AnnualReport

CONTENTS

About the SWG 2 President’s Report 3 Executive Director’s Report 5 Treasurer’s Report 7 Auditor’s Report 8 Financial Statements 9 Program Report 24

Grain Report 29 Saskatchewan Writers/ Artists Colony Report 32 Committees, Volunteers 33 Donors 34 Funding Agencies 35

2008 - 2009

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The SWG is a non-profit, membership-driven organization. The SWG believes that the art of writing is important to society

and individuals and works to create an environment where writers and all forms of writing flourish.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jerry Haigh, President, Saskatoon Bob Calder, Past-President, SaskatoonCathy Fenwick, Vice-President, ReginaGloria Boerma, SaskatoonDanica Lorer, MaidstoneScott Miller, EstevanLynda Monahan, Prince AlbertPaula Jane Remlinger, SaskatoonMichael Trussler, ReginaLisa Wilson, Saskatoon

Annual Repor t2008-2009

SWG STAFF

Susan Hogarth, Executive Director

Laura Malhiot, Administrative Assistant

COLONY STAFF

Tracy Hamon, Colonies Coordinator

GRAIN STAFF

Sylvia Legris, EditorMichael Thompson, Business Administrator

OUR MISSION

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President’s rePort

It has been an interesting year. My tenure as SWG President began right at the AGM in Saskatoon, where the staff and volunteers made such a success of the event, both with its smooth running and with the design of the program and the flow of the talks.

Several important things have happened in the last twelve months. Chief among them was the announcement by our executive director, Susan Hogarth, that she would retire at the end of October. Although October takes us in to the next fiscal year, and is therefore technically outside the borders of this report, her decision had important impacts upon Guild activities, chief among them being the search for her replacement.

Another important development has been the drive to raise the profile of the literary arts in Saskatoon. Regina has been the centre of the Saskatchewan Book Awards Gala for several years, and it was high time that Saskatoon developed something of the same ilk. In February members of the SWG met with 18 writers and book people of many stripes representing 11 literary stakeholders to see how to proceed. The group endorsed an advocacy project with the Guild in a leadership role. As I write we are looking closely at a national program called Word On The Street. Alexandra Moorehead– National Executive Director of WOTS has sent us this definition. “Word On The Street is a national celebration of literacy and the written word.” The event takes place in only four sites across Canada on the last Sunday of September and we are targeting to be the fifth in September 2010. Mari-Lou Rowley, with enthusiastic support from Taylor Leedhal, has undertaken the development of a business plan.

On June 3rd we met with the Saskatchewan Arts Board to present our triennial budget request. Susan and her team had prepared a pithy and very much on-the-money presentation. Susan was on hand to field any questions, but our script and the comprehensive report that she had given to the members of the Arts Board seemed to cover most matters.

Our submission was a success and we have funds to keep running for three more years.One effect of the downturn in the economy has been a slight drop in membership from our high of over seven hundred. As in many sectors of our society seniors were hit hard and it is there that the drop has occurred. Even with that unfortunate circumstance our appeal to members for discretionary funds was a success. It is great to realize how strong our support base is among our members.

We do have two major concerns that will affect all writers. One is the impending withdrawal of funding from the arts in general, and specifically the efforts to develop regional media. As I’m sure most of you know by now, CBC’s regional arts programming has been virtually deprived of any life. Serious issues indeed.

A letter has been sent to our members urging them to get in touch with decision makers at CBC to try and reverse this ugly move.

The other major concern is Heritage Canada’s proposal to remove postal support for magazines with circulations of less than five thousand. This probably affects all of the magazines published in Western Canada and the Maritimes, particularly our own Grain magazine. For regions like Ontario and Quebec it may not be an issue because their large populations will not offer such a challenge in reaching that critical figure of five thousand.

The SWG Foundation has geared up to develop targeted programs for the benefit of our writers. The board developed a priority list for such activities and the first three were Youth Online Mentorships, Aboriginal Mentorships and the Judy McCrosky Fund. There were seven in all, and we are working to amalgamate some of them so that donors can have a clear understanding of how the Foundation will function to support writing in our province.

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President’s rePort

On a cheerful note, we were honoured to have the 2009 Moose Jaw Festival of Words dedicated to us in recognition of our fortieth year in existence. For me there was an added bonus. At the formal luncheon Ken Mitchell, Nik Burton and Jean Freeman, all pioneers of our Guild, shared reflections on the formation and early days of the Guild. The plaque that was presented to us by Poet Laureate and Festival of Words board member Robert Currie takes pride of place at the Guild office.

I cannot complete this report without acknowledging the whole-hearted support of both the dedicated staff at the Guild and the incredible board who have made so many things happen in this busy year.

Jerry HaighPresident

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exeCutive direCtor’s rePort

As the Guild embarks on its fifth decade of existence, years of work by board, members and staff have resulted in a vibrant and flexible Guild that is moving ahead to new endeavours with confidence and vigour. With renewed financial and administrative systems in place, 2008-2009 saw the Guild setting a new course for itself as it enters a new decade.

After initiating new and exciting programs for rural members and residents over the past four years, the Guild is actively seeking to extend its services into other identified underserved communities.

