Lots of Laughs at the Vancouver Writers Fest

Sculpture by Yue Minjun, English Bay, Vancouver

Why haven't more than a handful of women won the annual Stephen Leacock medal for humour? At the Women in Literature event at the writers fest in Vancouver on Thursday evening, this question was asked as part of the broader context of the systemic discrimination affecting female artists. It was an excellent, thoughtful discussion.

I've had the good fortune to hear lots of funny women at the festival this year, most of them Canadian: Ivan Coyote, Anne Fleming, Shari Lapena, Emily Schultz, Linda Svendsen, Rebecca Rosenblum, Jessica Westhead and A.L. Kennedy (from Scotland).

One more (very full) day of festival events and then I'll be heading home to Edmonton on Sunday. I plan to share more festival stories when I have access to my own computer.