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The Booked! Fernie Writers' Series is a firm favourite on the Fernie cultural calendar featuring some of Canada's best and brightest literary talents.
Iona Whishaw has been a youth worker, social worker, teacher and an award winning High School Principal, who continued writing throughout her working life. Receiving her Masters in Creative writing from UBC, Iona has published short fiction, poetry, poetry translation and one children’s book. The Lane Winslow mystery series is her first foray into adult fiction.
Iona was born in Kimberley BC, but grew up in a number of different places, including a small community on Kootenay Lake, as well as Mexico and Central America, and the US because of her father’s geological work. She took a degree in history and education from Antioch College, and subsequent degrees in Writing at UBC and pedagogy at Simon Fraser University. Her own writing output took a brief back seat during her teaching career, but she shared her passion for writing by nurturing a love of writing in the students in English, Creative Writing, and Spanish classes. During the course of her career as a Principal in Vancouver she was awarded the Woman of Distinction in Education by the YWCA in 2010 and a Canada’s Outstanding Principals award in 2012.
Her hobbies have included dance, painting, reading, and gardening. She currently is a vocalist for a small Balkan dance band in Vancouver, and is patiently waiting for her next opportunity to engage in her current pash, long distance, cross country rambling in England. She is married, has one son and two grandsons, and lives in Vancouver with her artist husband, Terry Miller.
ABOUT THE BOOKED! FERNIE WRITERS SERIES:
The Fernie Heritage Library has welcomed some of the biggest names in Canadian writing for the Booked! series, a highly anticipated reception that includes an author reading and Q&A followed by live music and lively discussion. The events draw crowds of up to 100 to fill the beautiful Fernie Heritage Library for an engaging evening celebrating the undeniable talents of each guest author.