In 2008-2009, the Guild piloted an Aboriginal mentorship program, with some parallels to the regular mentorship, to assess ways of serving a community with unfamiliar challenges and demands. The Guild consulted widely before implementing the program, and ultimately paired a Saskatchewan apprentice with a nationally known Aboriginal author. The Aboriginal apprentice joined those from the usual program, adding extra depth to the spring reading.

SaskCulture’s Aboriginal Arts and Culture Leadership Program funded a grant to place Mark Dieter as Playwright-in-Residence in La Ronge to serve communities throughout Northern Saskatchewan. With the help of classes of primary students Mark developed a series of four short stories that are now being turned into a graphic novel entitled “The Hero in Us All” with a further grant from SaskCulture. It is hoped that this book will be used as an educational resource to inspire and empower Aboriginal children about the magic of creative writing.

The Guild is also poised to reactivate activities in Saskatoon. For some time there has been a feeling among Saskatoon members that the literary arts deserved a higher profile in their community. With the support of the Saskatchewan Arts Board, the Guild brought together the literary stakeholders in that community. The result has been a renewed emphasis on programming; a part-time Program

Coordinator is now in place and plans are coming together to initiate Word on the Street in September, 2010. This renewed level of activity has been exhilarating for all involved.

Busy as we are, the Guild continues to pay attention to the nuts and bolts. One of the most visible activities this year has been the renewal of our website. Funded through a SaskCulture Capacity Building Grant the website was reworked to incorporate our new graphic identity in our online materials. This is the final step to fully incorporate our graphic image in all materials, including this annual report. At the same time we revamped the searchable database and added an on-line pay capacity to serve our clients and members better.

In the midst of all this activity, Saskatchewan writers continued to go about their everyday business of arranging individual words into their proper order. Writers continue to launch new dreams of worlds previously unimagined for public consideration and acclaim. The Guild knows that this activity is our real reason for being.

This year saw some significant changes in staffing. Sharon Johnson joined the Guild as our new Financial Officer. Griffin Award-winning poet Sylvia Legris took the reins as Editor of Grain Magazine, ably assisted by Business Administrator Michael Thompson. Pam Bustin is the new Program Co-ordinator in Saskatoon.

In this, my final report as Executive Director, I want to thank the Guild board, staff and membership for their support and guidance over the years of my tenure. Moreover you keep the Guild one of the most envied writers’ organizations in Canada.

Thanks also to the wonderful volunteers who work so hard as board and committee members to keep the Guild artistically active and relevant. Their support, wisdom and camaraderie contribute immeasurably to the success of our organization.

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exeCutive direCtor’s rePort

I want also to recognize the assistance of our many funding agencies. Their support provides assurance of a high regard for the talents and work of Saskatchewan writers. They have earned our deepest thanks.

Finally, my very special thanks go to the staff who, with unwavering professionalism and good humour, daily produce small miracles in delivering Guild programs and services. You always made me look good, and I appreciate that.

Susan HogarthExecutive Director

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treasurer’s rePort

Sincere thanks and appreciation to the members of the Audit Committee, and especially to Sharon Johnson and Susan Hogarth whose hard work and diligence ensure that the SWG continues to operate within a fiscally responsible framework.

Paula Jane RemlingerTreasurer

It’s been a year of interesting transitions. Sharon Johnson has been in the position of Financial Officer a year now, and has been doing an excellent job. I took over the Treasurer position in January; Hazel Kellner, the previous Treasurer, had ended her term with the board in October 2008, and a volunteer treasurer was not found at the initial board meeting in December 2008.

The Treasurer’s role is primarily two-fold. Currently, the Treasurer receives and reviews the financial statements assembled by the Financial Officer and serves as the Chair of the Audit Committee. The Treasurer presents the statements at each board meeting and is available to answer questions about the statements. The second key task that the Treasurer performs is to serve as Chair of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee is responsible for reviewing the financial records of the SWG, and reviewing the annual audit statements. This year, the SWG Foundation committee also voted to allow the Audit Committee to oversee the review of financial documents related to the Foundation, which currently undergoes its financial review as part of the SWG audit.

The year-end audit was conducted by Meyers Norris Penny of Regina. They are on their second year of a three-year contract.

The year-end financial statements show a small surplus of $422.00. The statements show a deficit for the operations of both Grain magazine and the Colony committee. Grain’s deficit is in part a function of a change in staff and editor during the fiscal year, and an effort has been made to demonstrate how this deficit can be reduced during the next few years. The Colony deficit is in part the result of a change in staffing (with overlapping coordinators for a short time), and in the switch to a higher cost venue, Emma Lake. The Colony committee has been asked to address these latter issues.

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To the Members of the Saskatchewan Writer’s Guild Inc.:

We have audited the statement of financial position of Saskatchewan Writers Guild Inc. as at July 31, 2009 and the statements of operations, including supporting schedules, restricted trust funds operations, changes in net assets and cash flows for the year then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the organization’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.

Except as explained in the following paragraph, we conducted our audit in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform an audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation.

