Every year at Writers at Woody Point we invite authors from around the world to spend 6 days in our small Newfoundland outport. They come together in the historic Woody Point Heritage Theatre and read from their works and tell their stories; but the festival is more than that.
It’s a chance for writers, musicians, and audiences to spend time together; to celebrate the arts in warm, intimate spaces; and to become, for a brief moment, a part of the community and the place that Writers at Woody Point calls home.
Now, we’re hitting the road across Newfoundland to visit some of our favourite authors and hear about what makes their place so special.
This is Writers on the Road, hosted by Stephen Brunt.
Writers on the Road is available in both video and podcast formats. Watch the videos on our YouTube channel or subscribe to Writers at Woody Point: Writers on the Road on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Episode 1:
Michael Crummey in Western Bay, NL
Michael Crummey is an acclaimed novelist and poet. His most recent works are the linked-novels The Innocents and The Adversary. Michael read on the first night of the first Writers at Woody Point back in 2004, and has been a regular and a favourite at the festival ever since.
He grew up in Buchans, a mining town in central Newfoundland, and also spent time in Wabush, Labrador. But his family’s roots are in Western Bay, Conception Bay, where he shares a house with his wife, the bird scientist, author and musician Holly Hogan.
Steve joined Michael in the yard of that old, wooden home. We sat outside in the bright sunshine, surrounded by apple trees, and even enjoyed a visit from the neighbour’s free roaming dog.
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Episode 2:
Eva Crocker in Broad Cove, NL
Eva Crocker first joined us at Writers at Woody Point to read from her collection of short stories, Barreling Forward.
Eva is part of a family of incredible Newfoundland writers. Originally from the provincial capitol of St John’s, she splits her time between Newfoundland and Montreal.
Steve met with Eva in her Aunt Wanda’s shed in Broad Cove, a quiet community and a hub for rural LGBTQ+ celebrations.
Wanda’s shed is the stuff of dreams - old signage and curios fill the walls and a ton of mismatched wooden chairs sit waiting for folks to hang out and enjoy some music together in the evenings.
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Episode 3:
Des Walsh in New Bonaventure, NL
Des Walsh is a poet, playwright, screenwriter, musician and actor. In addition to his poetry (which he first published as a teenager), Des is perhaps best known for writing the groundbreaking TV mini-series The Boys of St Vincent, and for his adaptation of Bernice Morgan’s novels Random Passage and Waiting For Time. His music includes songs, fiddle, and the trad powerhouse band Tickle Harbour.
Des has been part of every Writers at Woody Point going back to our very first year in 2004. For the last several festivals, he has taken on the role of the Bard of Woody Point, and is the star of our popular Saturday afternoon combination of pub reading and music that we’ve dubbed The Des Walsh Experience.
Steve met with Des at his beloved old house in New Bonaventure, Trinity Bay - a place that feels like it is one with the rocky hills surrounding the harbour.
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Episode 4:
Shelly Kawaja in Stephenville, NL
Shelly Kawaja is an author based in Corner Brook, Western Newfoundland. Her acclaimed debut novel, The Raw Light of Morning, won the 2022 BMO Winterset award. Shelly grew up in Stephenville on Bay St George, a unique place dominated by the ghostly remains of the Harmon Air Force Base, a massive Second World War and Cold War outpost of the United States military that operated between 1941 and 1966.
Stephenville is a town that wears its history right up front. A former military checkpoint is now inhabited by a mannequin, harkening back to the time when the base was bustling with troops. The flat fronted buildings bring the American influence of the town right in front of your eyes.
Steve met with Shelly on a blazingly sunny day in August. We spent some time touring an abandoned hangar on the former air force base, and taking in the main streets and sites of Stephenville.
But Shelly wanted to have our conversation in a place that has great personal meaning for her – the front steps of the low, brick building that houses the Kindale Public Library.
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Episode 5:
Douglas Walbourne-Gough in Corner Brook, NL
Douglas Walbourne-Gough is a poet born and raised in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. He describes himself as mixed/adopted Mi’kmaq and is a status member of the Qalipu First Nation. Doug’s first collection of poetry, Crow Gulch, centred on a now-lost Mi’kmaq community on the Bay of Islands.
On a blisteringly hot day, Steve met with Doug at the side of the road in Massey Drive. We wandered down a dirt track to hang out at Doug’s chosen location - the shores of a pond that these days feels a bit less remote than it did when he used to go trout fishing there with his family as a boy.
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Episode 6:
Donna Morrissey in The Beaches, NL
Donna Morrissey is one of Newfoundland’s most popular writers. Beginning with her first novel Kit’s Law, Donna has captivated readers both with her fiction and with her family memoir, Pluck.
Steve and Donna got together the day after the 2024 festival, and set up shop on the Morrissey side of town, right beside the water. People in The Beaches get around town on ATVs and Side by Sides in the summer, and the odd RV went by, taking in the gorgeous views across a sandy beach. Our ‘quiet’ spot beside the bay turned out to be a surprisingly busy place on a Monday afternoon.
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Credits
Writers on the Road is a production of Diving Gannet Productions and Writers at Woody Point.
Host: Stephen Brunt
Director: Tom Cochrane
Producer: Olivia Ball
Graphics: James David March
