Welcome once again to Word on the Hills with me Felicity Sidnell Reid and our studio editor Anne Sidnell. This week we’re broadcasting our new Christmas program for 2024. Our guests today are storytellers well known to you, Gwynn Scheltema, Christopher Cameron, Ron Mackay and poet, Katie Hoogendam. Gwynn’s story, set in Zimbabwe, recalls how her mother celebrated Christmas in a tropical setting, while Ron’s story is about a young woman struggling to achieve her ambitions in Tenerife. Chris has once again written a new story for this show and Katie will read one of her collection of poems, which she has just released as a chapbook to celebrate the Winter Solstice.
Christopher Cameron
Christopher Cameron and John Unruh
This episode is an encore presentation of our discussion with Chris Cameron and John Unruh about podcasting.
Chris enjoyed a successful career as a professional opera singer, retiring in 2009 and then began a new career as a 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 September 2022. Now Christopher brings his respect for the beauty and power of the written word to his editing and feature-writing portfolio at Watershed magazine.
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 with his wife and son in 2021. In the past year John has become a highly valued source of answers to technical questions. This year John has published two short stories in Hill Spirits V, Blue Denim Press, and a poem in 101 Portraits, Wet Ink Books. In 2021 he published The Mime and the Girl in the November Issue of The Green Shoe Sanctuary In 2004 his story Angelic won a contest and was published in On Spec Magazine. He has also written several novels which are in various stages of completion.
Chris Cameron and John Unruh
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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Chris Cameron and John Unruh
Please join us to hear Christopher Cameron and John Unruh tell us about their adventures in podcasting. Christopher is presently engaged in making podcasts of his latest book. Thorneside Stories; A Mix of Sun and Cloud and John has completed his series of podcasts of his novel The Ziggurat. They tell us about how they found the platforms they publish on, about the programmes they use to record their readings, the challenges they faced in making the recording and why they love doing it.
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