In common with many charitable organizations, the organization derives revenue, other than from grants and interest, the completeness of which is not susceptible to satisfactory audit verification. Accordingly, our verification of these revenues was limited to the amounts recorded in the records of the organization and we were not able to determine whether any adjustments might be necessary to any revenue other than grants and interest, excess of revenue over expenses for the year, assets and unrestricted net assets at the end of the year.

In our opinion, except for the effect of adjustments, if any, which we might have determined to be necessary had we been able to satisfy ourselves concerning the completeness of revenues referred to in the preceding paragraph, these financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the organization as at July 31, 2009 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles.

auditor’s rePort

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Management’s Responsibility

To the Members of the Saskatchewan Writer’s Guild Inc.:

Management has the responsibility for preparing the accompanying financial statements and ensuring that information in the annual report is consistent with the statements. This responsibility includes selecting appropriate accounting principles and making objective judgments and estimates in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles.

In discharging its responsibility for the integrity and fairness of the financial statements, management designs and maintains the necessary accounting systems and related internal controls to provide reasonable assurance that transactions are authorized assets are safeguarded and proper records are maintained.

The Board of Directors is composed entirely of directors who are neither management nor employees of the Guild. The Audit Committee, which is appointed by the Board, is comprised of directors who review the financial statements in detail and reports to the Board prior to their approval of the financial statements for publication.

External auditors are appointed by the membership to audit the financial statements and report directly to them; their report follows. The external auditors have full and free access to, and meet periodically and separately with, both the management and the Audit Committee to discuss their audit findings.

September 3, 2009

Susan HogarthExecutive Director

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Net Surplus (Deficit)

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Program rePort

AwARds

City of Regina Writing Award

The winner of the 2008–2009 City of Regina Writ-ing Award was Kelley Jo Burke; judges were Di Brandt (Manitoba) and Susan Ouriou (Alberta). This award is sponsored by the City of Regina.

John V. Hicks Long Manuscript Awards

The 2008–2009 John V. Hicks Long Manuscript Awards recognized works of poetry. First place went to Jennifer Still (Saskatoon); second place went to Bruce Rice (Regina); third place went to Shelley Leedahl (Middle Lake). The judges were Marilyn Dumont (Alberta) and Fred Wah (British Columbia).

CoMMunity PRogRAMs

Throughout the year we continued working with other groups and organzations to support com-munity events.

Thanks to generous funding from the City of Re-gina (administered by the Regina Arts Commis-sion), we were able to partner with Campion and Luther Colleges (University of Regina) for “Talking Fresh 7: A Spring Festival of Writers and Writing” which featured presenters Joan Crate, Maggie Siggins, Ed Willett, and Marcus Youssef.

The Guild worked with the Festival of Words to offer a panel discussion (“How I Found My Writer’s Voice”) and a workshop by Tom Wayman in Moose Jaw.

The Guild also helped to publicize arts events by community groups throughout Saskatchewan through freeLance and eBriefs.

Rural Writers Workshops

Thanks to generous funding from the Canada Council, the Guild was able to offer ten readings/free workshops across Saskatchewan. The fol-lowing authors and co-hosts participated: Lynda Monahan and the Bengough Public Library (Ben-gough); Rebecca Grambo and the Davidson Public Library (Davidson); Linda Aksomitis and the Hudson Bay Public Library (Hudson Bay); Lynda Monahan and the Kindersley Public Library (Kindersley); Brenda Baker and the Maidstone Public Library (Maidstone); Judith Silverthorne and the Manor Public Library (Manor); Judith Silverthorne and the Muscowpetung First Nation (Muscowpetung Reserve); J. Jill Robinson and the Tisdale Writers Group (Tisdale); Donna Caruso, the Parkland Writers Alliance, and the Yorkton Public Library (Yorkton).

FAll ConFeRenCe

The Fall Conference/AGM took place on Octo-ber 17, 18, and 19, 2008 at the Park Town Hotel in Saskatoon The theme this year was “For the Love of Words.” The AGM took place on Sunday morning; the Hot Issues session was held on Sat-urday morning. The rest of the time was devoted to professional development and time for writers to meet each other and socialize.

The professional development sessions included a panel on writing and global crisis (Doug Cuthand and Trevor Herriot); a session on romance writing (Mary Balogh); a session on writing about sex (Jean Hillabold); a panel on loving the SWG (with Paula Jane Remlinger and Judy McCrosky); a Writers Exchange led by Judy McCrosky (where members of writers groups discussed matters of interest to them); a panel on how authors can promote their writing (Tony Bidulka and Deborah Rush of Coteau Books); a panel on loving language (Susan Ouriou and Henry Woolf); a panel on writ-ing about love in poetry (Kathrine Lawrence and Glen Sorestad); and readings (Susan Ouriou and Henry Woolf).

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Program rePort

The Caroline Heath Memorial Lecture was delivered by Warren Cariou.

The Hyland Award for Volunteer Leadership was awarded to James Romanow.

The recipients of the Short Manuscript Awards were honoured at a lunch where the first place winners read from their manuscripts. The readers were Lisa Wilson (fiction); Lynn Cecil (children’s/young adult) whose piece was read by Alison Lohans; Rodney Dikenson (literary non-fiction); and Melanie Schnell (poetry).

