Committee 2012
gritLIT 2012 Board
Noelle Allen (Chair)
Noelle Allen is the publisher of Wolsak & Wynn. She has been in the publishing business for over seven years and is both familiar with, and well known to, most of the trade and academic presses in the region. She has been a judge for various literary festivals, including the Hamilton Arts Council's Awards, and is involved in the Literary Press Group. She has been with gritLIT since 2006.
Chris Pannell (Secretary)
Chris Pannell led the New Writing Workshop at Hamilton Artists Inc. from 1994 until 2011. He edited two anthologies produced by the group. He won the Hamilton and Region Arts Council's poetry award in 1996 for his first collection, 3 Broadsheets. His fourth poetry collection Drive was published in 2009. In 2010, Drive was named by Arts Hamilton as Poetry Book of the Year and by the Acorn-Plantos Award judges as that year's best book of People's Poetry. He has been with gritLIT since 2007.
Susan Evans Shaw (Member at Large)
Susan Evans Shaw co-chairs the Arts Hamilton Literary Arts Committee as well as volunteering with Hamilton's monthly reading series, LiT LiVe. She has published articles, short stories, and memoirs. In 1997 she won the Hamilton and Region Arts Council's Short Non-fiction Award. Susan is a member of PEN Canada and The Writers' Union of Canada. She has been with gritLIT since it began in 2004. Her latest publication is Canadians at War: A Guide to the Battlefields of World War One.
gritLIT 2012 Committee
Jennifer Gillies (General Manager)
Jennifer Gillies is a Hamilton writer and creative writing instructor. While living in Korea, she contributed a monthly column to Pops English magazine in Seoul, wrote for a children's book publisher in Taipei, and co-authored a university textbook. She is the program manager for creative writing at Mohawk College in Hamilton and also teaches at Sheridan College in Oakville. She has been with gritLIT since 2005.
Nancy McKibbin Gray
Nancy McKibbin Gray was one of the founding members of the Dundas Art and Craft Association and is an ongoing volunteer with the Arts Dundas Weekend committee. She also works in house management for the John Laing Singers and is a member of the Arts Advisory Committee for the City of Hamilton. Nancy has worked at Bryan Prince, Bookseller since 1989, and she has been with gritLIT since it began in 2004.
Ashley Hisson
Ashley Hisson is a book lover and blogger based out of Burlington. When she is not working as a freelance copy editor, an editorial assistant at Wolsak and Wynn Publishers or a proofreader for Harlequin, she is working on one of many knitting projects. She has been with gritLIT since 2009.
Amy Kenny
Amy Kenny is a Hamilton-based writer and visual artist. Her paintings and textile art are available at select galleries and boutiques in Ontario, British Columbia and the Isle of Man. Her non-fiction has been published by National Geographic, Canadian Geographic,Tidings Magazine, Hamilton Magazine and HMag. Her award-winning fiction has appeared in Monday Magazine and Room. She has been with gritLIT since 2010.
Adam Getty
Adam Getty has had his poetry published in journals in both the USA and Canada. His first full length book, Reconciliation, won the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award for best first book of poetry and was shortlisted for the 2003 Trillium Award. Repose was cited as one of the "best volumes of verse in 2008" by the Winnipeg Free Press. Adam currently teaches creative writing at Mohawk College. He has been with gritLIT since 2010.
Alexandra Vince
Alexandra Vince is a double Mohawk college grad, having completed certificates in both General Arts and Science and Advertising and Communications Media. She has also studied creative writing and is currently working on her first book, a mystery novel. She has been with gritLIT since 2010.
Pamela Hensley
Pamela Hensley is a commercial strategist who has lived and worked in Canada, the US, Japan and Germany. Her curiosity about people and what motivates them led to writing assignments at local publications and interviews of community leaders from all walks of life including business, politics, entertainment, and social activism. She is currently Director of Applied Research and Innovation at Mohawk College. She has been with gritLIT since 2010.
Luba Gelberg
Luba is a writer with poetry published in Canada. She has a bachelor degree from Queen’s University and a degree in Education from University of Toronto. While studying at Queen’s she co-wrote and performed sketch comedy to a crowd of 2000 students at frosh week. Armed with a Creative Writing Certificate from the University of Toronto, Luba is currently working on her first novel.
