In this week’s encore presentation from July 2014, we talk to Erika Rummel. Erika  is the author/editor of many non-fiction, historical works, and an established novelist. In 2020 one of her historical novels, THE INQUISITOR’S NIECE, a story from the time of the Spanish Inquisition, received the award for “best historical novel” from the Colorado Publishers’ Association. In 2021 three books on which she worked during 2018/19 came home “to roost” all at the same time: the first, a translation from the German of a biography of the philosopher and humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam; the second a non-fiction book about the man who was Austria’s Chancellor when the Nazis occupied the country in 1938 and who was imprisoned until he was liberated by the Allies in 1945. The book is about the strategies he and other prisoners used for their emotional and intellectual survival. The third book is a new historical novel, THE ROAD TO GESUALDO, set in 16th century Italy. Other books include A NOBEL AFFAIR, an edited collection of correspondence between Alfred Nobel and his mistress, Sophie Hess, THREE WOMEN AND ALFRED NOBEL, and THE PAINTING ON AUERPERG’S WALL.

For our encore summer presentation this week we welcome Richard Pope. Richard was born in Toronto and lived and birded there until 2006. He is a retired professor of Russian literature and culture. Richard is a long-standing member of the Toronto Ornithological Club, The Ontario Field Ornithologists, and the Willow Beach Field Naturalists. He is the author of a number of books about birds and their relationship to humans. He and his wife, Felicity, live and bird in Cobourg, Ontario.

Join us for an encore presentation of interviews with Sher Leetooze we made in November 2014. Sher wanted to write all through school, and to that end submitted material to the annual High School Year Book. In 1994 she published her first local history book and it was an instant success. Sher went on to publish the history of all the other townships in the former county where she lives. From this sprang other books, WW1 Nursing Sisters, Clarington’s Home Children, and a History of the Churches of Old Durham. In between these she wrote a trilogy following the people known as Bible Christians from England to their new homes in Canada. Sher then went on to compile genealogy source books, gardening books, wild plant books and a couple of cook books. And if that isn’t enough, she’s also written a book of short stories, a novella, The Queen’s Pawn and a novel called Finding Sean McRory.

This week’s summer encore interview is from November 2014 with Melody Crowe. Elder Melody Crowe is an Ojibway woman from the Alderville First Nation, where she has lived all her life. Melody is an Eagle Feather Carrier and for more than 25 years she has taught the Ojibway language and culture to children, youth, adults and elders. She is the recipient of many awards including the Honouring our People Award Sept 2015 from the Ogemawahj Tribal Council and a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in the Preservation of Language and Culture from the Union of Ontario Indians in 2007. Melody holds an Honours BA in Indigenous Studies from Trent University and, as a student, was the recipient of both the Joyce Moonias Award and The K. E. Kidd Awards from the University. She has worked as the First Nation Liaison for the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board since 2001.

Joel Varty is CTO of Agility CMS, where he’s spent over 21 years working as a builder of content management platforms, now at the intersection of AI and content infrastructure. Joel is a frequent speaker, blog writer and video content writer. Joel holds a BA in English from the University of Guelph and regularly writes on his long commute to Toronto. Outside of work, he has coached high school football, directed musical theatre, and spent considerable time on stage as an actor and singer. He lives in Port Hope, Ontario with his two kids.

A former newspaper reporter and editor, Janet Richards lives and writes in Belleville. A word lover, art dabbler and stand up comic, Janet has two published poetry collections. In this encore program from the summer of 2014, Janet tells us about her life as a journalist and editor for a small-town newspaper, as well as her debut poetry collection, Glass Skin (Hidden Brook Press) a collection about life in Quinte, documenting the extrordinary in the ordinary.

Mark Richardson is a journalist and author. Based in Cobourg, Mark is the former automotive editor of the Toronto Star and now contributes regularly to Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, among other publications. His books include Zen and Now, Bird on a Wire, The Drive Across Canada, and Running on Empty. This encore program from the summer of 2014 is a conversation about The Drive Across Canada – Mark’s experience driving Canada’s longest road and travel with the adventurous pioneers who helped make it a reality.

Peggy Dymond Leavey made her first programme with Word on the Hills in June 2014. She worked for many years as a librarian in the public library system in Prince Edward County, but once she retired, she had more time for her writing. She is an award-winning and prolific author of middle grade stories and wrote three biographies of important Canadian women, Mary Pickford , Laura Secord and Molly Brant, all for Dundurn Press.

Word on the Hills interviewed Bridget in July 2014. She was an active member of The Cobourg Poetry Workshop and involved in its organization. She gave many readings from her work. Her collection “Niagara Falls Trilogy”, displayed her chief poetic themes. Born and raised on the peninsula her poems concentrate on the minutiae of smalltown life, the relationships and conflicts of adolescence and the changing social history of that region.