The recipients of the John V. Hicks Manuscript Awards were honoured at a dinner. Jennifer Still read from her manuscript; Bruce Rice recited a piece from his manuscript; and Taylor Leedahl read from Shelley Leedahl’s manuscript.

Poet lAuReAte

The Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild administers the Poet Laureate program. Robert Currie (Moose Jaw) finished his first term as Poet Laureate on December 31, 2008 and began his second term as Poet Laureate on January 1, 2009.

The Poet Laureate celebrated National Poetry Month (April) by compiling a series of quota-tions on poetry that was e-mailed to members each working day in April. He also took part in a reading at Government House where the other readers were Gerald Hill and Barbara Klar. There was a special appearance by the Lieutenant-Governor, His Honour the Honourable Dr. Gordon L. Barnhart.

The Poet Laureate program is supported by the Saskatchewan Arts Board, Saskatchewan Lotter-ies Trust Fund, and SaskCulture. It is under the patronage of the Lieutenant-Governor.

ReAdings

In 2008–2009 the Guild offered readings by Linda Aksomitis, Brenda Baker, Belinda Betker, Isaac Bond, Cecile Boukhatmi, Rita Bouvier, Di Brandt, Leanna Brodie, Kelley Jo Burke, Donna Caruso, Joan Crate, Marilyn Dumont, Julianna Dunn, Amy Jo Ehman, James Gerein, Rebecca Grambo, Lou-ise Halfe, Gerald Hill, Greg Hollingshead, Maureen Hunter, Cheryl Jack, Don Kerr, Barbara Klar, Daniel Macdonald, Daniel MacIvor, Lynda Monahan, Ian Nelson, Susan Ouriou, Lia Pas, Elizabeth Phil-lips, J. Jill Robinson, James Romanow, Lorelie Sarauer, Gregory Scofield, Maggie Siggins, Judith Silverthorne, Carle Steel, Drew Hayden Taylor, Vern Thiessen, Guillermo Verdecchia, Richard Wagamese, Ed Willett, Henry Woolf, Peggy Wor-rell, and Marcus Youssef.

Our co-hosts in these readings were the Bengough Public Library, the Davidson Public Library, the Hudson Bay Public Library, the Kindersley Public Library, the Maidstone Public Library, the Manor Public Library, the Muscowpetung First Nation, the Tisdale Writers Group, the Parkland Writers Alliance and the Yorkton Public Library, the First Nations University of Canada, St. Peter’s College in Muenster, Weyburn Public Library in Weyburn, the University of Regina Theatre Department; Campion College at the University of Regina; Lu-ther College at the University of Regina; and the University of Saskatchewan English Department.

These readings were made possible with the help of the following funders: the Canada Council for the Arts, the City of Regina, the League of Ca-nadian Poets, the Playwrights Union of Canada, Saskatchewan Lotteries Trust Fund, SaskCulture, and the Saskatchewan Arts Board.

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Program rePort

PRoFessionAl develoPMent

Aboriginal Mentorship Program

The SWG offered a pilot Aboriginal Mentorship program in 2008–2009 in which one Aboriginal Saskatchewan writer 19 or older was paired with an established writer from anywhere in Canada. The first participants in this program were Sas-katoon apprentice Julianna Dunn; her mentor was Richard Wagamese (Kamloops, B.C.). This program ran consecutively with the Canada Council-sponsored mentorship program and the pair took part in the final wrap-up day meeting and reading that is a part of the Canada Council-sponsored program.

Manuscript Evaluation Service

The Manuscript Evaluation Service continues to be a popular program; 37 manuscripts in all genres were evaluated. This program is funded by the Saskatchewan Arts Board and supplement-ed by fees from the authors of the manuscripts.

Mentorship

Thanks to the generous funding from the Canada Council, the Guild was once again able to offer the Mentorship Program this year. There were four apprentice/mentor pairings for the four- month program: Belinda Betker/Barbara Klar; Lorelie Sarauer/Ven Begamudré; Carle Steele/ J. Jill Robinson; Peggy Worrell/Connie Gault.

At the end of the program the apprentices gave a public reading of their work.

Workshops

The Guild offered two half-day workshops provid-ing information about the Google settlement, one in Regina (offered by Tracy Hamon) and one in Saskatoon (offered by James Romanow). We also partnered with SMPIA to offer a well-attended full-day workshop on writing fact-based productions.

Writers Groups

The member writers groups continued to be an important method for members to gain access to ongoing professional development. The SWG provided funding to thirteen writers groups for this purpose.

eduCAtionAl PRogRAMMing

Aboriginal Arts and Culture Leadership Program

Working with a grant received from SaskCulture and partnering with the Pahkisimon Nuy?áh Library System, the SWG contracted playwright, Mark Di-eter as the “Cultural Leader” to act as a role model visiting communities in Northern Saskatchewan, where he conducted themed storytelling work-shops with young people.

