Republic of Dirt author Susan Juby appointed as Whistler's writer-in-residence

It's been a whirlwind year for author Susan Juby.

The Nanaimo writer won the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize at the recent B.C. Book Prizes for The Truth Commission.

It was released shortly after her second young-adult novel, Republic of Dirt, which won the 2016 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.

And now, she's been named the writer-in-residence in Whistler, which means she'll be moving to the resort community this fall.

Juby will be available to mentor a few lucky writers with four one-on-one sessions and she'll attend group lectures. It goes without saying that she'll be at the Whistler Writers Festival, which takes place from October 13 to 16.

“Juby’s profound knowledge of fiction, particularly in the young adult genre, and her experience as a creative writing professor make her an ideal mentor for the residency’s participants," Whistler Writers Festival director Stella Harvey said in a news release. "A huge thank you to the Canada Council of the Arts and the Resort Municipality of Whistler for making this invaluable program possible.”

Writers interested in being mentored by Juby must submit a synopsis of their project and no more than 20 double-spaced pages of their work to Harvey by August 10. For more information, see the Whistler Writers Festival website.