MARIA CAMPBELL NAMED CAROL SHIELDS WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE
Accomplished Aboriginal artist, cultural leader begins new role in January

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2008

WINNIPEG, MB - The University of Winnipeg's Carol Shields Writer-in-Residence for 2009 is one of Canada's most distinguished Aboriginal writers, Maria Campbell.

Campbell is an accomplished artist and cultural leader. She is a novelist, playwright, film producer and director. She has been awarded three honorary doctorates, the Distinguished Canadian Award, the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, the Molson Award from the Canada Council for the Arts, a Chalmers Award for Best New Play and a Dora Mavor Moore Award.

As Writer-in-Residence, Campbell will have an office in the English Department of the University of Winnipeg (Room 2M69) and will meet with writing students and members of the public in private consultations. Interested writers may contact her by phoning 786-9203. A woman of great energy and generosity, she has also expressed a desire to work with young writers at the Wii Chiiwaakanak Learning Centre, and to build new connections with First Nations elders and with local Aboriginal arts and community organizations in Winnipeg and rural communities.

To introduce herself to the community, Campbell will be giving a reading January 15 at 2:30 pm in Convocation Hall. The reading is free and open to the public.

The Carol Shields Writer-in-Residence Distinguished Lecture for 2009 will take place Thursday March 12 at 7:00 pm, also in Convocation Hall. The title of Campbell's lecture is "Road Allowance as Muse: Identity and Place." A reception will follow the lecture.

Campbell's residency has been made possible by the Louis Riel Institute and the Canada Council for the Arts. The Carol Shields residency has been initiated and sustained by a generous donation from the Shields family.
Campbell will be on campus from the beginning of January until the end of April.

- 30 -

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Shawn Coates, Director of Marketing & Communications, University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7126, C: 204.230.0202, E: s.coates@uwinnipeg.ca