Victoria Festival of Authors has expanded from a two-person operation with a four-member board to a small but mighty team in 2022!
VFA’s Team
- Laura Trunkey – Festival Producer
- Kristina Philpotts & Nadya Comeau – Indigenous Curators
- Sandra Forsyth – Webmaster
- Smritika Rao – Instagram Manager
Board
- Kegan McFadden – President
- With a background in literary and visual arts, Kegan McFadden is an artist, curator, publisher, and writer. For the past two decades, his projects have been presented by artist-run, university, and public galleries across Canada. Kegan’s writing has appeared in Border Crossings, C-Magazine, Canadian Art, fuse, Geist, Plenitude, and Poetry is Dead, among numerous gallery publications. Kegan is the Executive Director of Victoria Arts Council and has been President of the VFA since 2019.
- Brianna Bock – Secretary
- Brianna Bock is an emerging author/playwright and journalist/theatre critic who has written for Edible Vancouver Island and The Martlet. Their work has been published in The Martlet, This Side of West and they have written/acted in Theatre SKAM’sPop-Up Theatre.
- Richard Ketchen – Treasurer
- A retired accountant, business executive and financial communication consultant, Richard Ketchen brings a broad range of skills and interests to the board. He previously served as a director and officer of the Peninsula Streams Society, West Vancouver Streamkeepers Society and the BC chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators.
- John Barton – Director-at-large
- John Barton’s books include Polari, For the Boy with the Eyes of the Virgin: Selected Poems, We Are Not Avatars, Lost Family, The Essential Derk Wynand, and Best Canadian Poetry 2023. Previously the editor of The Malahat Review, he was Victoria’s poet laureate from 2018 to 2022.
- Yvonne Blomer – Director-at-large
- Yvonne Blomer (she/her) lives in Victoria, BC on Lək̓ʷəŋən territory. The Last Show on Earth, her fifth book of poetry was published with Caitlin Press in 2022. She was Victoria’s fourth poet laureate.
- Gweneth Doane – Director-at-large
- Gweneth Doane, a Professor Emeritus and award-winning teacher, has published articles in several academic journals and is the co-author of three books. Currently she is focused on exploring the genre of historical fiction.
- Barbara Pelman – Director-at-large
- Barbara Pelman is a retired high school English teacher, and author of three books of poetry, with a fourth to be published by Caitlin Press in Fall 2023. Many of her poems have been published in literary journals and won contests. She assists Planet Earth Poetry Reading Venues, organizing workshops and retreats.
- Cynthia Woodman Kerkham – Director-at-large
- An award-winning and widely published poet, Cynthia Woodman Kerkham is the author of Good Holding Ground and the chapbook with feathers. She’s also co-editor of the anthology Poems from Planet Earth and a great believer in the inspirational value of festivals. She gratefully teaches, edits, writes and hikes on this beautiful land.