Photo: Group photo from the Muskoka Novel Marathon 2022 wrap-up celebration. Holding the cheque, from left: Nancy West, KM Wehrstein. Behind, l to r: Catherine Neal, Lenore Butcher, Jenny Cressman, Kimberley Davies, Jennifer Britton, Ben Glatt, & Rosemary Herman. On Zoom: l to r starting on the top row: Atiya Hakeem, unknown, Shellie Westlake, Sharon Frayne French, Dale Margery Rutherford, Janet Nichols, Donna Curtin (driving), and Jane Burt. Also present but not in photo: Catherine’s son Daniel and Lenore’s daughter Audrey. (Photo: Audrey Butcher).

The usually cheery face of Nancy West, Team Leader for YMCA Simcoe-Muskoka’s Literacy program, grows sombre as she speaks at the Muskoka Novel Marathon’s final wrap-up gathering of 2022 at the Y office in Huntsville.

“There are so many foreign workers in this area, we are unable to serve everyone,” she says, adding that they’re from many countries including Pakistan, Chile, Mexico, the Philippines – and, of course, Ukraine. “Almost all of them want to get their permanent residency, want to become part of this great country. But they have to get a certain English level. They want to get drivers’ licenses here, but they have to pass the G1 written test. We are seeing people with zero English.”

There is no government or school-board-funded English as a Second Language program in Muskoka – only the YMCA’s free classes, which are funded by the Muskoka Novel Marathon. “Thank you for making this a better place to live for these people who are working, supporting employers who’d have to close if it weren’t for them,” West tells the writers.

Taya McLellan, the Y’s Coordinator of Events and Digital Campaigns, adds: “Increased literacy skills are strongly linked to economic growth, which is why we offer classes like computer skills, academic upgrading, ESL, GED prep, cash handling, and so much more. Funds generated through the Marathon greatly increase our ability to offer these life-changing programs.”

The final fundraising total for 2022 is $8,570.

This year’s award winners were lauded at the wrap-up:

Judged Awards:

Best Novel in the Adult category: Benjamin Glatt (for the second year in a row) (Etobicoke)

Honourable mention: Donna Curtin (Cargill, Ontario)

Best Novel in the Young Adult/Juvenile category: Sharon Frayne (Niagara-on-the-Lake)

Note: Best Novel winners are awarded not only a Muskoka chair, but a chance to have their winning manuscripts shown to a publisher or literary agent. This year it’s At Bay Press in Winnipeg.

Quantitative Awards:

Most Prolific Award: Lenore Butcher (Woodstock, Ontario) who wrote 278 pages and 53,935 words

Remington Award (for the writer who raises most funds): Donna Curtin, who raised $1,270 from 27 donors

Peer-Voted Awards:

Spirit Award: KM Wehrstein (Huntsville) & Donna Curtin (tied vote)

Bum-in-Chair Award: Lenore Butcher

Techie Award: Catherine Neal (Mississauga)

Rookie of the Year Award: Jane Burt (Titusville, Pennsylvania)

Award for Outstanding Marathon Volunteer:

Star Volunteer Award: Marlene Vettorel (Bracebridge – our long-time Treasurer)

www.muskokanovelmarathon.com

Novel Marathon writers Zoom it from grabby start to climactic ending
The writers of Muskoka Novel Marathon (MNM) didn’t want it to be this way, but 2022’s edition was the third Marathon to be conducted entirely online, due to the lingering threat of Covid-19.
The annual event, a combination intense writer’s retreat, literary contest and fundraiser for literacy programs in Muskoka, usually takes place at the beautiful Active Living Centre in the Canada Summit Centre in Huntsville. But the writers gathered again on Zoom to write as much and as well as they could between the starting bell at 8 p.m. on July 15 and the ending bell exactly 72 hours later – and enjoyed the camaraderie.
“This was an interesting online Marathon in that we had Zoom on the whole time except for short breaks between 3 and 4 a.m., because Zoom has a 30-hour meeting limit,” says MNM 2022 convenor KM Wehrstein, known best in Muskoka for writing the Cottage Country Cuisine column in Unique Muskoka magazine. “So there’d be writers on, both on mute and with their video off, but still there, for hours, together via the internet. I came to realize it’s the equivalent of us pounding away in the writer’s room at the Active Living Centre for hours without a word to each other – but together.”
As well as the enthusiasm of writers and sponsors, the remarkable support from the Huntsville community and the work of MNM’s volunteers are instrumental in the event’s continued success. Founded in 2002, it has never missed a year, and has raised more than $237,000 since it began in 2002. The funds are used to directly support literacy programs in Muskoka, including basic reading and writing, English as a Second Language, numeracy and Digital Technology Training. The preliminary fundraising total for 2022 was $6,950, no small feat for the 32 participating writers, and is expected to rise somewhat before the event’s wrap-up celebration, at which winners will be announced, in late September.
“Once again, I am so humbled by the writer’s enthusiastic support of our literacy programs!” says Nancy West, Team Leader, Literacy and Special Projects for the YMCA’s Huntsville branch. “We will be starting ESL classes in Huntsville again with the funds raised this year. This is timely support, as we are seeing a greater number of local employers hiring foreign workers.”

www.muskokanovelmarathon.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The words were flowing during this year’s Muskoka Novel Marathon, and not simply on the pages as the event celebrated its 20^th Anniversary this past weekend.

[Read more…]