Wawa-news.com You can't hear the 'big picture'!
Michael Sobota and Marianne Jones, photo by Alan Dickson Photography
Northwestern Ontario Writer’s Workshop (NOWW) is pleased to announce the winners of the prestigious Kouhi Award, and Margaret Phillips Award, presented Saturday, May 17 at LitFest 2025.
“The Kouhi Award was established by NOWW in 1999 to recognize outstanding contributions to the literature of Northwestern Ontario,” says NOWW president Heather Dickson. “And this year, we were proud to award it to local author and poet, Marianne Jones!”
Jones is the author of Maud and Me, a literary novel published by Crossfield Publishing. She is an award-winning poet and author of six other books, including The Serenity Stone Murder and Death on the Water. She lives with her husband Reg in Thunder Bay, on the shores of beautiful Lake Superior.
The Margaret Philips Award (formerly called the Burnford Award) was first established in 2009 to recognize a ‘builder, either a group or individual who has made outstanding contributions to publishing, promoting, or supporting the literature of Northwestern Ontario. Last year’s recipient was Entershine Bookshop, and this year, the award was given to writer, poet and book reviewer, Michael Sobota.
“At least three people put Michael’s name forward for the award this year,” says Dickson. “He’s a tireless supporter of local writers, and his work with both Entershine and the WALLeye are great examples of how one person can encourage the creation of literature in the Northwest.”
LitFest 2025 included a public reading from Keynote speaker, Rod Carley, a Book Fair and Literary Market, 3 publishing workshops, the 27th Annual Literary Contest Awards and a Gala Dinner.