Tools were provided to students so they could make their own creative choices. The students were able to witness how to create from a writer’s point of view, to learn what the writer learned from his mentors and about the industry and the world of writing. They were shown that there are ways to overcome fear, and methods to creating a great and original piece of work.

The workshop tour exceeded the expectations of the Cultural Leader, the teachers, and the students. Mark Dieter reported that, “The Aboriginal Arts and Culture Leadership program is a worthwhile endea-vour for any artist willing to take the challenge. It allows artists of varying ability and craft to go into remote communities and provide opportunities to a wide range of youth, many who struggle with is-sues of self esteem.”

From this workshop tour, a collection of four short story narratives has been developed under the title “The Hero in Us All”.

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Program rePort

These stories were inspired by students from two schools: St. Louis School in Patuanak, and St. Pascal School in Green Lake. The stories are: Super Fly Girl from Patuanak; Kevin Eleven (Patuanak); The Loneliest Bear in Green Lake; and The Deer Who Thought He Was a Boy (Green Lake).

The SWG has subsequently applied for an AACL grant to expand the program with a second phase in which a graphic novel will be produced based on these stories. It is our hope that this book can be used as an education resource to inspire and empower young people about the magic of cre-ative writing. The target groups for this book will be elementary schools, early learning develop-ment centres, and community libraries throughout the province.

Readings and School Visits

The program enjoyed continued success as we were able to approve 201 (84%) of requested readings. 59 writers read at 112 locations across the province. As in past years, the majority of the readings were in schools while many took place in libraries and other public venues. Almost $39,000 in fees were paid to the participating SWG writers and over $20,000 was paid in travel expenses.

We were pleased to be able to sponsor SWG participation in the Creating in the Qu’Appelle Student and Teacher Writing Retreat, the CANS-CAIP Prairie Horizons Conference, and the Bruno Cherry Festival. We also provided speakers at the Saskatchewan Reading Council Conference in Regina, and sponsored readings at the First Na-tions University, the Saskatchewan Book Awards Shortlist events, tours with the Prince Albert Grand Council, the South East Regional Library System, and the South East Saskatchewan Read-ing Council. A writing workshop was sponsored with the North Central Family Centre in Regina in conjunction with the visit of the world-renowned Freedom Writers.

We were again able to continue our sponsorship of a tour of ten Northern communities with the North-ern Readings Program through the Saskatchewan Reading Council.

Visiting Writer Program - Regina

SWG member Judith Silverthorne was the Visit-ing Writer at Walker Elementary School for three weeks in January. The program included writing workshops, teaching creative writing and working with students on an individual basis. The residency was funded by a grant from the City of Regina.

PubliCAtions

windScript

High school students from across the province sent in their best poems, fiction and creative non-fiction in hopes of being published in Volume 25, the 2008 edition of windScript. Edward Willett was the editor.

This edition’s award winners were Kaila Garchinski for the Jerrett Enns Award for Prose, Kayla Kozan for the Jerrett Enns Award for Poetry, and Shirla White for the Currie-Hyland Prize.

The Jerrett Enns Awards are awards of excellence named in honour of Victor Jerrett Enns, Executive Director of the SWG from 1982 to 1988. It was Victor who first presented the idea of windScript to the Board of the Guild in 1983. His enthusiasm and determination kept the magazine alive in its first two years until permanent funding could be found.

The Currie-Hyland Prize was established as a tribute to Robert Currie and Gary Hyland in recognition of their literary excellence, commitment and generosity to students and fellow writers. The prize is awarded for excellence in poetry to a high school writer living outside Regina or Saskatoon.

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Program rePort

windScript Volume 25 was made available on-line and launched in February 2009 in Regina in conjunction with the Annual Poetry Face-offs at the CBC Galleria, where the award winners read from their work.

spring Volume VI

spring magazine showcases work from new writ-ers who have not published more that one book. All contributors are Saskatchewan residents or members of the SWG. spring is provided free to all members. The deadline for submissions to Volume VI was January 31, 2009. The magazine will be published and launched in October 2009.

freeLance

freeLance, the SWG’s member magazine, is pub-lished eight times per year and includes articles on the craft of writing and coverage of conven-tions, conferences, readings, book launches, and any other events of interest to Saskatchewan writers. freeLance also contains information on opportunities for writers such as workshops, mar-kets, retreats, conferences and other avenues for professional development.

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grain rePort

Synopsis of the MagazineGrain Magazine, a literary quarterly, pub-lishes engaging, eclectic, and challenging writing and art by Canadian and international writers and artists. Grain has earned national and international recognition for its distinctive content and design. Grain publishes work by emerging, mid-career, and senior writers; the magazine has no bias in terms of form, style, genre, or region, and looks for work that is diverse, idiosyncratic, intelligent, even idea- or concept-driven, and, most importantly, surprising.

Transition & TransformationGrain Magazine is in an exciting time. Since Fall 2008 Grain has been making significant changes, both administratively and artisti-cally. Sylvia Legris has been the editor of Grain since October 2008; Michael Thomp-son has been Grain’s Business Administrator since November 2008. Administratively, our goal has been to streamline office proce-dures, to reorganize the office so as to make the relationship between every aspect that comprises the full running of the magazine comprehensible and transparent. Editorially, our goal is to heighten Grain’s profile and to expand its reach both artistically and in terms of audience and critical reception.

