Sooke poet Wendy Morton has received the Federation of B.C. Writers’ 2018 Honourary Ambassador Award.
“We are delighted that Wendy has accepted this award from the federation and look forward to many more years of partnering with her on behalf of writers and especially young writers,” said Ann Graham Walker, president of the FBCW, in announcing the award.
The FBCW Honourary Ambassador Award, launched in 2015, is given in recognition of a person whose work and achievements in the community bring attention to the value of writers and writing.
“Wendy was chosen this year in part because of her work as creator of the Elder Project – an initiative that brings indigenous students together with their elders to capture cultural narratives and empower the students to write poems and publish them in a chapbook. The Federation of British Columbia Writers has been a partner with her on the Elder Projects since 2017, having secured funding for the project from the British Columbia Arts Council,” Walker said.
Morton started the Random Acts of Poetry movement, which encourages poets across Canada to read poems and give copies of their books to passers by. She helped create the Planet Earth Poetry reading series in Victoria that still brings live poetry to audiences every Friday night. In 2017 she received a Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General and the Order of British Columbia for her work.
“There were some very strong candidates for honourary ambassador this year, nominated through an open process on our website. We’d like to thank everyone who participated,” said Walker.
The award comes with a lifetime membership to the federation.
Nominations for next year’s award will open on the FBCW website, bcwriters.ca, in November.