We were fortunate to have six local writers donate their time and talent to the Garden Gala. Here's a little bit about them:

Harold Macy is a longtime Merville resident. His most recent publication is The Four-Storey Forest (Courtenay, Poplar Publishing, 2011). In 2014, Orion Magazine published a piece Harold wrote about the unique character of Merville. Place Where You Live...

Natalie Nickerson began her reading by acknowledging that we were gathering on the unceded territory of the local First Nations. She chose to read a wonderful array of poems that surprised and delighted.

Berni Friesen selected a compelling scene from an unpublished novel. We're looking forward to seeing the whole book in print!

Cornelia Hoogland read from her beautiful collection Trailer Park Elegy, which has been nominated for a major poetry prize.

Judy LeBlanc read a gorgeous story from her collection of short fiction from Oolichan Books - A Promise of Water.

Marlet Ashley introduced us to some of the eccentric characters in her recent novel, The Right Kind of Crazy, set in Cumberland, which is hot off the press, and now available in local bookstores.