ProductionAs of our Summer 2009 issue (vol. 36.4), Grain is being printed and distributed by Fri-esens Printers in Manitoba. Friesens is certi-fied by the Forest Stewardship Council, an international body that promotes and moni-tors sound environmental practices on the part of printing and related industries; their clients likewise have the option of receiving FSC certification.

Grain, as of vol. 36.4, now carries the FSC logo on its back cover and, inside the maga-zine, carries an Environmental Benefits

Statement. Grain is now printed, inside pages and cover alike, on 100% post-consumer, chlorine-free paper, and uses only vegetable-based ink.

DesignBetsy Rosenwald, an accomplished, widely praised visual artist and designer, has taken on the designing of Grain beginning with vol. 36.4. Betsy brings her extensive experience of designing art exhibition catalogues to the de-signing of Grain; working in consultation with the editor, Betsy makes each issue of Grain unique, elegant, and enticing. Betsy’s work with Grain has already garnered enthusiastic admiration. Our aim is that Grain will, with our new designer, eventually be in the running for some design awards.

Editorial Under the current editor, Grain is branching out from its previous focus on publishing pre-dominantly poetry and fiction. The magazine now publishes a wider, more eclectic range of work that runs the gamut from serious to playful to intellectual, and that includes translations, interviews, creative non-fiction, as well as more visual content inside the magazine. On its cover, the magazine now features images of original art by practicing artists working in a range of media: e.g., film, multimedia, mixed media, sculpture, drawing, painting. The editor strives to make each is-sue of Grain cohesive, paying attention to how individual pieces are working in relation to one another, to how visual images are illuminating text and text informing images. Terry Jordan has been Fiction Editor since November 2008; Mari-Lou Rowley served as Poetry Editor from November 2008 to April 30 2009. The Poetry Editor post has been discontinued effective May 1 2009; the money from this position will be used in part to defray increased production and mailing costs and/or towards engaging periodic guest editors or consultants.

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grain rePort

Procedural/Administrative In December 2008 and January 2009, we reorganized the Grain database system. This upgrade represents a significant improve-ment to the day-to-day management of the Grain office and to how we plan and imple-ment everything from marketing initiatives to subscription campaigns to tracking trends. While there is still some fine-tuning to be done to the database, it has already, thanks to Michael Thompson, been transformed from an unwieldy beast to a streamlined creature of beauty!

We have made other administrative improve-ments that allow us to maintain historical financial records in the Grain office for plan-ning and monitoring purposes. Finally, we are starting to compile a procedures manual so that new staff will have a clear map of the administrative system to follow.

FinancialGrain is in solid financial shape. We received a slight increase this year to our Canada Council funding (in the previous year we received a sizeable increase, however the Council historically doesn’t give such increas-es often, let alone in consecutive years). After a three-year lapse, we have been awarded a Department of Canadian Heritage grant that will go specifically to production.

Our efforts in being proactive in getting paid advertisements have meant a marked in-crease in the number of paid ads in Grain. We’ve also had a significant increase in the number of in-kind ads (ad swaps with other magazines) we publish.

Promotion In an attempt to get the biggest bang for our buck, we are being strategic in where and how we are promoting Grain. For the first time in recent memory, we are running not only our contest ads, but also ads promoting the content of each issue. So far we’ve done this entirely as exchanges with other publications (i.e., free). By paying attention to crossovers in readership between a particular magazine and our content in a specific issue, we are potentially targeting new audiences who might be intrigued to seek out Grain. We are sending promotional copies only to recipients who are more liable to promote or endorse Grain. And we’ve been pursuing opportunities to piggy-back with events or presses with which there might be some sort of tie-in with what we’re doing in a given issue.

CirculationAs with every print publication in Canada, retaining and increasing Grain’s circulation is a constant challenge. We are being more diligent than ever in keeping on top of our on-going subscription-renewal campaigns, and in the future will conduct an all-out direct mail campaign to attract new subscribers.

Our contest still generates a significant num-ber of subscriptions every year. In 2009 we re-vamped the contest, making the prize money more attractive and in line with what other magazines offer, reducing the categories to poetry and fiction, and removing the restric-tions on form (i.e., prose poem and postcard story), in order to encourage a wider number of entries. The number of entries we had in 2009 was comparable to the number in recent years; streamlining the contest has reduced the cost to administer it and has freed up valu-able time.

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grain rePort

Accolades For the eighth consecutive year, stories pub-lished in Grain have been selected to appear in the prestigious Journey Prize Anthology. The 21st Journey Prize Anthology, forthcom-ing in October 2009, will include Fran Kim-mel’s “Picturing God’s Ocean” and Lynne Kutsukake’s “Away.”

