Popular Saskatchewan writers, Marion Mutala and Wes Funk, participated in the sidewalk reading event July 23 in downtown Regina.
Mutala has strong rural connections to the Ukrainian community of Hafford and has written a trilogy of a Ukrainian child's adventure. Each book is a fictional children's story about a young girl who has an opportunity, through a magical babushka, to travel back in time and view her grandmother in her youth during a traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve celebration, traditional Easter and wedding.
The first book entitled Baba's Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Christmas was released in 2010 and was the winner of the Anna Pidruchney Award. The second book Baba's Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Easter was released in 2012. The most recent release in 2013 was Baba's Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Wedding.
Wes Funk is a Saskatchewan author with rural roots from Mayfair. He has proudly released his fourth publication entitled Wes Side Story, a memoir of his life, not void of his 'prairie-boy' wit and brutal honesty.
"From his days as an intensely shy farm boy to his years as a lost soul of a young man and finally to his escapades in the writing, publishing and broadcasting world of Saskatchewan, this autobiography is a true page-turner," explains one review.
Funk is no stranger to the writing industry. His novel Dead Rock Stars has grown in popularity and has made its way into its fifth printing. The book has sold close to 2,000 copies and has been incorporated into both university and high school curricula.
This inspiring author's second book, Baggage, has also become a Saskatchewan bestseller and a pick-of-the-month for several book clubs across Canada. His third novel Cherry Blossoms won a National CBC Bookie Award.
Besides writing, Funk has been given the opportunity to host Lit Happens, a weekly showcase of Western Canada's writing world, on Saskatoon's Shaw television programming schedule.
Both Funk and Mutala, along with other authors from the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild, are dedicated to promoting literacy, and are available upon request to attend your literacy event.
