NorthWords Writers Festival and Zimbabwe Elections

I am honoured to be a headliner at the NorthWords Writers Festival this year along with Canadian writers Michael Crummey, Lesley Choyce, Richard Van Camp, Anita Daher, Jennifer Storm, Bernice Morgan and local Yellowknife writers Cathy Jewison, Jamie Bastedo, Walt Humphries, Fran Hurcomb, Tyler Heal, Patrick Scott, Pat Braden, Mindy Willett and photographer Tessa Macintosh. The festival which takes place in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, June 12 to 15 is in its third year and on a roll.

And because I am absolutely thrilled to be reading and sharing the stage with some of these great writers, I sent my husband Bill an invitation on FaceBook to attend the Closing Gala.

Now you have to understand that while he is a prolific reader, hanging around with writers is not really Bill's idea of a good time. He would rather be sailing.

So when he got the FaceBook invitation, he replied "maybe."

"Maybe?" I jumped up from my computer and barreled into the living room. "Maybe? This is an important thing for your wife, and you say maybe?"

"This invitation is like a Zimbabwe election," he said.

"A Zimbabwe election?"

"Yes, they invite you to vote, but if you don't vote for whom they say, they shoot you."

I was aghast until I noticed the twinkly look he gets when he takes a firm yank on my leg.

Even though it's not the sort of thing he'd usually attend, he's proud of me and wouldn't miss it. And I know when he gets there, he's going to love it, not just because of me, but because he'll hear some great stories from wonderful writers. He'll have a great time, and I'll have a great time and there will be tons of people there and everybody will have tons of fun.