We are utterly proud of the issues of Grain we have produced and have been thrilled with the enthusiastic responses we’ve been receiving to all the work we’ve done. What are readers saying about Grain? Well, now that you’ve asked…here’s a sampling…

About Grain Luddite, Summer 2009“The summer issue was absolutely fantastic! Congrats across the board on how great it turned out. I’m hearing a lot of positive buzz about Grain amongst the staff of the store as well as customers so keep up the good work!” –Ian Goodwillie, Host of Saskatoon Book Report (CFCR) and Manager of Mc-Nally Robinson

“IT’S WONDERFUL! I love the look and the complexity and the fonts and the design and the red and the pink! It’s finally lost that down-home feel! Great work. You must be very proud. Congratulations. The hard work is showing, big time!” –Susan Andrews Grace

About Melt, Spring 2009“Grain Melt is so gorgeous! Wow! It’s truly stunning. I love the front and back cover, and the pages themselves are so classy. Great font, great paper. I can hardly wait to turn each page slowly and read all the words.” –Fran Kimmel

AcknowledgementsThank you to the following people for their invaluable assistance and support:

Jennifer Still and Sue Stewart: Hiring Com-mittee, Grain Business Administrator, Sue Stewart: for her administrative support during our transitionPam Bustin: our roving office assistantTaylor Leedahl: for assistance with our launch and for ad designFlint Bar: who generously provide a venueDick Groot: for technical and IT assistance Maureen Harris: our proofreader (currently in Tasmania hunting typos)Duncan Campbell: Grain’s designer to whom we bid farewell following Melt7th floor support and camaraderie gang: John Shelling and James Hare at Blackflash; Paula Jane Remlinger and Siobhan Cox at Sage Hill Writing Experience; Rosie who keeps every-thing H1N1-free.And, of course, our immense thank you to the SWG Staff: Susan Hogarth, Sharon Johnson, Amy Nelson-Mile, Beth McLean, and Laura Malhiot.

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saskatChewan writers / artists Colony rePort

This past year the colonies were again one of the most successful programs of the Guild, with nearly all ten weeks at full capacity. The Northern colony at Emma Lake has become popular with younger writers, thereby fostering membership renewal—an important mandate for the Guild. This year we were pleased to announce the first recipient of the Judy McCrosky bursary, which provides one week colony space for a writer who has not yet been published in book form.

The winter colony at St. Peter’s had 30 partici-pants over three weeks. The number of artists also increased with four artists one week working in various spaces throughout the college. The white hermitage was available again and two colonists enjoyed the additional solitude. The food was also much improved over the previous year.

The Emma Lake colony was full, with 23 colo-nists attending over the two-week period. Again, we had strong artist turnout, with three in the first week and four in the second week. Two of the older cabins have recently been renovated to three bedrooms and a work space. To better utilize these larger cabins, we offered optional shared cabin space at a discounted weekly fee (from $300 fee to $250). Two colonists opted for a combined room and were happy with the space. Improved Internet connection allowed writers and artists access from some of the cabins. Excellent food and a relaxed atmosphere provided a pro-ductive and congenial workspace for all.

The summer colony at St. Peter’s also showed an increase of participants over the previous year with 21 colonists filling Scholastica over the five weeks of colony. Although St. Peter’s was under-going renovations to lower Severin Hall and the gym, the colony remained somewhat separate from the distraction. Colonists had wireless inter-net access in their rooms, and were able to avoid distractions. Access to the library at the college provided research/printing access for all colonists.

Ticks were a nuisance, due to the lateness of the season, and cool rainy weather contributed to the demise of the gazebo, but everyone managed without it and a productive colony was had by all.

This year’s facilitated retreat at St. Peter’s had eight participants. Dave Margoshes was offered the writer-in-residence position from a list of eight applicants. While many of the participants were beginning writers, the feedback was positive and several hope to continue their projects with future workshops.

In anticipation of high attendance, we did budget for an increase in expenses this year. However, we did not receive an ELK grant to offset Emma Lake’s higher prices, and potential funding from the Canada Council to subsidize out-of-province colonists was not forthcoming, due to their budget cuts. In addition, some administrative costs for last year were paid in this fiscal year. As a result, the colonies ran a deficit this year, offsetting the surpluses of the two previous years. The colony committee has scheduled a meeting to address the cost-benefit comparisons of colony sites, fees, fundraising, and other issues such as construction and the introduction of student residents in Severin Hall during winter colony months.

I would personally like to thank all committee mem-bers for their ongoing commitment and guidance, and Tracy Hamon for enthusiastic and diligent work as colony coordinator. Also thanks to Susan Hogarth and the SWG board for their hard work and support. Over the past 30 years, the colonies have provided SWG members with much-needed respite for creative work, play and production.

