Michael Fraser is published in Best Canadian Poetry in English 2013 and 2018. He has won numerous awards, including Freefall Magazine’s 2014 and 2015 poetry contests, the 2016 CBC Poetry Prize, the 2018 Gwendolyn MacEwen Poetry Competition, and the League of Canadian Poets’ 2022 Lesley Strutt Poetry Prize. His latest collection, With My Eyes Wide Open is published by Exile Editions.
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Award-winning author Ruth E. Walker loves the broad landscapes novels provide but occasionally challenges herself to write in the demanding confines of poetry and short fiction. An eclectic writer, she follows inspiration, characters and questions to the page. Her novels are represented by Ali McDonald, 5 Otter Literary and Ruth lives, writes and edits at her home in Oshawa and her riverside cottage in Haliburton County. She is an active volunteer in the arts community, including serving on the Haliburton Arts Council’s Literary Arts Roundtable.
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This week’s episode is a repeat broadcast of our interviews with Chris Cameron and John Unruh about podcasting.
Chris is a musician, freelance writer and editor. His first book, a memoir of his singing years, Dr. Bartolo’s Umbrella and Other Tales from my Surprising Operatic Life (Seraphim Editions), was published in 2017. His book of humorous fiction, Thorneside Stories: A Mix of Sun and Cloud (Iguana Books) was published in 2022. Christopher brings his respect for the beauty and power of words to his editing and feature-writing at Watershed magazine. For three years he was co-host and sound editor for Word on the Hills. He enjoys playing bass and singing with the trio What Fun! He continues to marvel at his luck, doing what he loves in beautiful Northumberland County.
John Unruh is a Northumberland writer concerned with the value of broken things and how communities come together to fix them. He’s also a consulting technical writer and editor. John grew up in Winnipeg and moved to Cobourg in 2001 where he began working as a documentation specialist and editorial advisor. John volunteered to set up and run the ticketing system for the Northumberland Festival of the Arts in 2022 and has become a highly valued source of answers to technical questions. He has published two short stories in Hill Spirits V, Blue Denim Press, and a poem in 101 Portraits, Wet Ink Books in 2022, as well as other stories in previous years. He has also written several novels which are in various stages of completion and has made a podcast series of his novel Ziggurat.
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This week we welcome Catherine Hudson. Catherine’s new book “Get Your Cow out of My Kitchen!” is a stirring collection of short stories that reflect upon the many animals that have impacted the author’s life. Each entry is a beautiful tribute to a special animal friend and highlights just how special the connection between animal and human can be. A lover of animals since she was a child, Catherine fell in love with bull terriers after watching the Disney film “The Incredible Journey”, as a teen. By the time she was in her early forties, Catherine had become one of the top bull terrier breeders in the country and, along with competing with her dogs, she started her own obedience school, “My Bark Avenue Academy,” which she still runs today. Currently, she resides in eastern Ontario, with her dog Ladybug and can be found daily surrounded by her many four-legged students both adults and puppies.
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This week we are rebroadcasting our interviews with Abigail Miller and Katie Kennedy.
Abigail Miller is Archivist at the Northumberland County Archives and Museum. She is responsible for building the strategic vision and overseeing operations at NCAM. Abigail holds a Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology and Folklore, graduating from Memorial University and the Museum Management and Curatorship program at Fleming College.
Katie Kennedy is Curator for NCAM, focused on authentic community collaborations. Katie graduated from University of Ottawa with a BA in Classical Studies and was educated in the university’s Museum of Classical Antiquities. Katie is currently enrolled in the Ontario Museum Association’s Certificate in Museum Studies and is a participant in the OMA Conference Mentorship program.
Abigail and Katie tell us about their work and plans for the new archives and museum, now under construction, which will share a building with a rebuilt Golden Plough Lodge and is due to open in the summer of 2024.
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Word on the Hills Radio Program 