Two Sun writers nominated for journalism awards

Two Sun writTwo Vancouver Sun writers have received three nominations from the Canadian Association of Journalists for excellence in investigative reporting.

Sun crime writer Kim Bolan received one nomination for her coverage of the shooting death of notorious Lower Mainland gangster Jonathan Bacon in Kelowna last summer, and another for her story on an accused killer and fugitive gang leader slipping back into B.C.

“I was surprised, but pleased, to get a second CAJ nomination,” said Bolan, who was informed of the latter nomination earlier this week.

Environment writer Larry Pynn was also nominated for a series on the impact of salvage logging of B.C.’s pine-beetle-killed forests.

“For years, people blindly accepted the government and industry line that B.C.’s beetle-killed lodgepole pine forests were dead forests and should be salvage-logged as fast as possible,” Pynn said. “My research showed that not to be the case. In fact, beetle-killed forests exhibit much greater biodiversity. And the environmental impact of massive salvage clearcuts with no upper limits has been extensive. Tourism operators report that since my series was published, they are getting better cooperation from salvage loggers in terms of creating logging plans that minimize tourism impacts.”

The winners will be announced at a gala in Toronto on April 28.

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Baggage takes its writer far

Baggage takes its writer far

In 2007, as I was approaching 40, I found myself becoming very reflective of what my life had been like for the past twenty some years. What a profound experience it was for me years ago, a teenage man, with few life skills and little self-esteem, finding my niche in the world. What an awesome journey that was. These reflections led to a semi-autobiographical character manifesting in my head - a 19-year old restaurant cook named Sam Brown. In the three years it took me to write this book, I came to love Sam, and think of him as my friend. Like Jackson Hill, the main character in my first book Dead Rock Stars, Sam was very much alive to me in the years I wrote his story - and he still is.

But Sam could not be alone in the plot and two other supporting characters developed: Slash Bear and Bliss Simchuk - also two lost but lovable souls, based on people in my life.

The great thing about Baggage is that is wasn't just written by me alone. There were others who lent thoughtful input and insight. Several friends lent opinions to the storyline, which was wonderful, as the book ended up having a strong Saskatoon feeling to it and many of the scenes take place in iconic Sask locations. Also, several writers from the two groups I belong to, The Saskatoon Writers Coop and Sask Writers Guild, threw in support and advice.

In some ways, it's a smorgasbord - a taste of everything - a feel-good story about a group of damaged (but likable) Saskatoon misfits, with fun references to pop culture and prairie life.

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