Mari-Lou RowleyChair, on behalf of the Colony Committee

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Committees 2008-2009

2008 Fall Conference CommitteeAnthony BidulkaCarla BraidekCathy Fenwick (Board) Gerald HillJ. Jill RobinsonAmy Nelson-Mile (Staff)

2009 Fall Conference CommitteeAnthony BidulkaDonna CarusoDanica Lorer (Board)Brenda SchmidtMelanie SchnellAmy Nelson-Mile (Staff)

2010 Fall Conference CommitteeDanica Lorer (Board) Judy McCroskyJeanette MontgomeryBrenda SchmidtMelanie SchnellAmy Nelson-Mile (Staff)

2008-2009 writers/Artists Colony CommitteeShelley Banks Carla Braidek Larry Gasper Clint HunkerKatherine LawrenceNancy LowryMari-Lou Rowley (Chair)

Audit CommitteeIlonka HalsbandHazel KellnerPaula Jane Remlinger (Chair)James RomanowMari-Lou Rowley

executive CommitteeGloria BoermaBob CalderCathy FenwickHazel KellnerSusan Hogarth (Ex-officio)

freeLance Advisory CommitteeSharon AdamJo-Anne GraysonKevin KrofchekRod MacIntyre Dave MargoshesDianne YoungBeth McLean (Staff)

Membership task ForceBob CalderDanica LorerLynda Monahan (Chair) Vincent MurphyLisa Wilson

nominations CommitteeBob CalderDanica LorerLynda Monahan

Personnel CommitteeBob CalderCathy FenwickJerry HaighLynda MonahanSusan Hogarth

Policy CommitteeHazel KellnerPaula Jane RemlingerLisa Wilson

windScript editorial CommitteeEdward WilletBeth McLean (Staff)

word on the streetBob CalderJerry HaighLouise HalfeTaylor LeedahlMichael ThompsonRegine HaenselSusan Hogarth (Staff)

volunteers 2008-2009

2008 Fall Conference volunteersSharon AdamGloria BoermaCarla BraidekBob CalderCathy FenwickJerry HaighHazel KellnerDanica LorerRod MacIntyreJudy McCroskyBrownwen McRaeRuth MillerLeeann MinogueLynda MonahanJeanette MontgomeryMarie Powell-MendenhallPaula Jane RemlingerJ. Jill RobinsonJames RomanowMarie Elyse St. George

national Poetry Month ReadingKen Probert (Host)

City of Regina writing Award ReceptionJoanne Skidmore (Host)

Five new voices (Apprentice Reading)Dave Margoshes (Host)

FoundationSusan HogarthRangi JeerkathilHazel KellnerScott MillerJames RomanowGlen Sorestad

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Roach Pierson, RuthMiller, DianneSlade, ArthurWagner Roberts, AlmaYeager, Michele

guild sponsors ($100 – $199)Adam, SharonBidulka, AnthonyBoerma, GloriaBouvier, RitaConacher, MyrtleDurant, MargaretGibson, KarleneGiroux-Sylvestre, ElaineHalsband, IlonkaHillis, DorisKellner, HazelKlassen, KarenKrause, PatKurtenbach, ConstanceMackenzie, JeanMcCaig, JoAnnMoore, JacquelineParley, KayRichards, DavidRomanow, JamesThurm, ShirleyWillow, RoseWilson, Garrett

guild benefactors ($200 – $499)Clarke, HelenCurrie, RobertHaigh, JerryLanghorst, BarbaraLorer, DanicaProbert, KenSarsfield, PeteWarwaruk, Larry

guild Patron (over $500)Balogh, MaryBannatyne-Cugnet, JoCalder, RobertMonahan, Lynda

swg in Memory of verne ClemenceLohans, Alison

swg in Memory of Anne-Marie MerleMerle, Charles

saskatchewan writers/Artists ColonyCharrett, DougGalbraith, WilliamGlaze, DaveKostash, MyrnaMacFarlane, SharonMcCaig, JoAnnMiller, DianneRice, BruceRidley, SandraSarsfield, PeteScott Harris, MaureenSemotuk, LydiaSemotuk, Verna

writers’ Assistance FundDey, MyrnaGuymer, MyrnaMacIntyre, RodMonahan, Lynda

swg FoundationBoerma, GloriaBuhr, NolaCalder, RobertCharret, DougDaunt, FeliciaDickinson, RodneyFriessen, BerniceGlaze, DaveLawrence, KatherineLedding, AndreaMcCrosky, JudyOlesen, JoyceSilvester, RegSorestad, GlenSutherland, Dan

donors 2008—2009guild Contributors(up to $49)Allan, SandraArmstrong, BillBenson, JudithBowen, GailBrewster, ElizabethCrooks, SallyDean, JeanetteDow, JeannetteDown, AudreyElyse St. George, MarieFahlman, JeanGossner, CarolGrayson, Jo-AnneHaensel, RegineHamilton, Sharon Hamon, TracyHerter, SonjaLandman, FranciscusLeech, RobertMcRae, BronwenMinogue, LeeannMitchell, KenMuirhead, Laurie LynnNickel, LoreneRae, AnnieRyan, EddaTesar, EricaWardill, WilliamWilley, AnnaZacharias, Marlace

guild Friends ($50 – $99)Aksomitis, LindaBaker, BrendaBillington, EllenBower, CamCarpenter, DaveCharrett, DougCobbledick, BrianEaston, SusanGantefoer, CathrynLazurko, AnneLees, MargaretMacKenzie, KevinNenson, LaurieRamshaw, BettyRemlinger, Paula Jane

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2008 - 2009

Box 3986Regina, SaskatchewanCanada S4P 3R9Phone: (306) 757-6310Fax: (306) 565-8554E-mail: info@skwriter.comWebsite: www.skwriter.com

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