rock climbing at Aspire Milton, and at the same gym where I did rock climbing, they had Ninja Warrior, and I just loved to watch 'American Ninja Warrior,'' Crichlow-Mainguy tells CTV News Toronto, referring to the televised show. She said once she tried it, she just couldn't stop. For those unfamiliar with this sport, ninja tests athletes through a variety of strength-testing obstacles. There are various stages with each that need to be cleared—either by hitting the buzzer or having a fast pace—before making it to the next round. 'There are canvassing obstacles, where there are like, cliffhangers, which are little ledges that you just have to hold on to with your fingers. There are aerial obstacles, which are latches, which are where you have to throw from one bar to another,' Crichlow-Mainguy explained. Competing Ella Crichlow-Mainguy at the world championships. (Rachel Mainguy) The young athlete adds that there are also obstacles that test for balance and grip strength. For the last two years, Crichlow-Mainguy would train twice a week with her team to go through these various challenges, as well as build up her endurance. When she's not at the gym, Crichlow-Mainguy practices at the makeshift rig at her home. 'Imagine something that looks like monkey bars for adults, and then things are hanging off of it,' Rachel Mainguy, Ella's mother, explained to CTV News. 'There's all these obstacles in our backyard right now.' Making it to the World Ninja League Championship The World Ninja League Championship was held in Greensboro, N.C from June 19 to June 23. To make it there, Mainguy says they had to take a connecting flight to Atlanta, Ga., which was supposed to leave at around 12:15 p.m. that Thursday but when they arrived at the airport, their flight was delayed. 'We missed our connectors, so now we're in Atlanta, it's probably 11 at night, we have no way to get to Greensboro,' Mainguy recalled, noting several other people had missed their connections. 'Now Delta is telling us we have to get in a lineup of 136 people, and they'll get to us by one in the morning.' The first event for Crichlow-Mainguy's division started Friday morning. The mother and daughter explained that they tried searching for rental cars, but none were available. 'Then, luckily, someone at the desk finds a flight that must have just populated for early in the morning and manages to get us on and Ella ends up sleeping on the airport floor on top of paper towels with her teammate,' Mainguy said. They arrived in North Carolina with enough time for Crichlow-Mainguy to change clothes and head to the coliseum to compete. 'It was just an honour' There were two events: the stages, which is where athletes can compete for the title of world champion in their division, and the discipline circuit. The first stage had seven obstacles with a time limit of one minute and 15 seconds, and the second stage had eight obstacles with a time limit of two minutes and 30 seconds, according to the championship rulebook. After each stage, those who did not hit the buzzer or finish with a competitive time would be eliminated from the next round, Mainguy said. 'Around 70 (athletes) got to compete on the final course,' Ella's mom adds, a drop from around the couple hundred that started. There was one particular obstacle in the third stage that Crichlow-Mainguy said was the most challenging part of the whole competition. 'There was this really cool obstacle, it was like a tipping L, and you have to climb to the top on these tiny little ledges with your hands and then it tipped down, and you could fall off if you didn't hold super tight,' she explained. Ella Crichlow-Mainguy Ella Crichlow-Mainguy competing in Stage 3 at the world championship. (Rachel Mainguy) Through the obstacles, Crichlow-Mainguy said her thoughts turned off and all she heard was her coach's voice 'Usually, he tells me to be confident and to commit to everything,' she said. And the 10-year-old then won the championship title among the mature kids female athletes. 'It was just an honour,' she said. 'I could tell how hard (the other athletes) worked for the whole year, so it was just an honour to even be there with them.' Crichlow-Mainguy's coach, Matt Hallak, told CTV News Toronto that not only was she the first ever world champion for their Milton, Ont.-based team, she 'cemented her name as Canada's first ever Mature Kid Female World Champion.' Ella and her coach Ella Crichlow-Mainguy and her coach Matt 'the Bat' Hallak. (Rachel Mainguy) 'Ella and her teammates made Canada proud and she is only just getting started…I can't wait to see what else happens for her in the upcoming season as this year she became the 2025 Canadian ninja League Champion and the 2025 World Ninja League Champion dominating in both our biggest events of the year,' Hallak said in an emailed statement. Next year, Crichlow-Mainguy will move up a division to compete with the preteens—something she's looking forward to as the obstacles become more challenging. 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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
British and Irish Lions dominate Force in the opening game of their Australian tour
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CBC
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Sudburian builds fleet of Star Wars droids as a hobby
Sudbury man makes Star Wars droids as a hobby 5 days ago Duration 1:37 Social Sharing If you're a Star Wars fan in the Sudbury, Ont., area, these might be the droids you're looking for. Since 2019, software engineer Patrick Ryan has embraced the art of building droids, the robot characters from Star Wars. His creations have grown in complexity, and now he brings them to multiple conventions each year, letting fans interact with real-life versions of their favourite fictional characters. "I just love the aesthetic of them," said Ryan. "Kids especially, they just think it's real." Ryan's creations have grown in complexity since his first build in 2019. His first project was an MSE-6 repair droid—sometimes called a 'mouse droid'—which was built on an old remote control car. But his signature piece is a BB-8 droid, a much more complex creation from 2015's The Force Awakens. The main body of the droid is the rough size and shape of a soccer ball, but a floating 'head' piece rests on the top of the robot as the ball rolls freely underneath. "It doesn't look like it should work. It does look like magic," Ryan said. A lifelong passion for electronics Ryan uses 3D printing to create the parts for his droids and hides an array of electronic components inside the robots to enable their various functions, from movement to sounds. He estimates the BB-8 cost more than $1,000 to build, a process which lasted a year and a half. However, he didn't have to develop the blueprints from the ground up. An online community of droid-builders share their plans so others can recreate and upgrade their own droids. Ryan developed an improved circuit board to reduce the mess of wires inside, and also add an MP3 audio player to reproduce the droids' sound effects. He then shared those board designs back to the group so future builders could benefit from his work. Ryan studied electronics in college after growing up tinkering with gadgets of all kinds. He now works as a software developer. Having grown up in the 1980s, Ryan said he has always been exposed to Star Wars, but it was the 2015 sequel trilogy that reignited his passion for the franchise. That's what linked him back to his passion for electronics. Droids more advanced than movie props Ryan's latest creation is known as a B2EMO. He said the build process was similar, since other builder-groups exist with pre-made plans that he could 3D print and program. However, this unit is a relatively new addition to the Star Wars franchise, so few other models exist. An added challenge is that, during the filming, the droids were often not functional at all. Instead, puppeteers manipulated the robots and were edited out of the shot in post-production. "In the case of BB-8, there was never one that was operated, like you see with mine. It's just, it's so complicated," said Ryan. "Anytime it encounters a bump, the head falls off." However, the film team did complete a functional, remote-controlled BB-8 prototype in time for the film's red carpet premiere. As someone with a successful build, many people take notice of Ryan and his BB-8 at fan conventions. The puppeteer who worked on the set of Star Wars met Ryan at Toronto Comicon, and used Ryan's droid for fan photos. Ryan also has a photo with his BB-8 and television personality Adam Savage. Ryan said he knows of two other droid-builders in the Sudbury area, but he suspects more may exist. Although Sudbury's Graphic-Con is often the best way to see Ryan's droids in person, the event was cancelled this summer. The next chance for the public to meet Ryan and his creations will be at Fan Expo in Toronto in August.
