Ven BegamudrÃĐ was born in South India and came to Canada when he was six. He has an honours degree in Public Administration from Carleton University and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College. He has held numerous residencies, including the Canada-Scotland Exchange Writer in Residence. His work has appeared in Canada, the United States, the Netherlands, and Scotland. He has won a number of awards including the 2018 Regina Public Library Saskatchewan Book of the Year Award for Extended Families: A Memoir of India. The Teller from the Tale is his tenth book. Ven lives in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Kelley Jo Burke is an award-winning Regina playwright, creative nonfiction writer and documentarian, a professor of theatre and creative-writing, and was for many years host of CBC Radioâs SoundXchange. The 2017 winner (with composer Jeffery Straker) of Playwright Guild of Canadaâs national Best New Musical Award for Us, which premiered at the Globe Theatre 2018, and a new musical âThe Curstâ. Recent plays include âThe Lucky Ones (Dancing Sky Theatre),â The Selkie Wife (Scirocco) and Ducks on the Moon. Her published work includes four books, inclusion in four more collections, many periodicals, and her broadcasts include eight creative nonfiction documentaries for CBCâs IDEAS. She was the 2009 winner of the Sask. Lieutenant-Governorâs Award for Leadership in the Arts, the 2008 Saskatoon and Area Theatre Award for Playwriting, and has received the City of Regina Writing Award three times.